Revolution: Rachel Matheson's Journey

She's the scariest person you know.

            I'll say this: I liked Rachel somewhat better in season 2. A lot more than when she was a psychopathic bitch who went around hitting people with things. She's had a very long, hard journey; facing more trials than we will probably face in our entire lives. But I have to say, for all of Rachel's insanity, she's one tough bitch. I think of Charlie as a very watered down version of her; they have that Matheson women strength and stubbornness that will get them through anything.

Break ups are hard, ho.

        Rachel was a wild child who always went after the wrong kind of guy. She wore black nail polish and a bad attitude. She dated drug dealers, drummers, and one guy who carried around throwing stars like a ninja. And even when she met Ben, a stable guy who could give her stable life, Rachel's wild child wasn't about to disappear without a fight or an affair with the bad boy older brother. Rachel was ho. I have to say that. She cheated on Ben but at least she didn't go all stalker on Miles or try to make Ben miserable. We keep forgetting that Rachel was quite the genius and as such, she was prone to some erratic behavior (as geniuses often have). But Rachel settled into her role as a wife and mother. She began to focus more on her family. Rachel was a fighter. Always fighting for her kids especially Danny. Because Danny was the child who always needed Rachel's attention I suppose you can say a deep bond developed for Rachel. Yes Rachel loves Charlie but her daughter didn't really need her. Then the Blackout happened. Rachel spiraled but let loose that "protect your family" instinct that has carried her for the past 2 seasons.

Why weren't you watching her?!

              Rachel was the sort of person who felt with her entire soul. After a few months, Rachel realized that she and Ben had so much blood on their hands and broke down. Rachel became conscious of the fact that all the horrible things she did were for her kids which led to the death millions of other children. I think it was Ben who reinforced the idea that they have to protect their family, their kids above all else. So Rachel abandons her children when she heard that Miles, the Butcher of Baltimore, was looking for her and Ben so he could get the power back on and use weapons to kill more people. Rachel believes she's being selfless. Not just for her kids but for everyone else who survived the Blackout. She told Miles that she didn't know how to turn the power back on but we know that was a lie. Ben could have gone in Rachel's place but I think Rachel knew that Ben wasn't strong enough. Ben was a good man but he couldn't bring himself to kill a man who was stealing their food. Rachel could though. So she went off to become a sacrificial lamb.

She's been in worse places.

          Rachel wasn't my favorite person but I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. Miles and Bass tortured her to get information about the power but Rachel stood strong. Bass even subjected Rachel to not only physical abuse but possibly sexual abuse by his deranged officer Sergeant Strausser. Only when Monroe threatened Danny did Rachel cave. I could see while Rachel was Monroe's prisoner that she sometimes tried to reason with him. They used to be friends but also I think she felt since they had a one night stand that Bass would be more inclined to do as she asked. Nope. Bass preferred the dominant position. So Rachel often had to go to the extremes to survive Monroe even so far as stabbing an old colleague in the chest with a screw driver. Of course Rachel felt really bad about that because they were once friends but she made excuses. On a side note you can say she is a hypocrite about making excuses. She said Bass never took responsibility, but you can make the argument that Rachel never took responsibility for her actions either until much later. 

Wow what a martyr.

            Then Rachel lost her son, which sent her into a spiral of anger and suicidal/homicidal rage. She let her thirst for revenge blind her from all reason and rationality. This blindness caused her to neglect her one living child making Rachel once again abandon her daughter for the second time with the express intent on never coming back. Then she refused to save a man's son and even threatened to leave Aaron behind. Rachel was a terrible friend and mother through out season 1 and that lead to more people dying. Nora was a casualty and then Philadelphia and Atlanta were bombed because she let Randall into the Tower. If she hadn't made her way to Colorado then Randall would probably never have gotten inside and more people would have been alive.

She did what Ben couldn't do.

