Given the CW’s current trend of focusing on supernatural and post-apocalyptic shows — like “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Originals,” and “The 100” — it comes as no surprise that the CW has gone one step further with its latest show “The Messengers,” which adds angels into the fictitious fray.
“The Messengers” follows five individuals who are granted supernatural powers when a meteor strikes the Earth. Vera Buckley (Shantel VanSanten) is a now deceased radio astronomer, Erin Calder (Sofia Black-D’Elia) was a young, single mother, Peter Moore (Joel Courtney) is the once troubled teenager, Raul Garcia (J.D. Pardo) is the rogue federal agent, while Joshua Silburn, Jr., was once a televangelist (Jon Fletcher). Suddenly, these strangers, whose lives could not be any further apart, are bonded together and embark on a mission to discover the significance of the meteor, their resurrection and the grand scheme of it all.
In typical supernatural drama or mystery fashion, evil is constantly present to counteract the good. This typical trope comes in the form of The Man (Diogo Morgado) — a charming, omniscient and enigmatic figure.
Intriguing facets of this show are the diverging supernatural abilities, backgrounds and journeys of each protagonist, which will definitely influence the effect of The Man’s presence within their lives — although they are unaware of what exactly this entails, he has grand plans for each and every one of them.
“The Messengers”, in addition to its supernatural elements, is filled with theological subjects as well. While not directly stated, viewers are right away able to conclude that The Man is the human manifestation of the devil and it is interesting that Morgado, who portrayed Jesus Christ in the miniseries “The Bible,” now depicts this Lucifer-esque character. In the premiere episode, The Man has latched onto Vera to assist him. Vera could very well serve as the Eve of the show depending on whether or not she succumbs to his temptations down the line.
The pilot of “The Messengers” provided more questions than answers and the lack of resolution for even the most minor plot points will make this show maddeningly frustrating if it doesn’t change its course. Furthermore, the visual effects are more distracting and laughable than beneficial, although it is not uncommon for supernatural TV shows to encounter this issue — think of the first season of MTV counterpart, “Teen Wolf,” which has made exponential gains in its visual effects since its premiere. With any luck, both the viewership and the budget of “The Messengers” will surge, and the special effects will no longer take away from the plot.
While the acting is choppy at times and made it difficult to believe the characters, the main storyline is different enough and could retain enough of a hold to ensure a win for “The Messengers.” If the CW can find a good balance between religious mythology and narrative, while avoiding the stereotypical cliches that plagued bits of “The Messenger’s” pilot, then “The Messengers” has a real chance at becoming a hit like “Supernatural” and the NBC favorite “Heroes.”
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