Biggest Unanswered Questions From Warrior Nun Season 2
Netflix's "Warrior Nun" has already had several fascinating swerves in its two-year run. The series, which is about an order of demon-fighting nuns called the Order of the Cruciform Sword (the OCS) and their mightiest member, the Warrior Nun, has examined issues like sexism and politics with surprising sensitivity. What it has done best, however, is set up a series-long primary mystery, then move in a completely unexpected direction at the end. In Season 1, the mystery was uncovering the entity responsible for the death of Sister Shannon. After all, Shannon was the last Warrior Nun, meaning that she was bonded to a mysterious artifact called the Halo — which then resurrected our formerly paraplegic hero, Ava.
All of the clues regarding Shannon's death seem to point to the power-hungry Cardinal Duretti, and Shannon's journal indicates she was getting close to some kind of forbidden information about the Halo's secret origins. It appears with an angel named Adriel, whose bones rested under the Vatican. Guided by the kind Father Vincent, Ava and the sisters of the Order find the vault, only to reveal that Adriel is alive and actually a demon. Duretti is innocent of the conspiracy, as Father Vincent is revealed to be the traitor.
Season 2 is all about the conflict between the OCS and Adriel that results in an explosive final battle. However, many questions remain even after that battle about the nature of reality itself and the possibility of a holy war. Let's discuss the biggest unanswered questions from Season 2 of "Warrior Nun."
Whose side is Sister Lilith on?
Sister Lilith is a member of the OCS whom everyone thought would be Sister Shannon's natural replacement as the Warrior Nun. Her toughness, fighting acumen, and six generations of Halo-bearers in her family make her seem like an obvious choice. When the Halo chooses Ava instead, Lilith is furious. She dies fighting a monstrous demon called a Tarask, saving Ava just moments after she tries to kill her.
The Tarask drags her to the Other Realm, where she is altered and sent back to stop Adriel from being freed. She gains demon claws, the power to teleport, and a powerful healing factor. She turns to Adriel for help with her changes, such as growing scaly skin. Adriel unlocks her demonic second sight and enormous, leathery wings. She becomes his lover and turns against the OCS.
After Adriel is defeated, her mind seems to clear. She helps Sister Beatrice get a dying Ava through the portal to the other side. She warns Bea that a holy war is coming and hopes they'll be on the same side. How does she know such a war is coming? What are the sides of this war? What exactly happened to her on the other side? These all seem to be the most important questions regarding Sister Lilith in Season 3.
What will happen to Ava?
In the Season 2 finale of "Warrior Nun," Ava has a showdown with Adriel, but all of her plans fail. She finally harnesses the power of the Halo and summons Tarasks to kill Adriel, but this leaves her close to death. She loses the use of her legs again after she takes horrible damage from both Adriel as well as Lilith, and draining the Halo means that she can't heal herself.
Sister Beatrice refuses to let her go, and Sister Lilith tells them there's only one way to heal her — put her through the portal to the Other Realm. The only other known humans to have been taken there and return are Lilith and Miguel. Lilith is sent back as a demon on a mission to prevent Adriel from being freed, and she slowly becomes more and more demonic in form. Miguel goes there as a child, is raised by the Other Realm's ruler Reya, and returns with tremendous superpowers and a built-in Divinium bomb.
What will Ava's fate be? Will the viewers finally get a glimpse of the Other Realm? If Ava returns, will she have a mission to be part of the potential oncoming Holy War? Will she return with the Halo? Will her personality and purpose become as warped as Miguel and Lilith's? How much of her experience will she be able to remember, and how will this affect her relationship with the sisters and Beatrice, in particular?
What does Reya want?
The introduction of Reya is a huge wild card for "Warrior Nun." As the ruler of the Other Realm and Adriel's former master, she is a being with godlike power. What is unknown is what Reya wants in the human realm. Is she good or is she evil — or does she transcend such labels? Adriel addresses her as a tyrant who has enslaved an entire realm. This is why he steals the Halo in the first place and escapes to the human realm, drawing Reya's ire in the guise of the monstrous, demonic Tarasks that are sent to kill him and reclaim the Halo.
Things get murkier when Dr. Jillian Salvius, who is guided by Adriel, creates a portal to the Other Realm. Salvius' son Michael runs through it, but Jillian is rejected. Jillian sends Lilith through with recording equipment, and Lilith is sent back forcibly. She tells Salvius that there is an intelligence in the other realm which has made it clear that Lilith is not welcome. Salvius decodes the signal and sees an image of Reya's seemingly malevolent face. Ava dreams of Reya and learns the Tarasks are her guardian servants.
When Reya is drawn into the material realm, she's weakened. Adriel is about to subjugate her using the energy-dampening Crown of Thorns against her. After Ava summons the Tarasks and Adriel is killed, Reya prevents them from harming Ava and gives her a nod before returning to her own realm. The question remains, however — what does Reya want with the material realm?
