Castlevania S2
Drac in action
The first season of Castlevania had potential, but felt slight at just four 25-minute episodes. Season Two doubles the episode count, and with more to sink your teeth into the result is a vast improvement.
Following the execution of his human wife, Count Vlad Dracula Tepes (Graham McTavish) unleashes an army of undead on the citizens of Wallachia. The battle is won by monster hunter Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), magician Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso) and Dracula’s half-human son Alucard (James Callis), but Drac’s mission to wipe out humanity continues unabated.
Sharing key characters and some plot details with Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, it remains faithful to its source while forging its own path. Writer Warren Ellis seems more interested in the vampiric politik of Dracula’s inner circle than his “heroes”, the bickering and backstabbing giving the scenes in Dracula’s grand gothic castle a Game Of Thrones vibe.
In comparison, the bits which follow Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard offer scant intrigue, as the trio scour dusty books in the Belmont vault in search of weapons and spells to take down Dracula. But when the two storylines collide, the results do not disappoint, shaking up Castlevania’s dynamic in startling ways.
It falls short of greatness, but with the games on an extended hiatus (though Koji Igarashi has projects of his own – p16), it’s still welcome. Jordan Farley