The Messengers - S1E1 - Awakening
The CW, home to The Vampire Diaries, has introduced a new set of heroes in the form of angels. The Messengers, which aired Friday, April 17th, shows promise; however, it’s going to take more than the premiere to tell whether or not this show will end up like The Tomorrow People. Here’s what we gathered from the premiere:
A mysterious object falling to earth triggers an immediate government cover-up while sending out a wave of energy that kills five completely different individuals from across the United States: NASA researcher Vera; quiet teenager Peter; troubled single mother Erin; undercover agent turned fugitive Raul; and televangelist Joshua– but only briefly. Returning back to life, these five chosen ones are faced with new abilities and new complications in their everyday lives. Although, they seem to have no knowledge of what’s happened to them, they are all destined to end up in Houston.
Vera is the first to witness the meteor impact and meet the product of the explosion: a mysterious figure known as “The Man” – who seems happy to incite the dark side of these chosen five.
Whether these newly powered five are angels or devils is the question. None of them are perfect. They’re introduced in hazardous settings to begin with, but the path setting decisions they make after the incident are morally uncertain. Peter’s new found strength allows him to kill – or nearly kill – his tormenter after being attacked.
Erin takes off with her daughter after healing the kid with… her tears. Raul – not only kills two guys he was working with, but hijacks Erin’s car forcing her to drive to Houston. Joshua foresees the apocalypse and despite his father’s wishes of offering hope, continues to be menacing in his intensity about what he sees. “The Man” was able to persuade Vera to kill a young nurse, who was shot outside of the hospital she worked at seven years prior to his arrival on Earth, in exchange for information on her missing son. One would think the chosen ones would be pure, but clearly, none of them are angelic.
The Messengers pilot had much to digest – Joshua finding out that his unborn baby is actually his father’s is certainly one of them. I’m still trying to figure out where that one came from. However, it’s hard to tell where this show will fall on the spectrum of The CW’s hits with only the premiere. The show seems as if it’ll move briskly enough to keep up the desire to learn why these people were chosen and how they’ll deal with their newfound powers and “The Man”. The audience will have to be along for the ride to figure it out.
