Ancient vampires and battle-hardened exorcists are stumped when a vampire is possessed by a demon. (The audience is a little confused, too.)
The case looks pretty straightforward until a demon flies into Nick. I don't think anyone saw that coming.
Nick being an evil cop is pretty creepy. Sure, the person he talked into suicide was a horrible person no one will miss, but it's easy to imagine possessed Nick using his power in frightening ways.
La Croix at first thinks it's just Nick's real nature coming through, but eventually he's realizes this is something he can't deal with. I also think he was unhappy when the demon said he, too, belonged to them. La Croix doesn't think he's an agent of God or the devil. He belongs to no one. This has to be the first time he ever went to a priest for help, which couldn't have been easy.
Flashbacks:
Nick and La Croix are captured by the Inquisition, who took them as they slept. I have a hard time imagining that, but I supposed if soldiers caught them during the day while carrying crosses it might have been possible. It's remarkable that Nick and La Croix were never exposed to sunlight during their capture.
The Spanish Inquisition had nothing to do with rooting out devil worshipers and everything to do with putting anyone on trial who had money you could take. (Or anyone whose teaching might have made the Inquisition weaker.) I'm guessing someone noticed our vampire friends were doing all right for themselves and wanted a piece.
Having said that, it appears that the Inquisition actually did find a real, genuine devil worshiper. (I was warned of devil worshipers as a kid, but never found one. They're very rare.) The first poor soul they take away in the prison screams about the power of Belial and says his father is Beelzebub.
Little Bites:
-This one opens with a percussion group playing on the street. The crowd loves it, but if you've ever been on the train when local morons start doing these shows you know it's the worst thing ever. But, for those of you who weren't around yet, this was a VERY 90s thing to do on your show.
-Why on earth do TV writers think demons would speak Latin? I've never understood that.
-It's fun how every place Nick goes adopts the earmarks of a demonic location. Cold spots. Bad smells. Random electrocutions. Wine bottles flying around. It's basically my old apartment.
-Who is Belial? The name shows up in the Old Testament as a reference to worthless lowlifes. A "son of belial" is a scumbag.
-I've said this before, but Nick is having an effect on his master. As he grows closer to La Croix in this season, we see La Croix changing into someone who appreciates Nick's quest for redemption. This is very evident when he screams at Nick to have faith and lean on the God that is still in him. Those are remarkable words for La Croix to say.
Final Analysis: Season three has kicked up the supernatural stuff, which doesn't always fit into the previous episodes, and this episode has a lot of talking and not much happening on screen. But Nigel Bennett's portrayal is always captivating, so I can give it two out of five floating wine bottles.
Adam D. Jones is a writer, musician, and medievalist who feels a kinship for vampires because his sensitive eyes that make it difficult to go outside during the day.
I really liked this one for the heavy LaCroix-Nick focus, and the cool exorcist, and the spared guy in the flashback seeking them out. It's almost feel-good even though Nick had to be annoying by reminding Natalie that she can't imagine what it's like for him. I know that's just kind of a dramatic expression but I wish he'd at least phrase it as "you can't KNOW what it's like." Imagination should still be her tool.
ReplyDeleteAlso pretty funny to find out "sons of belial" is just kind a disparaging term. I thought it was something anointed LOL. It even has the SOB initials.
S.O.B. as Sons of Belial is something I never noticed, and now that's how I'll always think of it.
Delete