Dracula- Episode 9

Mina lays in the hospital with vague recollections of a bloody and violent Grayson saving her life. He’s left her a single red rose. Renfield tries to convince Grayson that Davenport alone was seeking vengeance aginst Grayson and NOT the Order of the Dragon. Grayson says the it stinks of high order: using women and children to get revenge. Renfield is correct, of course. Van Helsing explains that he is no longer allied with Grayson, Renfield tries to talk sense into him, but he declines.

Lady Jayne is going on about various violent acts that she will carry out against vampires and Browning confides that his children have been abducted. He has proof that Grayson blackmailed Daniel and Lord Laurent. Browning is convinced that Grayson is Dracula.. Lady Jayne doesn’t buy it and is visibly frustrated at the accusation although they are no longer lovers.

Harker leaves Lucy’s, as he does she calls out to him. Harker looks some version of disgusted/upset/guilty (I’m not sure what he is emoting here). Lucy’s mother sees him leave and asks the negligee clad Lucy what she has done. Lucy closes the door on her mother.

A raid on Grayson’s estate. Renfield, who is his lawyer says that the warrant is invalid and that he will charge the police with criminal trespassing and vandalism. They are searching for evidence that Grayson has taken Browning’s children. The nonplussed Grayson tells them they have his permission.

But Grayson hasn’t taken them… Renfield thinks that it was perhaps Van Helsing.

Harker waits in Browning’s carriage. Grayson “puts Renfield in his place” in a way that was degrading and unneccessary. A crying Lucy confesses to her seemingly caring mother that she’s fallen in love with Mina her mother becomes outraged and Lucy is once again confronted with someone she cares for who does not accept her. Harker asks Browning about the attack on Mina, he says that the Order would never have sanctioned it and that Davenport acted alone… he also realizes that Harker killed Davenport… seems there’s a vacancy in the Order that Harker can fill he is welcomed aboard, his first mission is to steal blueprints for Grayson’s resonator.

Grayson meets with Van Helsing. Van Helsing reiterates that he thinks Grayson behaves irresponsibly and impulsively. Grayson accuses Van Helsing of stealing Browning’s children… he has, but he cannot kill him, no matter how badly he thinks Browning deserves the grief while Grayson feeds his enemies to hungry vamps.

A weak and fragile Mina lays in her hospital bed with Grayson lurking/creeping/watching her.. she realizes that he has been leaving her the roses. Which seemed pretty obvious. Mina says she remembers him saving her… he tells her that he was in Carfax, that she doesn’t remember it right. She disagrees and says she remembers he was there (although oddly enough she isn’t scared as she was earlier.) She asks Grayson to stay. but the sun has been up too long, and he takes his leave.

Lady Jayne goes to where the vampire attack occurs. Browning tells the police that his children are fine… they aren’t… but they have to keep that and the attack out of the public eye..

Lucy goes to visit Mina. Lucy brings her a bouquet and they are happy to see each other. Lucy is regretting her decision to deliberately hurt Mina.  Lucy tells Mina that she has to call off her engagement and forget about Jonathan. Mina demands to know what he has done… Through Lucy’s apology and avoidance Mina surmises that Lucy has slept with him… which is really weird since Mina knows Lucy only has eyes for her… ummm…

Harker is initiated in the Order… taking the oath that says he will put the Order before the needs of himself and all others in his life. Which he already does, so, that’s not new. Grayson has visited Mina three times while Harker has been scheming and sleeping with her best friend.

Van Helsing fashions a ransom note.

Grayson revels in his victory over the council, one day of direct action yielded more results than decades of covert scheming. The board of health says that Grayson’s energy company can reopen. This has been orchestrated by Browning so that they can cause a catastrophe at the demonstration -a failure so epic that no one will deem magnetism a viable energy option.

Mina busts out of the hospital and heads to Harker’s.. he enters and yells at her for being in his house?! The woman he is to marry! Harker blames the fact that he slept with Lucy entirely on Lucy… Mina doesn’t buy the slut shaming and calls Harker a pig. But Harker says one thing that’s true… Mina loves Grayson. And he knows it.

Outside a clumsy Mina catches a reflection of herself… appearing as Grayson’s dead wife. She passes out and back at the hospital Grayson visits her again. He teases her and she cheers up. But she cuts to the chase and asks what is happening between them. He tells Mina about his wife, Alana. Mina has dreamed about Alana, “she looks like me,” she says. “I owe that someone that I used to love a terrible debt and until I pay it I can’t move forward.” He reminds her that she loves Harker.. Mina confides about Harker’s infidelity with Lucy. Grayson gets all “How could  she?!” (look out!)

Grayson busts in on Lucy in the bath and sneaks up on her “If you insist on behaving like a monster, I shall make you one.” And he does. He bites her and then opens his own wrist forcing it in her mouth. He leaves in the blink of an eye leaving Lucy bloody and startled.

Well, Lucy got a shitty lot in the show… angst upon angst and then caught up in this convoluted deception. But at least we are rid of Harker -with Mina anyway. For now at least. I hate him. The way that Grayson treated Renfield in this episode flies in the face of their previously established relationship. Hated it. Next week: Lucy gets consumed and turned!!

