Season four picks up with a six-week catch-up from when season 3 left off. After the burning of Lindenfeld, Trevor and Sypha would encounter many monsters, vampires, and madmen. Some are just plain bad luck, but most are more nefarious, involving worshipers of Dracula and ritual sacrifices- no doubt a result of the mad monks. Five weeks in, this leads them to an attempted sacrifice in front of a statue of Death. Although Trevor points out that it isn’t truly death in the traditional personification, but merely an elemental that took on the name.
More interesting is that the sacrificial site contains a chunk of tile from a town square, something quite out of place in a simple village. The two head to the only nearby major city, Targoviste, where Lisa was killed and Dracula’s rage was first unleashed.
After a fight within the catacombs, the two eventually find an old barn for the night, but respite is still yet out of their reach as more creatures are about. However, it seems the trap was not for them, but a group of mysterious soldiers who enter the fray. In the end, the only survivor among the soldiers is their leader, Zamfir (Toks Olagundoye)
She is the head guard of the underground court; a resistance movement still fending off the night creatures long after Dracula’s death.
And this is where the true core of Trevor and Sypha’s tale begins. Most of their story is focused on the two trying to gain entrance to said court. Zamfir has her own reservations about trusting them, but of course, Sypha has hers as well, particularly after the events with the Judge last season. Not helping matters is that as the story unfolds, it becomes clear the underground court doesn’t appear to be helping the local populace, and in some cases doing the exact opposite. Civilians are completely lost and broken, digging pits to shit in right next to cooking fires, all left without leadership or even common sense.
Being a speaker and well-versed in such predicaments, Sypha takes it upon herself to straighten out the citizens. Making water and food collection more efficient, basic planning and distribution of needs, etc.
But Trevor and Sypha are not the only ones looking for a way into the court. All while helping the locals, they're observed by Varney (Malcolm McDowell) and Ratko (Titus Welliver) Two vampires looking to wipe out the resistance, but can’t find their base in the expansive and maze-like underground.
More interesting is that the sacrificial site contains a chunk of tile from a town square, something quite out of place in a simple village. The two head to the only nearby major city, Targoviste, where Lisa was killed and Dracula’s rage was first unleashed.
After a fight within the catacombs, the two eventually find an old barn for the night, but respite is still yet out of their reach as more creatures are about. However, it seems the trap was not for them, but a group of mysterious soldiers who enter the fray. In the end, the only survivor among the soldiers is their leader, Zamfir (Toks Olagundoye)
She is the head guard of the underground court; a resistance movement still fending off the night creatures long after Dracula’s death.
And this is where the true core of Trevor and Sypha’s tale begins. Most of their story is focused on the two trying to gain entrance to said court. Zamfir has her own reservations about trusting them, but of course, Sypha has hers as well, particularly after the events with the Judge last season. Not helping matters is that as the story unfolds, it becomes clear the underground court doesn’t appear to be helping the local populace, and in some cases doing the exact opposite. Civilians are completely lost and broken, digging pits to shit in right next to cooking fires, all left without leadership or even common sense.
Being a speaker and well-versed in such predicaments, Sypha takes it upon herself to straighten out the citizens. Making water and food collection more efficient, basic planning and distribution of needs, etc.
But Trevor and Sypha are not the only ones looking for a way into the court. All while helping the locals, they're observed by Varney (Malcolm McDowell) and Ratko (Titus Welliver) Two vampires looking to wipe out the resistance, but can’t find their base in the expansive and maze-like underground.
Varney is a pompous, boastful, and unassuming jackass who was put in charge of handling Targaviste, seemingly just to be forgotten about. He plays an initially small but vital role in the plan to bring back Dracula. While most prevalent within Trevor is Sypha’s narrative, he appears throughout the season helping to orchestrate the ritual, indicating that he is perhaps more intelligent than he lets on.
Ratko is… a ruthless mercenary. Yeah, that’s really all there is to say about him. He exists for muscle and to provide a fight scene much later with some foreshadowing.
Now, unlike last season, Trevor and Sypha have a story which eventually ties into a larger overall narrative rather than just being the main focus. There’s a great deal of setup with name drops or small happenstance that will come up again in later episodes and stories. What this means for now is it’s impossible to continue talking about Trevor and Sypha’s story until we get through the others.
