Dominion - Pilot - Advance Preview: "War is coming."

I had the pleasure of joining a conference call this morning with Dominion cast member Chris Egan and executive producer Vaun Wilmott. During the call Vaun and Chris discussed the relation between the mythology in Legion and Dominion, their own views on angels and how the characters and their relationships will develop through out the first season. A transcript for the call should be available this week so be sure to check back.

Onto the pilot, I was fortunate enough to watch this episode a few weeks back. Please read on for a series overview and my first impressions.

Series Overview

Dominion is a new, supernatural drama based on the 2010 film Legion. The series follows the aftermath of “The Extinction War”, when an army of lower angels assembled under archangel Gabriel and waged war against mankind. The Archangel Michael chose to side with humanity, turning against Gabriel and his own kind. After a 25-year-long battle newly fortified cities rose from the ashes to protect the human survivors. Dominion follows the residents of the city of Vega, an empire formed on the ruins of Las Vegas.

First Impressions

The action kicks off straight away with a short, suspense-filled scene involving our lead character, soldier Alex Lannon (played by Australian actor Chris Egan) and a group of lower angels called “eight-balls”. This was a great opening scene for a supernatural drama giving you a strong feel for the show. I was also quite impressed with the lower angels which came off as both creepy and intriguing.

Following the action scene we are met with the slower-paced character introductions. This is slightly lengthy but each scene gives you more insight into the characters and several hints for upcoming plot twists, so be sure to listen carefully. During these introductions we witness our first sparks of romance between our lead characters Alex and Claire, the Romeo and Juliet of Vega. Rather than being a watered down plot line, I felt Alex and Claire's relationship was actually a nice addition.

One of the other high points of the slower-paced setting was the interactions between General Edward Riesen (Alan Dale) and Secretary of Commerce David Whele (Anthony Head). Both characters have a strong presence in the episode, one as a selfless leader and the other as a ruthless and cunning second-in-command. Having these two strong-willed characters who are portrayed by such powerful actors in the same scenes was just magic.

Further on the character and casting side, I was quite drawn to Alex Lannon and was thoroughly impressed by Chris' performance which was moving and fierce. I was slightly unsure about the character of Michael, however. At the beginning of the episode he felt a little stiff and the character came off as cold, even to a point, cruel. He did come into his own by episodes end and during my second re-watch I was actually able to enjoy his scenes knowing what was to come.

Overall Thoughts

The episode was a good introduction to what could be a great series. I felt it had a nice balance of action, supernatural elements and romance. The characters were well introduced and the cast gave solid performances.

Dominion premieres June 19 at 9/8c on Syfy. Are you looking forward to the series? Let us know in the comments!

About the Author - Raina

Raina is an avid TV fan from Australia who loves swimming, reading and playing the piano. She is currently reviewing supernatural drama Dominion and romantic comedy A to Z.