Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Bondsman.
Starring Kevin Bacon, The Bondsman follows a familiar premise where a man, Hub, returns from the depths of hell and gets a second shot at life after the devil hires him to hunt down demons. Determined to avoid his hellish fate, Hub sets out to kill one demon after another until he encounters ones that are a little too overpowered.
Like many supernatural TV shows, The Bondsman follows a typical monster-of-the-episode format, where nearly every new episode introduces a new demonic character. Each subsequent demon in the Kevin Bacon horror-comedy show is significantly stronger, perfectly raising the stakes for the main character. With a runtime of eight episodes, The Bondsman features a total of six demon characters. Out of the six, the majority end up returning to hell after they cross paths with the show's main character, Hub.
6 Valacor
The Demon Possesses A Priest
The first demon, Valacor, shows up in The Bondsman's episode 2, soon after Kevin Bacon's Hub agrees to hunt demons for the devil and send them back to hell. As seen in episode 2's opening moments, Valacor possesses a local priest and uses his body as a vessel to brutally kill Lucky's men. When Hub sets out to hunt the demon down, his mother volunteers to help him. Although Hub initially seems apprehensive about getting his mother involved, he eventually agrees. This proves to be a good idea when his mother saves his life during his showdown with Valacor.
5 Marphos
This One Possesses A High School Cheerleader
Marphos lands in the human realm in The Bondsman episode 3's opening moments, where it targets a high school cheerleader. Like all demons, he kills her before taking over her body. Moments after he arrives, Hub's mother receives a fax about his killing. She looks into Marphos' background and learns that he typically originated in Egypt and his examples have been found in Nordic sea-faring creatures and aquatic entities.
Why Hub Was Sent To Hell In The Bondsman, Explained
Hub's story in The Bondsman begins with him returning from hell, raising many questions about why he was sent to the underworld in the first place.
Marphos' connection with water makes a lot more sense when the show's finale reveals that each demon Hub encounters represents one of the five edges of a pentagram: spirit, earth, water, air, and fire. Even the showdown between Marphos and Hub unfolds in a local swimming pool, where Marphos nearly drowns Hub to death. However, Hub eventually manages to overpower him and send him back to hell by destroying his host before it is too late.
4 Erdos
This One Takes Over Deputy Sheriff Briggs' Body
The third demon in the series, Erdos, shows up in the human realm in episode 3. He targets Deputy Sheriff Briggs and possesses him before Hub receives the fax to kill him. When Hub looks up the demon's name online, he learns that Erdos is an Earth demon, representing another edge of the five-edged pentagram. Hub's wife, Maryanne, happens to be with him when he faces Erdos at a local hardware store in episode 3. Owing to this, his wife, too, gets embroiled in his quest to eliminate demons for the devil.
3 Slypharis
Slypharis Takes Over Two Men In Episode 5
In The Bondsman's episode 5, Slypharis is revealed to be an air demon who gives his victims the "kiss of death." When Hub's mother searches his name online, she comes across a page revealing that even though his true origins are unclear, he emerged during periods of extreme violence. According to some legends, he came up from the depths of an active volcano, representing humanity's rage and violent tendencies. Other stories surrounding his lore suggest he was born in the flames that burn Hades.
The Bondsman Key Facts |
|
Created By |
Grainger David |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score |
79% |
Streaming On |
Amazon Prime Video |
No. Of Episodes |
8 |
Slypharis initially possesses two male characters in The Bondsman, and Hub attempts to kill both of them by using a sniper rifle. However, to his dismay, Lucky captures him before he can complete his mission. When he encounters the two demons again in the episode's ending, Hub uses the chainsaw to kill both men Slypharis possessed.
2 Pyralis
The Fire Demon Possesses A Child
Hub sets out to hunt down the fire demon, Pyralis, in The Bondsman season 1's penultimate episode. This time around, his family and Midge also forces with him because humanity's fate depends on stopping Pyralis. Midge reveals that if Pyralis manages to sacrifice a human, he could pave the way for a shackled angel to arrive in the human realm, which would spell trouble for them. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Hub and his team fail to stop Pyralis. As a result, Pyralis completes the inverted pentagram in The Bondsman and allows Lilith to enter the human world.
1 Lilith
Lilith Possesses Sheryl Before Taking Over Maryanne's Body
Lilith is introduced as the final demon character in The Bondsman season 1. She shows up in the human realm in the show's finale and seems immensely powerful compared to all the demons featured in the series. Midge reveals that Lilith was once god's favorite angel because she had an incredibly beautiful voice. However, the other angels eventually grew jealous of her and manipulated her into ing Satan's rebellion against god. As a result, Lilith was banished by god and sent to hell, where she was forced to live without music for eternity.
After being tormented by Satan for decades, Lilith developed mind-controlling abilities that allowed her to kill men in the most brutal way possible. With the same ability, she is also able to make women become her devotees. Soon after Lilith arrives in the human realm, she first possesses Sheryl, the woman Hub accidentally killed.
Lilith possesses Hub's wife, Maryanne, in The Bondsman's final arc and promises to destroy the human world if Hub refuses to her in her battle against the devil.
In The Bondsman's ending arc, Hub manages to trap Lilith in his pentagram trap. However, Lilith makes him an offer he cannot refuse: she tells him that Sheryl will live, and he will also be able to avoid his hellish fate if he agrees to let her go. Hub takes the offer and makes the grave mistake of trusting a demon. With this, Lilith possesses Hub's wife, Maryanne, in The Bondsman's final arc and promises to destroy the human world if Hub refuses to her in her battle against the devil.
The Bondsman follows backwoods bounty hunter Hub Halloran, who returns from the afterlife for a second chance at life and love, while navigating his past as a musician. As he resumes his work, he discovers his former occupation now involves a supernatural element.
- Network
- Prime Video
- Cast
- Jolene Purdy
- Main Genre
- Adventure
- Creator(s)
- Grainger David
- Producers
- Jason Blum, Kevin Bacon, Erik Oleson, Jeremy Gold, Grainger David, Chris McCumber
- Seasons
- 1
