James R | On 28, Aug 2020

Season 2 of Warrior Nun premieres on 10th November 2022. This review is based on Season 1.

Stop us when you’ve heard this one before. A 19-year-old quadriplegic orphan is brought back to life by a magical halo and recruited into a secret war against the forces of Hell. Heard it before yet? The sheer surprising absurdity of Warrior Nun’s premise is perhaps the key to why Netflix’s supernatural thriller is such an unlikely treat – by the time your brain has caught up with what on earth you’re watching, you’re already halfway through the first season.

The concept won’t be entirely new to everyone, whether they’re ardent fans of the original comic book from the 1990s this is based on or they’ve just watched a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but there’s a perfectly judged balance between familiar genre nonsense and unexpected genre nonsense to keep anyone who enjoys a bit of action-packed silliness happy. We begin with a battle between the former Warrior Nun and some sinister enemy types, which ends with a batch of nuns hiding the holy halo inside the body of Ana Silva (Alba Baptista) – bringing her not only back to life, but also healing her and giving her super powers. She immediately puts them to good use by saving the life of young grifter JC (Emilio Sakraya), sparking a budding romance between the two – only for her to be pulled away from the excitement of the real world and into the fighting nun order that gives the show its title. For Ava is destined to be the new Warrior Nun, joining the secret order in an eternal battle against demons. As you do.

All this is explained to us over several wonderfully fast-paced episodes, which not only sow the seeds of a star-crossed love interest but also introduce a scientist playing with the Higgs boson particle – and did we mention the warrior nuns?

The battles fly thick and fast, keeping things tense and exciting just in case you might get bored by the entertaining daftness of it all. And yet the script still manages to thread through some serious themes and questions, such as the consequences of abuse and the challenges that come with large religious instutitions. The cast, crucially, are charismatic enough to sell things with a straight face, from Joaqium de Almeida’s authoritative Cardinal Duretti to leading lady Alba Baptista, who is superb as the warrior in waiting – who gets more impressive the more she discovers her identity, purpose and strength. Subtle? No. Smart? Sometimes. Entertaining? Without a doubt.

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