           After the bombings, Rachel suffered a psychotic break and her relationship with Charlie degraded even further. Charlie went off on her own while Rachel struggled her way back to sanity. But during those excruciating months, Rachel began to examine her mistakes more introspectively, which caused her to think less of herself for a change. Rachel knew she failed Charlie but never sought to repair the damage before. And with Aaron, Rachel became a much better friend, more inclined to worry about him and care for him as he had for her during their journey to Colorado. Her relationship with Miles also improved. It really shows the strength of Rachel's love for him to forgive Miles all of the pain he had caused her in the years after the Blackout. But then Monroe came into town and who led him there? None other but Charlie. Rachel was ready to blow Monroe away but Charlie maintained that it was the right thing to do because they needed his help. 

"I always dreamed of cooking with my daughter."

        Needless to say, Rachel once again allowed her hatred and bitterness towards Monroe to put a strain on her relationship with her daughter. We know what Monroe had done but when Miles and Charlie were going to spring Bass from jail, Rachel had tipped off the Patriots and so they moved him to a bank. This hatred of Monroe even out a strain on her romance with Miles. But Charlie had enough. She called Rachel out saying that Rachel doesn't listen because she thinks she's smarter than everyone else and always right, "even when you're dead wrong." For once Charlie got through to her mother. Rachel realized that Charlie was right. I think that somehow hit home to Rachel that she needs to stop believing that she's always right. So Rachel humbled herself and saved Monroe's life because Charlie asked her to. This repaired some of the damage to her relationship with Charlie. 

No woman left behind

        But Rachel's relationship with her father hit a wall. Rachel gets her stubbornness from her father, Dr. Gene Porter. I guess stubbornness runs in the family with Charlie the most recent carrier. Rachel was very angry that her father was spying on them for the Patriots even though he had little choice. So we kind of hate Rachel again for almost killing her own father, but also glad that she hesitated long enough for Miles to stop her. Gene reminded Rachel: you never did a bad thing for a good reason. Once again Rachel is proven a hypocrite. She does that a lot. Still, Rachel is learning from her past mistakes and trying to be better even if it's not the smart move. Then Rachel sort of combats Monroe over Miles's soul. I don't know about you but I kind of agreed with Bass that Rachel was as much a psycho as him but I didn't agree about his other thoughts about her, that she was ruining Miles. I do hate Rachel for sleeping with Bass but that was the old vindictive Rachel. 

"You are a hypocritical bitch!"
"You're an insecure child!"
Both of you are nuts!

         I expected Rachel to keep ragging on Charlie for stupid reasons like Charlie hooking up with Connor, Monroe's son, but she didn't. Charlie saw her mom as a scary person but Rachel explained that she was fighting for her daughter so Charlie didn't become her mother. That was nice and honest of Rachel for a change. She began to think more about what Charlie needed. She even told Charlie after she shot Jason, "When you're ready to talk I'm ready to listen." Rachel knew her daughter well enough that she was a grown woman who needed her own space and started treating her as such instead of as a child like she was before (causing the tension). 

Why didn't they keep this scene?

        Towards the end, Rachel proved herself a person capable of change. She may never forgive Monroe but she let go enough of her anger to thank him for helping them and admit that she wasn't always right. We kind of rooted for Rachel when she was taking on the Nano Priscilla. She gave her one good slap across the face. Rachel had faced worse odds and worse foes before. She asked Aaron, "Why do you think I slapped her?" Aaron said bluntly, "Because you're Rachel." Exactly. Rachel is... Rachel. There's no one thing you can describe her as; she's a walking contradiction. She's done horrible things but she's not an entirely evil person. Her journey was a long and hard one but Rachel is a survivor and she'll always have the strength to live for her family and those she cares about. 

TVD: What If Jeremy Succeeded In Becoming A Vampire?

Klaus preaches the vampire lifestyle. Interested?

                  I think it was the opening of Season 2... yeah Season 2 where Jeremy tried to become a vampire. Ugh! Jeremy was such a sad emo kid! So glad he grew up. But what if Jeremy hadn't failed at his attempt at suicide to become a vampire? His story may have taken a highly different turn!

Van Helsing who?