But before moving on, I will note that Trevor and Sypha are the most 'couple like' they’ve ever been-- Sypha even becoming a bit cruder in her vocabulary as a direct result of Trevor, making for some fun mid-battle banter between the two.
As one might expect, however, it's still the more quiet moments where the two get to sit and talk where they’re at their best. This has always been the strongest point of Castlevania's narrative, and the show even tangentially acknowledges it at one point.
These scene are genuinely heartfelt and will see more of it later on this season.
Alucard meanwhile has kept himself busy with his usual daily routine, in addition to staking-- as several more bodies litter the entrance to the castle. But he is in a fairly rough and unkempt shape.
A wrench is soon thrown into his habitual with the arrival of a horse carrying a disemboweled rider. The corpse carries a small script from the town of Danesti, begging Alucard for aid in holding off a multitude of monsters and vampires that are attacking the village.
Taking pity upon the dead rider, Alucard obliges the request. Although it takes a couple of days, he makes the 20-mile journey upon horseback just in time, killing three golems at the gate before meeting the leader of Danesti, Greta (Marsha Thomason).
She isn’t having any of Alucard’s theatrics and needs assurance that he can and will stay to protect the people of Danesti. Many have been lost already and they can’t simply put their faith in a hermit who has impaled bodies outside his home. Alucard reassures Greta that he’s more than capable, but before their conversation can continue they’re interrupted by who else than Saint Germain.
And...boy does Saint Germain get shafted badly this season, but perhaps not in the way you think. We might as well address this right now because the show sure as shit does.
They cram pretty much his entire back story into a compilation. We see him go from a man rising into the ranks of high palaces to slowly dwindling downward into slums. We get a meeting between him and his love, how she was lost in the corridor, a bit of a recap of last season, and finally what happened after Germain entered the corridor. He managed to find his way back to the place he lost his love, but she has already moved onto other realms. Instead, he finds a mysterious Alchemist (Christine Adams) who is capable of controlling the corridor for herself.
Germain initially balks at the idea of anyone being capable of controlling the corridor. But of course, it was controlled by the visitor, it just took a lot of souls for power. She informs Germain that the reason he has failed at his craft is that he never truly dedicated his life to the goals and ideals of Alchemy, slipping instead into an ever downward spiral of filth. She asks of him a willingness to sacrifice for the art, whatever that may be. Only then would he be able to master Alchemy and create the magnum opus: a rebis- a divine hermaphrodite combined with two souls, powerful and capable of controlling the corridor. Of course, doing this would also involve killing many and resurrecting Dracula, as both he and Lisa are perfect candidates for the rebis. Once he agrees, she grants Germain a key capable of opening the corridor wherever he is.
This event sets Germain upon a dark path of torture and killing. He’s horrified at first, but comes around to casting aside all morality for his cause, secretly helping orchestrate the attack upon Danesti and thus setting him up as an unknown antagonist in Alucard’s story.
--And aside from the last part, Germain doesn’t really work in terms of character. The heart of the issue is that we’re clearly meant to be somewhat sympathetic towards his plight. The tragic lengths he’s willing to go for his love, in a manner perhaps not all that different from Dracula and Lisa. The problem is we don’t have a good reason to feel that sympathy.
You may have noticed I keep saying “His love” And that’s because that’s all she is, whoever that is. We finally have a face to put to her, but she’s never named nor do they even have a goddamn speaking role. They just gesture in all the flashbacks while Germain talks. If you want to talk about female characters being an object simply to motivate a male character, this is a terribly egregious example. They don’t even attempt to elicit chemistry between the two, she’s just an object of desire so Germain can play a scheming villain amid our heroes.
It also doesn’t help that all of that is very awkwardly inserted into the fourth episode in an extended flashback that takes up almost the entire episode. That's a lot to suddenly info dump on the audience while Alucard and Greta were mid-conversation. It breaks the pacing something fierce, kind of like I’m doing now.
Speaking of, Alucard hears something in the distance and it’s a large group of people, mostly from a nearby village 10 miles away. Many others in the group are from the surrounding area, also driven out by monsters. Alucard realizes this is more dangerous than regular night creature attacks. These people are being driven in a specific manner by clever vampires planning something. Germain interjects that- although not a military strategist, the village is simply too ill-prepared to withstand another attack-- Gretta agrees; as thus far they’ve not had much luck.
