Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Plot: A Necron dynasty, dormant for eons, rises in the depths of the Nephilim Sector, now inhabited by fleshy interlopers in the Pariah Nexus. Led by Necron Cryptek Illuminor Szeras, they seek to reclaim dominance on the planet Paradyce.
Review: I’m not going to even pretend I understood half of what I watched here but what I do know is that Pariah Nexus is one of the most gorgeously animated series I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing.
The series is from Warhammer TV, whose only other animated show I’m familiar with is Hammer and Bolter (which also doesn’t do any handholding for those new to the world), and knowledge of the Warhammer games and books are necessary to understanding the lore. I watched this without even reading the plot synopsis first, so to say I was lost is a bit of an understatement. And their IMDb page doesn’t answer a lot of questions and was of little help. So, I did a deep dive into the world of Warhammer and found out The Pariah Nexus is a region of the Nephilim Sector within Ultima Segmentum. Which admittedly still left a lot of questions and required further reading that would be too lengthy to go through here.
Long story short, it’s a place at the heart of this world where objects called Blackstone Pylons are kept. There also seems to be a gene mutation in humans called “Pariah” which generates a warp-stabilisation field that affects the minds of those it comes into contact with. And the battle for dominance is more along the lines of a religious crusade between the two factions: Task Force III and the Necrons. Although in this story the two main characters seem to be a Sister of Battle and a Guardsman, neither of which have been fully explored prior to this three-part series.
Again, a working understanding of this world will enhance your viewing enjoyment and we can only hope Henry Cavill’s upcoming Warhammer 40k series will make these stories more accessible to those who, like me, have little knowledge of them. That said, Pariah Nexus, is a robust, gorgeously animated series that is brimming with atmosphere and the kind of details that demands you to pause it, just so you don’t miss an inch. The action sequences are fluid in a way I wasn’t expecting considering the CG animation style, with varied attacks and weapons by the formidable antagonists known as Deathmarks all coming together to make the episodes look like video game cutscenes of the highest quality.
With an epic score worthy of the big screen and a solid voice cast bringing life to these characters, Pariah Nexus should certainly resonate with Warhammer 40k fans. Those less familiar with the lore might be hesitant to invest time in a series they won’t fully understand but I prefer to think of it as watching an episode of Love, Death and Robots. And you don’t need to fully comprehend the background to enjoy the visual feast that’s in front of you.
Sommer’s Score: 7.5 out of 10
And you can check out more action-packed animated content below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More