Netflix series Castlevania: Nocturne, Season 1 Episode 1, called “A Common Enemy in Evil,” explores the rise of a Vampire Messiah during the French Revolution. In 1783, following the end of the American Revolution, Julia Belmont (Sophie Skelton) takes her 10-year-old son, Richter Belmont (Benjamin Plessala), to the docks in Boston, Massachusetts, where a ship will take Richter to France under the care of Julia’s friend, the Speaker magician Tera Renard (Nastassja Kinski). However, the Aztec Vampire Olrox confronts the Belmonts, forcing Julia to stay behind to fight the vampire and give Ricter time to get to the ship. Julia uses her Belmont skills and magic to best Olrox, which causes the latter to transform into a giant feathered serpent that resembles the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. Richter tries to help his mother by using his pyrokinesis skills to fire at the vampire, to Olrox’s amusement. Fearful for her son, Julia becomes distracted in protecting Richter, and Olrox takes advantage of Julia defending Richter to defeat and kill her. Olrox lets Richter escape to the ship but promises to one day end the boy properly once he grows up to become a proper vampire hunter. 

Nine years later, in 1792, the French Revolution and its ideals spread across France. The witch Maria Renard (Pixie Davies), daughter of Tera Renard, gives a speech at a revolution meeting to inspire the revolutionists to stand up and rebel against the French human and vampiric aristocratic bourgeoisie. Richter Belmont (Edward Bluemel), now a nineteen-year-old vampire hunter, listens to Maria’s speech. However, vampire warriors ambush the meeting after being sent by their vampiric masters to destroy any trace of revolutionism nearby. Richter and Maria kill their attackers, but not before hearing one vampire warrior proclaiming, “A Vampire Messiah will come. The Devourer of Light will eat the sun.” 

Following the attack, Richter and Maria lead the revolutionists back to Macheocoul, where the Revolutionists are from. While heading back to the town, Richter suggests they meet with the Abbot, Emmanuel (Richard Dormer), the head of Macheocoul Church, because of his influence and army of soldier monks. He reasons that although the Church is not friends of the Revolution, they could aid the fight against the growing number of vampires in France. Maria agrees to build a temporary alliance with the Church to deal with the vampire problem. They head to the church and meet Mizrak (Aaron Neil), head of the soldier-monks, who allows them to meet the Abbot. The two relay their findings of the vampires congregating at the Marquis’ chateau to the Abbot’s disbelief because the Marquis and his family have been pillars for Macheocoul for generations. Maria rebuts that the Marquis was corrupt before and during the revolution and has spent all his time at court, forgetting the lives of the peasants, whose hard work he feeds off. Nevertheless, the Abbot agrees to assist Richter and Maria with their investigations, with the help of the Church’s spies but will do so on his terms, to Maria’s frustration. Sometime later, the Marquis and his family reveal themselves as vampires when they drain the revolutionary, Jacques, of his blood and throw his corpse in a pile of commoner corpses for unknown malicious purposes. 

At the Renard household, Maria talks with her mother about the revolution and the Abbot whom Tera trusts. Richter sleeps during the conversation and has a nightmare of the night when Olrox kills his mother, Julia Belmont, in their duel. The nightmare’s conclusion wakes Richter up, and he joins the conversation, which transitions to the former thanking Tera and Maria for being kind to him when he grew up in their household since he arrived in France. However, a group of night creatures, demons made from human corpses grafted onto the souls from Hell, arrive at the Renard House to kill Richter but avoid harming the Renard Family as they try to kill Richter. The battle concludes with the night creatures fleeing when Annette (Thuso Mbedu) and Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt), revolutionaries from Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean Sea, kill one of the night creatures. Annette and Edouard talk about the night creatures and their belief a Forgemaster is behind their creation until they turn their attention to Richter, Maria, and Tera, asking where they could find a person named Belmont. Maria gestures and points at Richter, to Annette and Edouard’s shock. They likely did not know the Belmont they were looking for was a young teenager, not an older vampire hunter veteran. Richter asks the two Saint-Domingue revolutionaries about what they know about a Vampire Messiah, a vampire whom the vampires across the world came to France to rally for. Annette confirms they know about the Vampire Messiah, which is why they are here. 

The episode ends with Olrox, a high-ranking representative or leader of the vampires from the Americas (North America and South America), arriving in Nantes, Western France, via ship and greeted by the vampire noble Vaublanc (Alastair Duncan). Olrox thanks Vaublanc for meeting him but assures the noble he can find his way in France alone without help. Vaublanc respects Olrox’s wish and allows the Aztec Vampire to walk to the town of Macheocoul unopposed. Olrox’s attitude suggests he does not trust nor respect the Vampire Messiah. 

The Revolution Meeting

In Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1 Episode 1, Directors Sam Deats and Adam Deats, along with Writer Clive Bradley, opened the season premiere on an exhilarating note. The episode skillfully establishes the conflict as foreign and French vampires gather at the Marquis’ chateau in anticipation of the Vampire Messiah’s arrival. Although the show diverges from the narratives in the games, it successfully stands on its own by crafting a fresh Castlevania story inspired by elements from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In the games, Dracula Vlad Tepes serves as the primary antagonist, engaging in battles with Richter, one of the most formidable Belmonts in history, thanks to his mastery of magic and Belmont combat techniques. While the show doesn’t explicitly reveal how Richter acquired his skills, he may have been primarily self-taught, possibly with the assistance of Tera Renard.

Rating: 9/10