There's good and bad to this show, and it seems there's good and bad to the anti-Christ too which is just a tad confusing. At least we might expect the anti-Christ were he to exist to be a bit of a deceiver, pretending to be an all round good egg, while in reality sucking boiled eggs like Louis Cypher in Angel Heart but in Damien we have someone who is actually trying pretty hard to be a good person rather than anything genuinely beastly. That actually is the shows main strength: that someone who in the original 70s film seemed likely to be pretty irredeemable might actually become - as he encounters the competing forces of his identity - genuinely conflicted. Indeed this rendering of the Damien story makes it very clear that even if he literally IS the beast of revelation (yeah, let that sink in) he's at least fifty shades of grey as well. Which brings us to his effect on people. Women fall for him. Well lets face it women would fall at the feet of any man who could claim to be the ultimate bad boy. Even the nun who turns up mid-series looks like she's sublimating lesbian leanings (well she's a TV nun isn't she?) towards the prince of darkness. Perhaps the ultimate bad guy can straighten a woman out and obviously the women around him think they can straighten him out too, well, maybe, turn him into marriage material or something, and for most of the series it looks pretty likely that they might succeed.But ladies, seriously, you can't change who we are, right. Comprendez. Of course while there are some who want to save him from his self and from his apocalyptical destiny there are also some who want to help him fulfil it. Barbara Hershey is one of them, and actually she's a breath of fresh air, probably the best thing in the show. Amazingly this is a woman who's approaching 70 now, but could easily pass for her late 40s. Hershey is easily the strongest character in a series where the ensemble, although fit for purpose are slightly lacking in the necessary gravitas. It is she alone that really gives us the sense of who this guy might some day be, and she does a great job of juggling the facets of devotee and disciplining governess figure, taking over spiritually from that nasty protective governess nanny who appeared in the original film.As for the actor / character Damien himself, he's not entirely satisfactory, although he does OK. On balance I'd say he does a far better job at playing the nice guy than the Leviathan evolving before our eyes. There's still time for him to grow into the character of course, not least because this is someone or some thing that is itself evolving, and spreading its luciferian wings. I am not entirely sure I will join this show for the next series but I am quite curious to discover where Damien will be taken as his inner daemon comes to the fore. Again, the inner tensions of this character who has to face the almost ultimate horror of self-discovery, is an interesting one, but this romantic tortured fallen angel (so beloved of teenage chick fiction) really has to go further than that if it is to present us with something truly, if you will, ungodly. The anti- Christ is supposed to be deceiver, someone who might be capable of brute force and violence on an unimaginable scale, but ultimately there should be something morally fatal about his character - and seductively so as well - not just some external brand such as the mark of the beast. We spend the first series in the company of someone who makes it very clear he doesn't want what fate has given him, and as such he comes across in this sense as someone discovering something alien about himself (for a good comparison consider Mickey Rourke's character in the aforementioned Angel Heart). But should the anti-Christ really come across as fairly innocent. The latter part of the series begins to address this perhaps. But still where is the pride which precedes the fall?

What does this show want to deliver? A story of the Antichrist in human form coming to terms with who he is at the age of 30.From what I know of The Omen, it wants to deliver shock and horror with jump scares. Something that just doesn't really attach itself well to the story of how the world ends. The way the show is made does nothing to offer repair to such an unhappy marriage of themes.It could have been an eerie telling of a man coping with a destiny he does not want, but it gets completely overshadowed by all the different factions and alliances that attempt to push him in different directions. There are simply too many characters pushed down the rabbit hole for any of their experiences and reflections to feel distinguishable and interesting.There's little to no real symbolism and the relationship between the characters introduced seem like that of any modern day television show. The witty down-to-earth co-worker, the random girl the protagonist gets to protect, the shady family friend in politics, etc. What is worse is that they all fade in and out of the story when they are needed for plot development. There's little nuance to any of the characters. Even Damien starts out as just a regular guy wanting nothing to do with it, and at some point he starts randomly switching between being psychotic and being his normal self. Towards the end of the season the screen writer seems to think the viewer will fall for it, if he keeps showing Damien in a position where he's just about to tip and "join the dark side" as it were, but it doesn't ever truly feel like an option, because of the way the character is built.This show should have doubled down on what it feels like to be Damien. Instead it lumps together almost all clichés in the horror genre and hopes for the best. The pacing should have been slower, the character development more important, and the politics at play could have been portrayed in a better way. Less oddly inconsistent assassins from the Vatican and more random encounters between Damien and regular people. Show me a rising distortion that edges towards the realization that this is not just a man we're dealing with.The 5 stars I gave because it isn't an all together bad show. But it makes sense to cancel it. It wasn't a story of the beginning of the end, and it wasn't a personal story of how it feels to be the sad devil. And it had to be either of those, rather than a poor attempt at a mix.

Loved the Omen so I had high hopes for this series. The premier episode wasn't that bad but as the series progressed the story line got weaker ,too predictable and boring as hell !!!As the story goes Damien has grown up to be a clueless yuppie reporter who is more interested in chasing after black tail than bringing hell on earth.He is just too dumb and nice to be the Antichrist .The rest of the cast walks a gray line between good and evil leaving viewers indifferent or bored out of their minds. The only cast members saved from this silly parody andwith some great acting skills are the rotties.Hence the 3 stars .I will increase my rating once they manage to chew up the rest of the cast along with the writers and director.

Damien was a great idea to do as a show. This show ticks all the boxes for me. Would of liked more episodes. Less Ann Rutledge and more about the followers of Damien. I would like more good vs evil battles and more involvement from the Vatican. I would especially like to see more of what the devil can do? How he spends his time and the power he has. I hope there is a second season after all this build up. Please let us know.Absolutely LOVE THE OPENING MUSIC! If anyone has details please let me know.Please also sign up for another season !