NBC's Dracula: Episode 8, Come to Die.

Whenever there’s a gun introduced into a vampire story, it’s a groaner since the audience knows a gun's an ineffectual weapon against a vampire*, so when it happens this episode it doesn’t hold any dramatic water ... unless the writers totally surprise you by getting their most gutless character to shoot someone for the vampire!

Finally the all fallout we've been waiting for as the season comes closer to its finale: Harker shoots Davenport! Lady Jayne breaks it off with Alexander (again)! Renfield throws down with Dracula! Jonathan casts Mina off in a final fit of distrust! Lucy’s faux seduction works too well as Harker gives her a go! Van Helsing krampuses Browning’s children!

Out of the above, seeing Renfield dish out tough love to Dracula reverses their usual cinematic relationship again. Renfield actually tells Dracula what not to do, restrains him physically, then stops him by strength of reason.

All this passionate interplay aside, the most clever contribution to the vampire lore was huntress Lady Jayne pouring a flask of holy water down her captives’ throats, and having their mouths erupt in black blood baking soda deathcanoes!

Setwise, while I’d first join many of the Pall Mall clubs to enjoy their furniture instead, one must say the Order Of the Dragon's got beautiful chesterfields in their hideout. Also we spot some really fetching gold rimmed tri-foot teacups!

Visually there’s really not too much experimental or cinematic loanage going on, which is a shame (with the exception of Dracula tossing Renfield into stairs, sort of like Renfield’s death in the 1931 version). Certainly this was a high drama character blowout, but maybe some practical vertigo effects for Harker’s post-murder nausea, or canted whip pans as he runs away from the scene, but instead we only get the usual costume piece camerawork.

It’s all up in the air, and it’ll be thrilling to see where it lands in the next two shows! Anyone care to make some guesses? Odds are Harker redeems himself by pushing Dracula into his power transmitter, which explodes into irreproducible fragments, revealing the still living Browning brats in a sub-basement, giving Harker enough press to permanently blow the lid off the Order in the first viral infowave, gets pardoned, and wins Lucy’s hand back for being the big hero he really isn’t. Yet I really still want to see it go like in my last paragraph of the episode 2 commentary, but I’m thinking the writers can’t see it that world changing “Fight Club” (film, not differing book) alternate history ending, which would more surely secure them a second season. We’ll see what the coffin of television holds in store next week.
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* Yes, there are good exceptions, like Underworld.

While a mostly happy bookstore fixture for over two decades, Guillermo Maytorena IV is currently willing to entertain your serious proposals for employment as a literary/cinema critic, goth journalist, castellan, airship pilot/crewperson, investigative mythologist, or assisting in a craft brewery. Should you be connected to any of the above or equally interesting endeavours, do contact him via LinkedIn or G+.