Dracula: episode 8

Dracula is having sexy dreams about his former wife, and then the recollection of armored men breaking in and grabbing her away while he is beaten.

Currently Dracula is staring at Mina’s residence. “There is folly in this obsession.” Renfield tells him.

Mina is snooping around Van Helsing’s things again (last time she did this she created a potential vampire rat. This was never addressed, disappointingly). Her father comes to see what she is doing… and confronts her about the dance he caught between her and Grayson.

Lady Jayne and Davenport decide that there is indeed another elder vampire. (Not just the one she killed at her residence, Grayson’s friend). But the huntsman doesn’t find Grayson. She finds a female vampire (a black woman in fact, this show is beyond white and she doesn’t last long… unfortunately that’s a “thing” on this show) During the showdown, Lady Jayne easily beheads a man and the other woman confesses that dracula himself called her there.

Harker is in trouble. And he’s starting to put two and two together about Grayson, he thinks that Grayson killed the bookkeeper (he did).

Van Helsing can’t believe he killed a police magistrate (he did)

Grayson gets the sunlight serum. While Lady Jayne tells the Order of the Dragon that Dracula is in London. And tells the story of how the Order themselves changed Vlad the Impaler into Dracula. She vows to end it once and for all.

Harker tells Mina how violent and dangerous Grayson is. Mina doesn’t buy it when he tells her to stay away.

Grayson goes to see Lady Jayne. And she breaks up with him. She knows that his heart belongs to Mina, she’s known since she saw them dance at Mina and Jonathon’s engagement party. To his merit; he doesn’t deny it or make excuses… but he does say that he risked his life to protect her (he didn’t). She says that the whole time he was pretending she was Mina. He denies it (but he was).

Mina goes to see Grayson. She tells Grayson what Harker has come to her and said. “I would never lie to you, you have my word.” (but vague answers are us). She bizarrely tells him off, saying that her and Harker will not be used up by him.

Lucy is still inanely flirting with Harker. Harker turns her down flat. She begs for a kiss. He declines. So she tells Harker that Mina has been visiting Grayson. 

Grayson has a class A meltdown.

Harker confronts Mina about going to see Grayson against his wishes. Says that she invents reasons to see Grayson so that she can flirt with him (that’s not wrong… it’s pretty accurate, except that one last time)

A vampire lackey says that Dracula can walk in the day. “Dracula has bested God.” Lady Jayne feeds him some Holy Water he gurgles thick blood.

Van Helsing and Renfield talk business, discuss how they will go after High Council or the Dragon’s Head.

Mina steals Dracula’s blood sample from Van Helsing’s office (again) but as she is leaving 3 men break in. She kicks one in the shin and makes a run for it, but she is surrounded and one man shoves her down the stairs leaving her concussed. The men are primed to torture her (to destroy Grayson) …but Grayson shows up and starts ripping out throats. Then he impales them on the fence outside. Vlad the Impaler: Confirmed.

Harker and Grayson and her father are all at the hospital (if Harker thinks Grayson is a danger why does he let Grayson visit? At one point he even storms off leaving Grayson alone with Mina)

Hackett is Davenport’s man. Grayson tells Harker that the police will never believe him. Harker says that he will confront Davenport himself.

Davenport says Grayson is framing him. That Grayson sent Harker because one of them would be killed and either way he wins, either Davenport is dead or Harker is dead… then Grayson will have Mina. Harker falls to shambles under Davenports ranting and Harker shoots him… he sees the painting of someone looking mostly like Mina that Davenport stole from Grayson… and then heads over to Lucy’s. Lucy is not that into it, of course… but she’s satisfied that this will ruin Mina and Harker’s relationship and Mina will experience the pain that Mina inflicted on her. 

Great episode! Lot’s of vampire stuff happening. Beheadings, Grayson’s class A freak out, violence, lust, less fake science…

Bad stuff: it’s awful that a PoC character will walk on and I already know that they will be dead in 5 minutes. That’s ridiculous. Stop doing that. Also the fact that Lucy is so bitter and repressed and she’s the only LGBT character who is still alive? Not good. 

I hope Mina and Harker break up. I still hate Harker. How is it alright to tell your wife who not to see under the guise of “protecting her” but you leave her with this person while she is unconscious? Only one of those times required your interference and you picked the wrong one, Harker!

 

Dracula: Episode Seven

Alexander Grayson finally gets the recipe for the sunlight serum down. He has 4 hours. But he’s hungry, so hungry. He gets a taste of Lady Jayne. And nearly takes a bite out of the cleaning staff. Mina continues to act sweet and silly and sets up a dance at the hospital for which she needs to borrow Grayson’s phonograph. 

A heartbroken Lucy meets with Lady Jayne to tell her how her confession to Mina went.. “Monstrous.” Lady Jayne sent her out to profess her love and this exchange blew up in Lucy’s face. Lucy says Mina’s look was of revulsion and Lady Jayne says Mina’s just scared of her own sexual nature. What does Lady Jayne have to gain in this?!