           Anna had just died and this made Jeremy jump off the deep end. He downed Anna's blood that she gave him then swallowed a bottle of pills. There weren't enough pills to cause an overdose so the vampire blood healed him instead. But if Jeremy had succeeded then he would have been a vampire. Emo Jeremy in vampire mode? That would have been a dark storyline.

This feels right...

         Jeremy was a pretty messed up kid. He was one of those sad drug addict kids that you felt a little sorry for but just wanted to punch in the face because they were bitching most of the time. So if Jeremy became a vampire he would have spiraled even deeper, going through a very dark period like Vicki did. However, I don't think Elena would have let Stefan or Damon kill Jeremy like Vicki. Stefan would have tried to help Jeremy live as a vampire (Jeremy would have been a pain in the ass still). We saw that Jeremy and Damon had more of a complicated bromance but if Jeremy joined the fang club I think he and Stefan would have been closer as a bromance. Given that Jeremy's emotions would have been heightened, he would have caused Damon a lot of trouble. Jeremy isn't Damon's biggest fan but as a human Jeremy kind of came to grips with the fact that the older Salvatore wasn't going away and his sister loved him. 

You're... one of the ones...

         For Jeremy's love life, not sure if he and Bonnie would have gotten together, at least not for a long time. Bonnie went through a vampire-hate thing for a while where she cringed at the thought of the kind, empathetic Stefan being in the room. I don't know why but I would have seen Jeremy and Caroline date for a while (in real life Candice Accola and Steven R. McQueen dated for a year and a half I think). Katherine turned Caroline into a vampire so Caroline and Jeremy would have experienced the rough transition together. So yeah I would have seen them have a romantic relationship before they went onto the other loves of their lives. 

"Stop being such a dick to your sister."

         As for Elena's relationship with her brother/cousin Jeremy? Elena loves Jeremy. He was the one constant in her life that she could rely upon for family and when he died, she lost it. Of course Jeremy was still angry at Elena for keeping the vampire secret from him so I would have seen that as a huge hump to get over because of the vampire feeling 10x more than humans thing making it hard for Jeremy to forgive Elena. I think he and Elena would have had a coarse interaction throughout season 2 up until her sacrifice where Jeremy would do everything in his power to save her because she was still his sister no matter what. 

This one's for the ladies

       If Jeremy had become a vampire he would have taken longer to grow up to become the mature, hot guy that we all love. He would never have become a hunter. He and Bonnie would not have the epic romance that they have now or at least I don't think. Probably they would have given that Bonnie's mom was a vampire. Either way, Jeremy would have been annoying and almost trapped in his emo phase. Or maybe like Caroline (who we all love better as a vampire) he would have become a better person, similar to the guy we know now. But I also have this bad feeling that if Jeremy had become a vampire then he would have been killed off a lot sooner. We don't want that! So Jeremy is better off as a human and Elena the vampire.

Dominion: Arika, This Show's Femme Fatale?

Femme Fatale: Engage with caution

                 "The female of the species is more dangerous of the male." That's a line from Rudyard Kipling's poem The Female of the Species (1911). That pretty much sums up Dominion's female character Arika. She's a political animal but also a creature who is into self preservation who will use anything at her disposal to further her ambition or save herself even if it means killing someone or using her sexuality. 

Modesty does not become her

            So far I can see Arika will last a very long time in Vega. In episode 2, "Godspeed" she sat among the bodies of her entourage as they were bloody and twisted from a fatal poison (that they filed down from their fingernails) like a tigress proud of her kill. Her maidens believed that Arika would spark a war to kill David Whele for his effrontery but really Arika had other plans. Not sure what those plans are but I know they have little if nothing to do with Helena. 