Germain proposes that the villagers be moved to Dracula’s Castle, which doesn’t please the dhampir. However, as much as he resents the idea, it is their best option and the villagers should be moved quickly before any commanders can put into motion a new plan.
Thankfully, unlike Germain, Alucard is treated much better and is granted a satisfying arc. Like with Trevor and Sypha, we’ll have to finish talking about all his events later. But generally speaking his arc for this season is learning to appreciate people again. The journey to the castle builds a relationship between him and Greta. In between fighting monsters, Alucard opens up about why there are bodies staked outside the Castle and the horrific encounter he endured last season. Greta humorously quips that she had a boyfriend and girlfriend at the same time once, but they never tried to kill her...well, aside from the man’s wife coming at her with a pitchfork.
These moments begin to thaw Alucard’s apprehensive and cold nature, something which continues even after they arrive at the castle. There’s a healthy amount of scenes of Alucard warming up to the company, even playing with a group of kids-- largely orphans.
It’s incredibly heartwarming and a side of Alucard we’ve never really seen before. A very different type of vulnerability and happiness seen prior. Greta, and to some extent the villagers, offer something more tangible and permanent than he has ever had before.
For our third story, we find Hector with free reign within Carmilla’s Castle. The past six weeks have been dedicated to preparing the necessary elements for Hector to raise an army, largely constructing a hammer for demon forging; his preferred tool for doing the job. But progress has been slow due to impurities in the material, resulting in many failed attempts. Lenore warns Hector that Carmilla believes he’s stalling-- and there is perhaps some truth to that. Hector has secretly been placing magical stones within the cracks of the Castle’s walls, blackmailing guards in exchange for magical artifacts, and he’s even been in touch with Varney. Nevertheless, he is eventually able to create the device and begin forging demonic creatures.
Carmilla on the other hand has been preoccupied with refining her original idea. No longer content with expanding out across eastern Europe, Carmilla desires Dracula’s Castle and more. She and the sisters are among the last of the truly powerful vampires, and many regions once ruled by other great vampires are unstable since their demise in Dracula’s castle, making them ripe for the taking. This global conquest horrifies Lenore, who asks even if they were to go through with all this and if they were to be successful and have everything, would Carmilla truly be content and happy? But the truth is, Carmilla herself doesn’t know. She takes, and that’s all she’s ever done or known.
Despite that set up, Lenore this season is a bit more downplayed compared to last, which is somewhat understandable but still a shame. As with the previous season, she has good chemistry with Hector, she even confides in him after learning about Carmilla’s true goal. How she felt lied to-- much like how Dracula lied to Hector, and that her role as an ambassador is simply unneeded in a campaign of total domination. They make for interesting scenes, although one can’t help but feel this dynamic could’ve been delved into a lot more, especially since, ya know, Lenore also enslaved Hector. But it doesn't seem like it's had any particular strain on their relationship.
Our fourth story is with Isaac... Sort of, as his story quickly merges with Hectors.
I’m happy to say that this season Isaac is more intriguing than last. Keying in on what I felt was his best moment in season three, one of the first things we see with Isaac is a conversation between him and the fly demon, FlysEyes *Sic (Gildart Jackson) Isaac has his legion rebuilding the ghost town and burying the dead in the aftermath of last season's battle. FlysEyes can’t fathom why Isaac is using them in this manner, they’re demons whose purpose is to destroy and consume. But Isaac disagrees. They’re tools created by him, and a tool has many uses. A hammer can bludgeon a man, or it can build a house. Night creatures have never known any other way because no one has ever used them as such. They have a choice, and Isaac is making his, hoping that one day the town will be discovered and inhabited. This change in demeanor is further illustrated when Isaac is contacted through his distance mirror by Varney, who hopes to recruit the forger in assisting with resurrecting Dracula. But Isaac has no interest and cuts off the domineering vampyr.
Yet Isaac hasn’t gone completely soft, as once the last body is buried and the last brick set, he readies his army to finally assault Carmilla’s castle.
Lenore goes to warn Hector and help him escape, but she is caught in a trap set by the man himself. Hector contacts Saint Germain with a distance mirror, letting him know his calculations are assured before quickly “hanging up”. Isaac arrives at Hector’s quarters, but Hector has no intention of fighting. He tells Isaac of his involvement in resurrecting Dracula and offers his life, only asking that Lenore be spared.