Lucy busts in at his tailor and tells Harker that “Alastair wasn’t exactly her type” and after receiving some remarkably terrible and devious advice from Lady Jayne sets out to seduce him. That bad advice also involved a tease and a kiss.

 

The treatment Lucy is receiving is unnecessarily cruel. 

And Renfield had bid a million dollars on a painting only to have it stolen by Davenport. It’s a painting of Drac’s wife who obviously looks identical to Mina Murray. Now Davenport knows who Drac loves and can seek his revenge!

Harker is summoned by the Order.

Grayson makes Mina’s party a proper affair by having real string players and is dancing joyously with one of the patients when she arrives. Then he has to leave abruptly because the sunlight is weakening him. Mina stops him. She is disappointed that Harker is missing from the dance and says she wants to dance with Graysons (…bad decisions all around) but he can’t resist, steadies himself and dances with her in the hall. They flirt, he leans in close, almost for a kiss but become preoccupied with her pulse in her throat. His hands start to tremble and she thinks she’s made him nervous. But it’s really that he is trying to keep himself from taking a bite of her.

Grayson runs late and arrives right around the same time as the Police tipped off by the Order and their new member Harker. They allege that the machinery is a health hazard. And shut him down. Grayson throws money that them and things get a little “fuck the police” at Grayson Electric Company.

Harker apologizes to Mina. Mina doesn’t apologize for the emotional and nearly physical affair that she’s having. To top off the evening, Grayson makes a snack out of the cop and then threatens Van Helsing for teasing him, giving him just a taste of the world he once had.

There was much to like about this episode. But unfortunately it wasn’t the same scenes that the show focussed on. The dance between Grayson and Mina was an obvious highlight. But of interest to me is the rift growing between Van Helsing and Grayson. 

I’m exceptionally displeased with the way Lady Jayne is teasing Lucy. What value is it? What does she have to gain by sending Lucy to embarrass herself and to sabotage Harker and Mina. Why? What good does it do her? It was well acted, well.. on Katie McGrath’s end for certain. But I just do not understand why the writers are toying with Lucy in this way (after having the tragic death and suicide of the show’s only other LGBT characters). Why would Lucy flirt with Harker? Seduce him to shake Mina’s relationship? That only serves to prove to Mina that Lucy’s intentions are impure. How would that make Mina want Lucy?! And why would Lady Jayne want her to break up Mina and Harker (since she has witnessed Grayson flirting with Mina… wouldn’t she want Mina attached? Perhaps?)

Baffled.

Dracula- Episode 6

Dracula dreams of sunlight

Browning tries to convince Lady Jayne that Grayson is a vampire. She assures him, as head huntsman… and as someone who has spent quite a lot of time with him, that she would know if he was Nosferatu. But others are noticing that although Grayson runs a business they have never seen him out at a daytime event. 

At a lovely restaurant a waiter is performing a trick for Mina, Lucy and Harker. Mina giggles, Lucy looks annoyed and Harker full out ignores the man. Grayson leaves Lady Jayne behind at their table to impress Mina with how the trick is performed. And then does one of his own as an apology for the abrupt exit at their engagement party. He offers to pay for their meal and drinks.

After feasting on his dime Mina and Harker run home through the rain, Mina dancing and laughing. Then they consummate their relationship. AFter a shadowy night of pasiion, they plan to set a date to be married. Then Mina says something about studying to accomplish and Harker jokes that he is still playing second fiddle to her work with Van Helsing. (Except that two episodes ago this was not a “joke” and their relationship nearly ended because he did not want a woman with ambition)

Harker then meets with Grayson to discuss the dirt on those that captured Renfield. 

Renfield presents Grayson with a document: a telegram regarding an auction for the Dresden Triptych. Davenport finds out and now HE wants it to get at Grayson.

Grayson wins part of British Imperial Coolant in a card game.

A British Imperial Coolant event is being held in a solarium in the middle of the day. If Grayson can not attend, he will lose his share.

Mina is examining the blood samples (that are Grayson’s but she doesn’t know that) The blood is still alive despite the cells duration outside of the body. Mina injects the blood into a dead rat. She waits briefly for it to react… but it does not, so she stuffs it away… only then does the rat twitch. 

Lucy meets with Lady Jayne who invited her after noticing the way Lucy gazed upon Mina Murray. Lady Jayne says that she had been with many females and that it is a natural part of maturation. She softly strokes Lucy and convinces Lucy that Mina loves her, too, and that she should confess her feelings to Mina.

Van Helsing tells Grayson that he’s had a breakthrough with the sunlight serum (that will allow the vampire to walk in the day) and Grayson optimistically insists that they try it out on him tomorrow.

MIna attempts to return the sample to Van Helsing’s lab… but she is caught. Van Helsing discharges her. So she keeps the sample. Then she calls Van Helsing out. She reanimated dead cheek cells using the sample and then repeated the experiment to be sure. Van Helsing invites her back in and tries to say it is a microscopic parasite found in Sumatra. She doesn’t buy it. He grabs for a mallet. 

But Mina relents, she says it’s because her mother died while she was young. She wishes to cure death. She convinces herself that she saw only what she wished to. That she projected her needs.

