Dominion: Season 1/ Episode 5 “Something Borrowed” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview

As David preps for political civil war in Vega, Alex confronts his inability to protect humans from angels.

Review (with Spoilers)

With one surprise at the end of the episode and quite a bit of character development throughout, this was definitely an episode which solidified what I said last week that Dominion has found its stride. For with political backstabbing and information on Whele and Risen’s family uncovered, “Something Borrowed” certainly keeps the ante rising at a moderate pace. Making me wonder where the series may go in the future?

Topic 1: Can’t Protect the Ones I Love (Part 1) – Alex

With Bixby dead and Michael having gotten hurt, Alex tries to take his training seriously with Michael but his pursuit of redemption makes him unable to fully understand what Michael is trying to teach him. However, when meditating with Michael he is given a vision in which Bixby tells him: “Don’t let them hurt anyone else.” Which of course automatically registers with him thinking she means the angels, but as with his first warning, “Beware those closest to you,” the true meaning has nothing to do with angels and everything to do with the senators and council.

Topic 2: Can’t Protect the Ones I Love (Part 2) – David and Edward

A moderate portion of the episode deals with David and William, especially why their relationship is so strained. You see, during the angel invasion David, his wife, and three kids hid in their walk in closet and because of William’s whimpering they were found. Then, to make matters worse, David gets trapped behind the closet door because of how the angel broke in and as his two eldest children and wife were killed, William just stood there. Mind you he had to be less than 5, but you can see in David’s eyes that he blamed William and perhaps wanted to kill him for being the reason the majority of his family was slaughtered.

As for Edward, he too has a problem of letting go. For with his 8ball angel starting to become a nuisance to Vega and himself, he finds himself asking Michael to discreetly dispose of her. The reason? Well with her inability to return to Gabriel’s side due to her relations with Edward and her not being able to blend in with humans like Michael, she is stuck between two worlds and you can see increasingly it is becoming a miserable existence. Especially because she seems to want autonomy. She wants to be able to get Claire an engagement gift without having to hide her face or worry about being killed. But being that humans are rightfully cautious about angels, all she finds are people who are ready to threaten her life so she has to end theirs. Which makes it when Alex comes after her a problem for we learn that the 8ball has taken none other than Claire Risen’s mother’s body. Leaving me to wonder how far has Edward maybe gone with the 8ball when it comes to being his ex-wife? Is he in it simple for the superficial, meaning her looks and voice, or has he tried to have the 8ball become like his ex-wife pass that?

Topic 3: Political Civil War – David, Claire and William

With David being power hungry and him being decreasingly less discreet about it, seemingly we are but days or weeks away before he pursues usurping Edward. In fact, he is so sure of himself that he tells Claire outright he is going to usurp her father’s position as if he expects her to just be helpless in the situation. Which, at first, she seems to be for with the senate needing David’s money, and him blackmailing Senator Thorne who maybe the only one who could stand against him, how could he lose? Well, due to his Achilles heel William.

For, as we know, Claire will never truly be in love with William as he wants her to. She has made it quite clear to him that their marriage is due to politics and you can see William wants to change this. So when Claire confides in William and asks for ways to stop David, of course he jumps at the chance to help. Leading to the need to ask, as David hints at, if Claire is like the rest of those with power who will use and exploit people for their own personal gain? For even if she is generally nice, her father seemed nice too until he shot Senator Frost.

But, questions of exploitation aside, William does what he needs to in order to win Claire over. Even if it means only planting the type of things she would need to tame his father. Such as William’s own scarf which would link David with the Black Acolytes. Something which is good enough for Claire to get a possible hold on David’s ambitions, but being that David doesn’t let too many people have access to his office it becomes obvious to him what his son does in his spare time. Now, what may come of all this? Only time will tell since it seems secrets rarely get exposed in their world. If anything, they are just dangled in the air until someone is ready to confess.

Things To Note

Edward’s 8ball/ wife kills at least two people in the episode while trying to give Claire a music box as an engagement gift. And, from what I can tell, Claire’s mom has likely left the body but the 8ball seems to appreciate that connection she should, or would, have with Claire if things were different. She even breaks into House Risen to leave the music box on Claire’s bed, possibly leading to why Edward wants her dead for she speaks in such a manner in which it sounds like she is saying that Edward can’t protect her forever, leading him to say something he may regret in the future.

The blackmail of senator Thorne gets deeper as Edward reveals he knows about Michael’s insatiable lust for not just Becca, but girls he calls “The Cherries.” So, in order to break free of Edward’s blackmail she arranges for “The Cherries” to be sent to Helena, and breaks up with Michael. Something which is bittersweet for her since Michael doesn’t fight for them to stay together at all.

While Alex is in pursuit of Claire’s mom, we learn quite a bit about him and Noma. For one, they used to date until someone within Core named French convinced her to break up with him so that he could stay in the military and become V2 status. Thus explaining why there always seemed to be something between them. If just because, at least the way she puts it, Claire is a rebound. In fact, with Claire marrying William I think Noma may try to rekindle her relationship with Alex and I am so here for it.

As we know, if Edward was to be replaced it would likely be Claire to replace him because of how beloved she is by the people. Something which allows Claire a certain amount of power over David for her accusation of David being a Black Acolyte, and a traitor, would mean more than any defense he could put up.