A bang, because there's an impression of some big complex end-of-the-world scenario. Kthara is coming, the baby is the "end of the world", the three demons are working to bring her into the world via Gabriella. Daimon gets to manifest his flaming trident, although Ana does it first so it kind of ruins the big moment.
A whimper, because it all seems like a prelude to a main story that will never come. Both because MCU is writing off the whole "Helstrom" series, and as a result because there won't be a second season. Kudos to the ending, though: I have no idea how Lily/Kthara ended up with Chris. But Mitch Pileggi is more impressive as Papa than all the demons and demon-possessed people that we've seen in the last nine episodes. Because Pileggi is just that damned good. Shame we won't get to see more of him.
It's also a bit of a wet squib. The baby Kthara coos, and Ana and Caretaker make a diaper joke about changing the baby. Louise's cancer is all better. Couldn't they have cut it out of her in the first place? Granted, she had to go through a dangerous surgery for the surgeons to cut it out. But that seems better than dying, and she's in good enough condition to eat tacos at the end.
And everyone smiles and eats tacos. Gabriella isn't with Daimon, having embraced the Blood's point of view. But she always seemed to go back and forth with the winds of the plot anyway. So she was afraid of Daimon, then she was in love with him, then she turned against him again because... he refuses to accept that he's as evil as Father?
Yes, there is some ominous foreshadowing. We see Gabriella with the Blood, Lily/Kthara with Chris, and the always-cool Pileggi. But... so what. It always seems like gaslighting for nothing. What's the point of leaving the series on several cliffhangers, if we're not going to get resolution on any of them? It's not like the pandemic caused the show's aborted end: it almost certainly wasn't going to make a second season no matter what. If all of the other live-action MCU properties have crashed and burned, why was 'Helstrom' going to make it past a first season? When 'Defenders' couldn't?
Overall, 'Helstrom" came across as the red-headed stepchild of the MCU live-action run. It seemed more like a contract being fulfilled than a natural outcome of the MCU. We got Helstrom instead of Dr. Strange? If they couldn't get Cumberbatch, why not bring us Doctor Voodoo? But I suppose if 'Luke Cage' didn't get another season, a 'Doctor Voodoo" series couldn't cut it, either.
Or why not a Clea series? Or a Wong series? Couldn't they get Benedict Wong? Instead we got rehashed 'Supernatural'. Ooh, demons possessing people. It didn't help that the production staff never bothered to explain the mythology. So demons went fishing and were parasitical little creatures, but also could demonically possess people and the Church was involved in exorcising them. But the Church was pretty much useless, and had to rely on Damion, an exorcist. But Damion needed a magical knife (which became a flaming trident) to exorcise not just powerful demons, but second-tier demons like Raum and Magoth?
Does any of this make sense? Not to mention that Tom Austen looks a lot like Tom Mison, from 'Sleepy Hollow' and 'Watchmen" among other shows. 'Sleepy Hollow' had a stronger grasp on its mythology than 'Helstrom' ever did. So having the main character look like Ichabod Crane just kept reminding me of how much better that show was at the supernatural stuff.
All of the actors were good, particularly Wisdom and Uy. But Lemmon, Marvel, and Austen were all good, too. Even if they were ill-served by the series. What the heck did Ana and Chris do? Okay, she kills serial killers. But how did she and Chris link up? And work for some (unseen) antiquities boss? There are some hints that Chris took Ana in... at some point. But how, and why?
Maybe this would have all been explained in season two. But the production staff should have known they weren't getting a season two. Instead of padding the big resolution (Daimon, Ana, and Victoria) becoming a family again, they should have wrapped it up around episode five and spent the last five episodes of the season explaining all of this. Instead we got episode after episode of Daimon morose, and Ana snarky.
They could have tied it together. Why was Father content to be a serial killer and spend years developing a seemingly "normal" life? None of the other demons we see act anything like that. What are demons, and why does that cause humans to supposedly have such a hate-on toward them? What was the point of the vault in episode one? Damion is apparently a "traitor", but other than Basar possessing him, we never see any indication of any... traitorishness. Yes, he has demon blood, but so what? That doesn't make him more susceptible to Basar that is ever indicated, any more than it makes Ana more susceptible.
Curse Hollywood production staffs for thinking they have to end seasons of shows on cliffhangers, when they're not clear-cut series finales. It's a so-so idea anyway, particularly when it's considered "mandatory" for every show. Why they did it with 'Helstrom', I have no idea.
Even "Hell Storm" didn't make much sense. The direction on who had the knife, in the climactic battle between Basar and Ana was confusing. Chris goes to look for Gabriella, but ends up coming back to help Ana fight Basar. Wait to follow instructions, dickweed.
