Warrior Nun

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Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 2, 2020
Season #: 2, 1
Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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Where To Watch

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Critic Reviews

  1. CNN
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jul 13, 2020
    40
    Inspired by Manga novels, this 10-episode series meanders a lot while offering a "Stranger Things"-type vibe, serving as a weird diversion that, on the road to goodness, doesn't even get halfway there.
  2. Collider
    Reviewed by: Vinnie Mancuso
    Jul 2, 2020
    67
    Warrior Nun‘s main issue is that one half of its story is just infinitely more engaging than the other. ... The saving grace of Warrior Nun‘s more tedious aspects is Baptista herself, whose performance as Ava looks effortlessly charming while still doing a ton of heavy lifting.
  3. Decider
    Reviewed by: Meghan O'Keefe
    Jul 1, 2020
    80
    Warrior Nun is the rare pulpy fantasy show that knows when to lean into its silly side and when to slow down and get serious. That makes it incredibly addictive for a specific kind of action fan.
  5. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Roxana Hadadi
    Jul 2, 2020
    67
    The script can sometimes lean too much on mythological and religious exposition as the nuns explain their mission to Ava, but the actors have such good chemistry that their various pairings—Mary and Ava, Ava and Beatrice, Mary and Lilith—work, and the smartly choreographed fight scenes are well-placed.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Robyn Bahr
    Jul 2, 2020
    40
    Thematically, Warrior Nun is nothing you haven't seen before, and aesthetically, nothing you ever want to see again. Bleak, dour and trudging, the series contains none of the kitschy, blasphemous fun of its title.
  7. The Independent
    Reviewed by: Ed Cumming
    Jul 6, 2020
    60
    A lot hangs on Baptista, who must find enough naivety that we can believe in her transition to warrior hero, but not so much that we can’t believe in her as a hedonistic 19-year-old keen to do pills and get laid. On the evidence of the first episode, she strikes a reasonable balance, and despite some flat dialogue and a predictable plot there is an agreeable energy to Warrior Nun.
  8. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    Jul 1, 2020
    70
    It’s occasionally delightful, thanks largely to Ms. Baptista, who is spunky, petite and bears a striking resemblance to the actress Ellen Page. But the atmosphere is co-opted wholesale from someone’s hysterical view of Catholicism, and as such it feels not profane exactly, but more than a little obvious.

Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Most Discussed TV Season of 2020

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 70 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 50 out of 70
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 70
  3. Negative: 12 out of 70
  1. Poisonedblade
    Jul 3, 2020
    5
    Ben Dunn's original comic book series, Warrior Nun Areala is an action packed demon slaying comic full of over the top violent badassery.Ben Dunn's original comic book series, Warrior Nun Areala is an action packed demon slaying comic full of over the top violent badassery. This show is more like SJW Buffy. Ava, played by Alba Baptista, rises from the dead when a halo is stuffed into her corpse. And just like that, she's the chosen one with super powers. Reluctant to join an order of demon slaying nuns, she wants to experience life and meets a gang of petty criminals. Her adventure begins there. Ava is very a very endearing underdog and she carries the show. The other nuns, Shotgun Mary, Lilith, and Beatrice are all nicely developed characters and play off of each other. There's some humor and some touching human moments. The sets are great. Unfortunately, the CG creatures look like older PS4 graphics. The action scenes are not nearly as epic as the comic, but they're really fun for a Buffy Style Series. Without spoiling anything, the story is disjointed at best, and fizzles out.… Full Review »
  2. MeritCoba
    Jul 14, 2020
    6
    The question foremost to me was: who is the target audience? If you say Warrior Nun, the first that springs to mind is some kind of Anime orThe question foremost to me was: who is the target audience? If you say Warrior Nun, the first that springs to mind is some kind of Anime or Manage series full with, to quote Poisonedblade, "over the top violent badassery." And apparently the comic books are like that. I never read the comic books this series is based upon, but just take a look at the covers and you get the idea.

    So does that hint at the target audience? The fan base of the comics?

    Well, this series is probably not for them. There is a reasonable amount of fighting or training, notably in the second half, but these are pretty mundane affairs, only on rare occasion erupting in an over the top fights, But even those are pale affairs compared to what the average Asian series pulls off. When Sister Beatrice covers her face - so the stunt girl can take over - she beats like twenty security guards without breaking a sweat. It is nice to see, yes,.. but also a kind of meh. It has been done before and done better.

    The thing is, the series spends a lot of time developing story threads. Like having the main protagonist Ava wander around aimlessly while she tries to adjust to her new found life and get away as far as she can from warrior nuns(and demons). There is a lot of soul searching, bonding, exploring motivations, gripping emotions, painful pasts and confrontations with those. Character development, you know.

    All nice, if you intended to make a psychological drama about a teenager who finds new life through a sudden 'divine' intervention. It would make an interesting story, when handled with skill.
    And mind you, it is that which we see in the first episodes. And I liked that actually. The scenes were Ava is bumming with some group of teenagers is actually funny. Just wished they had done more with it, but it ends as sudden as it started.

    But this isn't that kind of a series. It is about nuns fighting demons.. right? Well, not exactly. It is about developing more and more subplots. By episode nine I counted no less than eight with possibly even more. There is nuns vs nuns plot, Ava's own plot, sister Lilith's plot, the nuns vs the cardinal plot, the corporation plot, the demons vs the world plot and some plots on the back-burner: like who is Ava's father and what is going on with Ava's boyfriend who is called JC(groan). Then we have the mysterious background of Father Vincent...And then in the last episode we get two more subplots and...

    nothing gets resolved...

    Thing is, I liked the cast and I would praise Alba Baptista for her performance, even though she has to contend with some cringe-worthy lines. Also, the story doesn't stoop to making one party totally evil, which would have been easy to paint the corporation as, for instance. Although demons are probably evil by nature.

    The main problem with this series is that it is hard to imagine who might find this interesting enough to see the gazillion subplots develop in future series? It is like they just emptied out a can of them and then decided to see what doesn't slither out of reach. Which probably ends up making for a confusing mess.

    Warrior Nun reminded me of something that happened when we had finished watching the second Lord of the Rings movie. Someone in the audience stood up suddenly and shouted desperately: What the h*** was that about?!!!    … Full Review »
  3. monthofsundaes
    Jul 5, 2020
    8
    Great fun! Imagine young female musketeers with magic on top. Fresh heroines deliver adventure and jeopardy aplenty in a show that isGreat fun! Imagine young female musketeers with magic on top. Fresh heroines deliver adventure and jeopardy aplenty in a show that is bingeable for young girls and boys alike. I suspect the folks who have been uncharitable about this show have not watched enough of it. New shows need at least 4 chapters to find their sea legs. This one is no different. Enjoy.… Full Review »
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