Based on the popular video games, the hit Netflix series Castlevania blends the beautiful hand drawn style of anime with the adventure and intrigue of a medieval fantasy epic. It follows Trevor Belmont, the last heir of a disgraced aristocratic line and his motley crew of heroes as they search for the castle of Dracula and a way to kill its demonic lord.
The first season set the stage for what fans hoped would be a rousing quest, culminating in an epic battle between Dracula’s undead armies and Belmont’s trio. Unfortunately, season two proved to be something of a disappointment, with character development mired by confusing political plot, and Dracula losing his bloodthirsty edge. Fans of the video games and the series were left wondering where the logical infrastructure went, and hope it returns in Season 3, streaming exclusively on Netflix March 5th.
DRACULA’S REVENGE
Dracula’s story is a tragic tale of mistrust, loss, and insatiable vengeance. While he was known for his vampiric sanguinary pursuits, he wasn’t completely evil, and had vast scientific knowledge in his castle that could have benefited humanity if they weren’t so mistrustful of him (and he of them).
When a beautiful medical researcher Lisa Tepes appeared on his doorstep asking to be shown his coveted library, he succumbed to her charms and let her in. Their relationship was full of happiness, until Lisa was tried for witchcraft and killed. He massacred the population of Targoviste on the anniversary of her death.
THE PRICE OF LOYALTY
Isaac is one of Dracula’s most loyal allies, a Devil Forgemaster with a huge chip on his shoulder towards all of humanity. Aside from bonding over their mutual hatred of humans, Dracula and Isaac share an interest in science and the occult. Having made it all the way across Africa and the Middle East as a mistreated child, Isaac has been vocal about his dislike of such environments.
After Dracula’s war on humanity begins to fall apart and he’s beset by his enemies, Isaac is willing to risk his life for Dracula, but the Prince of Darkness banishes him to the desert to keep him safe. Isaac decides he’ll continue what Dracula started, by smiting a few bandits and raising his own undead army.
THE TRIO
Season 1 of Castlevania spent a long time building up the formation of the trio of Sypha, Trevor Belmont, and Alucard. Each one of the characters had a unique personality and skillset, and it seemed like in Season 2 fans would get to see them undertake a grand adventure culminating in an epic fight with Dracula.
Season 2 spends quite a bit of its running time with Dracula, Carmilla, Isaac, Hector, and other vampire generals while the trio gets sidelined. They get some pithy banter and a few action sequences, but most of their days are spent in the Belmont Basement while Dracula wages his war on humanity.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
At the start of the series, Dracula was the most powerful creature of his Age, with incredible abilities and absolute authority. He was a genuine threat to humanity and needed to be stopped, which fans assumed would happen in Season 2 with an epic fight between the trio of Trevor, Alucard, and Sypha against Dracula at the height of evil.
The trio spent almost no time traveling to Dracula’s stronghold, and Dracula spent most of his time languishing in his library while his generals fought about what to do next. The Dracula who would smite you for looking at him funny had been reduced to a cowering wretch overpowered by his minions.
TREVOR BELMONT THE REAL MVP
Trevor Belmont is a hero burdened with a family legacy in ruins and a grudge against the vampires responsible. The Belmonts have hunted vampires for generations, and Trevor is the heir to that responsibility. Even when compared to the heir of the Dracula title, Alucard, Trevor is a brash fighter who’s quick with a whip and a sarcastic remark.
Whether due to actual courage or drunken stupidity, Trevor will seldom back down from a challenge, even when it means risking his life for strangers like Sypha. Even though he’s terribly outmatched by beings like Dracula and Alucard, his family does know some magic, which makes him even more overly confident.
LOST ALL HOPE
When viewers first encountered Dracula in Season 1, he was already a man beaten down by society, whose personality was reactionary and irascible. He had lost hope in humanity and its capacity for tolerance, until he met Lisa Tepes, and his faith in it was -even a little- restored by her kindness and compassion.
Any hope that vampires and humans could go coexist was dashed when Lisa was taken by villagers and put to death for her supposed witchcraft, which destroyed Dracula’s tether with all morality. Humans were so dim-witted as to remove the one thing that was preventing Dracula from bleeding them dry.
NO PLAYING FAVORITES
While it might appear strange to some that Dracula has any human generals in his military campaign at all, Hector and Isaac can hardly be classified as such when they actively revile the human race and are in the business of being Devil Forgemasters. Dracula welcomes their counsel and expertise on human tactics.
When Dracula’s killing spree was released on humanity, he never thought he’d be in the situation of having to decide the fate of humans that had rallied to his banner. It puts him in an awkward position, where a feud started long ago for personal reasons has to have a throughline, lest he be seen as a hypocrite.
FOOD SUPPLY
When his war on humanity hits a lull, Dracula decides to summon his generals. Rather than have them raise armies of the undead in their respective corners of the Earth, he brings them all to his castle so they can bicker endlessly about the human problem. Dracula is still in favor of wiping them all out, but he seems to lack the will to do so.
A few of his allies, like Godbrand the viking vampire, brings up the fact that if they smite all the humans, there won’t be anything left for the vampires to eat. Unless vampires want to consume each other for feeding purposes, they need humans as an essential part of their food chain.
VAMPIRE HYPOCRISY
Alucard, the half human half vampire son of Dracula and Lisa Tepes wanted nothing more than to be left alone in Season 1. He’d forced himself into eternal sleep in a secret crypt so that the world would be rid of his bloodline, never wanting the cursed violence of his heritage to be the blood on his hands.
This is at odds with Season 2, where Alucard accuses Trevor’s ancestral house of being a museum dedicated to the extinction of vampires. Alucard is supposed to loathe that monstrous half of himself, and feel more connection to humans, which made his sacrifice for humanity all the more compelling.
COMPELLING CARMILLA
From the moment Carmilla shows up in Season 2, she dominates the council meeting of the vampire generals. A smooth manipulator, she’s able to turn Hector against Dracula pretty easily, as well as the loudmouth barbarian Godbrand. She has more trouble with Isaac, who is loyal to Dracula until the end.
Carmilla’s cloak and dagger routine takes up five episodes, with dialogue and scenes between her and others that only needed to happen once, but end up happening a handful of times. And while the point is driven home that they’d happily turn on Dracula for her, it remains a mystery as to why, since she hasn’t given any indication she’d be an effective leader.