But likewise, Isaac has no intention of killing him. Isaac has grown past that desire, noting that perhaps Hector should move on with his life as well. Isaac only requests that the night creatures be called off, as he needs as many as possible for Carmilla. But the ring upon Hector makes that impossible. He solves this conundrum by borrowing Isaac’s knife and removing his entire finger, thus cutting off the ring and control. He also gives Isaac a magic seal made from the many “failed” forging hammers- it will create a magical barrier straight to the top of the castle, while also barricading Carmilla within. Hector intended it for an eventual escape, but it should suit Isaac’s goal perfectly- and it does.
Carmilla is a formidable foe, her chambers pooled with blood from all the night creatures. But the combination of Isaac’s own fighting prowess and the relentless onslaught of powerful beasts soon whittle down the vampire queen. Not to be outdone by a human, Carmilla takes her own life, destroying a vast segment of the tower in the process. Isaac only surviving thanks to the protection of a, particularly powerful demon.
Isaac’s screen time is rather limited compared to some of the other characters, and it may be disappointing to some that just past the halfway point is the last we see of Isaac. However, the time that is dedicated to him is used well, and I much prefer that over the meandering from last season. While I will admit the events from season 3 to set him on this path were shaky, the end result is a pleasant contrast in his demeanor. Seeing Isaac with less hate and perhaps even a bit optimistic, well, is refreshing. Particularly in a series that is so downtrodden.
There’s a scene in the aftermath of Carmilla’s death where he talks with Hector, and it’s among my favorites of the entire show. Hector is baffled by Isaac’s reluctance in resurrecting Dracula. Isaac explains that this is how they fall into the trappings of despair. They become convinced of an eternal now, never thinking or working on a better future, only survival. Stuck going through the motions. In the end, they were both abused by the world, both lacking in agency, both naive and full of hate. Even Dracula used them as little more than tools. But Isaac grew as a person in his travels and wants something different, something better, something to live for.
In many ways, Dracula fell into the same cycle as they once were in. Even before the passing of Lisa, he never truly existed for anything but the present. No matter how much he traveled, it was just a single long continuous night for him. Perhaps it’s best that he finally has found rest. But for Hector and Isaac, they can make a change their former master never could, and truly live.
Now with that out of the way, we can finally complete the rest of the stories. Get ready for a lot of jumping around.
On Alucard’s side of things he becomes busy showing Greta the armory preparing defenses, while Saint Germain takes the opportunity to place stones within the castle walls, much like Hector did in Carmilla’s castle. Germain then signals to an army awaiting within the forest.
At this same moment, Trevor and Sypha finally gain entry into the Underground Court, and it is not a pretty sight. The people in the underground cavern are not much better off than those upon the surface. Broken in mind, malnourished, and afraid. Furthermore, the area is littered with a vast array of unique and magical artifacts, some even one of a kind. Yet the soldiers are armed with more rudimentary weapons, only carrying the occasional odd and often useless trinket. Neither can fathom why such a broad armory is not being put to good use. Zamfir says that the royal family were magicians and possessed many artifacts, but that they do not have permission for their use. Trevor isn’t having any of it and barges into the royal quarters to confront the royals, only to find the harsh reality of their decomposing bodies.
Suffice to say, Zamfir is fairly batshit insane, believing that the corpses are in a form of sleep and that their leaders will return. She has been keeping this secret from everyone else as they “wouldn’t understand” allowing the people to suffer for her delusions. The terrible revelation sparks an argument between Sypha and Zamfir, who also reveals that they killed all the remaining priests. Trevor in the meanwhile rummages through the various artifacts, finding a piece that goes nicely with a dagger he picked up upon their first arrival in Targoviste.
This bickering gauche situation between Sypha and Zamfir is cut short by the unfortunate arrival of Ratko and Varney, who have managed to track Zamfir. Many of the soldiers are easy pickings for Ratko and their night creatures, but Varney is more concerned with looking for something specific.
The situation with Alucard isn’t much better. While well organized and even successful in some capacity, many of the villagers are slaughtered. Their souls curiously travel into the castle, following a path set by the stones Saint Germain placed. The situation turns direr with the arrival of Gergoth- yes, from Dawn of Sorrow.
