Castlevania Season 3 | OT | Out now! (Open spoilers) [UPDATE: Season 4 announced! See threadmarks!]

[Dr Doom]

Finally finished it.
Really like the last twist of the Judge rather than just being a throw away side character.

I enjoyed the Town mystery more. Slow build up to a great climactic battle.

Alucard's story was just something for him to do. A filler.


Through the chaos of the war I think that's when Dracula comes back (cliffhanger of Season 4)

 

[Moff]

just finished this, loved every minute. absolutely fantastic stuff.

 

[VariantX]

Spoiler

In the games each ressurection strips him of more and more of his humanity each time.

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Spoiler

By the time we get to Soma's time Dracula isn't even "himself" anymore, just an formless evil essence and his powers looking for a vessel to be reborn in.

 

[HStallion]

What a weird season. It's like a bunch of side stories that mostly go nowhere. The action at the end was fantastic but what a slog to get there. And then there was no real payoff. Clearly they have no intention of following any of the games timeline, instead we are stuck with the extremely boring vampire subplot, meh.

It's good quality but can be much better.

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Whether you like the events and their results is one thing but there was clearly "pay off" for many of the characters and most likely will result in a much richer season 4 thanks to have a far larger more nuanced cast. Yeah not every story hit the ball out of the park like Alucard's but Isaac talking with people led to a far more interesting journey and development than anything we got in the last two seasons.

I also think hard following the timeline of the games is not gonna result in a better show considering the games aren't exactly known for their in depth characterization, riveting plots and so on. They're basically a vague guideline at this point and probably much better for it.

 

[Miamiwesker]

Whether you like the events and their results is one thing but there was clearly "pay off" for many of the characters and most likely will result in a much richer season 4 thanks to have a far larger more nuanced cast. Yeah not every story hit the ball out of the park like Alucard's but Isaac talking with people led to a far more interesting journey and development than anything we got in the last two seasons.

I also think hard following the timeline of the games is not gonna result in a better show considering the games aren't exactly known for their in depth characterization, riveting plots and so on. They're basically a vague guideline at this point and probably much better for it.

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It's not so much follow the story of the games as it is that the series plot allows for this multi generational epic that spans hundreds of years and multiple Belmont's and all sorts of interesting characters coming and going with Alucard and Dracula being the common thread. Instead we are stuck on first gear not moving anywhere, Trevor isn't exactly the most interesting character. All these other storylines can be done with time moving forward.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

Trevor isn't exactly the most interesting character.

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Trevor is amazing and he bounces off Sypha so well that I could watch several seasons of the two just hanging out, killing demons and getting into trouble.

😞

 

[Failburger]

Season 4 when?! This shit is good

 

[entremet]

What a season. Definitely the best one. Did they play any classic Castlevania tunes in this one? Must have been deep cuts as I didn't recognize any.

 

[HStallion]

What a season. Definitely the best one. Did they play any classic Castlevania tunes in this one? Must have been deep cuts as I didn't recognize any.

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The music was all original but the composer did a wonderful job recreating the feel of the original scores.

 

[krazen]

I dunno why people didn't like Alucard's storyline:

Spoiler: SPOILER

The show did a good job of layering the affection he had for those two because it continually beat you over the head how lonely he was and how he missed his friends (notice how oddly defensive he was with the dolls when they asked him about it). While the sex was used as a juxtaposition between the three storylines in episode 9 (raid on the priory/Hector getting tricked into the ring, the threesome), you didn't really need the sex for it to happen the way it did. Episodes before they foreshadowed they were close (when they all collapsed after sparring) and while the sex was a big deal because we make it to be, how much lore is out there with vampires fucking just because?

It was a nice self contained story of Alucard showing how much affection he has for his friends, but how right he is to live the life of a loner. There was also forshadowing showing that he can be a merciless prick if pushed, so it's going to be intriguing when he's gotta re-enter the world of man again for a presumable Dracula resurrection.

 

[Kadey]

What the fuck is toilet paper?

 

[skeezx]

What the fuck is toilet paper?

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that's what i love about this this show. anachronistic without breaking the fourth wall or just coming off as really dumb, not an easy thing to pull off

 

[Vito]

Thoroughly enjoyed the season.

Spoiler: Question about last episode

We see Dracula in hell with his wife. I know the plot of other games has him come back, but that seems like it wouldn't make much sense anymore. His entire reason for anger was his wife being killed. Now that he's reunited with her, what reason would he have to want to come back?

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Spoiler

I thought about this too and came to a simple solution.

To resurrect him someone destroys Lisa's soul and that makes Dracula lose it permanently.