Lady Jayne presents Browning with evidence that Grayson has RSVPed to a daytime even. Browning says that he probably won’t show, and if he is a vampire, will the Huntsman be able to kill him?

While Harker and his future Mrs. ride around on a carousel, they are interrupted by Davenport, who gives Harker a ticket to a play, A Doll’s House, where he sees an actress, who he thought was a bookkeeper… he then realizes that Grayson has set him up, knowing that he would give evidence of General Shaw to the papers against Grayson’s wishes.

I’m a little baffled on this one… what exactly is going on here? There’s a ton going on… I missed it.

Lucy helps Mina pick out a fashionable dress… Mina is distant. Mina also created a vampire rat not too long ago, should we be concerned about that?

Mina tells Lucy that she believes that Van Helsing is deceiving her, for the substance could revolutionize medicine… why would he hide it? Then she apologizes and says that Lucy must find talk of research so dull. Lucy, proving she would be a better partner, says “Mina, not while you are speaking.”  

Lucy confesses her love, but Mina turns away. She Is suspicious, says that Mina under minds Jonathon because she wants Mina for herself not to protect her as the friend that Mina needs.

Lucy leaves in tears, pushing past Harker as he enters.

Van Helsing straps Grayson to a machine that will augment his blood pressure so the serum can be injected. BY A HUGE AND TERRIFYING MULTINEEDLED APPARATUS. Renfield thinks this is a bad idea, but Grayson says that they can’t win unless they go “All-in”

 He makes his appearance, but starts burning up in mere minutes. The sunlight serum prospects seem hopeless, but for now that board and Brotherhood are quieted.

He confronts the actress and drinks her… healing himself.

The next episode isn’t set to air until January 3. Will Lucy and Mina make up? Will Mina keep experimenting behind Van Helsing’s back? Will Harker get decapitated?

These are my main concerns!

This episode was less angsty than the last two, which was nice for me. I still feel badly for Lucy (and do not know why Lady Jayne provoked her, saying Mina looked on Lucy with the same affection) but I am glad it was out in the open. Mina’s response was not homophobic, but honest. She called Lucy’s motivations into question. 

Dracula- Episode 5

Episode 4 ended with Lady Jane believing Grayson’s preposterous story about how he “saved her” from a vampire. Daniel’s father makes it his mission to take down Grayson… which  leads to the kidnapping of Mr. Renfield.

This episode opens with Mina and Grayson having an exchanged that goes, “But I know you love me.” “But I love Harker and that is final!” Which it’s not as he kisses her passionately.

But alas, her infidelity to the misogynist halfwit is just a dream and she is awakened by Lucy. Lucy, who hopes the engagement is off for the same reasons that Grayson wishes the engagement to be off, rouses the sleeping Mina to begin festivities for her engagement party.

Grayson summons Van Helsing to get to work on a “test subject” (feral looking vampire) to perfect his “sunlight serum” Grayson says “people are getting suspicious” -and they may be. but you know, this is all about Mina. 

Harker has uninvited all his friends from the paper. When Mina asks him about it he talks down to her (Lucy looks on unhappily). Mina thinks that if Harker sees his friends as expendable… she may become expendable in his eyes as well. Valid. Also valid: he’s a misogynist asshole. Her father brushes it off “he’s in a new field, it’s normal” (“that’s how men are”)

In contrast to Mina’s emotional turmoil… Renfield is still being tortured for informationa about Grayson. The woman who has him hostage asks one question, “who does Alexander Grayson love?” These scenes are graphic and cringe inducing. 

Grayson discovers that Renfield is taken by the Order. Grayson knows that Renfield will sacrifice himself… die before he will say a word against Grayson. Grayson is powerless in the daylight. Van Helsing refuses to help. Says he cannot be distracted from making the serum.

Harker finds a clue.

Grayson remembers meeting RM Renfield, Esquire, for the first time.

Harker comes to Grayson with what he knows. Grayson is glad to have a lead. Then he meets with Van Helsing for his experiment. Van Helsing injects the female vamp, then electrocutes her to cause her heart to beat, The serum flows through her veins and he opens the window coverings. She recoils from the sun… but then it doesn’t hurt her… she basks in to… momentarily. And then bursts into flames. 

Grayson then, is upset and still powerless until night fall. But after dusk, he goes to where they are torturing Renfield… He slaughters guards and the head torturer screams for her life as Renfield laughs maniacally.

Back at the engagement party, the Order is there, as is Lady Jayne. Grayson uses his vampire powers of lie detection to surmise that she is not involved in Renfield’s abduction. There’s also some interesting scene where Lady Jayne watches Lucy prep Mina and she knows that Lucy is just in love with her.

And Harker decided to invite his newspaper friends after all saying “I was beginning to forget who I was.” and Mina replies, “I always be here to remind you.” (yes, please remind him that he is a lout and should kiss your ass, please). He makes a speech proclaiming his delight at marrying Mina. A toast to which everyone but Grayson and Lucy drink. Then as a gift for the festivities… he gives the first dance with Mina to Grayson.