Everyone falls back to the Castle, sealing and barricading the doors just as Alucard and Greta notice the gathering of souls. Following it up through the corridors, they find Saint Germain conducting the ritual, protected by a barrier Alucard cannot penetrate. As the Castle’s doors are breached, they have no choice but to turn their attention to the fight at hand.
Meanwhile, Trevor and Sypha manage to kill most of the attacking creatures, but in the ensuing fight, Zamfir is killed by Ratko, Trevor avenging her death. But before the two can catch their breath, they notice Varney having discovered a magic mirror behind the corpses of the royal family. Varney passes through, arriving beside Saint Germain. The mirror rapidly begins shifting its view to the surrounding area, so, before it completely disappears, Trevor and Sypha jump in, arriving by Alucard’s side.
And good god does this lead to a spectacular fight sequence. Make no mistake, this season has some great fights but this second to last episode takes the cake. All three get a wonderful showcase of their abilities in unison, both on smaller grunts and eventually Gelgoth itself. Sypha holds off the undead creature’s beam, allowing Alucard to stun the monster while Trevor charges the morning star and slices the monster’s skull.
Afterward, the three split up, each encountering a different obstacle. Alucard faces a teleporting Viking vampire, Trevor a phasing ice monstrosity, and Sypha a group of elite warriors.
As the three are busy, a group delivers the stitched-together corpse of a man and woman to Saint Germain to be used as a vessel for the rebis’ soul.
Varney remarks to Germain how useful he’s been, how easily led he was since they first met- revealing himself to be not only the Alchemist...
but Death.
I really enjoy this reveal. It was teased early in the season and there were hints throughout. But more than that, I love the concept behind this version of Death as less actual Grim Reaper but an ancient elemental vampire that feeds on souls. For this interpretation of Castlevania, that makes the most sense and provides a good reason for why he wants Dracula resurrected, while also explaining why he can’t do it himself.
Germain is horrified at what this truly means, arguing that Dracula would not be the man Death knew, but something entirely new. But that was always the intent, two minds trapped in a single entity, deranged and powerful, murdering on a scale unimaginable. Germain has little choice but to continue, lest he lose the only shot he has at seeing his love and simply die on the spot.
The trio regroups and fights their way through to the top, finally making their way to the ritual already near completion. The souls of Dracula and Lisa are plucked from Hell, and forced into the rebis which enters a convulsive fit. Neither are capable of gaining full control, the rebis switching back and forth between Dracula and Lisa for dominance, as Death watches gleefully.
Trevor finally manages to break through the barrier with the vampire killer, as a repentant Germain quickly moves the portal for the infinite corridor near the rebis, telling Belmont to take the chance. Trevor quickly slices the rebis in two and burns it with holy water, freeing both souls which are sucked into the portal.
But the destruction of the body results in a massive amount of magical energy being released, destroying the tower and creating a vortex around Dracula's Castle, lifting debris and separating Trevor from Sypha and Alucard.
Enraged, Death absorbs the power from the infinite corridor key, growing immensely powerful as he spits the remains near Germain’s body, which was impaled in the explosion.
Trevor yells down that he loves Sypha before turning and facing Death itself.
What follows is a fantastic battle focused solely on Trevor, who has desperately needed a spotlight such as this. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t as if Trevor has been shafted until this point. He’s got some great fights this season, some of the best. But throughout the entire series, he’s never been quite as interesting as Alucard and Sypha due to the more limited nature of his abilities. It actually took until this season to finally give him the boomerang cross, after all. But this?
This is final boss material.
Trevor gets smacked around, gets his arm broken. But he just doesn't relent. In a way, this feels like a do-over to some of the issues I had with season 2 regarding how Trevor was sidelined, leaving Alucard to be the one that ultimately kills Dracula, and in a rather boring manner at that. Sure, it's not exactly the same, but it's gladly welcomed.
The battle continues on, eventually Trevor takes out the dagger he picked up in Targovite, a gem from one of Zamfir’s soldiers, and a sleeve found while rummaging in the underground court. Combining the three charges the weapon as he navigates the swirling platforms, diving towards Death and delivering the fatal blow, vanishing in the blinding light that follows.
