Dominion: Favorite Scenes: Godspeed

Let's get this angel party started & revel like we did in Babylon!

                 I do hope our Canadian friends are enjoying Dominion. I see we are doing well and hopefully news of renewal will follow quickly. There were a good many great scenes in "Godspeed". I've chosen my top picks based on character, production value, and memorability. These may not be in order.

Nice to see you too, brother.

Nothing like a family chat by the sea.

            1. Michael & Gabriel's chat by the sea: A truly beautiful location to shoot with Tom Wisdom and Carl Beukes's incredible chemistry making this scene very memorable. We didn't see much of Gabriel in the Pilot but we got some sense of his character as being calm and malicious and now we see that he's very jealous and insecure of his Father's love for humans over angels. We see the brothers' dynamic and the depth of their family bond. Where Michael is reserved and reasonable, Gabriel is passionate and full of anger. Despite threats of violence, Michael and Gabriel never draw blood in this scene. Gabriel does have a sense of humor as well as deep seeded Daddy issues making him appear a bit childish (as Michael pointed out with some amusement) in his motivation. Gabriel pointed out that if the humans knew Michael was there talking to him then they would definitely kill him. That's very true. The only angel the humans tolerate is Michael but only because he's the only angel on mankind's side. So a very strong display of character combined with the breathtaking scene really makes an impact on the audience.

Don't put your nose in my face, kid!

            2. Michael & Alex have a not so pleasant chat: When Michael wants to have a discussion with you, you don't have much choice as he took Alex for a ride to the stratosphere. Christopher and Tom continue to allow those sparks to fly as tensions between the Archangel and the Chosen One have reached a more intense level of hostility and mistrust. Michael and Alex differ in height with Tom towering over Chris (with help from the camera angles) but Alex has no problem getting in the angel's face, showing no fear whatsoever. Then Alex decided to tell Michael what he read on his tattoos and warned him to stay away from him. Bravo guys! A fiery scene! We do understand Alex's point of view though. I do believe Michael didn't expect Alex to be so difficult after finding out about his destiny. Michael will have to try another method instead of the usual tough love routine. 

A new day brings a whole new mess of quarrels

            3. Claire & Riesen argue over breakfast: Roxanne McKee settles into her character very well showing us that Claire is not some spoiled princess but someone who can debate with logic and compassion. Claire is wonderful with kids as she takes the little V-1, Bixby under her wing and roof to her father's surprise. Every woman in the audience was feeling Claire's frustration in being treated like an object to be bought and sold into marriage to a man (no matter how sweet) she doesn't love. Alan Dale played the perfect disciplinary father and he and Roxanne had a real father-daughter vibe. I also couldn't help but notice how bright the room was. Morning sunlight just washes into the room giving it a cheery "hello another day has arrived" tone despite Claire and Riesen's heated conversation. Kids, right? But we agree with Claire completely and believe that given her stubbornness she could get out of this arranged engagement somehow like she promised she would to Alex in the Pilot.

Arika is fearless!

            4. David & Arika discuss culture: Arika never panics. She's always cool even when walking scantily clad before the angry lion while her hand maidens shrink in modesty in their cells. Once again Shivani Ghai and Anthony Head display their characters' wariness of each other but also David exhibits a small amount of awe about his opponent. Arika never shows fear even when David threatens to have her executed for treason. It was more or less like a staring contest to see who would cave and blink first. I did love Arika's line: "Evelyn believes in the Divine Feminine. We have no place for a male deity like Gabriel." You could hear the disdain and repugnance in her voice when she said Gabriel's name. It just made me smile for some reason. I guess I just loved Shivani's self-possessed character as she's stripped down to her underwear and brought into an informal interrogation being threatened with execution. Not even a sweat. If it were me I'd be a little afraid. What I also found interesting was David's case of Pre-Apocalyptic case of wonders such as the pocket watch he was fooling around with. A subtle description of David's character in holding onto the old world but also his desire to move forward to make a new one. 

This is...awkward to say the least

            5. Alex & William talk in the Market: We all know that William is Gabriel's spy (and possibly more than that but we're not really sure yet) but no one else does so that makes this conversation a bit more interesting to us because we know the motivation behind William's words. We also kind of smile when William says: "You have to forgive my father, he's a narcissist of the highest order." We instinctively wonder: "Which one?" after we see Gabriel's scene with Michael then we already know enough about David to see there's a competition to see who's the most self-absorbed. Loved how we got a look at Vega's own farmer's market. Very nice detail with signs and stands selling goods. It was also very closely knitted together kind of like a mall where the stores were right next to each other in close proximity so need to walk very far. Chris and Luke's characters didn't get enough scenes together but we see that it's more because of the awkwardness. Alex is in love with Claire and Riesen saw that as a threat so he transferred Alex to House Whele (he couldn't transfer him to House Thorn at least?). Alex is guarding his lover's fiancé. For Alex it must have felt very uncomfortable but even more so because he saw that William was such a nice guy, giving out extra ration tickets to the lower Vs. Any guy would feel bad for hating someone like that (good thing Alex doesn't know about Will's other night hobbies). I kind of rolled my eyes a bit when William said if Alex needed anything that he should come to him. Can you make it even more obvious you're a spy? Luckily Alex has others he can confide in. 

