By The further we get from Castlevania’s second season, the more I look back at just how much I enjoyed it. Pacing problems aside, with most of the main cast stuck in a library, the action and character development was solid and it brought a lot of pathos to a franchise that never delved into storytelling that was too serious. This was a series where the most dramatic it ever got was Symphony of the Night and while I adore that game from top to bottom, its plot was fairly silly on reflection. Sure, I may have been a bit surlier when I originally reviewed it, but time does strange things to us all and I can’t help but think fondly of the show.
While I did attend the panel at NYCC this year, which was a roundtable discussion about the show, most of the questions surrounding it weren’t discussing the show’s production as much as random, “LOL” worthy questions. Most of the serious questions were pitched to writer Warren Ellis and his involvement in the show, such as how he never played the games but took to fan forums and fan content in order to learn more about the show. In his own words, “Wikipedia is well stocked on Castlevania lore.” He also mentioned how in crafting this series he was inspired by Hammer horror in his depiction of Transylvania and Dracula, which fittingly lines up with some of the inspiration for the original game, whether he was aware of it or not.
Throughout the panel, the moderator constantly teased a “special clip” for the audience, barreling through any and all questions to get to the clip. That means whatever serious questions that were going to be asked, like a question pitched to Graham McTavish on whether or not he viewed Dracula as a villainous monster, had to have super truncated answers, dampening my enthusiasm immensely. Instead we had questions like “Did Alejandra Reynoso make Sypha’s magic signs in the recording booth?” Keep in mind, there were no audience questions at this panel, all of these questions came from the moderator. But finally, FINALLY, we eventually did get to the “special clip,” which was a teaser for the upcoming Season 3.
In the clip, Sypha and Trevor are riding in a carriage after the events of Season 2, commenting how it will be the first peaceful night in a long time. Sypha comments how they’re being trailed by monsters and her and Trevor agree to act innocent and let the monsters get a false sense of security before flaying and burning them alive. As they approach, Sypha forces a shocked and frightened reaction, making Trevor cringe and roll his eyes like he’s embarrassed to be associate with this woman. And… that’s it! No fight scene, no action, and worst of all, no release date.
I’ve actually grown to love Castlevania’s weird sense of humor as time goes on, so this teaser worked for me. The humor always comes right out of left field and is so coarse that it’s hard not to laugh watching Alucard flip off Trevor after going on a massive adventure to kill Dracula. The comedy is in full force here and the teaser also confirms that, for now, we’ll be staying in this time period with Trevor, Alucard, and Sypha instead of making a huge time leap to another classic series protagonist (Richter Belmont anyone?) I guess now we’re going to get that long awaited Curse of Darkness adaptation that maybe one person is looking forward to.
Castlevania’s third season has no release date yet, though it will stream on Netflix when released.