And the chemistry between them is obvious as they waltz. Lucy sees it, Lady Jane sees it and then Harker sees it and asks to cut in. Grayson (sadly, only) envisions himself slitting Harker’s throat. So he walks off. But so does Mina. Who goes hope in discontent hoping for another sexy dream. Lucy bawls her eyes out because Mina doesn’t look at her that way. Lady Jayne (for some reason) continues to defend Grayson and insist he’s not a vampire (oh yeah, she’ “blinded by passion”). And Grayson tends to Renfields wounds.

 

Which is what I thought was the great aspect of this episode. Renfield got more of a back story, he was taught law by an abolitionist who made a motion that Renfield be allowed to take the Bar exam. Which he passed. But that didn’t mean anyone would work with him or allow him to represent him. He was left penniless and friendless and serving drinks on a train (because brains and ambition really do not guarantee success, no matter what popular discourse would have you believe. Social attitudes, networks and timing play a huge role. We do not all start at the same place) to criminals who see him as less than. 

Grayson can relate to being smart and capable… but to be an outsider, to have what he wants taken from him. It’s clever and a good basis for a friendship. 

I don’t know how long they can leave Lucy to mope around for Mina. Frankly, I hope there is a resolution soon. 

Dracula episode 4

Grayson is talking to Renfield about Lady Jayne, he knows if he kills her that they will send another. Lady Jayne is kicking ass and slicing throats in the moonlight.

Grayson has summoned a vampire (two of his cohorts killed by Lady Jayne that night) to help dismantle the Order of the Dragon.

Mina is glowing with happiness about marrying Harker. (I still hate the misogynist lout) Lucy and Grayson look on, seemingly happy with this news. But Grayson quickly starts discussing business and sends Harker off while the girls go to discuss flowers and settings. Grayson says the he his testing his resonating machine (it’s fake). Lucy is bored by the idea and departs, Mina is entralled. The machine starts to blow and steam billows out as bolts fly past. Grayson grabs Mina “to protect her” (or maybe to protect her… nah). It gets intense, He’s clearly emotional and she herself gives in to the embrace.

Grayson’s vampire buddy agrees that Mina is really Grayson’s dead wife. Not a mere resemblance, but her reincarnated.

He threatens the vampire that he must never mention this again and then goes off to spy on Lady Jayne. Who he should be meeting but is standing up even though she looks like a whole bag of sexy.

Mina doesn’t understand why Grayson has offered to host their wedding. She thinks it’s weird how involved he is. She takes her concerns to her fiancee and Harker tells Mina that it was Grayson who told him he was being a fucking sexist jerk and that he should properly appreciate Mina for who she is.

Mina continues as Van Helsing’s assistant. Later Van Helsing heads over to Grayson’s for his “treatment” you know, so he isn’t allergic to the sun… he tries it out, feels the warmth of the sun- right before his hand burns. The main issues it that it is working right at the injection site, but without blood circulating, that’s the only place. Van Helsing sees it as a breakthrough, Grayson is furious.

Mina is snooping around her Professor’s things and finds his special project. She starts to examine the cells, saying that it makes no sense that the cells are still alive. She is so interested that she misses her own engagement party that Lucy is throwing for her. Lucy is worried that she is losing her friend to her husband. Lucy is most certainly pining away for Mina.

Grayson turns up at Lady Jaynes, apologizing for missing dinner. She says he is “relentlessly optimistic” that she would have time for him. He promises her an evening that she will never forget. I don’t get these two. Grayson banters cheesy pick up lines at her and then takes her to a fight club(?!). She gets so turned on by the girl on girl violence that they have an eager and passionate “lovemaking.”

From all sides, including Daniel’s father, everyone is vying for a way to get to Grayson.

Renfield is displeased with Grayson’s impetuous vampire guest. Renfield knows that he can’t be trusted and wonderfully illustrates this point to Grayson who says that the younger vampire saved his life on the battlefield many times and that he can stay as long as he wants, he’s like a brother.

Grayson heads back the Lady Jayne’s, where she dumps him (while nearly exposing her nipples from her corset). He tries to psychoanalyze her: she only wants what she can’t have.

Grayson’s guest followed him to Lady Jayne’s. He is insulted at the relationship between the huntress and Dracula. He begs Grayson to let him kill her, to make her scream… and Grayson sheds a tear.

Harker is off getting the scoop on the deaths piling up around those vying to get close to Grayson.

Grayson’s vampire has gone to sneak in to Lady Jayne. Grayson catches him and they fight. The young one gets the drop,throwing him through a table an Grayson is laid out. But in the noise Lady Jayne wakes up and vanquishes the intruder.

Lady Jayne Grabs Grayson and says, “You saved my life” (not “how did you get into my house?”)

He tells her (while they share a bath) that he’s an insomniac and was out for a walk. Worst. Explanation. Ever.

She then tells her boss that she lured the creature into her home.

Grayson is sad about Yosef, his vampire, but says he would have understood. Renfield is all, “good thing we got rid of that guy.”

At the end of the episode, we see Renfield offering to help a woman with a baby carriage and then he is abducted by Daniel’s father. In the previews for next week we see him being tortured for info about Grayson.

