Warrior Nun has been another hit for Netflix. The adaptation of Ben Dunn’s long-running comic series was met with a very positive critical reaction and a second (and possibly third) season is now in the pipeline. Particular praise was reserved for Alba Baptista’s lead performance as the divinely super-powered Ava Silva, as well as the kick-ass fight choreography.
Details on the second season are thin on the ground right now and it won’t start filming until the Coronavirus pandemic has receded, but we’ve heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Extraction is getting a sequel and that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would be delayed, both of which were correct –Â that the show is set to take the characters in an interesting direction. Apparently, Ava Silva will come out as bisexual in season 2 and have a relationship with Kristina Tonteri-Young’s Sister Beatrice.
Showrunner Simon Barry has already been teasing this, too, saying in an interview with Variety:
“There’s definitely something there with Ava and Beatrice [Kristina Tonteri-Young] in the sense that, Beatrice openly admits she’s gay and that’s a part of her journey and part of our story. Does that define Ava? Well, that remains to be seen. I mean, we have more seasons hopefully to tell the story and that will be an ongoing journey, not something that is easily defined in one scene with one life, you know?
Um, and I don’t think we want Ava defined by a singular thing any more than we want Beatrice defined by a singular idea. In regards to a queer character or whatever, we don’t want them to be defined by that. We want them to be defined by who they are and let their sexuality and let their relationships and let their journeys be included in that. We never tried to paint any character with just one defining characteristic. By defining Ava and Beatrice too quickly or too irresponsibly, we could kill it and ruin it. And I don’t want to do that either. So for now, let’s just say we are open and exploring, much like the characters are.”
Sister Beatrice has been one of the breakout characters from the first season and has been described as a “new lesbian role model” for her kick-ass fashion sense and the awesome action scenes. It’s undeniable that she formed a very close bond with Ava over the first season as well, helping her become accustomed to this new world (and admitting that she also didn’t fit in at first).
That mentor relationship saw the Beatrice and Ava grow very attached to one another, with Beatrice a capable partner to back up the less experienced Ava, while Ava tried to get Beatrice to lighten up a bit and to take joy in life. By the finale, there were definite hints of romance and fans are already busily shipping them as ‘Avatrice.’ As such, this development would certainly make sense.
In any case, let’s just hope the second season of Warrior Nun is ready to shoot once pandemic restrictions are over. I need to know what happens next.