Professor Milano learns that she does not have the right stuff. The demon chases her in a terrible sequence where people are touched like falling mannequins and he keeps in step with her in this unusually terrifying manner. She had her chance and was found wanting. So it is up to Hobbes. As to why Azazel is against the detective the answer to that is found in Hobbes' remark about the good that policemen do. "Hide your good works," warns one of the texts; conspicuous virtue makes you a target. At this point I would like to digress a bit and talk about the Fallen.

The fallen angels are the ones who disobeyed God and revolted against him. Some of them fell for cohabiting with the daughters of men,not for disobedience. Azazel's name ironically meant "God strengthens" and he is one of the great chiefs of the Fallen. He "taught men to make swords and shields" and women "finery and the art of beautifying the eyelids". He is the first star that fell,"lord of hell and seducer of mankind". His true form is supposed to have 7 serpent heads,14 faces and 12 wings. Jewish and Islamic legend portray him as one of the angels who refused to bow down to Adam when asked to do so by God as he felt he was a superior being made of fire while Adam was of clay. Saint Paul has repeatedly urged people not to be seduced by any religion of angels and even called them wicked, while in Job we are expressly told that even God was ambivalent about his angels,for he " put no trust in his servants…his angels he charged with folly.' Clearly the angelic energy is exceedingly great and equally unstable and volatile - a disturbing thought in these days of angel cards and what not. End of digression, though I trust you are impressed by the erudition.

Hobbes does not have too much time as the same circumstances that destroyed Milano are repeating themselves in his case. He too is being framed in his murder investigations and the Fallen begins get him through his nephew's playmates. A maddened and goaded Hobbes finally shoots down yet another attacker with a sinister hand,only to find out later the man was using blanks. He has killed an innocent now and he is suspended. In a great sequence he talks to his partner about the ethics of the situation. "I find it hard to believe that we are part of some great moral experiment conducted by some superior being." Then he states the deadly proposition that is the comfort of atheists and the secret terror of the believer. "If he is so great why should he care about what we do? Do we care about ants - from a moral perspective?" His partner suggests that we will never know the real answers to all the important questions,not while we are alive! "You figure out what's what,you don't get to hang around anymore - you get promoted!"

Back home Hobbes is finally putting the pieces together. The Fallen need host bodies constantly to live. If the host dies they can stay alive for one breath alone,a last gulp of air that allows them to traverse 500 cubits or one-sixth of a mile in search of a new host. In spirit form however they are even more powerful than usual and can enter forcibly. Exceptional people like Hobbes are resistant to their touch or incantations and need to be worn down a bit before they can be possessed. "What do they want?" he asks Milano.
"The fall of civilization."
"The whole thing?"
"Yes."
"They're doing a good job."
It is at this point that the significance of the title becomes even clearer than we had suspected. It is not just about the Fallen Angels alone. They are angry with God for having cast them out,angry that they have been punished for finding fair the daughters of men and angry that they were asked to bow to Adam. They want to make God's image - Man - fall from grace too,in an act of vicarious retaliation against the Almighty. All of God's good men must be cast down, and driven to folly,evil and despair - they too must join the ranks of the Fallen.

Hobbes finds that his brother has been murdered and the evidence against him for the previous murder mounting. He makes a run for it to save his nephew and also because he realizes that,like it or not,it is up to him to destroy the Fallen. His game playing,of trying to win,to beat the enemy and carve one more notch on his gun,is over. All he can do is restore the balance somewhat by killing this evil thing. Hobbes has embraced his hero destiny. He goes to the abandoned cottage to make his last stand entering into the final mythic combat zone.

His partner and boss turn up to apprehend him and we are tantalized for a while. The Fallen is surely inside one of them, but which one? The answer comes when his partner shoots their boss with his left hand. Hobbes and the possessed grapple with the gun and Hobbes is unharmed when it goes off. Azazel is amused at this. He can easily enter Hobbes once the host dies,as pure spirit he is unstoppable even though through touch he still cannot enter. Hobbes explains why he chose this spot to make his stand. They are miles away from any humans. He is going to kill the host body and then kill himself,leaving Azazel with no host to enter into and be inevitably destroyed. He cannot resist giving the Fallen a taste of his own medicine,singing back his theme song to him and,final exquisite touch,using the same poison he employed in all his murders to commit suicide. The frantic Fallen does enter the dying detective and drives the body in a frenzied attempt to get to a new host. Hobbes falls down dead and a rueful Azazel admits he has been beaten for the first time in his life.

He is not dead however! At the very last moment he transfers himself into a cat that was hanging around and makes his way back to the city. This is a remarkable conclusion and outside of Norse myth,not at all common.
The hero lost?!
Yes,because what he fights against is not something that one man alone can destroy. It is not his responsibility alone,it is Our fight. As long as we do not join him, the hero will 'lose' this fight.
Evil exists.
Perhaps it exists because we are not willing to do what it takes to get rid of it. Perhaps it exists independently of all human effort? That is a terrible thought,but if we don't fight it,it may well become true. It is in resisting the too easy feel good conclusion that Fallen lost a lot of box-office but gained stature as an authentic moral statement for our times.

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