This show is pretty on the level as far as feminism (as expressed by the ambitious Mina, the tough and sexual Lady Jayne and the savvy socialite Lucy). 

Other than that, this show is pretty teenage thus far. Mina’s the girl everyone wants who settles for some mediocre goon. Lady Jayne is the ice queen who always has an angle, freaking Dracula is stalking around playing games with everyone’s emotions; watching from afar, selflessly putting the girl of his dreams before himself (but trusting that she’ll find out). Yosef was a fuck up, but sometimes your friends are fuck ups, it doesn’t mean they aren’t your friends. Yosef is that friend who shows up drunk and ruins the party. Lucy’s in love with her best friend. It’s like Felicity but with blood drinking and killer fight scenes.

Until next week- what will become of Renfield? How long will Lady Jayne stay under Grayson’s spell?

It was recently announce that Layer Cake‘s Tamer Hassan has been added to the cast an will appear in episode 9 (6 episodes are being shown from season 1 before a hiatus) You can read slightly more about that than what I just typed here.

Dracula episode 3

In a flashback we see Dracula being beaten in the street. He awakens chained to a post, blood is dripped from an animal skull and his throat is slit. blood oozes out slowly, thickly and he sees the image of his wife (the one who was burned at the stake). He collapses.. only to awaken later, chained and hanging by his hands. He asks why he is not dead. The order of the Dragon has sentenced him to eternal night. “Condemned him to immortality” …So he gets to be super strong, hypnotic and live forever. Man, what a drag.

“Alex Grayson” is now holding a controlling share of British Imperial Coolant after threatening to expose the romantic relationship between Stephen Laurent and Daniel last episode.

A heart broken Mina is greeted by a bored Lucy who tells her, “Dearest Mina, do not shed a single tear for Jonathan Harker. Honestly, there’s no point in wasting a single moment more on what an awful twit he turned out to be.”

Renfield and Harker are at a business meeting, throwing Grayson’s new found weight around.

Lady Jayne and Grayson have another roll in the hay. What’s up with that? Isn’t she looking for him? Is he using mojo on her?? What is it about vampires and vampire hunters?

Mina and Lucy plan a trip to cure Mina’s broken heart and Lucy’s boredom. They go out and drink and flirt. They are falling over with laughter when they get home.

Grayson has left Mina a bouquet and he stays out til the sun is rising in hopes to catch a glimpse of her face as she sees her gift. Unfortunately the sun comes up before that can happen and he closes the curtains and the carriage runs away. Grayson then leaves to confront Van Helsing on if he has yet been able to make the serum that will allow him to walk in the sun. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the current serum wears off after 3 minutes and 12 seconds. He is irate.

Stephen Laurent, who gave up his stock instead of being exposed as homosexual and tarnishing the reputation of his wife and children stands before the Order of the Dragon for putting his own interests before that of the Order. He commits himself to death while Daniel looks on.

Our girls are drinking absinthe and partying hard, we see Mina walk out a door and find the cherry blossoms where Dracula’s wife appeared to him after he was beaten. Mina then wakes up after passing out on a day bed (with her shoes on; party foul). A man offers to get her more absinthe, she wittily declines. “I’m not sure whether to write you a poem or paint your portrait.” he says. He feeds her lines and moves in for a kiss, she laughs in his face and he accuses her of snobbery.He close to her, still arguing, acting imposing. Not that Mina looks afraid, but Grayson to the rescue, he grabs the man from behind and throws him into a crowd.

Outside in the moonlight Grayson asks her about her troubles, “Bohemian nightlife is a poor substitute for happiness.” They part way and Grayson talks business with Harker at his office. He asks why the two parted, Harker still insists that is he has the means that Mina should not continue her studies. Grayson calls Harker a fool. Imposing unnecessary conventions instead of innovating.

Mina and Lucy are in bed, they have slept all day and Mina has missed class. She goes and sucks up to Van Helsing who forgives her and makes her a home remedy hangover cure.

The seers under Lady Jayne’s employ tak the stimulant created by Van Helsing and they are able to see Grayson (who happens to be in bed with Lady Jayne) they then become paralyzed, Van Helsing comes in and murders the pair with a mallet. 

Harker goes to see Mina (who apologizes, boooo) but Harker says that he is the one who is sorry, that he has been stubborn and says that he sees she does not require keeping or protecting. She asks him to marry her. Take that, societal conventions! He gives her his cross in lieu of a ring.

Grayson looks on at them from his carriage (stalker behavior). At home, Grayson and Renfield discuss Grayson’s actions in reuniting the lovebirds. He put her happiness (and possibly Harker’s, though it’s debatable how much he cared about that aspect) before his own. 

Daniel, disturbed and mourning the loss of his love, Stephen, shoots himself. He leaves a note for his father to find which confesses his relationship and also Grayson’s blackmail. 

