CASTLEVANIA SEASON 4 (2021)
To anyone who knows me this goes without saying; the Castlevania property is one that is very close to my heart and has been for a long time. I feel very invested in it's story and characters, music and gameplay, and history. I just recently acquired a playable demo for the long lost, never finished, never before released, cancelled Dreamcast game: CASTLEVANIA RESURRECTION (a dream come true to see and play!). This may be one of, if not the, favorite video game franchise of mine. As you can probably imagine, the Netflix Castlevania animated series is high on my radar.
The first season was short but amazing, the characters and story feeling very faithful to the video game. Season Two expanded the narrative a bit, introducing new characters as well as characters who would figure central in future games and storylines. It took a few liberties with the story, left out a main character in Grant Danasty, but overall delivered a great story while still maintaining a degree of fidelity to the game. It even utilized my favorite Castlevania music track: Bloody Tears. For the first three seasons, Season Two was the high point for me, but that's nothing off of how great the first and third seasons were.
Season Three went a little further off book, exploring a section of time between the video games and setting key pieces in place. Bringing in Saint Germain and the Infinite Corridor was done masterfully. Alucard's treatment and role was strange and largely unnecessary though. Despite that, I thought Season Three was great and I could see how it would lead into a largely faithful adaptation of CURSE OF DARKNESS. At their present pace of storytelling I foresaw at least two more seasons before ultimately wrapping up this section of the storyline.
Then Warren Ellis, the writer of the show, was cancelled by Twitter. He was let go from all of his employers and suddenly the future of this show was cast into doubt. I wasn't sure this show would continue at all for fear of what Twitter might do to those involved should it continue. Then two months ago Netflix teased Season Four. Then they said it was the final season. Surprisingly Warren Ellis was allowed to continue his work on it, of course under the auspices that this will be the last work he contributes to the show.
It has taken me a while to get through this season and then finally collect my thoughts. As a result I have mixed feelings about this season. I definitely feel there is some appeal to Twitter in the writing and execution of the stories and characters within this season. And then there's the rapid pace and abrupt conclusion here because of this being the final season. I like that the company behind this show was willing to keep Warren Ellis on and let him finish. But I can't help but feel that his "cancellation" at the hands of Twitter is why this is the final season and why the show wasn't allowed to continue. To Twitter I say this:
"Your words are as empty as your soul. Mankind ill needs a savior such as you!"
"BUT ENOUGH TALK! HAVE AT YOU!"
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Wow, the cast of voice actors for this show is astounding! In particular, Bill Nighy and Malcolm McDowell?! How the hell this show ever got these two immense talents (along the numerous other amazing actors herein) I will never know. I was sad to see that Barbara Steele did not reprise her role as Miranda though (she's such an amazing actress and horror icon). Richard Armitage, Graham McTavish, Jason Isaacs, Matt Frewer, along with every amazing actor to grace this show is truly mind-blowing.
The first episode was great, showing Sypha and Trevor battling night creatures over the course of six weeks, slowly uncovering a mass plot to resurrect Dracula. Then the second episode shifts to Hector and his servitude to Carmilla. And for me the show really slowed down here. Carmilla is essentially the "fill in" villain while Dracula is away and she's a serviceable villain at best. And Carmilla's court, the three vampire women with her aren't even characters from the games, they're here only to flesh out Carmilla. And this season gives the two least interesting of them an entire episode to themselves, ultimately leading to them abandoning Carmilla and contributing nothing to the plot. Netflix bloat at its best.
Showing Carmilla essentially becoming everything she hates is fine, but focusing on her court was a waste of precious space. There's only ten episodes in this season and there's two seasons worth of story to tell. Hector should've been the focus of the Carmilla sequences, building up his ultimate revenge and redemption into a hero. Hector schemes during his scenes but ultimately is the damsel in distress that gets rescued... by his arch rival, Isaac, no less. That's pretty disappointing considering Hector is a full hero leading a big game in the franchise. Saint Germain, a minor character in Hector's game, gets more to do than Hector.