 

[Sub Boss]

Huh, interesting season, and without Dracula even in it! just imagine how many philosphers demons the belmonts have killed over the ages :'^(

just random dudes that get to have another chance at life but nope, Belmont kills them
This show asks the right questions,why does Ritcher say DIE MONSTER!!YOU DONT BELONG IN THIS WORLD!!!
why does count Dracula think humans are a miserable little pile of secrets? These questions gets us thinking tv viewers 🤔

Fuck the source, he's doing infinitely more interesting work than any bit of writing the games ever did. There's nothing for him to respect.

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Who cares really, Castlevania story is always throwaway. Whatever Ellis writes will still always be superior than that.

I wouldn't say it ruined the season for me, but I agree it was bad. This is my least favourite arc of the season and it was completely unearned.

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As much as i like Castlevania, the source writting is a little basic, this series is good despite the lore, not because of it, and even then struggles a little with the pacing and introducing new characters, changing others like hector.but they do take the beautiful imaginery, music and action that made the games popular.he alao respects the source a little i chuckle when they show that Leon portrait

But the main gimmick of the games is that almost every one you play as a new belmont in an intergenerational war against Dracula, not the case in the series so far.

 

[lupinko]

I love this show. I haven't quite finished S3 yet but almost, i'd agree that the Alucard scenes are the least interesting, although the scene where he was mimicking Trevor and Sypher was hilarious.

I'm curious though as someone who's only experience with the games is Lords of Shadow, how much of this series stories and characters are from the games? Are people like Isaac, Camilla, Hector in the games? Is Trevor? I know Alucard is.

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The Netflix series is currently an adaptation of Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness with a quick callback to Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.

 

[Sub Boss]

The Netflix series is currently an adaptation of Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness with a quick callback to Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.

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I dont think Carmilla appears in Castlevania 3 or CoD, Isaac has a new design and Carmilla's sisters and Dracula's generals are new characters

 

[Rosé Fighter]

So my moms been watching the season and despite her not usually liking this kind of show, she has some insight

Spoiler

Taka and Sumi, she confuses their gender. She also says that they're whole personality towards alucard is insincere. This pays off in episode 9.
For the Judge, during the scene where he talks to the kid about the apple tree, she literally calls him the devil and says he's a bastard
She hates the violence, but during Isaac/Harvest she couldn't keep her eyes away
She hated the speech from the fly person about philosophy/athens. She does like the rest of the 'monologues/conversations'

 

[The Silver]

Definitely my favorite season so far, just focusing on the characters. I honestly don't even care to see Dracula aka that leech Vlad fucking Tepes, come back again, he had a good death.

Spoiler

The Alucard thing I saw coming at first but then they had the scene with the two alone and talking about how lonely Alucard was which seemed legitimately sincere. So yeah, weird, weakest storyline but the impaling as an ending was cool, starting to see what his old man saw.

Hector man........falling for it again, ya hate to it. But really he was fucked no matter what, this might actually be the best outcome of a no win situation, at least he's not eating bug bread.

The big ball of humans was a great set piece.

When the judge talked to the kid about the apple tree, I knew it right then the kid was dead, confirmed for me when he walked out the room completely shaken.

I see Sypha doing all this incredible magic and I keep thinking to myself why doesn't she run out of MP, my gaming mind can't comprehend. Even Trevor forgets how good she is, had that look of concern for her when fighting the angel demon and then remembered in right its Sypha she don't need no damn help.

 

[Khoryos]

Spoiler

Oh So they're resurrecting him against his will?

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EDIT: Not sure my spoiler is working? There's supposed to be an SOTN joke there but I'm not seeing it appear.

 

[lupinko]

I dont think Carmilla appears in Castlevania 3 or CoD, Isaac has a new design and Carmilla's sisters and Dracula's generals are new characters

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Fine, also Simon's Quest. :P

 

[Doober]

I appreciate the season a lot more after a rewatch. Alucard's story still kind of sucks even though the payoff at the end is great.

My biggest critique is the same I had with season 2 in that it spends 8 episodes sort of meandering only for things to pick up at the very end.

It's not so bad when you go in expecting it, but it definitely made that first watch less enjoyable.

 

[Deleted member 56065]

What the fuck is toilet paper?

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For me that was used to show that

Spoiler

Saint German is a time traveler

 

[Deleted member 7051]

Thoroughly enjoyed the season.

Spoiler: Question about last episode

We see Dracula in hell with his wife. I know the plot of other games has him come back, but that seems like it wouldn't make much sense anymore. His entire reason for anger was his wife being killed. Now that he's reunited with her, what reason would he have to want to come back?

Click to shrink...

I think...

