Dominion - S1E5 - Something Borrowed
Previously on Dominion, ‘The Flood’
Honestly, this episode wasn’t the best, but there were some important revelations, so let’s hit the highlights.
Badassery Lesson 1:
Alex fails to shoot Michael out of a sunlit desert sky because he’s too hotheaded and apparently doesn’t learn. You’d think this would be the first lesson in the Angel Corps. Finally Michael lectures, “Watch the shadows, not the sun.” Symbolism, y’all.
Badassery Lesson 2:
Zen session in the Stratosphere Loft. Michael reminds Alex that the reason he had a vision in prison was lack of distractions, and, seeing as how Alex is all SQUIRREL!!!, meditation could be helpful. Sure enough, he has a vision of Bixby bleeding in his arms, pleading, “Don’t let them hurt anyone else.” He thinks “them” means the 8 Balls and runs off to kick some possessed tail.
Possessed Tail:
Clementine, Riesen’s 8 Ball girlfriend, wraps up in a coat and makeup and hits the market because, hey, a girl can’t just keep playing dress up all the damn time. Her sunglasses slip when she tries to buy a music box so she’s unwittingly forced to kill the shopkeeper. Riesen spots the music box right away on his next visit and gets mad that she was in the city. She says she might run out of things between visits, so maybe someone could help, someone like his daughter since she’s so kind hearted. Later, he finds her actually in Claire’s room, crying over the music box. Y’all know something is up with this, right? He’s furious and tells her to stay away from his daughter. But she’s not easily cowed and says that when he’s dead, she’s going to visit all she wants, so THERE.
Break Ups:
Claire breaks it off with Alex for the good of the city. Becca breaks it off with Michael because Whele blackmails her AGAIN, this time with the lives of the Whoresome Foursome from Episode 1 unless she votes with him against Riesen. I’d like to imagine that Michael realizes something is up, but probably not. Becca breaks it off with the Whoresome Foursome, telling them to keep their lips zipped and head to Helena. Riesen breaks it off with Clementine by sadly asking Michael to “handle it” despite his love for her. And, we finally learn that Noma and Alex had a thing in basic training, which she broke off because Alex was going to get kicked out. “You thought the Corps meant more to me than you?” he asks. Considering you joined the Corps so you wouldn’t starve to death, let’s say yes.
Flashback Land:
Younger David Whele hides his wife and three little kids from two 8 Balls that broke into their house. Baby William alerts them accidentally by crying. One 8 Ball steals the two older children, and the other jumps David’s wife. In a rage, David pounds its head in with a hammer, but it’s too late. As Baby William cries for his dead mother, anger and blame creep into David’s eyes and he can barely resist killing William too. Back in present day, David sits stunned by the memory when William asks if he’d like to give some fatherly advice at their engagement dinner. He murmurs, “We’re survivors, William. We’re not immortal. Cherish your time together.”
Wedding Planning:
Claire and Noma have a chick bonding moment over bolts of wedding dress fabric, but they’re not on the same page. Noma relays the hopeful voice of the V1s, nicknaming their romance, “The Princess and the Principate.” Claire is barely keeping it together when Whele rolls in with a wedding gift, a sapphire necklace that his wife wore on their wedding day. Oh, and, by the way, Someone (him) told Senator Romero about Riesen’s heart failure, so Some Senators (him) are pushing for a vote of no confidence. Doesn’t she want to join his side? Doesn’t she?! Hmm? HMMMM??
Blackmail:
After a service at the Chosen One monument, the newest Black Acolyte waves a black blindfold around, confronting William for his heresy, so William reminds him that he IS doing Gabriel’s work by being his eyes and ears, punching him in the broken ribs for emphasis. Then Claire drops by and asks for some leverage against his father’s vote. She turns up the volume with googoo eyes, and amused, he clarifies, “You’re trying to blackmail my father?” What?! No… Ok, yes. Ah, l’amour. He promises to talk to him.
Back in the office, William ditches the blindfold in his father’s desk before confronting him. Whele rolls out insult after insult, finishing with, “You owe me boy, just how much you’ll never know.” William, pushed to the brink, grabs him by the head and Judas kisses him forcibly. “I am the man I am because of you, father.”
Claire, still bent on blackmail, sneaks into the office as everyone begins to gather and guess what she finds? She takes David’s arm and strolls just a little slower than everyone else before stuffing the blindfold in his coat pocket, warning that he’d best keep his vote to himself unless he wants everyone to know he’s working for Gabriel. He denies everything but takes it in stride, wheels turning as William reminds them to come eat. The light dawns.
Clementine:
After hopping out of Claire’s window, Clementine has trouble getting out of the locked-down city. She’s forced to kill yet again when a soldier sees her. Alex and Noma chase her into a warehouse where Alex injures, then corners her. To his surprise, she pleads with him not to kill her, that there’s only darkness. She says she didn’t fight Gabriel’s war. She has a family. She has a daughter.
Big Revelation:
At the formal engagement dinner, Claire gives her speech, wishing her mother could’ve been there, and, offering a toast in her honor, she steps back to reveal their family portrait. There, in a red velvet dress, is her mother: Clementine.