 

This show is always good looking and the plot was a great improvement over last week. The seers, the only POC on the show other than Renfield, were brutally murdered which somehow leaves Lady Jayne thinking that the city will be overrun with vampires. I’m so baffles by Lady Jayne’s actions and disappointed that the cast is 99% monochromatic, and the that two gay characters died in the very same episode. Although, their relationship was portrayed as caring and certainly highlighted the terrible consequences of homophobia and privileging straight relationships above same sex ones. Stephen probably wouldn’t have betrayed the Order and offered his life if he had been caught out with a woman.

Dracula- Episode 2

We rejoin Alexander Grayson on his journey to eradicate the Order of the Dragon, fake invent things and woo Mina.

Engaged in an underground battle with Van Helsing, Dracula, the man with many names gets pinned by a cross in his foot. Much credit to NBC and the awesome special effects. Van Helsing’s true love was burned at the stake by the order of the Dragon in the same way as Dracula’s true love. They team up and Dracula continues his feed.

Van Helsing and Dracula/Grayson, back in their timeline, Van Helsing is taking his vampire blood with needles and says that it is to cure his “aversion to sunlight”

Lucy (played by the awesome Katie McGrath) flirts, and meets with Mina at a fencing match. Also attending is Lady Jayne and she’s discussing who to dispatch next against Grayson. Grayson meets with the owner of the British Imperial and says he is ending their business partnership. Not that Grayson is leaving, he strongly offers the man a chance to sell his own share.

Then he heads to the Inquisitor with Renfield. He’s nursing his crush on Mina, he says he won’t “take her” that he cannot and will not. But he still seeks to draw her in. He meets with Harker, Mina’s suitor. Grayson takes a trip with Harker where he thanks him for the tip that help secure his current share in British Imperial Coolant, but of course, he doesn’t have a controlling share yet.

He makes Harker vice president of public affairs. And gives him a mansion.

Mina is lamenting that she cannot keep up as Van Helsing’s protege, as a surgeon. After barely listening to her concern over academics, Harker tells her about the position Grayson offered him. Parker, ever the wide-eyed journalist did his research and found that Grayson did not exist more than seven years ago.

Back with the British Imperial Coolant/Order of the Dragon goons, they discuss how to thwart Grayson and his geo-thermal magnetism pitch.

Lady Jayne has dinner with Grayson, she asks him about how he did his “trick with the lightbulbs” which he insists is physics and science. Then they have a sexy romp, when he pretends she’s Mina (and the viewers see her in Mina’s form).

Mina defies convention and takes a ride in Graysons carriage. Harker, faced with quitting the Inquisitor, insists Grayson has some fiendish agenda that Harker can’t put his finger on. Mina tells Grayson that she is studying to be a physician. She’s defying convention. She grew up with a doctor father and was always asked if she would be a nurse. She declined in favor of being a physician herself. She tells Grayson that she is worried about her exam. Grayson tells her that people may falter in their dreams, but the only way to fail is to abandon them. This was a much more charming response than that of her suitor. Not so charmingly, he follows her to her exam and hides in the shadows later. But she does fantastically.

The two Seers dispatched by Lady Jayne look in on Grayson, he senses them and breaks the focus in another one of those awesome effects involving wind and a bleeding mirror. Lady Jayne  surmises Grayson must be a very old vampire. Lady Jayne vows to track and kill him without seers… which since she’s sleeping with him is bizarre.

Harker, under duress of having his rent raised again accepts his job offer.

Grayson goes to a private “men’s club” and interrupts Lord Laurent, the man from British Imperial Coolant that he tried to buy out and Daniel Davenport sharing a moment. Grayson threatens to out the two of them and blackmails them with this knowledge, saying that the reputations of their whole families are at stake. (But he surely asserts that he’s no homophobe before hand. But he is willing to expose peoples sexual identity in order to publicly shame them… do I need to point out that second part voids the other?)

Harker is running his mouth to his friends from the Inquisitor about how he will make Mina a proper English wife and how marrying him will make her forget about being a physician. She walks in on his misogynist rant and runs out on him. He chases her and she dramatically tells him off. Awesome.

Elsewhere, Grayson gets hungry and takes a bite out of coat check girl Sinead, Lady Jayne nearly catches him in the act and seeing the punctured and bleeding girl… decapitates her.

Dracula edges closer to the source material this week with the enlistment of Harker to help Dracula be correct and presentable on the ways of society. I’m enjoying Mina being the doctor and student of Van Helsing’s, taking the premise from the book’s Jack Seward. It’s all very interesting and the effects are fantastic, the costumes are gorgeous.

There’s a ton going on. I’m not totally sure why Dracula is “bringing modern science” to victorian society and why the focus on destroying the Order of the Dragon is financial, and I’m not sure what’s up with Lady Jayne. But I’ll be watching, it’s certainly captivating. (that’s a little vampire hypnotism humor)

Dracula- Episode 1

Ohh Lucy (Katie McGrath, “Merlin”) and Mina (Jessica de Gouw, “Arrow”) I read the book and I know you’re in for trouble 😉

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, from “the Tudors”, Match Point and Mortal Instruments, first appears as Dracula following a gory and very old cinema resurrection scene. It was great, And then the creature of the night invents light.. the light bulb, actually. Employing tech dismissed by Edison and Tesla? …yeah, he’s a fraud. No vamp magic, just a trick. But he’s got it bad for Mina (as per usual).