Who will become the next pope?
Cardinal Francisco Duretti is positioned as one of the more sinister characters in Season 1 of "Warrior Nun." A number of clues point in his direction regarding the murder of Sister Shannon. His overall belligerence toward the Order of the Cruciform Sword and his ambitions to become the new pope makes him a seemingly obvious villain. Of course, the season's big swerve is that he was utterly unaware of Adriel's existence. The only reason why he tries to shut down the OCS is that he sees them as loose cannons who might upset his candidacy for pope.
He does indeed become Pope Duretti, and once he is aware of Adriel's presence as a threat, he goes all-out against him. He tries to recruit other prominent clergy members to form a coalition, but Adriel is always one step ahead, having planted moles in every religious organization in the world. That includes possessing some of Duretti's most trusted associates.
Duretti tries to expose Adriel on international television, but the plan goes awry, and he is disintegrated by Adriel's freaky lightning powers. While Adriel is defeated, Duretti's death leaves a huge hole in leadership for the Catholic church. Who will his replacement be? What will be his stance on supernatural powers and the OCS in particular? Is there a chance that one of Adriel's former thralls takes over leadership? The answer will have a profound effect on the Order of the Cruciform Sword.
Is Adriel actually dead?
When Adriel first appears on Earth, he's on the run from a Tarask sent by Reya to kill him and retrieve the Halo. Like with everything else in "Warrior Nun," there's a deliberate level of ambiguity regarding divinity. Adriel claims to be an angel, but the first Warrior Nun, Areala, sees right through his lies. He painfully implants the Halo within her not to save her but to effectively hide it from the Tarasks. One thing is for sure — he can't be killed on this plane, even with the Halo and weapons made of Divinium. This is why Areala tricks him into imprisonment.
When Ava summons the Tarasks after failing to kill him using other means, Adriel panics. He knows the Tarasks will kill everyone in the room, but Ava doesn't care — she just wants to stop him. One stabs him in the back and another two tear him limb-from-limb as his very essence disintegrates. His hold on his followers is finally broken, and they come to their senses, stricken by horror.
Still, what if he's not actually dead? No one knows the true nature of beings like Adriel and Reya, other than they come from another dimension that seems like both heaven and hell. What if his destruction on Earth means he reincorporates his essence in Reya's golden city? What if he's a prisoner there, along with Ava, and they have to form an unlikely alliance? There's a lot more mischief he can get up to.
Is Shotgun Mary still alive?
Sister Mary — aka Shotgun Mary — was one of the breakout stars of "Warrior Nun" Season 1. The irascible, blasphemous, and intensely loyal nun is portrayed as one of Ava's fiercest protectors and believers, often inserting herself between Lilith and Ava to protect the latter. When Father Vincent betrays them, Mary takes it the hardest but also fights back the quickest. As a result, she's struck down and lost amidst a sea of wraith demons under Adriel's control. At the beginning of Season 2, Mary is missing and feared captured by Adriel. Father Vincent strings the sisters along before revealing to Lilith that Mary is dead.
Showrunner Simon Barry revealed in an interview with Screen Rant that he fully intended to bring back Shotgun Mary for Season 2. However, Toya Turner, the actress who portrayed her, left the show for what Barry referred to as "personal reasons." That left them scrambling a bit as they introduced new characters like Sister Yasmine and Sister Dora whose fighting styles and spirits are similar to Mary's.
While the show has not yet received a renewal, it is important to note that Mary's body is never found, and the precise verbiage surrounding her is "Mary's gone." It is easy to imagine Mary being alive and imprisoned somewhere. Another possible scenario could be her traveling to the Other Realm and encountering Reya. Hopefully, all the stars will align and allow Turner to return once the show is renewed.
Where does Father Vincent turn?
Father Vincent's Season 1 arc was that of a man who had lived a hard, violent life but redeems himself by becoming a priest and providing spiritual — not to mention martial — support for the sisters. When the chips are down, he stands by them in their quest to find Adriel's bones. Of course, he's been a thrall to Adriel all along, and he's the one who kills Sister Shannon to claim the Halo for his master. That the Halo goes to Ava, a non-warrior who seems easy to manipulate, works out perfectly for Adriel.
After that betrayal, Father Vincent continues to serve Adriel, acting as one of his most loyal and recognizable lieutenants. He springs a trap on the OCS in a museum and cruelly reveals to Lilith that Shotgun Mary is gone. However, he begins to have doubts as to his master's intentions, and when he sees him disintegrate the pope, he steals the Crown of Thorns and switches sides.
