Dracula: Season 1, episode 4 – Review

While this episode was mostly character-driven, it definitely did not lose my interest, and it held up its pacing surprisingly well. We got some great character development for both Lucy and Jayne, and the chemistry between Mina and Dracula is steadily building. Plus, there was an awesome betrayal in the form of Dracula and his trusted friend.

This episode finally canonized what we’ve all suspected for some time: Lucy has romantic feelings for Mina. She loves spending time with her, and she just loves HER. Unfortunately, Mina is in love with Harker, and Lucy is planning their engagement party, so there’s no appropriate time to bring up her emotions, and she feels she must hide them and put on her best smile, just because it’s what’s best for the two lovebirds.

Jayne has also revealed her softer side, due to Dracula’s mind trickery. She now completely trusts (and is infatuated with) him, all because he made her think he was trying to save her life. She feels protective towards him, and will continue to feel so until she finds out the truth. Speaking of which, I am immensely looking forward to THAT reveal; it will definitely be long and drawn out. I cannot wait.

Mina is becoming increasingly aware of her attraction to “Alexander”. This was especially evident when he protected her from the flying sparks; she closed her eyes and leaned in to his embrace, indicating how safe she feels in his arms. However, this is obviously disturbing her, proven when she asked Harker to relocate their engagement party from Alexander’s home to somewhere else. I’m guessing she understands that there’s an odd connection between them, and doesn’t want it to interfere with her impending marriage. But we all know it will.

I’m excited for this week’s episode (airing three days from now). It’s sure to be action-packed, complete with Lord Davenport’s and Kaha Ruma’s interrogation and torture of Renfield. Exciting!

Dracula: Season 1, episode 1 – Review

Simply breathtaking. This first episode was exciting, yet informative and carefully guided to make sure the viewers understood everything, while also keeping it well-paced and action-packed.

The first scene was very well shot, and that transformation was amazing. The special effects crew deserves a round of applause for the seamless transition the rock hard corpse makes to Dracula (or Alexander Grayson, rather).

The whole scene with the illuminating light bulbs was great – the entire ballroom being awestruck, and seeing those men become unsettled was incredibly satisfying.

I’m also interested in seeing how Dracula’s plan – destroying the Order of the Dragon’s power through the use of modern science – plays out. Though of course Drac is the villain, you can’t help but feel sympathy for him as he recalls how the Order murdered his wife.

Speaking of his wife, we have Mina Murray, her reincarnation, who has an inexplicable attraction to and chemistry with Drac. This was the one part I disliked, as it is far too similar to Dark Shadows, among other cliches of villains finding the reincarnation of their true love. I would have much preferred if they had left out the “reborn” part, and just let the chemistry speak for itself. That said, I do hope they end up together (I find Jonathan just plain boring). I also look forward to seeing more of the Lucy character; she seems very likable.

Renfield was marvelous. I quite enjoyed his simple, deadpan way of speaking, and his unwavering faithfulness in Dracula. I hope we get to see more of how their dynamic works. What we saw of Van Helsing was also very intriguing.

In all, I’m very much anticipating the next episode, and this seems as if it will be a great (if very reimagined) series.