Casualties of Arika's ambition

          From what I gather from her character, I can say that Arika is ambitious, calculating, sensual, likes to be in control, decisive, and a survivor. She has little shame being that her hand maidens were very embarrassed to be walking around without their "hykas" (don't know if I'm saying or spelling that right) while Arika was perfectly comfortable going scantily clad in a two piece. I can only guess from what I know from femme fatales is that Arika may have grown up in a pretty oppressive household where the men were in control and perhaps she could have suffered some physical (if not sexual) abuse growing up. It would make sense for her to fully embrace a society that worshipped the Divine Feminine that allowed women to be in control. This environment allowed her to thrive and even become Queen Evelyn's consort (or wife whichever you want to label it). I doubt though that Arika really loves Evelyn or she wouldn't have been so inclined to sleep with David Whele. 

Who knows what she's thinking

          Arika isn't one to show fear either. She seems the type to go through trials but see them as lessons instead of victimizing hard ships. David threatened Arika with death but with out even blinking an eye Arika said that Queen Evelyn "would mourn me. Then she would bomb Vega into oblivion." She was very confident in Evelyn's love for her. Also Arika made sure her assistant watched her tongue after she basically called her a "whore" (I guess that's what "mud woman" means): "I'm still Evelyn's consort; mind your place." I do believe with out a doubt however that Arika preferred to have a plan B to live to see another sunrise. That's more likely the reason she sacrificed her hand maidens and gave David Whele 2 options of either war or peace. 

"Stop hatin' bitch."

          David Whele has clearly met his political adversary. I can only advise the lion to be watchful when dancing with a viper. Both characters are willing to do anything, even kill, to satisfy their hunger for power as well as survive whatever war that's coming. Arika is a wild animal that is beautiful but extremely deadly. She's the ancient feminine idea that often comes with goddesses: a loving, beautiful, sexually open woman but who is savage and deadly. Cross her at your own risk. I can't wait to see more of this character. I'm very interested in seeing Arika's real agenda. 

           

Almost Human: Favorite Scenes: Perception

The "perfect" designer drug

                  "Perception" was more or less meant to be a Stahl-centered episode but it also focused on John's obsession with revenge and how his thirst for vengeance was hurting him not only physically but spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

"We wouldn't understand?" Screw you

           1. Further into the episode, you know when you see that your friend is in danger of himself you confront him about it. Dorian was very concerned and somewhat angry at John for carrying on with experimenting with alternate therapies to remember things. There was a joke thrown in there about diarrhea and burritos which sort of broke the tension but it only annoyed Dorian. You know how addicts say they have it under control? John sang the same song. I need them. They help me. I have it under control. You know the lyrics. But we see John take a tiny red pill despite the fact he sees that Dorian is right about the dangerous symptoms of prolonged use. But like a drug addict, John ignores the signs of danger and gulps down a pill. 

We gotta help John.

           2. I loved it when John called Dorian "D" and let him drive. It shows their partnership is on such a level as to allow nicknames not just jokes.

Intervention!

           3. Maldonado is the second person to confront John about his problem. Where Dorian kind of played "Bad Cop", Maldonado confronted John as "Good Cop". Or as a friend. The Captain preferred to talk to John in a setting where he'd be less stressed where as at work John would be focused on the case but in a bar, John's open to taking a beat. John still believed that he was responsible for the death of his squad even though they were Maldonado's men too and she wanted justice as much as John but John still bore the burden alone. Anyone would feel like John in that situation. He felt he should have known better with Anna; that he let his guard down and people were killed. John's the sort of cop that if someone dies even if it's years later on the job, he'll still take it very hard. 

Another high school victim of pressure

            4. Way down the road of the episode, Julian finally tells us the story behind Lila's death. They intercut scenes from her suicide video without sound with Julian's scenes where we see him break down emotionally. He loved Lila for her flaws, that she wasn't genetically altered to be perfect. I loved his line: "When you're surrounded by perfect things, you learn to appreciate the beauty in flaws." So then we see Lila's video which leads into my next favorite scene.

These two were perfect together!

