The big question left at the end of Castlevania Season 2 was: If Dracula’s gone, what do you do next? Luckily, Season Three was more than willing to give it a shot and gave us a dark and twisted tale of the darkness of the human soul and how it is even more terrifying than the monsters our heroes face in the night. We also got a slew of new characters, new stories, more clever writing and more of the insanely awesome action that’s come before, except its better. Short version: Season Three of Castlevania might’ve just blown Season 1&2 out of the water in just about every way.
Finding a big bad to follow up Dracula himself is no easy task. Thankfully, the powers behind Castlevania knew that and while there were big foes to face at seasons end, Season Three instead turned its attention to the cast in the aftermath of Dracula’s demise. Trevor and Sypha are now an adorable, ass kicking couple who only get cuter and cuter with each new scene they share. Sypha’s loving the adventure and being the heroes she’s dreamed of, all while doing this by the side of the man she’s come to love. Trevor’s still getting used to being around someone who cares about him but he’s still the one to point out when things aren’t sunshine and roses…even when being around Sypha has softened that notion of peace to him. As for Alucard, after an admittedly hilarious opening bit with him talking to dolls of his wandering companions, his story plays out quite melancholy. Alucard is really trying to step out of his fathers shadow and legacy of blood and make his own story. But without friends to keep him focused and happy, he’s a lost man and its sad. Sure he finds new companions in Taka and Sumi from Japan…but as we see, that takes a very dark turn that puts Alucard in a very dangerous state of mind entering Season Four…and I hope it doesn’t end with him turning into his Father.
If anyone got a solid story this season, it was Isaac. Stranded in the desert, he made his way back to Europe creating an army of creatures along the way. Much like Alucard, Isaac is trying to find his own purpose without Dracula in his life. Unlike Alucard though, Isaac’s goal is simple: find Hector and Carmilla and kill them both for betraying his Master. I don’t think a single character (or the viewer) would disagree with that goal. But Isaac is continually challenged to think beyond that by several people who are actually nice to him, including a Pirate Captain voiced by Lance Reddick (John Wick). Every single scene with Isaac was interesting to watch with deep dialogue and visuals as the Forgmaster walked the Earth and could almost be a spin off series all its own. Hector, on the other hand, was reaping what he sowed as a prisoner of Carmilla, or more precisely, her incredibly sexy younger sister, Lenore. If anyone became the MVP of Castlevania Season 3, it was Lenore. Beautiful but crafty and very, very dangerous, Lenore plays Hector like she’s playing with a puppy all season long. You know she’s leading him on but Lenore is so enchanting it’s easy to see why you can fall for her and be weirdly ok with it. And yes, i think she’s smarter than Carmilla but then again everyone who isn’t Hector is.
Unlike Season Two where there were a slew of new characters brought in who didn’t get enough screentime, or a voice, Season Three took that criticism to heart and did the opposite. In addition to Lenore, Sumi and Taka we had Carmilla’s other sisters: Striga and Morana, the mysterious scholar Saint Germaine, voiced by Bill Nighy; and the leader of Lindenfeld Village simply known as the Judge, played by Star Trek: Discovery’s Jason Isaacs. Everyones got a voice, everyones got a story and everyone gets their continued due as the season rolls on. Striga and Morana are just as cute a couple as Trevor and Sypha and continued proof that everyone in Carmilla’s family is more interesting and better written than the single minded Carmilla herself. The Judge seemed ok, a good mix of harsh but fair and proved a good ally to Trevor and Sypha but you always knew something was wrong and his dark secret is one of the most soul crushing in the series. Saint Germaine was probably the second best new character of the season after Lenore. He was always entertaining when on screen and his mystery was a fun one to try and figure out. Saint Germaine also acted as the focal point for a key piece of new lore added to the Castlevania story that could have big reprecutions in the next season.
Visually, Castlevania continues to be one of the best looking animated series on the market today. From the deep, lifeless deserts to the frozen tundra of Styria, we got to see more of the world than ever before and even got a brief glimpse of Hell itself. Everything is still drawn beautifully detailed and is borderline unforgettable. What certainly isn’t forgettable are the new nightmarish creatures everyone has to fight at one point or another. Some of the creatures drawn from the Infinite Corridor reminds me of the Angels that you have to face in Bayonetta or Devil May Cry. But the one that will haunt my nightmares the most is simply known as The Visitor. This multi rainbow eyed behemoth has a stare that froze me in my seat and made my heart race in fear, definitely something you’d expect to see in Hell and just as dangerous. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone but every season of Castlevania continues to up the gore and violence factor amongst Season Three’s many achievements, is blows the violence from the first two seasons out of the water. Trevor, Sypha and Alucard still know how to make it rain blood and Isaacs bloody crusade isn’t light on the carnage either. The character writing might still be first in Castlevania’s books, but when it comes to action, this shows only getting better and way more epic.
Speaking of epic, let’s close out by talking about the masterfully done two part season finale. The first part in particular attempted the impossible by delivering payoff across multiple storylines all at once: jumping from Trevor’s final battle with The Visitor, to Alucard’s doomed evening of passion, to Isaac’s insane rush against the undead forces of a Magician and Hector’s equally doomed evening of passion with Lenore. Each major arc this season got equal screentime in the 9th episode and everything was building to something that could only be described as “All hell breaking loose”. It was like watching an animated version of a penultimate episode of Game of Thrones. The final episode of the season simmered things down for everyone except Trevor and Sypha cause of the fight they were in but even when that was done, Castlevania’s third season closed with adequate time to reflect on all the chaos, betrayal and general WTFness of what went down an episode prior. Rarely do you get a series that can be visually amazing and expertly paced so that everything gets attention and nothing feels left out or short changed…while also setting up what’s likely to happen in the Final Season.
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