So overall, 'Helstrom' was an okay here-and-gone one season supernatural series. But it didn't tie into anything else in the MCU, and it just seems like rehashed 'Supernatural'. Well-acted, but other than in-the-moment style writing, there wasn't any quality writing on display to tie it all together.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
A whimper, because it all seems like a prelude to a main story that will never come. Both because MCU is writing off the whole "Helstrom" series, and as a result because there won't be a second season. Kudos to the ending, though: I have no idea how Lily/Kthara ended up with Chris. But Mitch Pileggi is more impressive as Papa than all the demons and demon-possessed people that we've seen in the last nine episodes. Because Pileggi is just that damned good. Shame we won't get to see more of him.
It's also a bit of a wet squib. The baby Kthara coos, and Ana and Caretaker make a diaper joke about changing the baby. Louise's cancer is all better. Couldn't they have cut it out of her in the first place? Granted, she had to go through a dangerous surgery for the surgeons to cut it out. But that seems better than dying, and she's in good enough condition to eat tacos at the end.
And everyone smiles and eats tacos. Gabriella isn't with Daimon, having embraced the Blood's point of view. But she always seemed to go back and forth with the winds of the plot anyway. So she was afraid of Daimon, then she was in love with him, then she turned against him again because... he refuses to accept that he's as evil as Father?
Yes, there is some ominous foreshadowing. We see Gabriella with the Blood, Lily/Kthara with Chris, and the always-cool Pileggi. But... so what. It always seems like gaslighting for nothing. What's the point of leaving the series on several cliffhangers, if we're not going to get resolution on any of them? It's not like the pandemic caused the show's aborted end: it almost certainly wasn't going to make a second season no matter what. If all of the other live-action MCU properties have crashed and burned, why was 'Helstrom' going to make it past a first season? When 'Defenders' couldn't?
Overall, 'Helstrom" came across as the red-headed stepchild of the MCU live-action run. It seemed more like a contract being fulfilled than a natural outcome of the MCU. We got Helstrom instead of Dr. Strange? If they couldn't get Cumberbatch, why not bring us Doctor Voodoo? But I suppose if 'Luke Cage' didn't get another season, a 'Doctor Voodoo" series couldn't cut it, either.
Or why not a Clea series? Or a Wong series? Couldn't they get Benedict Wong? Instead we got rehashed 'Supernatural'. Ooh, demons possessing people. It didn't help that the production staff never bothered to explain the mythology. So demons went fishing and were parasitical little creatures, but also could demonically possess people and the Church was involved in exorcising them. But the Church was pretty much useless, and had to rely on Damion, an exorcist. But Damion needed a magical knife (which became a flaming trident) to exorcise not just powerful demons, but second-tier demons like Raum and Magoth?
Does any of this make sense? Not to mention that Tom Austen looks a lot like Tom Mison, from 'Sleepy Hollow' and 'Watchmen" among other shows. 'Sleepy Hollow' had a stronger grasp on its mythology than 'Helstrom' ever did. So having the main character look like Ichabod Crane just kept reminding me of how much better that show was at the supernatural stuff.
All of the actors were good, particularly Wisdom and Uy. But Lemmon, Marvel, and Austen were all good, too. Even if they were ill-served by the series. What the heck did Ana and Chris do? Okay, she kills serial killers. But how did she and Chris link up? And work for some (unseen) antiquities boss? There are some hints that Chris took Ana in... at some point. But how, and why?
Maybe this would have all been explained in season two. But the production staff should have known they weren't getting a season two. Instead of padding the big resolution (Daimon, Ana, and Victoria) becoming a family again, they should have wrapped it up around episode five and spent the last five episodes of the season explaining all of this. Instead we got episode after episode of Daimon morose, and Ana snarky.
They could have tied it together. Why was Father content to be a serial killer and spend years developing a seemingly "normal" life? None of the other demons we see act anything like that. What are demons, and why does that cause humans to supposedly have such a hate-on toward them? What was the point of the vault in episode one? Damion is apparently a "traitor", but other than Basar possessing him, we never see any indication of any... traitorishness. Yes, he has demon blood, but so what? That doesn't make him more susceptible to Basar that is ever indicated, any more than it makes Ana more susceptible.
Curse Hollywood production staffs for thinking they have to end seasons of shows on cliffhangers, when they're not clear-cut series finales. It's a so-so idea anyway, particularly when it's considered "mandatory" for every show. Why they did it with 'Helstrom', I have no idea.
Even "Hell Storm" didn't make much sense. The direction on who had the knife, in the climactic battle between Basar and Ana was confusing. Chris goes to look for Gabriella, but ends up coming back to help Ana fight Basar. Wait to follow instructions, dickweed.
So overall, 'Helstrom' was an okay here-and-gone one season supernatural series. But it didn't tie into anything else in the MCU, and it just seems like rehashed 'Supernatural'. Well-acted, but other than in-the-moment style writing, there wasn't any quality writing on display to tie it all together.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
