Season 2, Episode 3, titled “The Widow’s Window,” directed by Sam Deats and Adam Deats, and written by Temi Oh, explores Maria’s journey into dark magic and the vampires’ growing army of night creatures, assembled to crush the French Revolution. The episode opens with a flashback of Drolta failing to find a suitable vessel for Sekhmet in Egypt, realizing too late that the vessel must be cruel, sadistic, and power-hungry.
The episode’s central theme is hypocrisy, highlighting the justification of evil for supposedly good purposes. Drolta claims to serve Sekhmet, but her actions stem from an inferiority complex and fear of her religion’s decline. Similarly, Emmanuel justifies using Hell’s forces to serve Heaven, masking cowardice and self-preservation as noble intent. Even the French Revolution itself reflects hypocrisy, as it sought democracy but brought terror and chaos, paving the way for Napoleon’s rise. The narrative underscores the lesson that revolutions fueled by hatred and devoid of honor are destined to fail, reminding us to hold onto our values and convictions.
The Army of Darkness
At Machecoul, Emmanuel (Richard Dormer) raises an army of night creatures from the corpses of the National Guard, transforming their captain (Victoria Atkin) into the Frozen Shade. Though horrified by her new existence, the Frozen Shade finds comfort in Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt), who helps her remember her humanity. This army joins the vampires at Erzsebet Bathory’s (Franka Potente) chateau, much to her and Drolta Tzuentes’ (Elarica Johnson) pride. Drolta then takes three of the most powerful night creatures to Paris to retrieve Sekhmet’s mummy, enabling Erzsebet to inherit a second soul by consuming the goddess’s heart.
Maria Learns Dark Magic
Tera (Nastassja Kinski) teaches Maria (Pixie Davies) how to wield dark magic, which is fueled by Maria’s emotions. When she is hopeful, her magic summons creatures of light, but when consumed by anger, her powers manifest as darkness and evil. Tera’s manipulative teaching reveals how vampirism can distort morality and blind one to their own actions. Juste (Iain Glen) locates Maria, intending to kill Tera, as he believes all vampires are inherently evil. However, Tera defeats Juste, sparing his life to prove her humanity remains intact. Convinced, Juste allies with her, but the trio is interrupted when they witness Emmanuel’s night creature army marching to the vampire chateau. Disgusted, Maria vows to kill her father to prevent further atrocities, alarming Tera, who pleads with Juste to stop her daughter from becoming a kinslayer.
The Execution of Louis XVI
Richter Belmont (Edward Bluemel), Alucard (James Callis), and Annette (Thuso Mbedu) travel to Paris to destroy Sekhmet’s mummy, though they often stop to protect innocents from vampire attacks, delaying their mission. During their journey, Richter confesses to Alucard that he accidentally revealed their plans to the vampires, a mistake that taught him the importance of decisiveness in battle. Upon arriving in Paris, they witnessed the execution of Louis XVI. Annette supports the execution, driven by her disdain for monarchies and aristocracy, but Alucard and Richter disagree. Alucard, having seen the rise and fall of countless regimes, critiques violence as a tool for good, while Richter sympathizes with Louis XVI, recognizing him as a well-intentioned king trapped by the mistakes of his predecessors. Richter’s observation that even Maria, the most fervent revolutionary in Machecoul, felt no hatred for the king underscores the tragedy of the Revolution’s moral failures.
Rating: 9/10