Dominion does its own internal recap, clarifies a few things, and kills a bunch’a people, along with some wicked wing-fu. Not bad for SyFy fantasy.

No question, this is a complicated premise, and there will probably be continuing backtracking and recapping just to get newcomers up to speed, but that doesn’t keep things from moving forward in episode two, though not at last week’s breakneck – almost literally – speed.

The new intro lays it out pretty clearly: Angry-bad angels led by Gabriel, along with an army of possessed humans, fought and lost the first round in a war with humanity – humanity led, at least in part, by the only good angel in sight, Michael. Now the bad guys are massing for a second run at Vega, one of the last outposts of human kind, and the long-anticipated revelation of The Chosen One, a human messiah who somehow changes the balance of power, has only made things more complicated.

We know that Alex Lannen – just a baby in Legion, the original movie on which this is based, now a soldier in Vega’s military – is The Chosen One. He was revealed as such to a small group of people just last episode, when his Dad was murdered and the mysterious tattoos, messages in a language that even angels can’t read, transferred from Dad to Son. But he’s the world’ most reluctant savior; he doesn’t even know what being “the Chosen One” means (and neither does anyone else). We also get one more taste of his dead dad, in ane opening flashback where Lex was still a boy, and Dad took on some “eight-balls,” the demonically possessed humans that can crawl up walls like icky-icky spiders, who nearly blew his cover years earlier.

After the opening titles, we see Whele, the evil bureaucrat who really run the city, appear before the ruling Council and fight to keep control after the chaos of Episode 1. Shortly thereafter, Alex runs out of his dad’s funeral and jumps into a bottle. That leads him to Claire, his long-time lover and daughter of general Reisen, who is the only (public) rival to Whele. Alex confronts Claire’s guard, the impossibly gorgeous Norma, his buddy, but Claire herself lets him in, and they have one good ol’-fashioned argument. Alex wants to do the obvious: leave the friggin’ city forever. Claire cares about the people and won’t go. Alex calls her a spoiled princess; she calls him an ugly drunk. “At least I’m not a hypocrite,” he says. “At least I’m not a fake.” Boo-yah. She throws him out, and all in all – pretty nice character work without a special effect in sight.

This is actually one of the nicer things about Dominion. As complicated as the plot gets – and wow, does it get complicated, even early on – at least the charactes generally act like real people: some good, some bad, most a mix of both. They keep secrets when it makes sense to keep secret, and blurt out dumb stuff where they’re angry or scared…or drunk.

A talk between General Riesen and Whele is basically recap: they hate each other, of course, but they both think the city will fall apart if Alex’ existence as the Chosen One is revealed. Which means some of the people in that bunker have to be ‘taken care of.’ At least one of ’em is soon food for the lions – literally. Apparently Whele inherited the Las Vegas Zoo or the animals from Sigfried and Roy, and they have needs. Whele himself likes to watch.

And then things get messy…and orgiastic…and smoky…and…

Meanwhile, far afield, the Angel Gabriel leads a celebration of his nasty angel and eight-ball horde, a reward for their first assault on Vega, last week…until he’s psychically summoned by Michael himself. He leaves the baddies to their orgy and amber and meets Michael alone on a cliff above a distant shore (All very Biblical-looking, and really dstant – how far is it from Vegas to the nearest ocean?)

Here again, we get some adequate, if over-acted, recap (Gabriel’s kind of a ham.) God, the father of the Angels and humans alike, disappeared years ago. Gabriel and his guys blamed the humans for His disappearance – He was just so disappointed in them he split. Michael said it was something else entirely, and Gabriel only led this war just because he’s jealous of the humans and has some epic Daddy issues. (God the Father apparently didn’t leave a note before he went out for cigarettes and didn’t come back.)“When they’re dead,” Gabriel says of humanity, “a bad memory, maybe Father will come back.” Gabriel’s heard enough: he says he won’t allow Gabriel to hurt any humans. “They don’t need you to protect them, Michael,” Gaby replies. “They have the Chosen One.”

