Movies adapted from videogames like Assassin’s Creed and Warcraft have historically been trainwrecks of mud-dled stories and poor acting.
Netflix series Castlevania, however, has proven to be a gift from the videogame gods themselves.
Castlevania’s first season was more of a proof-of-concept. Though the hand-drawn animation, visuals and soundtrack set up what the show could be; there were only four episodes, and, much to the dismay of fans, only reached its stride by the last episode.
Season two elevates the series from a mere concept to a masterpiece. The show follows the dour Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), idealistic Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso), and brooding Alucard (James Callis) on their quest to kill iconic vampire, and Alucard’s father, Dracula.
The trio head to the destroyed Belmont estate in the hopes of finding some way to trap Dracula’s castle, which can pop in-and-out of existence across the world, and defeat him. Along the way, and through meaningful dialogue, the trio bond, even though they would never admit it. From the discovery of the Belmont family weapon the Morningstar whip, to the exploration of the psychic wounds inflicted on Alucard by his father, the show builds the narrative around the characters rather than the other way around.
This results in fully three-dimensional characters, protagonists and antagonists, which create a moving narrative. In the first season it appeared as though Dracula sought revenge for humanity (really the medieval Catholic church) killing his human wife for being a witch, more accurately a doctor. As season two got underway, Dracula’s character gained significant depth.
According to show-runner Ari Shankar, “The best villains, in general, are the heroes of their own story, and the trick to making Castlevania resonate was this idea that Dracula isn’t a bad guy, he isn’t a villain, he’s just a person consumed by darkness. What Dracula is doing is not really a war against humanity. It’s more of a suicide note.”
Shankar’s description of Dracula’s character could not be more fully realized. For a majority of the second season Dracula stays in his gothic castle, whose façade puts the famous Notre Dame de Paris to shame, and sends his minions on random attacks of terror in the region called Wallachia.
Instead of allowing his fellow vampires to strategize, Dracula entrusts the only two humans, Hector (Theo James) and Isaac (Adetokum-boh M’Cormack), with the task. This allows for unrest in the war room to grow throughout the season and alludes to Dracula’s underlying trust in humanity’s capabilities.
Further upsetting the balance of power, the powerful vampire Camilla (Jaime Murray) seeks to usurp Dracula’s throne. Camilla sows the seed of unrest in the war council and even coerces the naive Hector to aid her, while Isaac remains fiercely loyal to Dracula.
As the civil war in the war room rages, Dracula does not seem to care. Camilla, through Hector, convinces Dracula to okay them sending forces to the Belmont house in order to eliminate the only threat to their plan. An instantly iconic battle with four minutes straight of beautifully drawn combat allows each of the trio of heroes to play off their strengths and repel the enemy hoard, while casting the spell to transport, and trap, Dracula’s castle right in front of them.
Almost immediately they lay siege to the castle and soon find themselves face-to-face with Dracula. The raw emotion fueling this fight is palpable as father and son duke it out. The series’ willingness to build characters and their relationship to the others organically instead of going directly to the masterfully choreographed and beautifully animated fight sequences makes for a meaningful pay-off that will illicit tears, even though the walls and characters are literally soaked with blood (don’t watch this series if you are averse to gore).
Though giving the audience a full story, Castlevania deftly sets up plot lines for the next season. The series has already been picked up for season three, and I anxiously await the next chapter in this narrative.