           5. Lila records her suicide note and Mrs. Hoavings is shown the video. The episode took a very dark turn at that point. We saw all the way to the end to when Lila walked into the water and her head disappeared beneath the surface. Ghostly silence and then Julian calling out her name. I appreciate J. H. Wyman's willing to go dark especially in a message about kids in high school who take dangerous pills to stay awake because of the pressure they're under (mostly from parents) to do well in a prestigious school. I also saw Stahl get all misty eyed when Mrs. Hoavings talked about how the Chromes treated Lila like she didn't matter just because she didn't have as much money as them or was born perfect like them. It really tells us that Stahl is sort of a self hating Chrome. She was born into the Chrome world but she never felt she belonged in it and this case really enforced that belief.

Let's see: Need more Bourbon, Ramen, & Olive Oil

        6. Then John sees Mrs. Hoavings's wall of obsession similar to his own. She does a monologue of how her grief led to rage and how that rage consumed her so much that all she thought about was revenge; she stopped living her life. John sees himself and it scared him enough to realize his friends were right about how his obsession will be the end of him; lead him down a dark road of no return.

Wall of Crazy should be kept at work

       7. I know it hurts to think we may never see the truth of the mystery behind this scene but the ending scene we see John put away his wall of crazy then he gets a call from forensics saying that the Russian Doll Anna gave to him was actually a listening device. There was some computer circuitry in the paint (that's just cool) and it has been recording him for a while even after John was reinstated. The shocking part was that the last recording was uploaded 7 hours ago! It sort of opened up the question of what did InSyndicate or Anna still want with John? But still I love that scene because even though John's obsession lead to dangerous therapies that could have destroyed him, they yielded fruit which could have lead John to justify his persistence in pushing himself to the brink of self destruction. 

"You're not just a badge number
& a questionable hair cut."

            8. Before the last scene above, I didn't think much about this scene but the more I think about it the more I like it. John sits down with Internal Affairs. John doesn't seem to be enjoying going over his report for the 100th time (as we've established, John was done with obsessing over his mistakes). But what really got under John's skin was when the investigator mentioned John's father, Kennex Sr. This gave us a bit more insight into John's family history. We knew that John's dad was a cop but we didn't know he was investigated by Internal Affairs. Then John says: "We're done" and walks away without another word. Very bad ass.

John took the red pill...

         Next article will be about "Disrupt."

Dominion: The Mythology Behind the Story

Angels sure love music

               Ever since the first episode of Dominion aired (which still has me buzzing) a lot of people have been getting more into the angel mythology and some people have even begun asking me questions. I'm not an expert on the whole thing. I just love to read and being Catholic we worship anything that is or is associated with the divine, especially angels. So I'm going to try and help give people what I know about angels.

"Lullaby and goodnight..."

          Despite what Supernatural tells you, not many angels have names or are known to us or in any major religion. But there is a sort of hierarchy: lower angels are basically foot soldiers and are numberless as well as nameless while there are higher angels who have names and command the legions. Students of angelology (yes that's a real thing) know that many religions know of this hierarchy. Names for these levels range from spheres; hierarchies; Angelic Choirs; triads; and or orders. The 3 main angels that we know of are known as the Archangels. Why they are called that is anyone's guess. Main reason we accept is that they are God's mightiest angels and they head the many other nameless legions of angels. The Archangels are named: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. The first two are the most known in the 3 major religions. And in the Catholic faith these angels are all called saints. Not sure why since they're angels but they have their own feast day: September 29th ("Michaelmas" but other religions have them on different dates). All three archangels are celebrated that day so whatever your religion or lack there of you can give a shout out to them.

I'd be scared too if a stranger with wings
came into my house and said I would give birth
to a Savior.

         Not much we know about Gabriel other than it was he who told Mary that she was to give birth to a Savior and appeared to Zaccharias that his wife Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist. John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins for those who don't know or forgot. Even in Islam it's said that Gabriel appeared to Muhammad so we designate him as like a head messenger of sorts. In the book of Enoch it was said that God had sent Gabriel to lead the slaughter of the bastard children of the Watchers and humans, the Nephilim (although God sent a flood so why did He ask Gabriel to lead the slaughter?). 

