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Harsh Realm – Manus Domini (Review)
Posted on October 6, 2015 by Darren
This November, we're taking a trip back in time to review the seventh season of The X-Files and the first (and only) season of Harsh Realm.
Manus Domini continues the influx of assistance from the writing staff on The X-Files, with John Shiban contributing a script to the first season of Harsh Realm.
Manus Domini is a very strange episode. In a way, it feels more keenly aligned with the sensibilities of Chris Carter than those of John Shiban. It is the most overtly religious episode from the short run of Harsh Realm, with characters contemplating faith and spirituality in an otherwise cruel world. It is the logical continuation of themes seeded and developed across the rest of the season, bringing the religious subtext of the show to the fore so that it might be acknowledged and explored.
Florence in the machine…
To be fair, there are elements that fit comfortably within Shiban's oeuvre. Shiban is very much a fan of classic horror tropes, so it makes sense that his script should feature a monstrous supporting character whose complete moral decay is symbolised through grotesque facial deformities. (The element recurs in Camera Obscura, but is not as pronounced as it in this episode.) There are elements of Manus Domini that feel like they might have been lifted from classic seventies horror.
Nevertheless, Manus Domini is defined by its religious components, making it clear that the show retains the same core moral perspective that runs through Carter's work; there is a recurring sense that faith and spirituality are essential to survive and endure in an increasingly faithless world.
A literal mine field…
Filed under: Harsh Realm | Tagged: Carter, chris carter, faith, family, harsh realm, john shiban, manus domini, religion, Television |	Leave a comment »
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