The OCS is reluctant to accept his help, but they don't have much choice. Father Vincent comes through for them and Adriel is defeated. He takes his priestly collar off. Where does he go from here, now that his faith in everything has been shattered? Does he continue to make amends to the OCS and join them in their battle? Does he simply leave? Does he try to find a new figure to worship? His skills and power make him a significant wild card.
What becomes of the OCS?
The Order of the Cruciform Sword has headquarters throughout the world, communicating by both modern and ancient means. Their mission to fight evil, while a secret to most of the world, attracts followers from all over. At the beginning of Season 2, Adriel recognizes that they are his most significant opponents, and so he ambushes them with his own followers worldwide. As Mother Superion and Camilla try to warn everyone that they're in danger, outposts start disappearing before they can reach them.
Fortunately, there are enough sisters off the grid to provide a crucial backup force against Adriel. Led by the spectacularly gifted Sister Dora, the remaining sisters are crucial in disabling Adriel and his energy-focusing cross. In addition, sisters Camila and Beatrice are still there, along with Ava and Mother Superion. In addition, they meet Sister Yasmine, a member of a Coptic order dedicated to the Crown of Thorns, and she is made a member of the OCS.
Now, Mother Superion is dead and Ava has crossed over. Will the OCS try to rebuild its ranks? Who will be the new Mother Superion? Sister Beatrice is the choice that makes the most sense, but she is also torn between duty and love. Given her knowledge that war is coming, Beatrice may well decide that she has to fight it and needs all the allies she can get with a new OCS.
Will the romance between Ava and Beatrice get a chance to blossom?
One of the slow-burning storylines of Season 1 that reaches fruition in Season 2 is the romance between Sister Beatrice and Ava. Beatrice confesses to Ava that she's a lesbian and feels like an outcast, which is why she's worked so hard to be the best at everything. After Adriel makes himself known, Beatrice and Ava retreat to a tourist town in Switzerland to train. Ava has to master her powers to have a chance, and they spend a lot of time working on Ava's control over her ability to phase through objects, which includes walking on water.
They also work together in a bar, where Ava works as a bartender and Bea is the manager. Ava gets Bea drunk for the first time and they go dancing. Both get jealous of other people in their lives, especially when Miguel appears. The reality is that they'll do anything for each other, and Ava makes that plain when she kisses Beatrice. As Ava is dying and goes to the Other Realm to heal, she tells Bea that she loves her, and Bea answers just a second after she leaves.
With Ava now in the Other Realm, what will happen to their relationship? If Ava comes back, will she be so dramatically changed that it breaks them up? Will Bea be reluctant to maintain her feelings after Ava inevitably takes on a new — potentially monstrous — form?
What does Dr. Jillian Salvius use her tech for now?
Early on, Dr. Jillian Salvius is positioned as one of the potential big villains because she uses holy relics from the OCS and is in direct opposition to the church. Her stated desire to create a portal to heaven is blasphemous, but she's not doing it for power. She's only doing it for her gravely ill young son Michael, hoping that by passing through the gate he will be cured.
Of course, the whole idea of creating a gate in the first place is a manipulation of Adriel, who puts the concept in Michael's impressionable brain. He wants a portal for his own purposes — to trap Reya. The fact that Michael runs through the gate and leaves her behind devastates her. She does help the OCS at the end of Season 1 and takes a more direct role when Michael returns as Miguel. She becomes outraged when she learns her business partner and friend Kristian betrays her as he becomes one of Adriel's chief acolytes, turning all of her resources into creating technology that makes him stronger.
Jillian battles against Adriel and he's defeated, but her son is lost to her yet again. What will she choose to do now? Will she try to destroy this technology, potentially stranding Ava? Will she try to make the journey herself and confront Reya? How will the trauma of losing her son twist her mind?
What will the Holy War be fought over?
Sister Lilith drops the most tantalizing clue about the future of "Warrior Nun" after Season 2 in the finale. After helping Sister Beatrice move Ava to the portal to the Other Realm, she tells her that a holy war is coming, and she hopes that they'll both be on the same side. If Adriel is dead and Reya has safely returned to the Other Realm, then who will be the participants of the war?
Very little about the Other Realm has been explained, including just how long there have been incursions from it to Earth throughout history. If Reya is a godlike being and maybe even the personification of what humans believe to be god, what impact has she had on humanity? Has she faced rebellions like Adriel's before? Have other angel and demon beings escaped to Earth before, and what impact did they have on humanity?
There's an implication that higher beings might choose to use Earth as a staging ground for the war. If Reya is fighting this war, who will her opponent be? Will Lilith be aligned against her, given the fact that she chooses to stand with Adriel? How will Ava and the Halo be involved in the conflict? What are the stakes of the war, and what is the goal of each side? All that is clear is that Season 2 exponentially raised the stakes for "Warrior Nun" — and the same could be true of Season 3.