Warhammer TV is a part of Games Workshop’s Warhammer+ subscription service, which gives subscribers access to premium features like things such as the option to watch masterclasses on miniature painting or enjoy riveting battle reports. As well for this small cost they get exclusive animations and an entire vault filled with classic lore from publications in the past.
In this article, Jared Emanuel, reviews the second episode of a Warhammer TV exclusive “The Silent City”. Here, we follow Space Marines of the Blood Angels Chapter as they uncover dark secrets on Niades.
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The story continues with Episode 2: The Silent City where we see more about how these battle-hardened warriors react to their discoveries. Check out why this and other stories make Warhammer an amazing world to explore!
What Makes the Blood Angel Space Marine Chapter Unique?
The main theme of the Blood Angels is redemption. They are fallen warriors who are struggling to find their way back through battle.
For those who are unfamiliar, the Blood Angels are one of the original twenty Space Marine Chapters, initially created during the Second Founding. More significantly, they are the first Chapter to have their DNA corrupted by Chaos, which is unusual as most Chapters with Chaos-tainted genes were founded much later.
The Blood Angels’ flaw, the Black Rage, manifests as a psychosis that causes them to fly into an uncontrollable rage in certain situations, sometimes even losing all sense of reason for extended periods of time. As a result, the Blood Angels embark on an endless quest to find a cure for the affliction through battle, war, and blood.
The Quest Continues…
Check out my review of Angels of Death Episode 1: “Blood and Duty”.
After the short first episode, the adventure continues with our band of Space Marines. With the excitement from last week draining away I was able to appreciate this episode more objectively.
This second installment was frustratingly short, but much more action packed than last episode. The mounting tension of the veiled threat is revealed and combat and chaos ensues.
The heroes set aside the internal squabbles to get the job done, but it was something I hope that is brought back for future episodes. The art is again impressive, and the dark theme and colors match the setting perfectly.
However, they clearly are also meant to disguise the subpar animation of the production. Briefly, the video for Angels of Death is in black and white with selective red colors for the main characters. The animations are a tad stilted and robotic.
I have been playing Warhammer 40k video games for years and its a small shame that the cut scenes for their video games seem to have a higher quality than one of their pilot shows.
Nonetheless, I am still engaged with the story and revelation at the end was not at all shocking for two reasons: I know the setting really well and there were only two logical options. And the the second more obvious reason….the scene in episode one with Captain Orpheo let the cat out of the bag almost immediately.
If Blood and Duty was meant to attract new fans to the hobby by way of mystery they might be succeeding. With no context of the lore there are still lots of questions unanswered. However any long time fan would be able to identify the enemy from the first scene.
Summary and Spoiler: Angels of Death Episode 2: “The Silent City”
>Spoiler alert
The Space Marines descend to the planet in drop pods. A miscalculation results in one of the pods crashing through a building, diverting its course. The 11 marines are now split into two smaller fireteams.
The bridge crew inform the Ship-mistress that the atmospheric inference that has been making it impossible to speak with Captain Orpheo will make communication with the fireteams impossible.
The Ship-mistress communicates with the highest ranking Space Marine on board, the Techmarine Hadreal, to provide him with an update of the mission. He listens with interest as he repairs the Thunderhawk for the evacuation of the Blood Angels in the Silent City.
The Ship-mistress is contending with the seemingly inept dock workers who will not evacuate the Sword of Baal fast enough so they can break orbit. However something more insidious is happening.
The true threat suddenly reveals itself when one of the ships they are trying to escort, The Bounty, breaks formation from the flotilla and hails a warning message that mutants are hijacking his ship; And potentially other ships within the evacuating flotilla.
Meanwhile, on the surface, the fireteam being led by Brother Kazarion encounters a platoon of the Planetary Defense Force and an awkward stand off ensues.
On one side are five Blood Angels and the other a Chimera class tank and nearly thirty Guardsmen. The Blood Angels marvel at the courage displayed by the humans. Typically Space Marines are viewed with reverence and awe by mere mortals of the Imperium.
Suddenly, Kazarion notices that the commander of the platoon he is speaking with is a mutant and promptly opens fire. The sounds of the gun fight echo across the city and are heard by their Chaplain and Battle Brothers several blocks away. They promptly hustle to reinforce their comrades.
Back in orbit the Sword of Baal discovers that dock workers are also mutants and they are attempting to board the ship. From above and below the forces of the Blood Angels are being ensnared in this trap.
The battle on the surface ends as the one in orbit begins to heat up. In the midst of combat Kazarion has a bout of Black Rage but is able to shake it off. The battle ends once the separated Space Marine squad is reunited and the episode ends with the “revelation” that this whole charade has been manufactured by the Tyranids and their Genestealer spies.
>End of Spoilers
Conclusions
Warhammer TV is bringing back the nostalgia. I’m pleased that episode 2 brings more action and fleshes out the mystery from the first episode of Angels of Blood with Tension boiling through this short episode, intensifying what is already a grim dark science fiction epic!
If you haven’t dug into Warhammer TV, I will say it may exceed your expectations. I’m excited to see many other new episodes for the next installment of Angels of Blood.
About the Author
Jared Emanuel is a hobby enthusiast that loves high fantasy, science fiction, and everything in between.
