Summary
An action-packed episode says farewell to a couple of fantastic characters, further raising the stakes.
This recap of Warrior Nun season 2, episode 6, “Isaiah 40:31”, contains spoilers.
Mother Superior is easily the coolest character in Warrior Nun and it isn’t even particularly close. While Warrior Nun season 2, episode 5 did a decent job of showcasing that, “Isaiah 40:31” continues the theme. It even opens with a brief flashback to when Superion herself was the Halo-Bearer.
This younger, pre-scar version is a very different character than we’re used to; brash, arrogant, and overconfident, and it’s that exact attitude that cost her the Halo in the first place. When trying to take on a difficult mission alone results in the death of one of her sisters, the Halo rejects her. She still doesn’t know exactly why, but it doesn’t take much to figure out.
Warrior Nun season 2, episode 6 recap
Either way, this makes Superion uniquely positioned to advise Ava on the role. If we’re being honest, though, the circumstances of Ava’s responsibilities are a wee bit different, since the OCS are trying to deal with a magical religious despot who has a personal attack angel and the full backing of technology-driven biblical plagues. But let’s not stress over the details.
“Isaiah 40:31” works in, essentially, two distinct halves. The first is the planning phase. The OCS know where Adriel is going to be – giving a public address at a fortress cathedral so that the world can be convinced of his powers (and he can be endorsed by the Pope). The idea is to denounce him by taking control of the “plagues” via Arq-Tech’s systems, allowing the illusion to be broken before Ava plonks the Crown of Thorns on his noggin and locks him away. Then, the intention is to shove him through the Ark and then blow the Ark up so he can never return. Simple!
Before they set out, though, Miguel/Michael – I’m just going to call him Michael from now on – reveals a dramatic alternative. It turns out Reya sent him with a bomb packed with enough Divinium to tear Adriel asunder, but there are two problems – Ava would need to activate it manually and be caught in the blast, and the bomb itself is inside Michael. So, this isn’t a good plan, even if it might be the only one that’ll work.
Mother Superion, in her awesomeness, lays out why this mission is a big deal – it’ll challenge the very nature of belief. Think about it this way: People believe that Adriel is a messiah. And he’s going to be taken out on live television by agents of the church. What will the pious believe in then? Even if Duretti is able to discredit him and Arq-Tech’s involvement is able to be exposed, will people really be willing to put aside the “proof” of the almighty that they have waited so long for? The OCS will become heretics.
But needs must, so the plan gets underway, and it even starts pretty well. Yasmine sneaks into the event with her press credentials. Beatrice leads a group of backup OCS nuns through a side entrance with Ava and Michael. Camila makes it into the server room and patches Jillian in. And Ava heads to the roof to plant a signal relay that’ll allow Jillian to connect remotely to the plague generators.
There are two unforeseen problems in the immediate, and one more that presents itself later. The first is Ava’s Halo is still on the fritz. The second is Lilith turns up to fight Ava on the roof, preventing her from activating the signal relay. Even though she’s eventually able to circumvent both of these problems, the third issue then reveals itself – it was all a ploy, which means someone within the OCS is a double-agent.
Even with access to the systems, nothing happens. Duretti tries to summon the locusts and fog, but they don’t arrive. When Adriel turns on him, though, he’s able to summon lightning from the sky as if God himself has smitten Duretti where he stands. Duretti is fried on the spot. And everything erupts into chaos.
In the ensuing disarray, Vincent, who was earlier shown to be having obvious problems with Adriel’s ideology, steals the Crown of Thorns. Michael gets the drop on Adriel but doesn’t get time to detonate his bomb. The OCS has no choice but to get out of there while they still can.
Elsewhere, things are looking even bleaker. FBC goons descend on Jillian’s place to commandeer the Ark, and even with Mother Superion’s stalwart defense, she’s fatally shot by William, who can apparently survive a bullet to the eye. The Ark remains intact, presumably to be used for the next stage of Adriel’s plan, which was speculated about earlier – it seems he might want to bring something or someone through from his realm. And it seems like in the next episode he might do just that.
