YMMV / Warrior Nun

• Accidental Aesop: Go over all your options before running into a brash decision. Ava and Michael are so determined to pull a Heroic Sacrifice, they forget that the Tarasks can kill Adriel, and Ava only turns to the option after Michael is already dead and she's been heavily injured.
• Adorkable:
  • Ava's enthusiasm and vigour are seen as a highlight of her character, with her excitement at being able to do things many people take for granted making her extremely endearing.
  • Beatrice's inexperience with drinking and her burgeoning crush on Ava do a lot to make the character more adorable in the second season.
  • Camila is a ruthless Sister Warrior, but also gets tongue-tied when around cute boys and references Dolly Parton, which makes her a much loved character.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Does Mother Superion's contempt for Ava come from her faith and its position on suicide, or was she upset because the Halo chose a girl who (supposedly) killed herself after it rejected her in the past?
  • Cardinal Duretti. Is he genuine in his belief in God and the Church, or is he simply Hiding Behind Religion in order to fulfil his ambitions? Furthermore, is his ruthlessness in his position as the Pope due to his protectiveness of the Vatican and what it represents? Or is it again because of simply power?
  • Are Adriel's goals really as altruistic as he claims? Or is he just a power-hungry thief? He genuinely wants to work with Ava in the second season and erupts when he confronts Reya, but his scamming of the global populace and the havoc that ensues hints that he's still just a ruthless monster.
  • Beatrice's smile at the end of Season 2. Is she happy for moving on from the OCS and living her life as Ava wanted her to? Or is it because she knows Ava is alive and is preparing to reunite with her? The fact there's a scene shortly afterwards of the sword glowing hints towards the latter.
• Angst? What Angst?: The whole cast seems to get over the death of the entire OCS in Season 2 fairly quickly, with Mother Superion and Camila (the first ones to learn of its fate) getting over the matter in a short while before heading to Madrid. Though it's later shown some Sisters survived, and the dialogue implied that plenty of others could've escaped.
• Awesome Art: The main posters for the first◊ and second◊ seasons are a perfect blend of religious imagery and crazy vibrant visuals, establishing the tone of the series.
• Base-Breaking Character: Ava in Season 1 has one half of the fandom loving her for being a well-meaning but naive heroine who does her best with how she's treated and the responsibility thrust onto her, while having the other half hating her for considering her a selfish coward who keeps running from fights and only makes the problems in the story more severe. There's little to no middle ground in the fandom and the conflict got quite vicious. It lessened in Season 2, where she becomes more dedicated to the OCS's fight.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: Miguel is Michael, Jillian's son grown up. The fact that Jack Mullarkey looks exactly like a grown-up version of Lope Haydn Evans doesn't really help when the show treats it as a shocking Mid-Season Twist.
• Catharsis Factor:
  • Watching Sister Frances get her neck snapped by Ava is extremely satisfying to see, given the amount of pain and torment she's caused.
  • After watching Adriel outsmart and beat the OCS at every turn in Season 2, one can't help but cheer when he's distracted by Camila and then killed after Ava summons a horde of Tarasks that tear him to pieces.
• Creator Worship: Kristina Tonteri-Young gets a lot of this from the fandom, especially with the release of Season 2, as she was one of the only members of the cast actively seeking out interviews and chances to discuss the show.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Of the nuns, Camila is extremely popular among fans due to her likable personality, being the first of the order to be nice to Ava and generally being very sweet and cute while still being just as tough as the rest of the order.
• Epileptic Trees: Some have theorised that Camila's line to Beatrice about loving the Warrior Nun was actually meant for Mary before her actress Toya Turner left the show and the character was Killed Offscreen. It would make more sense given Mary was devoted to Sister Shannon, and their relationship had a heavy amount of subtext.
• Evil Is Cool: Adriel gets this reception for effortlessly outmaneuvering the OCS and proving himself to be an effective threat.
• Fandom-Specific Plot: Within mere days of the second season's release, fans scrambled to create fanworks that involve Ava and Beatrice reuniting somehow.
• Fan Fic Fuel:
  • What was Adriel and Reya's previous conflict like? It's implied he did have allies, so what happened to them? What were the turn of events that resulted in him stealing the Halo and running to Earth?
  • The two month Time Skip in Season 2 that shows Ava and Beatrice living in the Alps has been a big one for shippers, with many curious as to what the two got up to in that time.
• Fanon: Fans generally agree that Ava and Beatrice shared a bed in the Alps while on the run, and that Beatrice was the one to cut Ava's hair.
• Growing the Beard: While Season 1 was by no means hated, many felt the Slow-Paced Beginning hampered the final result. Season 2, on the other hand, was received far more warmly almost immediately thanks to its stronger character development, lore building, and higher stakes.
• He's Just Hiding:
  • Shotgun Mary has gotten this reaction from some fans, who don't believe that such an important character would be killed off-screen, and that she's merely being saved for later down the road.
  • Ava. Not only was she sent through the Arc, like Michael, who also came back just fine, but the final shot of Season 2 shows the Cruciform sword glowing, hinting that she might be coming back sooner than even him.
