At the center of Netflix’s The Order is an ancient struggle between two prominent, magical groups: the eponymous Order (short for The Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose) and the Knights of Saint Christopher. The Order is a morally ambiguous, highly structured cabal of witches and wizards, while the Knights of Saint Christopher are a rag-tag band of werewolves. Both have their own unique perspectives, attributes, and strengths.
The show writers will ultimately have to decide who wins, but it’s fun to do a little nerdy calculating and imagine how things might play out logically; beyond the narrative of the show. By examining a checklist of favorable qualities and observing which group exhibits more of them, we'll be able to determine the possible outcome of this spellbinding skirmish.
Magical Prowess: The Order
It seems almost redundant to point this out since magic is The Order's whole shtick. Sure, The Knights have some supernatural resources, but for the most part they've only got their lycanthropy to depend on.
Plus, The Order's abilities go far beyond throwing fireballs. They can literally alter the memories of millions of people with nothing but a spell and a Twitter account. It's got to be a challenge to take on people who can rewrite reality to meet their needs!
Combat: The Knights
When it comes to throwing down in close-quarters, few things can beat a werewolf. They're perfect killing machines. They're the unholy hybrid of Arnold in his body-building prime and a ravenous predator. As overpowered as magic might be, the question ultimately becomes: can you set off your spell before the rampaging anthro gets you? After all, werewolves aren't just strong, they're also, very, very fast.
Pageantry: The Order
A sense of style won't make you a better fighter, but pageantry can boost morale and give soldiers a sense of unity. By holding ceremonies in ancient, candle-lit temples and dressing in robes and skull-masks, The Order isn't just showing off, they're getting hyped up psychologically.
This otherworldly mystique also helps them draw in new recruits. By comparison The Knights are just college students hanging out in an old house. Their only "ceremony" is competing at beer pong in order to make decisions.
Leadership: The Order
Hamish Duke is a worthy leader for The Knights, but he's still young and he's only one man. Not only do The Order have powerful, experienced leaders like Vera Stone and Grand Magus Edward Coventry, they also have a multi-level hierarchy. This means they can deploy their forces more efficiently and any slain leaders can be replaced without missing a beat. The Knights simply don't have the manpower to match this command structure, and that leads us to perhaps their biggest weakness.
Numbers: The Order
As of Season One, The Knights are basically four people. Yep, that's it. From what we learn about their history they may have been a larger organization in the past, but apparently those days are over.
Meanwhile, The Order has thousands of members across the globe. While there are many real-life stories of small groups taking down massive armies, the truth is that numbers are usually the deciding factor in most battles. Even Gerard Butler and his Spartans could only hold out for so long.
Resources: The Order
We've already established that The Order has a surplus of leaders and a lot of them are basically captains of industry, forming their own magical version of the Illuminati. (Granted, the regular Illuminati might just be the magical version of the Illuminati.) This means nothing is beyond their reach.
The Order can easily acquire all sorts of dangerous and priceless relics. They also have access to Beauty and the Beast-sized grimoire libraries. The Knights have their own miniature reliquary full of stolen Order goods, but it can't compare to the genuine article.
Ruthlessness: Tie
If you want to win a war, sometimes you gotta be meaner than the other guys. In this case, merciless brutality appears to be one trait both sides share equally. The Knight's code of ethics basically boils down to: if you're a bad guy, anything goes. They definitely aren't Batman (Well, maybe Zack Snyder's Batman).
Main character Jack Morton tries his best to reign them in, but they continuously tear through their enemies with gleeful, head-ripping abandon. The Order is more difficult to pin down. As a rule, they don't wantonly kill people, but they're also willing to torture their own members and hurt innocent people to get what they want. To be fair, a lot of the more fatal incantations they use require willing participants, but getting someone's permission before sacrificing them only makes it like 0.5% less psychotic. So yeah, think twice before placing membership in either of these nutty social clubs.
Secret Weapons: The Knights
The Knight's ability to sense evil magic definitely qualifies as a secret weapon, but their true ace-in-the-hole is inside man Jack Morton. Since Jack is also a member of The Order (strictly for the purpose of bringing it down) he is able to provide them with valuable intel on a regular basis. It's how The Knights constantly disrupt their enemy's plans through the season. The Order's secret weapon is probably a special potion of true sight that allows them to see werewolves even while they're in their human form.
This is definitely useful, but it can be thwarted easily. This version of true sight only works if you can see your target's skin. If they cover up it no longer works.
Canon Victories: The Order
By the end of the first season, the conflict between The Order and The Knights comes to a head. The Knights strike a devastating blow by taking out numerous acolytes and defeating the Grand Magus, but ultimately it changes nothing. Yes, they've saved the world—which is extremely awesome, make no mistake—nevertheless, The Order shows no sign of being weakened.
Their management has to be reorganized, but other than that it's business as usual. Once everything seems to be calming down, The Order systematically hits each of The Knights with amnesia dust. As a result, it's like their heroic little group never existed. The Order has defeated their enemy (for now) without even resorting to violence.
Winner: The Order
It feels kinda weird calling this contest in favor of the show's villains, but, when all is said and done, The Order has the most advantages. If people gambled on secret societies, they'd be the surefire bet. Of course, that's just how things look on paper. The Knights may have been bested this time around, but who knows what might happen by Season 2. The winds of fate are always shifting. No matter what the data says, this war is probably far from over!