And then there's Isaac, who basically loses two seasons worth of character development as well. Season Two set up Isaac's complete devotion to Dracula and utter hatred of humans. After Dracula's death, Isaac was set on a course to destroy Carmilla and restore Dracula. Here, after his biggest battle, he suddenly loses his hatred and becomes a perfectly well adjusted character who's practically invincible. He also suddenly doesn't care about Dracula anymore, literally the only person who ever treated him with kindness and humanity. Sure, let's just forget about avenging Dracula's death, because that makes perfect sense. Now, Isaac's siege on Carmilla's castle was awesome, the battle with Carmilla being epic! That was one of the best episodes in the season. But then that's it for Isaac. His avenging Dracula was only to kill Carmilla? She barely did anything to Dracula. His character turn here makes zero sense.
I get wanting to give Isaac more character growth, but shouldn't it make sense? After taking over a town and defeating an evil wizard, suddenly after he's wanting to rebuild the town for new people to move in? I thought he hated humanity? And after rebuilding the town and talking with that insect monster, he loses all drive. His reasoning, that they are more than tools to be used for a singular purpose, is sound. But how he gets to that point, seemingly out of nowhere, doesn't feel natural nor does it serve the plot in any way. It's a contrived convenient way of finishing his character and giving him a happy ending. Again, I'm fine with this happening to the character eventually, but it doesn't feel natural at this point in the story. Had we another season to work towards this, then sure. As is this feels like a compromise of storytelling because this HAD to be the last season.
Then there's the trouble with Alucard. There's a reason why Alucard disappears from the games after the events of Castlevania III. In the game Alucard willingly enters a death-like sleep in order to end Dracula's bloodline. He remains in this sleep until the events of Symphony of the Night when the Belmonts disappear. It's a convenient plot devise, sure, but it works to explain away an otherwise overpowered character and why Alucard isn't always saving the day. I love Alucard. He's a great and iconic character whom many prefer over the Belmonts. But he's better in small doses, his appearances made all the more impactful by their infrequency.
Alucard's Season Three storyline, while interesting, felt rather superfluous. His Season Four arc did nothing with his Season Three arc, eschewing a dark turn for the character and opting instead to introduce a more Symphony-like Alucard. "Hey, recognize that shield?" Thankfully he's given more to do in this season, leading a besieged people to the safety of his castle. His fight scenes are pretty cool, but this season reduces his character in ways. Instead of the ominous possibility of becoming the next Dracula (like Season Three implied), Alucard is a swash-buckling hero who's now inexplicably dumber and speaking like a rube. He says in the show that he's been around Belmont too much, hence his lunk-headed thinking and vulgar speech. He's dumber in this season and has less of clue of what's going on than the random leader of the village he's helping. And ultimately he contributes little to the conclusion of the season.
I understand wanting to keep Alucard involved as most gamers love him and he was such a cool and tragic character in the first two seasons. But after Season Two he has nothing of significance to add. Had the filmmakers followed the games and let Alucard "commit suicide" at the end of Season Two, ending his cursed bloodline and following his parents in death, it would've made a tragic yet fitting end for the character's arc. It would've added more tension to the subsequent events in Season Three and Four, Trevor and Sypha no longer being able to rely on Alucard's power, in effect rendered weaker by his absence. Instead we received two uninspired arcs for the character, dumbed down where normal people like Greta prove more capable than himself, and the lingering question: if Alucard is here, what need is there for Trevor and Sypha? I love Alucard. He's one of my favorite video game characters of all time. But he should've left the show at the end of Season Two. As is, his treatment over the last two seasons has been a disservice to the character.