"Message for you. Sign here, please"

         There's also a tradition that states that Gabriel watched over the Garden of Eden and was in charge of taking unborn souls to be conceived and placed them in the wombs of human women during their conception. You may have heard the phrase: "Gabriel, blow your horn." We've seen a few images of Gabriel blowing his horn, which is said to herald the Lord's return to Earth. The horn doesn't really make an appearance in any religious text I can think of but there is mention of it in John Milton's Paradise Lost. But this only enforces our idea that Gabriel is a harbinger of divine messages whether of destruction or of a coming happy event like a Savior of Mankind. 

"Take that!"

       Michael's job is leading Heaven's army. He commands legions and leads them into battle against evil. It was Michael who was said to have thrown Lucifer out of Heaven when he lead a rebellion against Heaven. Michael is often depicted in paintings as a winged god using a spear or sword and pushing Lucifer down to Hell. Because of this image we imagine Michael as a good soldier who follows orders. He does his duty and he carries out his tasks with brutal yet swift justice. But that doesn't mean Michael doesn't have fun or that he's any less proud or vain like Lucifer, which shall be discussed later.

Begone! Jerk!

        Lucifer is another angel many know about. In the Christian/Catholic version, Lucifer was an angel. Not just an angel though. Lucifer means "Light Bringer" and he was one of God's most beautiful and powerful of His angels (in other words, Daddy's favorite). But because of this favoritism Lucifer had a hubris that would lead to his downfall. When God made Man and told his angels to worship him, Lucifer refused. Why should he, one of God's greatest creations, bow down to a creature so inferior? Lucifer was every bit an anti-hero. He had charisma, a magnetic personality that drew people to him and made them follow him even if it was down the wrong path. 

"Ouch! That hurt!"

         Lucifer in his pride led a rebellion against Heaven and by extension God, but Michael and his legion threw Lucifer out of Heaven and cast them into Hell. After that Lucifer became Mankind's greatest adversary. It's debated on whether or not it was Lucifer in disguise of a serpent that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of Knowledge. Some say it was Lilith (in Jewish texts Adam's first wife before Eve was made from his rib) to get revenge but others dispute that it was only one of God's creatures that He had created and that it had arms and legs. People theorize this because God had cursed the Serpent to crawl on it's belly and eat the dust it slithers on and that the seed of Man would be it's destruction. Something like that. I paraphrase. So before the Serpent may just have been a lizard monster? No idea. But because religions like to overlap, Lucifer and Satan fused together and now have become one and the same. 

Revenge...

         In Judaism there is no real Devil per say. Satan's job is primarily to test people's faith in God. You may have heard the story of Job. It's a messed up story. Basically God made a bet with Satan that Satan said he could get Job, God's most faithful servant, to curse His name while God bet that Job would still praise Him. God allowed Satan to wipe out Job's family, his livestock, and cover his body with terrible sores but even after all that, Job still praised God. God practically allowed Satan to take everything Job had just to win a bet. God won the bet and gave Job back everything he lost (new livestock, new land, new health, and children) but I doubt Job's wives were grateful or praising as they wept over their children's graves.

And the catch of the day is...

        Back to the Archangels, I mentioned Raphael. Raphael is known in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Raphael is mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholics, and as useful for public teaching by Lutherans and Anglicans. He is an angel of healing (in all its forms physically, mentally, and emotionally). In Islamic tradition Raphael is also known as Israfil, an angel of song who inspires music. Raphael is generally associated with the angel mentioned in the Gospel of John as stirring the water at the healing pool of Bethesda. Raphael is also an angel in Mormonism, as he is briefly mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants. 

With one touch, you're healed

       The Archangel of healing has been said to have made a few appearances to humans. Raphael is often depicted holding a staff standing on top of a large fish at the end of a line. The fish has always been associated with monotheism mostly with Christianity. Jesus was said to have fed a multitude of people with only a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. But in paganism, the fish has long been a symbol of wisdom and hidden knowledge and given that Jesus Christ was essentially a teacher or a wise man, then the fish is the perfect symbol for him. As fish come from water and water is associated with not only secret knowledge but with healing they fit perfect with Raphael's duties as an angel with advanced knowledge in healing.

Look over there!