Uh-oh!

Seriously: why did these guys even meet? Maybe Michael just wanted to make sure Gabriel was as nutty and determined as he thought, but it’s pretty clear: the scene was primarily for the audience’s benefit, and to give the Big Bad a little screen time. In any event, once again, lines, as they say, are drawn.

Back in Vega, the painfully beautiful ArEEKa, consort of Evelyn, the leader of the Order of Sexy Nuns called Helena (yeah, lots of girlie names, kind’a confusing), is summoned unto Whele’ s presence (he just loves to have people summoned. You can tell.). If you had any doubt, and you didn’t, his little “stories” with her remind us: she’s smart and ruthless, and so is he. But he’s going to keep Arica and her handmaidens in custody. Whele makes it clear: The Order of Helena has the air force and the best weaponry, and Whele wants it. What if he was to kill her consort, he asks semi-rhetorically. Arica has a ready answer: “She will mourn me,” she says. ‘Then she will bomb Vegas into extinction.”

Okay, then.

Next morning, Claire is playing host to PicketyPokety, or whatever her name is, the little peasant girl they encountered last episode. She’s being well taken care of by Claire’s own handmaiden, Felicia. We get a little MORE recap about how the caste system, the V system, was created by Riesen and his guys, and in a reversal of last episode’s conversation (yeah, a little confusing) we see that Claire wants the theocracy to become a republic. That won’t happen soon, obviously; she seems to be the only one who actually wants them (maybe including the peasants themselves); in the meantime, her dad says, she needs to marry Whele’s son William so they can run the city together. They argue, and it doesn’t end well…especially when Claire stalks out and the General, left alone, nearly passes out: he’s sick.

Down in the soldier’s barracks, Alex talks to Norma about his affair with Claire, and finds he’s been re-assigned to the House Whele from Riesen. He’s not real happy about it, and a talk with the Angel Michael doesn’t make him any happier. Michael tells him Gabriel knows the Chosen One’s actually arrive,d though he doesn’t seem to know it’s Alex Lannen quite yet. But still, he’s a target. Alex Lannen makes it clear he doesn’t trust Michael any more than he would Gabriel. And he reveals he can read at least one of the tattoos: it says “Don’t trust those closest to you.” (It’s a shame the last messiah didn’t have tattoos that told him stuff like that. He might have lasted longer.)

But Alex moves on: he reports to Whele, who tells him something really pretty interesting: before the war, Whele was a televangelist, and he was very good at it. And though he’s completely lost faith – you know, what with God disappearing and the angels slaughtering the world and all – he remains an expert in “the psychology of faith.” He knows how Alex’ revelation as the Chosen One could just as easily bring ruin to the society as save it. Alex, quite sincerely, says he doesn’t have to worry: he doesn’t want to thing to do with either side. Their talk is interrupted by Whele’s son William, the involuntarily betrothed of Claire, who was kind of a milquetoast faith-based cretin last week. He seems to have a little more steel in him this week; though he’s awed when he meets The Chosen One again, he recovers, and takes Lannen out into the city (what, like he’s never been there before?), where he shows himself to be an apparently sincerely good guy, giving out extra rations and medial care to the lower caste. He also knows exactly what his father is: “Charity is not his strong suit,” he admits, but he offers to be Alex’ ally and confidate. Hmm…

The beautiful (yes, yet ANOTHER beautiful woman) Senator Becca Thorn, counsel to Riesen, lays out General Riesen’s secret problems; congestive heart failure, and a tendency to slip out of the city walls every few weeks for reasons he will not discuss. (The only thing that distinguises Becca as anything other than a sounding board is she’s one of the few people allowed to actually speak with their native British accent. Just her and the angels, who are obviously British. Come on.) That short scene si followed by another short and exceedingly odd moment: Arika’s handmaidens, all conveniently packed in one cell and unsupervised, are seen scratching their greenly polish fingernails on the stone floor, to grind out the greenish poison all have their (built-in anti-rape weapons? We may never know.) They think the resultant nail-powder is going to be used by Arika to kills Whele, and they’re loving it. But…

Alex, heading somewhere in a hurry, runs into Claire’s right hand Felicia, who gets a glimpse of his tattoos…and can barely get alone before her shock turns to wrath and her big black wings burst out of her tunic. Whoa! Black Angel, spy for Gabriel, ahoy!