• I Knew It!: Fans guessed quite a few details from Season 2 before it was released such as Ava and Beatrice becoming a couple and Mary's death.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Sister Lilith is shipped with basically every other character, namely her sister nuns Shotgun Mary, Ava, Camille, and Beatrice. It helps that she has great chemistry with all of them and Lorena Andrea is a fairly attractive person who imbues Lilith with a lot of charisma. Also, it helps that unlike say, Ava, Beatrice, or Shotgun Mary (the only characters more popular than she is) she is never given any concrete Ship Tease or Les Yay with anyone, making her a much easier fandom bicycle.
• LGBT Fanbase: The series got a large sapphic following thanks to the "Avatrice" ship and the presence of numerous badass and attractive women in leading roles.
• Love to Hate: Adriel is a cunning entity from another realm who uses his power to generate a devoted following and makes life hell for the protagonists. However, he's such a dramatic villain with a charismatic performance from William Miller that it's hard not to be entertained when he pops up.
• Memetic Badass: Beatrice's feats (fending off a group of guards in a hallway, kicking the crap out of Sister Crimson with ease, and being The Strategist of the group) have made her this to the fandom. Only exacerbated after Season 2, where she effortlessly destroys a hallway of armed FBC guards to get to Ava.
• Memetic Loser: Miguel became this after fans noticed that every time Ava used the Halo to protect Beatrice, she indirectly sends Miguel flying back. Fueled by his rather anti-climactic death, getting brutally killed before even getting a hit off in the final battle.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Yassified Adriel" or "Slay-driel." ^Explanation This image◊ of Adriel from Season 2 resulted in a lot of fans joking about how he became "yassified" thanks to his pose. Edits such as this◊ also popped up, dubbed "Slaydriel".
  • Chris Evans loves Warrior Nun. ^Explanation The second season was released amidst rumours of Alba Baptista and Chris Evans dating, which brought attention to the series. Fans jokingly stated that Evans was actually a really big fan and the dating rumours were a ploy to promote the show.
    • [Random celebrity] loves Warrior Nun. ^Explanation Due to the lack of promotion from Netflix, fans jokingly spread rumors of various famous figures supposedly loving the show to get people talking about it, including Taylor Swift, Hailee Steinfeld, and Zack Snyder.
  • "They warned us about this season." ^Explanation A scene early in Season 2 shows a location marker obscured by a pillar, spelling "pain" instead of "Spain". Many fans joked this was the creator's way of warning everyone of the Darker and Edgier tone and Bittersweet Ending.
  • Camila is an Avatrice shipper.^Explanation Sister Camila is the one to recommend the section of the Warrior Nun diary on Sister Melanie to Beatrice, resulting in a Signature Scene for those who ship Beatrice with Ava. Fans joked that Camila shipped the couple herself, fueled by the second season when she directly confronts Beatrice on her feelings. Many joked that she would NOT be happy in missing their first kiss.
• Moe: Ava's excitable nature and love for new sights make her very huggable.
• One True Pairing: Almost every fan of the show ships Beatrice and Ava, due to their well-developed romance and Alba Baptista and Kristina Tonteri-Young's chemistry. It's rare to find someone who ships them with anyone else.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: Most Ava and Beatrice shippers refer to them as "Avatrice".
• She Really Can Act: Kristina Tonteri-Young and Alba Baptista were both singled out for praise in the second season for the tragic romance arc between Ava and Beatrice, with many emotional scenes showcasing both actresses talents. It's especially notable given the show is Tonteri-Young's first acting role, with her previously being a ballerina.
• Signature Scene:
  • Beatrice's hallway fight scene is probably one of the most talked about scenes from the first season.
  • The Ava and Beatrice kiss scene in Season 2 is this for the Avatrice shippers.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: Many reviews complain that Ava's Refusal of the Call drags on way too long until it feels like the entire first season is nothing but a prologue to the real story (with the show's crew having no assurance at the time that they'd actually get a second season, mind you). Thankfully, the show was indeed renewed on August 19, 2020.
• Spoiled by the Format: The sixth episode of Season 2 seems to be gearing up for an explosive finale in Adriel's cathedral, doubly so when the OCS is barely able to hack in and mess with the tech creating the plagues Adriel claims to cure. Only problem is, there are two more episodes left in the season, so naturally the plan goes horribly, horribly awry.
• Spoiler Cover: The main poster for Season 2 has a clear image of Adriel on it, whose presence in the first season is a massive spoiler to its reveal.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Shotgun Mary is Killed Offscreen in the second season, which prompted various complaints from fans who felt she could've added to several plot-lines such as Ava and Beatrice falling in love and Lilith turning evil. The latter stings especially given Mary and Lilith had a key character dynamic in the first season revolving around Lilith's Defrosting Ice Queen arc.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The visual effects in the series look incredible. From the Halo activating with devastating effects to the demonic designs of the Tarasks, which all look exceptionally polished. Season 2 amps up the impressive visuals with Lilith's wings and Adriel's death at the hands of a horde of Tarasks.
• Watched It for the Representation: The show gets this reception at times for featuring a cast of kickass women of various ethnicities and ages.