‘Warrior Nun’ Season 1: Ending, Explained – Who Was Responsible For Sharron’s Death And Why?

Published

 If the idea of demon-slaying nuns interests you, then “Warrior Nun” might just be your show of choice. With a religious conspiracy at play, an angel’s Halo in demand, and a scientist trying to uncover the Vatican’s secrets, “Warrior Nun” has one twist after another. Ava is chosen as the Halo bearer, but she is a teenager who simply wants to live her life. A secret Catholic organization called the “Order of the Cruciform Sword” consists of nuns who have dedicated their lives to slaying demons and protecting the Halo from the wrong hands. The fact that Ava is disinterested in the mission of the OCS puts the organization in crisis. While some believe Ava is not a suitable candidate to carry the Halo, others think that if God and the Halo chose to be with her, there must be a greater purpose for it. Season One of “Warrior Nun” ends on a cliffhanger with endless possibilities.

 Spoilers Ahead


‘Warrior Nun’ Season 1: Plot Summary: What Is The Series About?

Ava lived all her life in an orphanage. She lost her mother in a car accident that left her paralyzed. Since her mother was Catholic, she was sent to a Catholic orphanage, where she hated every minute of her existence. After she turned into an adult, the nun who took care of her poisoned her to death to spare her the pain of living in the outside world on her own, or so she said. She despised the orphans who were under her care and, in a way, punished them for their fate. Considering that she never asked for the patient’s permission meant that she was murdering them of her own free will. After Ava’s death, her body was left at a church to be buried.

Meanwhile, a group of nuns entered the Church with a wounded individual. The injured woman was Sister Shannon, the Halo bearer. Shannon was attacked while attending a Church delivery with Divinium shrapnel. Divinium was the only metal that could fatally injure a Halo bearer. The surgeon concluded that she would not make it, and the Halo must be passed to the nun next in line. As the Halo was pulled out of Shannon’s body, men entered the room to get a hold of it. The surgeon rushed to the other room with the Halo and inserted it into Ava’s dead body for safekeeping. As the men attacked the surgeon, Ava came back to life. The man killed the surgeon and turned to Ava. We realize that the man is possessed by a demon. The moment Ava attacks it, the demon leaves the room, screeching in pain.

Amidst the chaos, Ava left the Church. She initially thought she was living in the afterlife but gradually came to terms with her newfound life. She soon realized that she could not only walk but had also become undefeatable. She could heal herself and travel through walls, and nothing could kill her. After being bound to a bed all her life, Ava simply wanted to live. She made friends with four thieves who knew their way around the city. Meanwhile, the Order of the Cruciform Sword was in complete shock after the attack. Shotgun Mary was desperate to find out who had attacked them during the delivery at the dock, whereas Father Vincent was determined to find Ava since she was the one carrying the Halo. Without the Halo bearer, the nuns were without a leader. Lilith, the nun who was next in line, had dedicated her life to becoming the Halo bearer, but now her dream was left unfulfilled. Will Ava join the Order? And who was behind attacking Shannon, and why?


Who Was Jillian Salvius? How Did The Order Track Down Ava?

Jillian Salvius was a scientist who had recently discovered Divinium and believed that it could be used to travel to another dimension where the concept of death does not exist. She wanted to uncover the mysteries kept hidden by the Vatican, and if Heaven truly exists as a real place, then she must use science to find it. Of course, the Vatican was not happy with her discoveries. She had found remains of Adriel’s armor made of Divinium with the help of an ex-Vatican archivist, Kristian Schaefer, and used it to build a portal to Heaven or another realm. During the demonstration of the portal at Arqtech, the Order, as well as Ava, was present. Ava was there with her new friends to try the caviar for free. They managed to get a hold of an official ID and entered the secret rooms of Arqtech. When Ava entered the room where Adriel’s shield was kept, she saw Divinium react to her energy. She noticed a little boy in another room, but as she tried to enter, the alarms went off. Meanwhile, the Order had tracked Ava down through CCTV footage.

When the alarm went off, Ava noticed a giant creature walking toward her to attack her. With the strength of the Halo and Adriel’s shield, Ava was able to defend herself. The Order (Father Vincent, Sister Camila, Sister Lilith, Shotgun Mary, and Sister Beatrice) watched Ava defeat the creature, and as she was about to leave, Sister Beatrice sedated her. Ava was brought to the Church. Sister Lilith wanted to take the Halo out of Ava’s body, but Beatrice brought up how the process could destroy Ava. The Order was clearly divided now, and Ava did not know why she was brought to the place. Father Vincent discussed the history of the Order of the Cruciform Sword and hoped for Ava to join the cause.


What Did Ava Learn About The Order Of The Cruciform Sword?