        The Flood is a worldwide story, not just a Christian, Jewish or Muslim story but there are pagan stories of a worldwide flood brought on by angry gods to wipe out the evil in humanity. Zeus sent a flood because humans took to cannibalism or something like that. Gods can be pretty capricious. But this is about angels (not unlike gods themselves). God's reasons for sending a flood are debated. One reason some claim is because of the Nephilim. Who were the Nephilim and why did God want them wiped from the Earth? Well it all goes back to the angels causing trouble again. This was probably after Lucifer and his legions were banished to Hell and after Adam and Eve began to populate the planet. There were a group of angels known as "The Grigorii" or simply "The Watchers" whose task was to watch over Man, be guardian angels if you will. However, sending your soldiers to occupy a city you sometimes have a case of those soldiers "going native". The Watchers saw the daughters of men and found them beautiful. They desired these women and began to copulate with them. Who wouldn't want to spend the night with an angel? And from these unions came the Nephilim. Nephilim were born with the powers of angels but with the souls of Man. I guess you can compare them to the demi-gods of Greek Myths like Hercules or Perseus. 

"Ah! I'm falling!"

       God isn't said to have said anything bad or frowned on these angel/human unions at the time so this is a sign to me that God was okay with the whole sex thing. He must have known there was no way an omnipotent being couldn't. But the children of these unions were not okay. The Nephilim grew up and created chaos. We've read the Greek Myths and saw what the demigods could do, think about what the Nephilim were capable of. I suppose they used their powers for evil purposes. Where as Greek Demigods became heroes who helped man, I can only assume that the Nephilim were not unlike Lucifer; thinking themselves better than everyone else. They were called "Giants" but that doesn't have to mean size. "Giants" are generally viewed as creatures with great power, making everything around them seem small so the Nephilim may have been causing destruction and chaos demanding to be worshipped as gods. So God sent a flood to not only drown the evil and corruption of man but also to get rid of those pesky half-angels. It's said that the Watchers fell either before or after they had sex with the women. There was a part in the story where the fathers of the Nephilim begged an angel (can't remember who could have been Gabriel) to ask God to spare them but God said, "No." 

"Don't mess with my sheep, man!"

           An angel's main task is to be Heaven's messengers but sometimes angels can act on their own. They can also be tricksters, messing with Man just for kicks. There was one story about Jacob who actually wrestled with an angel. And guess who that angel was: none other than the Archangel Michael himself! So even the military angel likes to have some fun. The story goes that Jacob was herding his sheep to visit his brother Esau with his wife and children and was about to cross the ford of Jabbok when a stranger, a shepherd with his own sheep and camels, came up to him and told him that they should cross the ford together and help each other move their livestock over. Jacob agreed but on the condition that his stock was to be brought over first. In no time at all, the stranger had Jacob's flock across the river and Jacob went to carry the shepherd's flock. However, every time Jacob brought a sheep over it ended up back where it started. This kept happening until Jacob realized that he was being tricked by some wizard. 

"Having a host of angels on your side
is cheating, dude!"

          Jacob called the shepherd out and with a smile the shepherd was consumed in flame and revealed himself to be the Archangel Michael. Jacob wasn't afraid though and began to wrestle the Archangel but Michael had his host of angels helping him. Jacob would have been overpowered had God not appeared and drained Michael's power. For one last blow, Michael touched the "hollow of Jacob's thigh" dealing him a fatal injury. At this point God cries out, "Dost thou act as is seemly, when thou causest a blemish in My priest Jacob?" At this Michael sort of whines and gets a bit jealous, "Why, it is I who am Thy priest!" God then says, "Thou art my priest in Heaven, and he is My priest on Earth." So now Michael knows he's in trouble and asks his comrade Raphael to do him a solid and heal Jacob. Why Michael doesn't heal Jacob himself is a mystery. But I suppose he was more equipped to dealing out injuries more than healing them. Apparently during all this, Jacob and Michael were still locked in combat and because Michael was weakened and Jacob was healed, Jacob had Michael in a choke hold and begging to be released before dawn broke. But Jacob wouldn't let go until Michael blessed him. So Michael blessed Jacob after whining again. Thus God made Michael guardian angel to Jacob and his family. 