Spoiler

It's Hell. He's in Hell. Why would he want to stay there? Why would he want his wife to stay there?

There was that whole discussion between Isaac and the demon that could speak about why someone would be sent to Hell for asking questions. If philosophy is enough to get you sent there, then scientific research likely is too. Which is just fucked up and implies a lot of people in Hell shouldn't be there.

When the Infinite Corridor opened up a gateway to Hell, Dracula held out his hand towards it. I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to escape from there with his wife, return to Wallachia and maybe even make up with his son.

The stinger will probably be that someone intends to resurrect Dracula without her and he won't want to come back alone, but she'll tell him to go and figure out a way to get her free as well. From then on Dracula's motivation in Symphony of the Night could be to return to the human world and open the Gates of Hell so he can bring his wife back and Alucard goes to stop his father from unleashing the hordes of Hell in the process.

 

[HammerFace]

I think...

Spoiler

There was that whole discussion between Isaac and the demon that could speak about why someone would be sent to Hell for asking questions. If philosophy is enough to get you sent there, then scientific research likely is too. Which is just fucked up and implies a lot of people in Hell shouldn't be there.

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Spoiler

Was it just philosophy that sent FlyEyes to hell though? He admits that he sent other philosophers to their deaths in order to save his own life, but was still killed in the end.

 

[Grouch Douglass]

Highlights for me are Lenore and the cool recognizable enemy designs in the battle from Ep 10.

 

[Doober]

Spoiler

So what was up with one of Isaac's random-assed stray demons being unusually intelligent enough to deliberately seek out a bunch of mad monks and explain the occult secrets to resurrecting Dracula to them? Outside of Flyeyes I never got the impression that demons had higher brain functions without a forge master to guide them. This one had a whole plan and everything.

 

[Kewlmyc]

For me that was used to show that

Spoiler

Saint German is a time traveler

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[HammerFace]

Spoiler

So what was up with one of Isaac's random-assed stray demons being unusually intelligent enough to deliberately seek out a bunch of mad monks and explain the occult secrets to resurrecting Dracula to them? Outside of Flyeyes I never got the impression that demons had higher brain functions without a forge master to guide them. This one had a whole plan and everything.

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Spoiler

I mean the season starts out with a band of Night Creatures specifically ambushing caravans in the woods. That seems like there's some higher thought to it. Maybe in the absence of a forge master to control them, they regain more autonomous control and thought.

 

[mhayes86]

Just finished it last night.

Spoiler

I love that my wife said, "It would be nice if they brought in more classic Castlevania bosses", and then Legion showed up a and I said "You mean like that?"

The season was kind of slow, but the character interactions and development were the highlight and were pretty good. Every scene with Issac getting into philosophic conversations was interesting (the captain and flyguy particularly), Sypha and Trevor's relationship, and her getting grounded with her fall into losing faith in humanity after the Judge's dark reveal. The last two episodes were intense, and the entire battle sequence with Trevor and Sypha was great.

 

[Doom_Bringer]

dear god this is just incredible

this is one of the best things I have ever seen!! Top notch story and voice acting

 

[4 Get!]

Simon really wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things. He was just the character in the first game.

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He was in 3 mainline games and also killed Dracula, resurrected him, and then killed him again, with no companions at all during his quests. Simon is a legend and I hope this show eventually does him justice.

 

[carlsojo]

For me that was used to show that

Spoiler

Saint German is a time traveler

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Oh.. oh my God

 

[TheCthultist]

I just want an entire series dedicated to Isaac traveling the world and interacting with people he may or may not later come back to massacre...

 

[DominicanPower]

The final two episodes was animation bliss.

 

[Pendragon_1095]

Isaac and Sypha are literally the best. Lenore is going to be a major fucking player in the future.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Just finished episode 9. Holy shit, that was an amazing ride into the climax! Going to watch the final episode later.

Sypha is fucking awesome. She's like a brutal version of an Avatar. It does feel a little convenient however that Sypha and Trevor end up

Spoiler

in the village where they're trying to resurrect Dracula

.

 

[chronos4590]

For me that was used to show that

Spoiler

Saint German is a time traveler

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I....... woah! :o

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Okay, I powered through and finished it. Absolutely loved it. I do agree with some that it felt a little slow at the beginning but the ending was outstanding. Some of the creature designs felt like something from Clive Barker or HP Lovecraft; I have no idea if they are accurate to the games, but they are awesome and way more interesting than just a red demon with horns or whatever.