And then there's Trevor and Sypha. These two should be the anchor of the show, our core. But they get shoved to the background after episode one. And when we get back to them Trevor gets progressively weaker and dumber for no reason whatsoever. The characters say they're getting rundown from the constant fighting, but Sypha isn't experiencing the same effect. In fact, Sypha gets stronger, more assertive, and mentally acute. I love Sypha but honestly I was hoping for her to get her ass kicked by the end of the show just so I could see that she wasn't being turned into a Rey Skywalker. Sypha has only been living this kind of life for a few months while Trevor has lived this his whole life. Sypha lived as a Speaker most of her life, not a physically strenuous lifestyle like Trevor. Yet somehow she's on par with Alucard now with her physical aptitude, dexterity, and limitless stamina. As her magic power has grown exponentially for no reason. It didn't make any sense, it was frustrating, and it felt like an appeal to a certain group of people Warren Ellis wanted to apologize to.
The first episode of the season was great. The subtle hints of Death maybe making an appearance had me very excited. But then the show tapered off by going to Hector and Carmilla's Castle where Hector meanders about and schemes. Then we get an episode about Isaac meandering about and waxing poetic. Then we get a recap of Saint Germain meandering about in the Infinite Corridor (which was pretty cool, I'll admit. We'll keep this one). Then we get an episode of Carmilla's generals meandering about in their tent (before a cool yet pointless fight scene all to further motivations for characters that no one cares about nor characters that hold any significance to the story). Then we get an episode about Varney and the other vampire talking and killing.
Among all of this dialog was a lot more swearing than previous seasons
which cheapened the characters, in my opinion. I'm not opposed to
swearing, but it always felt somehow dignified in the previous seasons
(a little going a long way), where in this season it felt overused and
crass. And then we get Alucard coming to a random village for aid where we meet Greta of Danasti (was that really supposed to be Grant Danasty?). 'Snore'
"Are you still with me?" asks the show.
Honestly I really lost steam and enthusiasm for Season Four by this point. After getting through all of this, the last three episodes took discipline to finish. I nearly let the show fade to the background; me, the Castlevania fanatic! Saint Germain's plot to resurrect Dracula was easily the most fascinating subplot of the show. And honestly, I couldn't stand the two new vampires, Varney and Ratko (Ratko? Who is this guy? And why the hell is he beating the crap out of Trevor? TREVOR! The man who stood toe to toe with Dracula!). But when Varney made the turn and revealed himself to be Death, my mind was blown. The Death reveal was great and really elevated the entire season (although I wish he had been present in the background throughout the entire series). Needless to say, I loved episode nine, Trevor alone against Death. This single episode saved the season for me.
The final episode though, where everybody gets their happy endings, was a bit much. So, Dracula and Lisa are back, alive and well, happily living ever after? How the hell are we supposed to get to the other games stories now? And why do we need Belmonts when Alucard will be out and about? In fact, it appears everything is hunky dory with no need for either Alucard or Belmont anymore.
GAH!!
This season is so incredibly frustrating! The first three seasons were done so well, and that's probably what makes this season hurt all the more. I have more grievances with this season than praises it seems. Generously I'll say half the season was good and half of it was aggravating. Such a shame. The show piqued with Season Two but was strong in the surrounding seasons as well. Season Four, the final season, drops the ball like no other season before it. If I could call for a redo of this season, I would. But bizarrely, I am the only one, so it seems, that didn't like this season.
Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10
It's a real shame how this show ended up. The creators teased that if this season does well, potential spin-off series could happen (obviously without Warren Ellis). If Season Four is any indication of how the spin-offs would be handled, I say look to the first two seasons rather than the last. I hate feeling this way about Castlevania, but, wow, what the hell happened here? All I can surmise is that this season's story was drastically altered and hamstrung by the decision to end the show, hence the abrupt character changes and plethora of happy endings.
Okay, I'll shut up now.
For more of my ranting and raving about Castlevania, should you want to subject yourselves to more of my horrid thoughts, check out the posts below.
I truly do love Castlevania, honest!
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