And after a decent episode previously, this week we get Damion and Ana moping around about how they failed Victoria for the former, and might be killing like Father for the latter.
The good parts of the episode are Caretaker, and Robert Wisdom is always a class act. And the byplay between Chris and Ana, because Alain Uy is always a class act. I particular like their banter over "lie low" versus "lay low". I still don't know what the heck they do: antiquities, I get, but why do they hang out in a warehouse with no boss?
We do find out a little more about the Blood, and it's a decent misdirection that Esther apparently considers Caretaker's appeal but then tries to kill Damion with the knife. It seems dumbs, because why is she trying to kill someone who earlier she said she needs to find Kthara and Father. Or Basar, who is/isn't father? Demons and writers doing demonic possession really like the Pronoun Game, don't they?
Most of the episode is Daimon moping about how he failed mother. Which I get, but seems to be something that has dragged on seemingly forever. There is a brief bit of Tom Austen without a shirt: a little something for the ladies (and men!). Although why he has nightmares where he's shirtless, I have no idea.
And we finally get to see why the demons call Daimon traitor, as he cuts loose with his demonic hellfire after the Blood stabs him with a knife which is apparently the one that Father tried to kill him with, and has some kind of magical power to hurt demons.
We also get to see a bit more of Ana's past. There's a "20 Years Earlier" flashback where Caretaker and Hastings discuss what to do with the Helstrom children. And Ana having present-day flashbacks to when Father took her with him on her (and his?) last serial-killing "trip". And that Caretaker eventually rescued her. Which is all nice, and gives Alain Uy some more screen time which I can't complain about.
We also get more screen time for Hamza Fouad as Derrick, Chris' lover. And I can't complain about him, either: Fouad brings at least some loudness and brightness to his scenes. He and Uy literally light up the screen when they're together. And it's nice to see some conflict in Chris' life: it beats him "communing with a skull" as Chris himself puts it.
But none of this really adds up to much. Damion and Ana are both very sad. Victoria hangs out in a freighter and emotes to Father Crow and the torso-puppet of Spivey, aka her son Basar. So Elizabeth Marvel doesn't have much to do. The episode seems to be a set-up for the big finale. Damion is revealed as part-demon, Gabriella gets to see him as part-demonic and clearly isn't happy about it, the Blood is revealed as bad guys, Caretaker is revealed as a good guy, Ana comes to terms with her past, and it all seems like service to whatever the finale will be.
Supposedly episodes 8-10 are supposed to be the "big finish", and "Scars" is episode 7. So I hope all this set-up was worth it, and we get to see some demonic shenanigans for real, and Damion and the demon hordes go face-to-face. It just seems like a slog getting there. Like most of the Marvel TV live-action properties, really. Like 'Daredevil' and 'Luke Cage', 'Helstrom' could have been cut down to half its episode count and been a lot livelier.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
The good parts of the episode are Caretaker, and Robert Wisdom is always a class act. And the byplay between Chris and Ana, because Alain Uy is always a class act. I particular like their banter over "lie low" versus "lay low". I still don't know what the heck they do: antiquities, I get, but why do they hang out in a warehouse with no boss?
We do find out a little more about the Blood, and it's a decent misdirection that Esther apparently considers Caretaker's appeal but then tries to kill Damion with the knife. It seems dumbs, because why is she trying to kill someone who earlier she said she needs to find Kthara and Father. Or Basar, who is/isn't father? Demons and writers doing demonic possession really like the Pronoun Game, don't they?
Most of the episode is Daimon moping about how he failed mother. Which I get, but seems to be something that has dragged on seemingly forever. There is a brief bit of Tom Austen without a shirt: a little something for the ladies (and men!). Although why he has nightmares where he's shirtless, I have no idea.
And we finally get to see why the demons call Daimon traitor, as he cuts loose with his demonic hellfire after the Blood stabs him with a knife which is apparently the one that Father tried to kill him with, and has some kind of magical power to hurt demons.
We also get to see a bit more of Ana's past. There's a "20 Years Earlier" flashback where Caretaker and Hastings discuss what to do with the Helstrom children. And Ana having present-day flashbacks to when Father took her with him on her (and his?) last serial-killing "trip". And that Caretaker eventually rescued her. Which is all nice, and gives Alain Uy some more screen time which I can't complain about.
We also get more screen time for Hamza Fouad as Derrick, Chris' lover. And I can't complain about him, either: Fouad brings at least some loudness and brightness to his scenes. He and Uy literally light up the screen when they're together. And it's nice to see some conflict in Chris' life: it beats him "communing with a skull" as Chris himself puts it.
But none of this really adds up to much. Damion and Ana are both very sad. Victoria hangs out in a freighter and emotes to Father Crow and the torso-puppet of Spivey, aka her son Basar. So Elizabeth Marvel doesn't have much to do. The episode seems to be a set-up for the big finale. Damion is revealed as part-demon, Gabriella gets to see him as part-demonic and clearly isn't happy about it, the Blood is revealed as bad guys, Caretaker is revealed as a good guy, Ana comes to terms with her past, and it all seems like service to whatever the finale will be.
Supposedly episodes 8-10 are supposed to be the "big finish", and "Scars" is episode 7. So I hope all this set-up was worth it, and we get to see some demonic shenanigans for real, and Damion and the demon hordes go face-to-face. It just seems like a slog getting there. Like most of the Marvel TV live-action properties, really. Like 'Daredevil' and 'Luke Cage', 'Helstrom' could have been cut down to half its episode count and been a lot livelier.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