Two weeks after the final battle, Sypha exits the Castle doors, having not talked to anyone in that time. Alucard candidly approaches her, Sypha only requesting a horse. She intends to meet up with the other speakers, noting that she is certainly pregnant and will need the assistance her people can provide. Alucard wishes for her to stay, but Sypha insists on having a community, not just burdening him. But, it won't just be Alucard. The residents of Denesti plan to settle in and around the Castle. Greta interjects, saying that they finally have a chance to make something better for their children, convincing Sypha to stay. Plus, Sypha just can’t help but notice and dictate the inefficient methods the villagers are operating on, chastising Alucard for not putting the advanced tech of the Castle to work. Not to mention the irresponsible nature of letting a horse run loose in the distance.
The three quickly realize the familiar black steed is carrying a rider. Rushing to the mans aid, they discover a familiar face.
Just before Saint Germain died, he used the key one last time to open up the infinite corridor. Trevor remembers entering the corridor before waking up face down near the Danube river. He makes sure Sypha is safe, quipping that his biggest fear was that she might actually end up naming their kid Trefor after all. Sypha is flabbergasted Trevor knew, but he merely states he’s managed to stay single all this time for a reason- resulting in Sypha dropping him to the ground. Yet she can't help but admit she loves the fool.
Sypha looks back at Trevor and Alucard, tearing up upon realizing that their fight is finally over.
Ah, but that's not the end of the epolouge.
Many miles away, we see two hooded figures enter an Inn. Removing the hoods, it’s revealed to be Lisa and Dracula. Unlike Trevor, they have no memories of what happened, just that they were in Hell, then not. Awakening naked in a field, and having to steal clothes and coins. Once in their room, the two converse in a heart-to-heart. Dracula admits that after he died, it was the first he felt rational since Lisa’s death, while Lisa was surprised that he came to look for her in hell.
But now that they’re alive again, they’re not entirely sure what to do. Dracula’s going to have to get used to just being Vlad Tepes, given his infamy. (missed opportunity to use Cronqvist, shame) Lisa laments that their son deserves closure, and perhaps one day they will meet him again, but not now. Dracula suggests that, in the meantime, he and Lisa travel to Whitby, England. Sunshine is rare, population low, seaside view, and there’s even an old abandoned Abbey.
Above all else, they have a second chance at life again, and it won’t be wasted.
Final Thoughts.
Goddamn, what a finale. I think it’s obvious that I consider Season 4 a much-appreciated improvement over season 3.
While the third season was still very enjoyable, it was very uneven. One of the first things that become clear this season is a better balance to all the stories. For the most part, season 4 does a satisfactory job balancing out the narratives, both in how it bounces between the different tales and making sure most of the characters have equal or at least well-utilized screen time. While this does mean that some characters like Isaac and Hector have their stories end partway into the season, the time spent on them is better used with very little in the way of bloat. The awkward timing issues I mentioned with Alucard last season are also gone. In fact, they actually have a three-episode gap between him leaving the Castle and arriving at Denesti, allowing focus on the other happenings and helping to illustrate how much time has passed.
I must also give credit to Trevor and Sypha this season. While the two have by and large reached their peak for character development (said for a few small increments) they still have fantastic moments and by far have the most emotional weight. Even as much as I love what is done in Alucard's story, nothing in the entire series is as genuinely heartwarming as the finale with Trevor and Sypha reuniting.
In fact, the incredibly optimistic and happy ending is shocking, yet greatly welcomed after three seasons of grueling misery around every corner. The previous three make this hit even harder than it normally would for those very reasons.
Still, there are problems, and not every character is granted the same benefit as those mentioned above. Aside from my issues with Saint Germain, you may have noticed I have yet to mention Morana and Striga, and that’s because they’re terribly inconsequential, even more so than last season.
Episode 3 has a moment of them out on the field discussing Carmilla’s original plans and the rightness of it. Morana has concerns not of feasibility, but of the constant struggle. She points out that as much as humans are livestock to them, pigs don’t rebel against humans. The inevitability is that the rest of their immortal lives are going to be dedicated to maintaining supply and quailing uprisings- a sudden attack on their camp proving this point. Striga goes berserk upon the attackers, easily killing them. Yet she jeremiads that these weren’t soldiers, but peasants and farmers. People who were afraid of not just dying, but simply fighting.
