Last week’s episode of Dominion introduced a new character; Gates (Nic Bishop), Alex found General Riesen (Alan Dale), Michael sacrificed himself for Mallory and rose up afterward, and the big reveal was that Julien is the banished Archangel Lyrae. Last week also saw Gabriel send an angel to bring him the head of Claire Riesen. Dominion in A Bitter Truth follows the events of last week.
This week Alex gets a tour of New Delphi from Julien, which ends badly for the leader, and Noma is “outed” as an angel, Michael joins forces with Gabriel, Gates and Claire Riesen make a good team and David Whele gets motivation from son William as he struggles to save his own life.
Alex is pushing for Julien to honor their agreement and the New Delphi leader tells the Chosen One that it will take a week for the truck to return from Vega. He does not believe that Julien has sent any trucks and points out that the “fleet” of five vehicles have not moved since his arrival. He believes that Julien is hiding something.
David Whele is down on the streets, after being banished by Claire Riesen, and he is having a hard time dealing till William stops by to visit. As he stands arguing with his “late” son, someone shoves a bag over his head.
Gates receives a visit from Claire, he is practicing his pitch while she presses the buzzer for entry. When he finally allows her in (after making her wait for “five minutes,” she complains) he says, “Claire, I wasn’t expecting company today…or ever…really.” A great comic line that pretty much sums up the character of Gates in a sentence.
The MIT genius tells Claire about a baseball memory, he is watching the taped 2004 Red Sox vs Yankees game that his mother took him to as a child as he throws the baseball. He has a memento, a signed baseball card that his mother got for him. Gates tells Claire that he watches the game when he is trying to solve a problem, in this case, it is the unidentified crate that Zoe Holloway was seen carting away from the warehouse.
His story, about his “ma” getting the card signed, “There was no stopping that woman,” seems to show just why he is attracted to Claire. After this short tale, he sees that someone has followed her to his place. Gates initiates total lockdown.
Gabriel is in a snit with Janeck, who never sent the army he asked for. Janeck gets “lippy” and after being taught that “bourbon is whiskey” has his face planted in the hood of his car, several times. He goes to summon the army as Gabriel told him, chastised and a bit wiser after Gabriel’s “no hands” trick.
David has been kidnapped by Zoe and her henchman Jasper. They plan to film his execution. William continues to taunt his father as they prepare to kill him. Pete tries to convince Alex that Julien has more than five trucks in his fleet. General Riesen agrees with Alex and Noma, Julien is hiding something. Pete and Riesen stay behind while the other two search for the New Delphi secret.
Claire and Gates see the angel that Gabriel sent and Michael meets up with his brother to discuss Uriel, Alex, Noma and the fact that Claire Riesen bombed his, Gabriel’s aerie. He tells Michael that Alex is dead and Michael disagrees. Meanwhile the angel tasked with getting Lady Riesen’s head cuts the power to Gates’ lair.
David is read his list of crimes by Zoe while Jasper beats him. William continues to gloat and Whele manages to save himself for a half hour. Gates starts a backup generator for emergency power and the angel goes to the basement. He tries to break through the floor and knocks a shelving unit over onto Gates injuring him.
Julien and General Riesen talk strategy as Alex and Noma find Julien’s secret room. It is filled with an eight-ball army. There are thousands, or more, of the lower angel possessed humans who are frozen and armed. Alex is stunned and says, “This is not a city of merchants, it is a city of monsters.”
Gabriel admits that Alex is alive and he explains that Uriel died because she had no warning. The angel at Gates’ steel door is using his wings to cut through it. Pete has been taken by Julien back at New Delphi, David Whele has survived a little bit longer and William continues to provoke his father.
Gates and Claire electrocute the angel who is using his wings to cut through the metal door, with the generator. The angel is knocked off his feet, but only stays down for a moment. As it gets up, Claire tells Gates that they have “pissed him off.” David continues to plead his case, this time offering up endless food for the revolution. William finally irritates his father enough that he snaps at the specter of his son and tells him to, “Shut up!”
Julien relates a history lesson to Pete, who is tied to a chair, Alex and Noma. He reveals that the eight-ball army is in stasis and that he adds to it. The key that Alex retrieved was crucial to the process and Pete is soon inhabited by another lower angel.
Claire tells Gates to start using that “incredible brain” of his and he responds by kissing her. Then he explains how her father found him back at MIT. Back at New Delphi, Julien has Noma put in the chair and she fights off the lower angel, knocking out Julien, who is shocked to see that she is an angel. She and Alex escape with the amphora.
Michael and Gabriel continue to argue about “Father’s children” and back at Whele’s old studio as Zoe learns that David’s promise of food was genuine, David grabs Jasper’s gun. He also relates his own little history lesson to Zoe and Jasper about how he rose to power. He tells them that he probably killed William and as his son’s image argues with him, David shoots William and he vanishes.
Alex learns, from Noma, what the amphora is capable of. First, however, she reveals that she wants to use it to destroy Julien, the eight-ball army and New Delphi. Meanwhile, David talks Zoe into letting him help to defeat Claire Riesen.
Gates and Claire escape after she has booby trapped his warehouse, capturing the angel in the building, they kill it with the resultant explosion. Outside, Claire takes charge and Gates asks for a moment to take in the fact that all his life’s possessions have been destroyed. “Not all,” says Claire as she hands him the signed baseball card.
Michael and Gabriel agree to join forces and Nomes learns that Julien is a Dyad, half-human/half-higher angel. Julien explains that the amphora can be used to kill not just Gabriel, but Michael and the entire family of archangels. Alex tells him that if he does not use it to defeat Gabriel, Noma will use it to destroy New Delphi and Julien.
The return of Anthony Head, as David Whele, was a welcome addition to events. David’s killing William twice, so to speak, was telling and disturbing, there really is nothing that Whele will not do to take down Claire Riesen. Julien has still not revealed who he really is and the surprising turn of events is that Michael and Gabriel are to team up.
The chemistry between Nic Bishop and Roxanne McKee is still pretty potent and the two are a good match. In the show Gates brings out the best in Claire and she has lost some of that season two harshness. Dominion airs Thursdays on SyFy this is “outside the box” entertainment that may be dark but worth watching.
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