It all started with Areala of Cordoba, a remarkable warrior. After the invasion of her father’s land, Areala was left orphaned. After years of living a purposeless life, she finally found her calling in God. Areala dedicated her life to fighting for the Crusade. It was during one such war that she was left fatally wounded. A messenger of God descended from Heaven; he was the angel Adriel. Adriel was sent to save Areala from dying to fulfill a greater purpose in life. He sacrificed his Halo to save her life, and Areala was brought back from death. With the Halo, Areala was given the responsibility of protecting mankind from demons. She formed the organization with other nuns who were trained to become assassins. That was how the Order of the Cruciform Sword came into existence. Even now, the secret organization consists only of women dedicated to protecting the world from demons, and Father Vincent helped them in every way possible. 

There were two types of demons sent from Hell: one was the Tarask, the creature that attacked Ava in Arqtech, and the other was a wraith demon. Wraith demons lurked in sinful places in the human world and influenced the dark side of the human mind to act on their unspeakable interests. They could not directly attack or destroy humans, but their influence ultimately led to destruction. Tarasks were demons who could appear in the mortal world for a short period of time. They were tied to Hell and were known for having the capability to track down the Halo-bearer even in the short bursts during which they appeared. They can only be destroyed by the Halo bearer using the Divinium sword. If the Tarasks ever got hold of the Halo and took it to Hell, it would result in the rise of Hell and the destruction of Heaven.

Father Vincent believed that Ava was the chosen one and wanted her to acknowledge that she was meant to live to serve a greater purpose. She had a responsibility to the Order and mankind, but Ava was just a teenager who had never enjoyed life. She could not imagine living her life in the confinement of the Church. She decided to escape, stating that she wanted to live. She wanted to be with the boy she was in love with and travel across the world just like any other person. She wanted to live an ordinary life. She never asked for the Halo, but now that she had its powers, she wanted to use them to her benefit and not to serve a Catholic Order.


‘Warrior Nun’ Season 1: Ending Explained – Who Was Responsible For Sharron’s Death And Why? Did Ava Find Adriel’s Relics?

Sister Shannon shared a close friendship with Shotgun Mary. Upon her death, Mary dedicated her life to finding the truth behind it. She was certain that her friend was targeted. She believed that Cardinal Duretti had orchestrated the murder. Mary assumed that to retain his power, Duretti had murdered Shannon. Maybe Shannon and Duretti had their share of differences, which ultimately led to her death. Duretti was making changes to the Order of the Cruciform Sword, and it only made sense that he wanted the Halo bearer to be someone he preferred. While Father Vincent believed that Ava was the chosen one, Cardinal Duretti wanted Sister Lilith to become the Halo bearer. Sister Lilith was as ambitious as Duretti, and he convinced her to grab what was rightfully hers. Sister Lilith tracked Ava down along with Mary to pull the Halo out of her, but when a Tarask entered the mortal realm to take the Halo, Lilith sacrificed her life to protect the Halo and asked Ava to pick up the Divinium sword and slay the Tarask. When the Tarask was slayed, it took Lilith along as well. Lilith traveled to Tarask’s realm and returned later with powers of her own. The series does not explain where Lilith had gone or how she got the powers.

Ava later helped Mary by entering a secret chamber within Shannon’s room. The chamber had a diary with notes and secrets written by previous Halo-bearers. It was mentioned how there was a secret kept within the heart of the Vatican. A power that anchors demons to the moral world lies hidden there. According to Shannon’s note, she discussed the issue with someone in the Church, but that person wanted to keep it a secret and use it to his benefit. The Order assumed that it must be Duretti, who had known about it but kept it a secret to become the Pope and rule over the world.

We later learn that kept secretly in the heart of the Vatican were Adriel’s bones. After gifting his Halo, Adriel had to live a mortal life. His remains were placed in a tomb kept at the center of the Necropolis. Adriel’s tomb became a place of worship. Many came with the sick to heal them, and some came to regain strength that they could feel radiating from the tomb. Though later, the Order realized that the energy emitted by Adriel’s tomb was a lot for ordinary human beings to withstand, so the tomb was placed inside a gigantic stone crypt. The Church chose to not destroy it, knowing that only with the existence of the darkness would people seek the light. The Church would be rendered useless if the anchor of the demons was ruined. The nuns discussed the possibility that maybe Duretti had asked Shannon to hand him the bones of Adriel so he could have the ultimate power over mankind, but she refused to do it, so he killed her and was looking for a Halo bearer who would follow his orders. Ava concluded that with Adriel’s relics, Duretti could become the lord of demonkind. He would have the power to weaponize the demons and use them to his benefit. Ava decided that she wanted to relieve women of the burden of the Halo and destroy the demon anchor once and for all. If there were no demons, then there would be no need for a warrior nun. The nuns sought help from ArqTech to locate the tomb and provide them with a space to train. In return, they would give the company Adriel’s bones to power their portal system. Beatrice helped Ava train to pass through the concrete bricks. Meanwhile, Father Vincent and Mary found the stolen map required to find the tomb. During this journey, Mary learned that Father Vincent used to work for a cartel; he enjoyed his life as an enforcer before he found the light and dedicated his life to the OCS mission.