This gives the impression that, along with Lenore’s own apprehension, there would be an upheaval among Carmilla’s council. Last season, Morana and Striga’s role was mainly them coming around to Carmilla’s ideas, demonstrating how Carmilla can plant seeds in others’ minds and take root over time. So it would make sense that this season would contrast that.
But of course, this never happens. The two are called back to the Castle to hear Carmilla’s new global scheme, but they arrive right when Carmilla kills herself while fighting Isaac- never learning of her wider ambitions.
The two assume that if Carmilla is dead, then so is Lenore, and so attacking the invading creatures would be pointless. They leave with their forces and that’s it. This is never followed up on, not even in the epilogue. Maybe that was intentionally left open for whatever reason. Maybe plans for a spin-off were already in the works and maybe they were gonna show up there. But it’s still a bit disappointing and comes off incomplete. Much like season 3, it feels like there was intended to be more than there ultimately is in the finished product.
And I supposed this leads me to my overall thoughts on Castlevania as a series.
Throughout all seasons there’s this polarizing nature of the broad strokes and minor character bits. As good as Ellis is at those small character moments that do a whole lot- be it banter, introspection, etc. he sometimes struggles with the bigger picture and even the finer details within, particularly with the middle sections. Isaac is perhaps the best overall example of that, going from a justifiably cynical misanthrope in season 2, to a conflicted soul in 3 that has some intriguing but terribly undercooked ideas, to finally someone nuanced enough to realize the terrible qualities in the world- but also the good that he can do to improve it. Not to mention I’m shocked at just how interesting and different they made Isaac.
Hell, I would even say Trevor assembling the dagger that ultimately kills death is decent example. There’s that nice slow build-up to its assembly in the background for the entire season, but the explanation at the end of the series being this very specific mystical artifact from a crazy magician who wanted a murder-suicide pact with God, and Trevor just happened to find all the pieces to, well, that comes off as hamfisted. Perhaps even bogging that incredible the final battle...but at the same time, you’ve got much bigger emotional weight going between Sypha and Trevor to even bother focusing on the literal Deus ex machina.
In a way, that sort of sums up Castlevania as a whole, for both good and ill. When it builds towards something bigger it's often a bit maladroit in execution, yet the payoff- when it works, *really* fucking works. Be it with either grand set pieces or resolutions you can’t help but enjoy. The good aspects can greatly overshadow whatever flaws there are, not just with visual spectacle but actual substantive characters.
Other times, however, it trips over itself in trying to get characters to a particular point so x event can happen in the narrative. Germain is a great contender not only this season; but the series overall. He never really has a grand moment or deeply engaging conversations between characters to distract from the flaws present. He does important things, make no mistake. But he never feels important or captivating outside of season 3. The moment they finally delve into him, we’re given a woman who isn’t named and never speaks, yet we are meant to feel something because she’s important to Germain for reasons never clear.
Frankly, he’s probably the most disappointing part of Castlevania, and that’s a real shame given how much potential there was. He easily could have been as interesting as Isaac, providing a mirror of his own character arc.
Still, despite those flaws, I can recommend Season 4 and even the entire series if you can stomach the massive amounts of cynicism (and the rather hard to go back to first two seasons). There is still a very unique and captivating show that builds its own fascinating take on the franchise. Never would I have thought that Castlevania would end up getting an adaption such as this, I would've sooner guessed that Paul W.S. Anderson/Jame Wan film that’s been in development hell since 2006 would've came before this. So yeah, I'll take this even if the Castle has a few cracks in the wall. There's still an enjoyable treat under the surface, after all.
As for the next series? Well, we’re supposed to be getting a not quite Rondo of Blood series, which from the sounds of it might actually be a sequel series. It’s set in revolutionary France, so it doesn’t appear to be following the game outside of the period setting and characters. I’m...not sure how I feel about that. But then again this series made a lot of divergences that went into some really interesting places, and if it is a continuation then Dracula really shouldn't be an antagonist.
However, as of this writing, Adi Shankar, who was the showrunner and one of the executive producers; is now suing Netflix for breach of contract since he apparently has no involvement. Don’t really know what to make of that, but I guess we'll see how that unfolds.
All that said, I'll be back with another review hopefully not too long from now. I planned on covering one more thing for October, but surgery left me unable to work on it. I'm on the uptick now, so hopefully it won't be too long. In the mean time, if you like what I do and want to help out, you can toss a dollar at me on my Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/kamen_writer
