A&E’s Damien took a huge risk when they chose to tell the grim tale of a wounded war veteran and what happened to him after he returned from battle. “Seven Curses” is undoubtedly one of the best episodes of the first season, but according to actor Bradley James, it’s also an episode the show had to fight to keep.

Bradley James is a firm believer in the idea that variety is the spice of life. It’s one of the first things he told me when we caught up with him at Fox Studios to record Hype Podcast’s Damien Special just before the season finale aired on Monday (May 9). It also happens to be one of the big reasons the actor chose to take on the role of Damien Thorn, a war photographer destined to be the antichrist.

The series is brimming with elements that make for great television. There’s suspense, there’s human interest, and above all else, showrunner Glen Mazzara and his team of writers have succeeded in making sure the audience has sympathy for the devil.

A&E’s Damien may be chockfull of stand out moments, but there’s one episode in particular that rises above the rest. “Seven Curses” arrives midway through the first season, and it’s by far one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever experienced in my life.

You don’t have to take my word for it though. When I brought up the fact that out of all the episodes, “Seven Curses” is the one that’s taken root in my brain and refused to let go, James himself revealed that when he first read the script for episode 5, he knew there was something special there, too.

“When I read the the original script, it was the best thing— it was the best script I’d ever read. Of anything,” James told Hypable’s Hype Podcast. “I’ve read God knows how many scripts — it was the best one I’d ever read.”

“Seven Curses” tells the grim tale of a veteran Damien meets at a hospital. The man, who suffered a blow in battle, is slowly becoming more and more paralyzed and as a result, decides he doesn’t want to live anymore. Things get a bit complicated for Damien when the man confesses that he doesn’t just want to commit suicide. He wants Damien to document it as an example of how the horrors of war so often come home with the soldiers who fight to keep us safe.

When we spoke to showrunner Glen Mazzara a few weeks ago, the executive producer said the story in “Seven Curses” — an episode written by KC Perry — was one that he desperately wanted to tell. Despite the importance of highlighting an issue that is very real, James revealed that it wasn’t the easiest episode to get off the ground.

“It shook up people amongst studios [and] networks… and it takes a brave person to have a good understanding of what is a good story that needs to be told. There was a bit of back and forth, there was a bit of fear that kicked in to certain people, but eventually, they managed to get the script closer to what it had originally been because it went through a couple of changes,” explained James. “So when it came to filming it, it was a story, as you say, [that] touched on an issue that is not touched on very often.”

For his part, James believes that the reason why this particular bit of storytelling carries so much weight is because it highlights an issue that most people aren’t made aware of. And if in the event they are aware of the issue, most don’t know how deep the repercussions go.

“[‘Seven Curses’] deals very heavily with PTSD and ends with a man taking his life because of some very real circumstances. And then when you bring that into Damien’s world…” James says, trailing off. “I fell for that story straight away… because those are real issues that just aren’t tackled that often.”

To get more of Bradley’s thoughts on season 1 of Damien, we highly encourage you to check out Hype Podcast’s Damien Special where the actor takes a deep dive into his new show with us! Listen to the episode below, or click here to get the show notes and information on how to download!