Damien Episode 1.02 – Second Death: Recap and Review with Spoilers
Now that Damien has an idea of who – or what – he is, how will the man respond? That’s the question hanging in the air as we head into “Second Death,” the second episode of A&E’s “Damien.”
Before we get any answers, we see that the episode opens during an exorcism. A small group stands over an open grave, which holds the possessed in question. Within minutes it looks as though the man has been freed from his burden. Moments later the woman who conducted the exorcism receives word that she’s got a new assignment that needs immediate attention.
It’s probably safe to assume her unique abilities are required in New York, where Damien is. We soon see a priest handing off a sacred dagger, with which comes the task of assassination. Can this religious hitman get to Damien and deliver a fatal blow, or will the evil embedded deep in his core ensure Damien lives to see another day? The priest responsible for overseeing the blade will never know, as he collapses in seconds, dead.
More visions (footage from the original film, The Omen) flood Damien as he makes his way to put in an appearance at Kelly’s funeral. He doesn’t handle sitting in a church too well. He breaks into a sweat, looking woozy and nauseous, forced to run from the building for fresh air. Ann Rutledge attends the funeral, which Damien finds a little odd. He’s also quite distracted by the presence of a mysterious man, lurking about the church. Damien doesn’t know it, but we know that it’s the man who’s out to end Damien’s life.
After the funeral there’s a small gathering for those mourning their loss. While at this little shindig we get our very first look at the vile side of Damien, as a priest approaches him and begins a little preaching. Damien begins to snap, eventually asserting that God is a “sadistic prick” for letting Kelly die. He really lets the priest have it, raising his voice until all eyes are on him. Slightly embarrassed, Damien apologies, and we move on.
It’s growing dark; Damien is seeing strange things. He’s looking every bit as haunted as he is. And he’s got a killer on his tail. In an alley the man attacks, trying to bury the sacred blade in the back of our titular character. But he fails in assassinating Damien. The two men struggle until otherworldly occurrences intervene. “The Dog” (you know what dog I’m talking about!) stands in the middle of the street, a cabbie swerves to avoid hitting the pooch, and in that moment Damien and his would-be assassin spill into the road, where Damien avoids being hit by the vehicle. Our killer isn’t so lucky. In seconds he’s dead, and his mission has gone uncompleted; the dagger slips through a grate and disappears below the surface.
Minutes after the accident, Damien is being interviewed by law enforcement, when the officer begins to poke and prod a bit too much, Damien once more begins losing his temper. In a flash, Ann is there, claiming to be Damien’s lawyer. She ushers our man away from the police officer, and we transition into another interesting discussion between Damien and Ann. In this conversation Damien learns a few more details of his life, like the fact that his biological mother died while giving birth and that his parents were foster parents – something Damien wasn’t previously aware of. But he’s about to be absolutely inundated with information, as Ann promises him she’s going to fill in all of the blanks and answer any questions he has.
Cut back to the scene of the hitman’s death. The detectives at the scene learn that the man had religious tattoos. The trail isn’t exactly hot, but this moment lets us know that while Damien makes his transition, the law will gradually grow to be far more interested in him. We’ll see if the badge is mightier than the devil… or the Antichrist.
As the final minutes of the episode tick away, we learn that Ann possesses one of the daggers (there are said to be seven in existence, though their whereabouts are generally unknown), and she shows it to Damien, who has yet another vision, this of his father raising one of the dagger’s over his head, seconds away from killing Damien before he’s gunned down by a police officer, again, as we saw in Richard Donner’s original 1976 hit, The Omen. More memories hit Damien like a baseball bat to the chin, as he sees more monumental moments from his past and picks up on the clear implication (and bombshell) of the episode: Ann Rutledge is from the same conspiratorial group as Mrs. Baylock, the woman who looked after him as a child, in The Omen!
Yes, my fellow “Damien” fans, things are heating up. Plot holes are being filled and we’re slowly being introduced to Damien as he was always meant to be: evil personified! Stay tuned – we’ll be bringing you plenty of insane coverage of this promising new series!
Stay tuned for our recap/review of next week’s Episode 1.03, “The Deliverer.”
-
Episode
Categorized:News