Renfield (an actual slave, a “vampire servant”) is the only black person on the show. 

Professor Van Helsing and Blonde Lady are hunting down Dracula “Oh how many years since we’ve seen a real vamp in these streets?” And the answer is “Jack the Ripper” (oh so, Jack the Ripper wasn’t a maniac HUMAN BEING attacking sexworkers and striking fear into women because he was a nutbag… he was a vamp… oh, cool. Thanks for the history lesson.)

Mina is smart and studious BUT not physically skilled enough to perform surgery. (My eyes roll hard). She has night terrors about Dracula (as the socialite- in the past)

A hot Dracula is a Dracula lurking outside of college dorms. I can’t say I’m on board. At least there is decent gore as he has a snack.

So he’s a visionary delusional egomaniac? Oh man. I haven’t seen anything like that lately (the eyes roll, mother fuckers)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is sexy beyond sexy and the scenes are hot… and fake as shit and women are based off of professional women wearing costumes that women now a days fancy pin-ups to be… but really were too revealing for prostitutes back then… anyway. It looks good. It’s actually pretty tasty… but over all, I don’t get the point …and JRM has a terrible American accent.

I mean, but have you seen him? He’s delicious.

And he’s probably unbalanced and has a drinking problem… but I only have a glass house to throw my stones out of.. so.. I digress. 

This review was rather scathing and I think I should add that most of it looked effing amazing. And I will be watching. I just don’t understand why this time period was chosen and what not.

I’ll even rate it… errrrrrrrrrrrrrr… 3.5!

Movie Reviews #8-#11 (City of Bones, You’re Next, The World’s End)

Spoiler minimal reviews of the week’s hottest Sci-fi, Urban Fantasy and Horror titles + one direct to DVD waste of time.

The World’s End– Was more serious and heartfelt than I thought it would be. Gary King (Simon Pegg) borders on unrelatable (while reminding me of Charlize’s character in Young Adult) as a forty something 12 stepper looking to reclaim his lost dream… of hitting 12 pubs  in one night on a crawl in his hometown of Newton Haven that they call “The Golden Mile” he hooks up with his estranged friends… and while they may not have picture perfect lives, most are beyond clinging to their frat boy dream. Through a series of deceptions, Gary convinces his friends to join him and reclaim the glory they/he has lost…. and then some don’t-call-them-robots filled with blue blood show up and start replacing the whole town of Newton Haven. There was so much awkward, “You aren’t as cool as me! I’m the King! Gary King!”

The special effects were really cool… better than Hot Fuzz, but doesn’t hold a candle to Shaun of the Dead. 3.5 Pints!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones–

I didn’t read the books and was only slightly aware of what to expect. (I wanted to read the books before I saw the movie… didn’t pan out, whatevs). It’s about a girl, Clary, who starts coming into a power that her mother has desperately been hiding from her. On her birthday, after sneaking into a club and seeing a demon murdered… a chain of events unfolds which ends with her mom missing, her “best friend” being attacked by vampires and an interesting bunch of Shadow Hunters, powerful dudes, werewolves and demons making a grab for the mortal cup which Clary holds the key to. This movie was visually awesome. The demons were exceptionally cool, and I’m a little bit of an amateur architecture nerd… it was really awesome. It was also a little like Star Wars… lol. Clary was awesome and after realistic amounts of being stunned and overwhelmed grasps her new found powers and charges bravely forward. Oh and also, everyone who is all “boohoo, poor Simon” I’m telling you right now: Clary was clear that she didn’t have feelings for him and he was all “but I love youuuuu and I’m sooo sad” Yeah? Too bad. She doesn’t have to love you just because you are nice to her. Friendzoning is BS.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers had incredibly bad hair in this movie. But he is really just a fantastic looking human being. Can’t wait to see how he does Dracula, BTW.

Irregardless… 4.5 Mortal Cups

You’re Next– A wealthy family is reuniting for their parents 35th wedding anniversary, with their own significant others in tow where a group of killers terrorizing the out of the way vacation home neighborhood set their sights on the dinner party. The women really have the lockdown on being awesome in this movie… well, one specifically.

She was raised on a survivalist compound. Yeah. no one saw that coming. Especially not the mysterious psychos.

(But the mom gets bonus points… male family members were treating her as irrational while they would have done better to listen to her paranoid meltdown). The gore, the survival tips, the plot, the creepy cute masks, the coldblooded killers, the surprises… eeep… No one is NOT over-killed. So many moments to gasp, and clever writing that sets it apart from others in the genre. 5 Severed Arteries!

Bonus Content:

The Cloth– which I was supposed to review last week. The big names promoting this movie hardly made an appearance. Promiscuous blond guy tells virginal Mexican girl that she’s so uptight because she never got laid. There’s a threesome that was highly unnecessary and just pandered to male fantasy with out any regard for plot. The opening scene was really gross and cool (a girl is getting a demon exorcised and blood is pouring out of her mouth and it’s irrationally gross and well done… sadly, that seemed to be all this movie had to offer. 1 Star.