6 Biggest Ways The Nun 2 Changes The Conjuring Universe

Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Nun 2!

While The Nun II does a great deal to expand the lore and world-building in The Conjuring Universe, it also changes some of the mechanics and events of the franchise at the same time. The sequel to The Nun finds Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) once again confronting The Demon Nun, aka the vessel of Valak, in France in the ’50s. Like its predecessor, this film functions as a prequel to everything that happens in The Conjuring I – III as well as the Annabelle films, and sets up quite a bit of the malevolence involved in the cases investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, respectively).

As far as where The Nun II fits into The Conjuring timeline, it creates a number of inconsistencies and in some cases, plot holes that may hurt the franchise going forward. Certain characters in The Nun II feature prominently in later films in the franchise, and their previously established origins have been altered to the extent that the movies have become confusing even when watched in succession. Ordinarily, a prequel series is meant to answer certain questions and solve particular mysteries, not generate more, and the biggest ways that The Nun II changes The Conjuring Universe could alter its future going forward.

6 The Nun 2 Makes Sister Irene & Lorraine Warren Relatives

By the end of The Nun II, it’s confirmed that Sister Irene and Lorraine Warren are related in The Conjuring Universe. Sister Irene is revealed to be a descendant of Saint Lucy, who had the divine gift of sight, which was one of the reasons she was sent to the abbey in the first place when it was suspected that an evil presence lurked beneath it. Sister Irene has visions of St. Lucy in the 5th century and her life throughout the film, as well as her own mother, and even Lorraine, leading to the realization that she carries the same strength and abilities as the martyr and all the women in her bloodline.

The events of The Nun II take place just shy of 20 years before the events of The Conjuring, when Lorraine Warren is already in her 40s, so while Irene couldn’t be her mother, they’re connected in some way. Unfortunately, not only does their unique gift of sight join them together, but it also binds them to Valak. The connective tethering of their relationship is particularly effective during the clock tower scene, when Sister Irene’s eyes glow, and for a moment, fans can glimpse Loraine Warren’s eyes also glowing similarly.

5 The Nun 2 Adds New Demons To The Conjuring Franchise

The Nun 2 continues The Conjuring trend of adding more demons to the lore of the films, including the Goat Demon. The beast that Valak conjures up appears similar to a ram, which could be a connection to the Cult of the Ram that worships a variety of demons as well as the devil himself. Several Conjuring movies feature the Disciples of the Ram, who kill in the name of the half-ram, half-man demon and whose membership has included Annabelle the demonic doll and Father Kastner. Goats have long been associated with the devil, particularly as the familiars of witches who worshiped Satan during their sabbath in medieval Europe.

Part of the enjoyment of The Conjuring Universe has been not only the appearance of new demons in the franchise, but seeing where they will fit into the plots of the films. Since the movies jump forward and backward, plot elements that appear to have been caused by the primary antagonist of one of the Warren’s cases, like The Crooked Man in The Conjuring 2, were actually the work of Valak or a more insidious force. It’s probably not the last time that the Goat Demon will make an appearance in The Conjuring franchise, particularly with its ties to the cult and Satan.

4 The Nun 2 Kills Off An Original Movie Character

Fan favorite Father Burke (Demián Bichir), an original character from The Nun, gets killed off in the events leading up to its sequel. Sister Irene and Father Burke formed a close friendship in the original movie, and the priest was an integral part of Valak’s defeat. While it’s possible that Father Burke could have had another run-in with Valak after their epic battle in the first movie, the clergyman actually ends up dying of cholera (though no one can rule out for sure if The Demon Nun wasn’t responsible for transferring the illness to him).

3 The Nun 2 Changes Maurice’s Story

Poor Maurice – between The Nun and The Nun II, Frenchie has been possessed multiple times by Valak. Despite Sister Irene’s best efforts, the demon only seems to lie dormant for a while before feeding off of Maurice and using him to inflict pain and suffering on others. The film made it seem like Maurice was free of Valak despite what happened at the end of The Nun, and a post-credits scene in The Nun II reveals Ed and Lorraine getting a call about a possession, which is most likely Maurice’s, but is somewhat problematic when positioned in The Conjuring timeline itself.

This scene hints at the point in the timeline where the paranormal experts will perform an exorcism on Maurice, a video of which features prominently throughout The Conjuring films. It also could be a setup for the flashback in the post-credits scene from The Nun. If in fact it actually points towards The Conjuring 4, it will need to be a prequel set prior to the events of The Conjuring, when Ed and Lorraine will perform the exorcism on Maurice in full, but whatever it turns out to be, Maurice’s part in the franchise will most likely need The Nun 3 to fill in any gaps.

2 The Nun 2 Makes Valak’s Powers Confusing

The way Valak’s powers are presented in The Nun 2 may be confusing for viewers who have also seen the other Conjuring movies. For one thing, Valak is incredibly powerful, almost too powerful, killing victims almost instantaneously when he only threw Lorraine against the wall in The Conjuring 2. It even made his powers in The Nun seem like child’s play by comparison, which begs the question of how his supernatural abilities got so reduced by the time the Warrens encountered him later.

On the one hand, a long-running franchise like The Conjuring will have plot holes if it does a lot of jumping around its own timeline. On the other hand, In-Universe, Valak could simply have gotten weaker in the decades that passed before Lorraine Warren first locked eyes with The Demon Nun. It’s entirely plausible that it got most of its strength from feeding off of someone like Maurice and when they were gone it lost its power source, but that would make it a very inconsistent demon that is far too dependent on its hosts to thrive.

1 The Nun 2 Makes Ed’s Painting A Plot Hole

At one point in The Nun 2, Ed Warren’s painting of The Demon Nun’s portrait from The Conjuring 2 appears despite it being from a time in the future. Valak often uses visions of the future to scare victims into submission and feed on their fear, but positioning Ed’s portrait so far back in time doesn’t point to the demon’s prophetic ability as much as it does a plot hole. A seemingly innocent callback to previous films (including showing Sophie itself hovering in the Warren’s hallway) makes Valak’s ability to see through time problematic for the demon’s fate.

Since Valak can look into the future to that extent, or manipulate space and time so that scenes in one movie that haven’t happened yet can blend with scenes from a movie in the past, the demon should have been able to see its own defeat. Yet the events of The Conjuring franchise still occur, and Valak doesn’t do anything to stop the Warrens from purging it and sending it back to hell. The Nun II playing too fast and loose with causality and time loops can create major problems for films that rely on being able to trace a stable timeline for them to make sense.