After the finale of the second season, our heroes venture forth in search of new adventures as they find new settings, characters and mysteries. Castlevania has gone from having to gather a reputation to now garnering itself as art and taking liberty with its dedicated cult fanbase stemming from the original video game source. 

The third season retains the qualities that swept audiences in the first place such as the gothic edginess, dazzling visuals and well-choreographed actions scenes. On the other hand, these take more of a backseat in the third season as a soothing stillness is the main spectacle. Oddly enough, it reminds me of Samurai Jack. Apart from the fact that the season follows up a large-scale event and can’t help but feel like an epilogue at times, Castlevania finds virtually no discernible mistakes but plenty of artistic successes.

Adaptations of video games have not had the best history

Adaptations of video games have not had the best history. A common mistake all of them conform to is how to adapt humongous lore. Castlevania, on the contrary, is another player in changing the game. Out of the decades of backstory, the third season picks out details with precision then stitches it all together to form a strong, coherent structure. 

We journey with Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), the last in the family line of vampire slayers; Alucard (James Callis) the son of Dracula; and Sypha Belbades (Alejandro Reynoso), a magician speaker, as they pass through new lands infested with night creatures and schemes. Each character is compelling in their own regard or at least likeable, are never underplayed or overused and stay true to their previous arcs.  The stand-out character, however, is Isaac (Adetokumboh M’Cormack). Already making an interesting presence in previous seasons as a side character he now trudges his own timeline with a Sisyphean conflict and his own hand-made army of demons.

The sound is mystical, exciting and soothing

Castlevania somehow lets existence glint and flicker with magic in a medieval fantasy setting already with literal magic. Within the overall effective storyboard, the lighting stands out in every frame complementing the already beautiful art style. The background music is subtle and slides the viewer into an experience resembling what it feels like to roam through Skyrim. The sound is mystical, exciting and soothing. 

I really appreciate the diverse range of characters and the diverse cast of voice actors

Moreover, I love how the dialogue and voice acting matches this. There is a casual intensity to the way the characters speak and what they discuss. Sentences are composed like a digestible Gothic version of Milton. Also, I really appreciate the diverse range of characters and the diverse cast of voice actors. Not only did they showcase this diversity, but they showcased it quite well. The ‘other’ characters are written with visible respect. They are precarious, yet evil and add so much extra to the story. I argue that More shows need to follow their example.

Vampires are a heavily subverted trope such as Twilight’s melodramatic romance or Hotel Transylvania’s family-friendly comedy. It is very nice to see a series like this pay homage to the vampire’s origins in the Gothic. There are theological discussions on the redemption of humanity and the nature of sin that make you reflect on your own belief system. It is these discussions swamped with a heavy contrast of hope and nihilism I look forward to rather than the impressive action scenes. While physical battles do represent ideological conflicts, most of the pleasure is found in simply watching characters walk and ponder ideas. 

The third season seems to lay out the foundations for the next big event

The only real downside is that the third season cannot help but feel like an epilogue at times considering how large scale the second season’s finale was. The third season seems to lay out the foundations for the next big event. Aside from this, the season redeems its epilogue-like tone with its new-ish style and an overall satisfying ending, letting its viewer know there are plenty of journeys ahead and that it only gets darker from here.

Rating = 4.5/5