There's been a miscommunication. Our bad...

          Jacob's grandfather Abraham had a similar problem with angels. An angel told Abraham that it was God's Will that he sacrifice his only legitimate son, Isaac. Isaac had an older brother Ishmael by a slave girl when Sarah thought she couldn't bear children. So as Abraham was about to sacrifice his young son, who was probably around 10 or 12 or so (how traumatic!) but another angel intervened and told Abraham to sacrifice a lamb instead (which appeared out of nowhere by the way). People debate that this was simply a test of Abraham's dedication to God but that doesn't feel like it to me. Remember I talked about Job and God's bet with the Devil? Well if God wanted to test Abraham I think he would have just struck Isaac down Himself or ask the Devil to do it. 

"DUDE! WTF? Use the sheep!"

        Or maybe I don't understand God's weird, cryptic plans. Either way it doesn't feel right reading that it was God who sent the first angel to have Abraham kill his son. Isaac's birth was not really expected since Sarah was past menopause already and was barren in the first place but an angel of God told her that she was to bear a son. Why would God go to all that trouble to help an old woman give birth to a son when Abraham already had one? God could have asked Abraham to kill Ishmael. Murdering the first son would be just as painful and traumatic as murdering the second son so the sacrifice would still prove God's point. My theory is that some mischievous angels or fallen angels were playing a cruel joke and God intervened just in time. 

This Michael looks more malevolent.
Must be the dark wings

         Lastly I'll talk about what angels generally look like. They are depicted as men with wings and halos hovering over their heads. But angels are inter dimensional beings that can pass through realms. They're more or less shape shifters and are often associated with fire and air. Air and Fire are linked with thought and spirit so it's hard to view them as physical beings but like I said they can appear in any form they wish. If they want to appear as men to have sex with a woman or to talk to a human then that's what they'll do. Since Air and Fire are linked with thought and spirit, angels would have a wide assortment of knowledge starting with all major languages. 

Michael wins!

    In many stories we write: TV shows, films, and books, angels have a vast knowledge of language and are masters of communication. They are messengers after all so it would make sense that they have a language encyclopedia programmed in their brains. In the Bible and some human reports who have had near death experiences claim that angels often appear in a fiery form radiating light that gives the impression of a halo but no mention of any wings. Wings are associated with air and the Ancients have watched birds and their habits to augur omens of weather, death, war, peace, or victory. Again the messenger thing so it would make sense that angels we would draw angels with wings without even mentioning them. I suppose the radiating light can give the appearance of wings as well as a halo. There were some reports in the Bible that angels appeared to Ezekiel with a flaming wheel and these angels looked anything BUT human. They had animal faces, several faces. I would think I had some bad mushrooms and was on a bad trip but back then that was considered a message from God. People ask, "Are there any girl angels?" It depends on what religious text you read really.

I think I took some of those bad mushrooms...

St. Raphael the Archangel
of Healing

         We need stop thinking of angels as chaste, black and white winged beings that you see on Christmas cards. They're like the pagan gods of old: they're vain, envious/ jealous, mercurial beings that can love and hate with the same intensity. There's little mention of them being kind or merciful just because they want to be. It depends on their mood or if they were told to do something. Angels are fierce, vengeful, powerful creatures that may be admired but also must be feared. Should they be loved? Are they even worthy of such an sentiment? We ask ourselves that same question about our own kind. I suppose given that angels are in fact very human it depends on if you ever really meet one or your guess based on stories you hear about them. Either way, I like to believe that some angels are generally good and love humanity despite our flaws; maybe because of our flaws. I would imagine we were depressing to watch with all of the evil acts we commit but also inspiring when some humans despite the evil done to them or evil that some have done that we are capable of redemption and good. But like I said, I'm not an expert on the matters of angels.

I believe this is supposed to be Raphael

Gabriel always holds a Madonna Lily in Christian
art works