With the location of Adriel’s tomb in hand and days spent in training, the nuns were ready to destroy Adriel’s bones. While Duretti was declared the new Pope at the Vatican, Ava entered the stone crypt to find the tomb. Within the stone crypt, she found chunks of Divinium. Ava had lost connectivity with Beatrice after entering the crypt. She singlehandedly managed to cross the barrier and enter the area where the relics were to be found. But upon entering, Ava could not find any bones; instead, she saw Adriel standing there, alive. He had been waiting for thousands of years for a warrior nun to enter the tomb. He was waiting to be reunited with his Halo, which he stated was stolen from him. According to Adriel, it was Areala who stole his Halo from him. He tried to establish that he was kept locked up in the underground so that faith could be kept alive; after all, he was the proof that there was Heaven and God. The Church hid the truth so that mankind would not lose its dependency on them.

Adriel learned about the outside world through his armor, which was spread across several locations. Adriel had a connection with Dr. Salvius’s son, Michael, because his blood was infused with the Divinium found in Adriel’s armor. He had manipulated Michael all this while and influenced Dr. Salvius to build the portal to a realm where death did not exist. When Adriel attempted to take the Halo away from Ava’s body, she realized that whatever she knew about Adriel was false. He was not an angel; he had entered the mortal realm after being chased by Tarasks when he stole the Halo. To protect the Halo, he inserted it into Areala’s body. He was not the sacrificing angel that the scriptures projected him to be; his actions were driven by self-interest. He offered to save Areala with the Halo, knowing that the Knights of the Crusade would fight for his cause if he saved their leader. Adriel was the one who brought the demons to the mortal realm. Areala knew that Adriel was neither an angel nor a man. He convinced everyone else that he was an angel and the Tarasks were the devil, and no matter what Areala did, no one would believe otherwise. She saw Adriel build his armor with the Divinium obtained from the melted-down remains of the Tarask. We can assume that it was Areala who locked Adriel in the underground after knowing his truth. After having the visions and learning the truth, Ava was determined to not return the Halo to Adriel. Adriel discussed how every step Ava took was planned by his followers. She simply did not land up in the tomb; it was their planning that made it happen. She was tricked so that Adriel could forcefully pull the Halo out of her. As Adriel tried to forcefully take the Halo, the portal built by Dr. Salvius opened up, and Michael entered the realm. The portal stopped functioning the moment Ava fought back and stopped him from taking the Halo from her.

Meanwhile, the nuns decided to bomb the tomb with explosives to get Ava out of there. They rescued Ava and took her away from Adriel. At this time, Duretti was surprised by the sudden bombing. Mother Superion questioned his involvement in the murder of Shannon and his knowledge of Adriel’s bones. Duretti looked at Mother Superior with confusion; he did not know where she was getting at. Mother Superion realized that what the Order thought about Duretti was not the truth. But then, who was behind it all? It turned out that it was Father Vincent who worked for Adriel, his master. Shannon was murdered to take the Halo away from her, and later, he wanted Ava to be the Halo bearer, knowing that she was not well-trained and guarded. He had manipulated the Order to blame Duretti for Shannon’s death and guided them to Adriel’s tomb. He had been waiting for the day his master would finally be free, and that day had arrived. At the Vatican, the girls attacked Adriel, but he was almost invincible. Ava, after recharging her Halo, confronted Adriel to tackle him once and for all. Adriel used the wraith demons to possess the bodies of the common people in the area. The common people attacked the nuns, and the series came to an end.

“Warrior Nun” season one ends with multiple possibilities and questions. We now know that Adriel had come from the realm of demons; he seemed to be the master of demons, or at least the wraith demons, but then who are the Tarasks? Since they were after Adriel, does that mean they belong to the realm of good? Did Adriel steal the Halo from an angel, and were the Tarasks sent by the angel to get hold of it? Where did Lilith get her powers from? Was she angelic or demonic? Was Kristian Schaefer also a part of Adriel’s plan? He had tears of joy when he noticed the possible return of Adriel. And finally, in which realm did Michael travel? “Warrior Nun” season one left several important questions unanswered. Hopefully, with the second season, we will get to better understand the warrior nun world and the truth behind it all.


See More: ‘Warrior Nun’ Season 2: Ending, Explained – Did Ava Defeat Adriel? What Does The Mid-Credits Scene Mean?


- Advertisement -
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Srijoni Rudra
Srijoni Rudra
Srijoni has worked as a film researcher on a government-sponsored project and is currently employed as a film studies teacher at a private institute. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Film Studies. Film History and feminist reading of cinema are her areas of interest.

Must Read

DMT Guide

More Like This