Isaac's plotline was probably the best, and I think he's a really interesting character. Despite being a villain I want to see him succeed, and I would like to see him join back up with Hector although that's probably not possible now due to Hector's situation. Alucard's was probably the weakest, although it's all character development and I wonder where they will go with him next season. I like Sypha and Trevor a lot and I think their interactions are fun.

When Trevor made the creature show him what it most wanted (to go elsewhere in the infinite corridor away from Dracula?) and it went to the image of someone upside down, and that's when Saint Germain stepped in and sealed it from the inside - who was that person supposed to be? I assume it's a reference to someone from the games, although I don't have a lot of knowledge of them outside of broad strokes.

 

[Starphanluke]

I have a spoilery question about a vague element near the end of the season:

Spoiler

Was the magician with the green magic that Isaac killed near the end of the season related to Saint Germaine in some way? Looked like him and had similar clothes. Or maybe it was him after entering the Infinite Corridor?

Also, does anyone have a good resource to read up on the Infinite Corridor? I have never played the games and am not sure if I grasp why it is important.

 

[Socivol]

Finished last night and this season was excellent for the most part. Alucard was completely wasted with a storyline that didn't go anywhere for me. Enjoyed the new characters especially the vampire women. Hector and Isaac's stories were great and the mystery about the city was great, with a nice twist. Really good season overall and I can't wait for the next one. This is one of the most consistently good shows for me.

 

[Arkeband]

I have a wild theory that Germaine is this show's way of incorporating

Spoiler

Gabriel from LoS.
His whole motivation is the same, his wife's 'dead' and he's suicidally trying to bring her back. He also has red/gold/black color scheme going on under his brown cloak.
But instead of him becoming Dracula, his insistence in fucking with the Infinite Corridor will instead lead to Dracula escaping/possessing him/etc. This would make Germaine's wife Marie.
They could even say he's a Belmont, which would be fine since his quest involves time traveling. This could make him Trevor's dad, too. The series hasn't explored any other Belmonts, and it's unlikely that Trevor Belmont's parents weren't significant and just disappeared.

 

[Cow Mengde]

I like the season. The mystery behind the village was very suspenseful. Alucard started out really wholesome, but then did a 180 just like that. I feel like the show ended on a bit of a downer overall, but also seems like they're setting up for next season.

 

[HStallion]

The next season and possibly final season, for Trevor and crew, is going to be nightmarish and fucked up going off of the trajectory of most Warren Ellis stories. Things are going to get dark as well as probably getting really weird on top of that. Its also why I expect to see Death show up at some point, it would be something he'd do.

 

[Phonzo]

Had some good moments here and there, but overall the worst season. Amounted to nothing.

good dialogue though.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I'm finished it.

Season 3 was different I give it that, now I'm not sure I like it though. I don't hate it but it never gave me the hyped vibe of the first 2 seasons which story wise flow into each other as season 1 into 2.

Man season 3 is grim to the point of bumming me out reflecting on it.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Yo, I wasn't expecting to see Legion show up! I appreciate it even more because Legion is actually the secret bonus boss in Curse of Darkness, and he actually quite tough in that.

But even better than that, holy shit, AXE SUB-WEAPON!! I really didn't expect to see that.

You can tell that they definitely played some of the games to include these.

 

[Foffy]

I dont think Carmilla appears in Castlevania 3 or CoD, Isaac has a new design and Carmilla's sisters and Dracula's generals are new characters

Click to shrink...

She exists in the time of Dracula's Curse, though not in the games directly.

Spoiler

She's part of the reason Sypha hides who she as Carmilla kills her family. Sypha becomes a member of the church to hide from those who kill witches like her and to fight vampires like Carmilla.

 

[Sub Boss]

She exists in the time of Dracula's Curse, though not in the games directly.

Spoiler

She's part of the reason Sypha hides who she as Carmilla kills her family. Sypha becomes a member of the church to hide from those who kill witches like her and to fight vampires like Carmilla.

Click to shrink...

i didn't know that backstory, it would have been cool to show in the tv series, make Carmilla and Sypha close enemies

 

[onpoint]

I was pretty meh on the season. Didn't excite me at all. Didn't really feel like Castlevania.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

The next season and possibly final season, for Trevor and crew, is going to be nightmarish and fucked up going off of the trajectory of most Warren Ellis stories. Things are going to get dark as well as probably getting really weird on top of that. Its also why I expect to see Death show up at some point, it would be something he'd do.

Click to shrink...

If the game is anything to go by...

Spoiler

Death will manipulate Isaac and Hector into fighting each other so that the sheer chaos of two Forgemasters going head to head and one dying to the other will allow it to resurrect Dracula.

Of course I'm now questioning whether that would happen with Saint Germain's comment implying Dracula is actually a pretty small fish.