           6. Alex and Claire make up: Roxanne and Christopher have such a spark between their two characters and the producers continue to astonish us with scanty nude scenes as we get a view of our lovers from above with very little coverage. We see that Alex's tattoos are indeed all over his body! Nudity aside, the intimacy really permeated through the scene. Not only was it a romantic setting (soft lighting, shadows) but we also saw that Claire and Alex have a deeper connection by being able to confide in each other. Alex still refuses to accept his destiny while Claire believes he should. Alex is still insecure about Claire's concern for the people over him but I think he knows that she would be by his side no matter what he chose. Make up sex is the best with Claire and Alex walking out of her room arm in arm (kind of bold of these lovers given the strict laws). The little scene afterwards (these two bleed together) was endearing though too with Bixby joining in. It was quite the family bond developing there.

Should she be doing that inside?

           7. Alex & Felicia go head to head: A very exciting scene where we see Alex go up against a higher angel. There were some nail biting moments and as usual the wings were a real highlight. Unlike the fight scene between Michael and Furiad which was a dance of war, Alex and Felicia's fight was more or less choreographed to be a bar brawl (messy and bloody good) with Alex being unprepared and feeling a bit mismatched. However, Alex proves that he can think on his feet and using ingenuity lights Felicia up like a candle. Felicia got pretty crispy but managed to survive even after Alex kicked her out the window. My heart was pumping from that rush!  

We'll call it "food poisoning"

           8. Arika sits among her dead hand maidens: Shivani Ghai knows how to play the femme fatale as Arika pulls a drastic tactic in order to set herself free. The scene was very gruesome with Arika sitting among the bloody, mangled dead with a look of triumph on her face while David looked like someone had punched him in the balls. Arika could have moved those two bodies that she wedged herself between but I don't know if that would have had the same impact. It gave me the image of a proud jungle cat sitting atop her kill (she even had that killer smile to go with it). Well done! 

Hope you brought floss.

          9. Riesen & his 8ball mistress: If you thought there was nothing interesting about Riesen then you were proven wrong in this shocking cliffhanger. Talk about sleeping with the enemy! Amy Bailey makes her debut as the General's secret mistress and wow does she know how to leave an impression. She could have worn a simple silk robe but the translucent glittering robe hanging on her body cements our view of the angels of Dominion as being sensual, lusty creatures. It really plays in well with the whole character theme. I do love how creepy the Luxor played in this scene. It was completely trashed on the outside but the 8ball, Clementine's room was furnished and lit with candles. And the record player played very old music from the 20s-30s I believe. I'll have to check my musical archives (iTunes Library) to be sure but it gave me a haunted house feeling which sent chills down my spine. 


      Some Honorable Mentions that didn't make my top pick but are still worth mentioning.

David, you need a time out or something...

            1. David's in trouble: Boy was David in for a tongue lashing before the Senate. In the Pilot we saw that there was tension between Becca and David but we got to see that tension simmer in the Senate's Chamber. They even had a side eye battle going on; I thought lasers were going to come out of their eyes.

"We drink!"

            2. Gabriel knows how to party: Who said the Devil had more fun? Clearly you've never been to an angel bash. This was a very fun scene to watch. If you've seen Legion, you may remember sulky Gabriel whereas Dominion's Gabriel loves to drink and have fun. Nice touch on lighting to hide the fully exposed skin as we saw the 8balls really enjoy their new stolen bodies.

"At a boy!"

            3. Alex's childhood memories: The flashback in the beginning was a real nice way to open the episode. We saw a slightly less scruffy Jeep with an adorable Alex. Then fun turned to fright as 8balls decided to crash on father-son time. Then the ending of the scene where Jeep promised to never leave Alex. That was heart breaking. Even more so when we fade into Jeep's funeral. Jeep broke his promise twice!

It's only fair if both of us are drink

            4. Alex & Claire's Lovers' Quarrel: All lovers have a fight now and again and sometimes both parties are drunk but Alex decided to come barging into Claire's room loaded. He was no match for Noma as she threatened to send him to the infirmary. Claire doesn't want to take over Vega but she certainly has the head for it, remaining calm and not letting Alex's hurtful words make her lose her cool. I thought she would at least slap him but it hurts worse not to sometimes.

            5. David & Riesen's Private Chat: These two old warriors have a really confusing relationship. Riesen gave David his own private scolding but David managed to make the Lord of the City laugh somehow. When it comes down to it, Riesen knows he needs David despite their rivalry and prefers to have Whele do the dirty work like say feeding someone to the lions. 

            6. Michael & Riesen discuss parenting: There may be hundreds of books on parenting but some things can't be taught. Michael and Riesen have great respect for each other. Michael has been around since God turned the lights on but he comes to Riesen for advise. There is a certain degree of honesty as Riesen claims he doesn't have all the answers and that sometimes you have to trust your kid will do what's right. There was also a very sobering moment where Riesen said that every decision humans make has an affect on their future, not just Alex's. Humans are responsible for their own fate.

What the hell is an infomercial? 

            7. Alex & David discuss the pitfalls of fame: This was probably one of the funniest scenes mostly because of the look on Alex's face when David tried to explain to him what a televangelist was... and then what an infomercial was. It was funny in another way where David tried to use his usual threats and "scared straight" speech but Alex was unfazed. Then William seeing Alex and bowing before him to David's chagrin. 

         If you're still not hooked now then episode 3, "Broken Places" will seal your addiction. See you then!

I'll drink to that!