Why “Damien” Deserves a Second Coming

After the airing of this week’s episode of A&E’s Damien, some common buzz that was seen on social media was, “How can there only be one episode left?!” And in my opinion – they are completely right! Here are some reasons why A&E should #RenewDamien so fans can see more of The Beast after the season finale on Monday, May 9th!

Psychological Thrilling Entertainment

Immediately noted is Damien‘s no holds barred approach to horror. The show has utilized methods to get you feeling a gamut of emotions from weirded out to downright terrified. The creativity in showing supernatural events, such as using seven wounded soldiers as a platform to display a full-on possession scene was completely fresh. They also get full on gory, showing a handful of bloody deaths that have personally left me stunned each time. Another nod is to the foreboding nature of some of the episodes’ dialogue that clue you into some of what’s likely to come – remember all those “tongue” gags in the episode, “Abattoir?” They weren’t for nothing!

Open Forum for the Taboo

Religion. Negligence in veteran care. Suicide. These are heavy topics that Damien has taken and incorporated into its story with the utmost care and respect to its sensitive nature. It is not easy to present these or other strong material to an audience, but each instance was important in that it wasn’t added for “shock value.” It furthered the plot, created a conversation between viewers, and struck a chord leading to a more sympathetic view of the characters involved.

Damien’s Adolescence

The introduction of Charles Powell and Cray Marquand to Damien has left many fans wondering about Damien’s adolescence between The Omen film and the series’ start. Learning of the cruel prank Damien facilitated at Powell’s expense left an open question of how else Damien acted on his dark nature in his young age. Was Powell an anomaly or had others who tried to get too close to Damien suffered a similar onslaught of bad luck? More insight to this and other snippets from his past would be a treat!

Diversity On TV

While television still has ways to go to in showing proper and consistent representation, Damien showrunner Glen Mazzara has made a point to introduce quite a few main characters with diverse backgrounds. Amani Golkar, a middle eastern character portrayed by Omid Abtahi who is just a regular dude without any harmful stereotypes! Both Tiffany Hines and Megalyn E.K. are beautiful actresses of color whose characters have had an important impact on the series progression.

Lastly, David Meunier‘s character Detective James Shay, a gay cop without any forced subplot in regards to his sexuality. It’s just who he is! It’s refreshing to see a variety of characters presented, and there’s always room for even more characters of differing race, sexuality, and ability on television!

Everything About Ann

Ann Ruthledge has solidified a place in Damien as being one of the most complex characters with plenty of unexplained history. As the show progressed, Damien’s adverse reaction to everything she did in the attempt to harness the nature of the beast started to chip away at her, showing a bit more vulnerability. However, learning more about Ann’s past, whether it be in regards to her being close to Damien since his youth or her shady tactics with Armitage Global would add more depth to an already detailed character. Additionally, Barbara Hershey has done such a mind-blowing job taking Ann and making the character her own that it would be a shame to not see the role reprised in some capacity!

More Damien!

Sufficient to say, seeing more of the titular character would be fantastic! Bradley James has committed to making Damien Thorn a character that constantly teeters between good and evil. The lines of reality and delusion are often blurred, leading James‘ character to never be 100% aware of what is and isn’t the truth.

Having a character in this stressful, supernatural environment and still seeing it executed in such a realistic, gut-wrenching capacity is something I’ve praised the show for time and time again! This can also be attributed to the fantastic writers on board such as KC Perry and Richard Hatem, and amazing directors like Jennifer Lynch and Nick Copus who have helped build this thrilling atmosphere.

We last saw Damien leaving with Simone after striking Sister Greta with a blade. How much of Damien is still with us, or are we left with the full dark nature of the antichrist? Mazzara professed on Twitter that they, “don’t do cliffhangers,” on Damien so fans should get their answer next Monday. However, will we find out what’s next after that?

Hopefully, that won’t be the last we see of Damien!

Damien‘s season finale airs Monday, May 9th on A&E!