Critic Reviews

Warrior Nun is the rare pulpy fantasy show that knows when to lean into its silly side and when to slow down and get serious. That makes it incredibly addictive for a specific kind of action fan.

For those new to the series, Season 2’s release is the perfect opportunity to jump in, especially without the two year wait between seasons. Delivering striking action with a tasteful amount of sacrilege, Warrior Nun’s return is a quick binge absolutely worth your devotion.

Warrior Nun feels revived and reenergized as it begins the second season nobody was originally sure it would receive. There’s a lot to sort out, like Adriel’s true lineage and who will survive the continued bloodshed. But as Ava, Alba Baptista is ready to lead the charge.

It’s occasionally delightful, thanks largely to Ms. Baptista, who is spunky, petite and bears a striking resemblance to the actress Ellen Page. But the atmosphere is co-opted wholesale from someone’s hysterical view of Catholicism, and as such it feels not profane exactly, but more than a little obvious.

Warrior Nun‘s main issue is that one half of its story is just infinitely more engaging than the other. ... The saving grace of Warrior Nun‘s more tedious aspects is Baptista herself, whose performance as Ava looks effortlessly charming while still doing a ton of heavy lifting.

The script can sometimes lean too much on mythological and religious exposition as the nuns explain their mission to Ava, but the actors have such good chemistry that their various pairings—Mary and Ava, Ava and Beatrice, Mary and Lilith—work, and the smartly choreographed fight scenes are well-placed.

A lot hangs on Baptista, who must find enough naivety that we can believe in her transition to warrior hero, but not so much that we can’t believe in her as a hedonistic 19-year-old keen to do pills and get laid. On the evidence of the first episode, she strikes a reasonable balance, and despite some flat dialogue and a predictable plot there is an agreeable energy to Warrior Nun.

Thematically, Warrior Nun is nothing you haven't seen before, and aesthetically, nothing you ever want to see again. Bleak, dour and trudging, the series contains none of the kitschy, blasphemous fun of its title.

Inspired by Manga novels, this 10-episode series meanders a lot while offering a "Stranger Things"-type vibe, serving as a weird diversion that, on the road to goodness, doesn't even get halfway there.