More talk between Riesen and Michael – well written, but jut more back-and-fill – as Alex goes to Claire’s quarters (boy, this lowly soldier seems to have no trouble going wherever he wants to in this city) to patch up after their drunken fight the night before. “You’re not a spoiled princes,” he says, now sober. “That’s really all I am,” Clair tells him – nicely done! And Alex says he’ll stay in town after all: for her. Again, his back-and -forth on cutting out isn’t exactly Hamlet in its stature but it’s very understandable: he doesn’t want to be the Messiah; he doesn’t even want to be here, but he loves this woman. A frank but very romantic love scene ensues, and we get a good look at the tats all over Alex’s naked body, and the complete lack of tats all over Claire’s naked body (thank you very much). As he’s sneaking out, he has one more scene with Bibbledeeybob, who seems to have no real role yet – clearly a subplot waiting to happen – but as he tries to slip away, Felicia confronts him.

Angel fight!

And it’s a good angel fight. The CGI folks on this show know when to bring out the wings and when to hide them. We’re reminded pretty quickly that Chosen One or not, Alex is just a well-trained solder without any superpowers, and these wing-dudes are super strong and super fast and mean. Heaven must have some pretty rough neighborhoods. Ultimately he manages to set fire to her wings (pretty cool idea), but all that does is drive her away, not kills her, and not before she wounds Iggledebick and Claire (but only flesh wound).

Before Whele’s informed of that assualt, he’s the one who gets summoned this time – to Arika’s cell, only to find all of the nuns are dead from their own greenish poison: all but Arika, that is. It’s a bold act of blackmail: absolve Arika of any involvement in the assassination of Alex’ dad and let her go, and she’ll make sure there are no reprisals for the execution of these “traitorous” pro-Michael nuns…or keep her in captivity, ArREEKah will denounce him, and the Order of Evelyn will go to war…and win.

Now that is one ruthless bitch. Gotta love her.

Alex is back in his barracks. He’s changed his mind again: he’s bugging out. Michael was right: he’s a target, and he’s not going to endanger those he loves. And no, no, goddamn it, Claire – who’s no spoiled princes, just unrealistic – you can’t go with him. “So this is goodbye,” she says “For now,” he answers. Yeah, will see how long that lasts.

A wounded Felicia makes it back to Gabriel Town, and confirms it: Alex Lannen is the Chosen One. Gabriel turns her over to be cared for by his right-hand man, a guy who looks and dresses exactly like Dr. Strange’s assistant Wong … and see wee Lannen in a cool car driving out of the city, with the tats squirming all over his body, begging to be read. Which he won’t.

And we end with the weirdest scene of all: Riesen, outside the city, in the ruins of the pyramid that was once the Luxor (which is somehow outside the walls of Vega?), meeting with his secret love: a beautiful but transformed female, black-eyed and spider-veined: a vampire eight-ball. Eek!

So there’s more talk and less ‘do’ tan last week, but we still move forward: the factions are clearer, Alex is revealed to all, and he’s out of the city and on his own. And though the dialogue occasionally descends into cliche and the Angel Gabriel grimaces and hisses like a soap opera villain, there is still some pretty cool stuff here, including some momentary contemplation on the nature of power and destiny – not exactly your normal fodder for TV shows. And, yo, those angels can serve up some kick-ass wing-fu.

We’ll back back next week.