Dracula: Four Roses… Fate is Sealed!

Hello my fearless vampire hunters!

Are you ready for the final two episodes of this season? It has been a ride to remember and I have a feeling it will only get better.

This is the episode where everything changes, where we finally get to see Dracula sire a minion. It is also one step closer to the ultimate reveal, will Lady Jayne survive or will she become another casualty? Only time will tell.

The Season 1 finale is one for the books. Two fierce warriors going head to head. Only the strongest, most cunning will survive. Do you have any predictions, do you think it will be true to the book? I for one am excited about this upcoming episode.

Four Roses:

Now…on to my review…The opening scene of Mina (Jessica De Gouw) remembering what happened to her could be the downfall of Grayson and all that he had planned. Plus when she wakes up and sees the rose, which we all know is a symbol of love. Throughout history the rose has come to represent many different things in different cultures.

As I have said in the past I am very happy that Renfield (Nonso Anozie) is always the one to give Grayson (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) the advice or counsel, whether he asks for it or not. It is one of my favorite pairings in the show, because it is one of the most genuine (at least to me).

The scene with Jayne (Victoria Smurfit) and Browning (Ben Miles) is one that makes you wonder about the secrets people hold. Browning is convinced that Grayson and Dracula are one in the same, he’s right, but for the reasons he states he is wrong. Jayne tries her hardest to convince Browning that he is not thinking straight and that he couldn’t possibly be. I hate to see what happens when she is proven wrong. Browning I suspect has his own secrets that he is not fully disclosing right now. I don’t know if we will ever get to fully see who he is.

The scene with Minerva Westenra (Jemma Redgrave) and Lucy (Katie McGrath) is sad. The sadness that befalls Lucy is evident on her face. It is unfortunate that her mother cannot see past what society deems right and wrong. Instead of loving her daughter for who she is, her actions condemn her. The image on the outside is of the utmost importance, especially in their circles. When Lucy asks her mother why she didn’t tell her “It was perfectly natural for a woman to fall in love with another woman” her mother is disgusted, mortified and heartbroken. Jemma’s face is great, the reaction is perfect. Here is a woman who would never had thought in a million years that her daughter would tell her something like that. Jemma’s part of one of the few acting dynasties and her talent shows.

The scene with Van Helsing (Thomas Krestchmann) and Grayson where Alexander confronts him about their partnership dissolving is a good one. It’s ironic that Van Helsing’s character is written to be a man of softer means when he is just as ruthless and diabolical as Grayson. Van Helsing just knows how to control it more, how to bide his time, but unlike Dracula, he is not immortal.

His plan needs to be done quickly so he can finally have some peace of mind. It would seem that Van Helsing might want to reconsider breaking his partnership, he can only do so much alone, but with Grayson by his side, they would be unstoppable. The last line of that scene, “I’m dining with friends tonight,” reminded me of the last line of Silence of the Lambs, when Hannibal Lecter (Sir Anthony Hopkins) says “I’m having an old friend for dinner”.

The billiards scene and subsequent “feast” is what vampires do best. The line “I’ve invited them to London with the promise that the cuisine is…excellent” made me giggle wildly. Again it reminded me of another vampire movie, Interview with the Vampire when Lestat (Tom Cruise) tells Louis (Brad Pitt) “The Paris Opera is in town, we can sample some French cuisine”. I laughed at that, too. It’s a brutal scene that we don’t see accept for the blood and the screams. This is a brilliantly done tactic by the director Tim Fywell, because he knows that what he would film would be tame compared to what the viewer’s imagination could conjure up with that scene. That method has been done time and time again by directors when they want to give the scene an added bonus of suspense and/or curiosity.

By inducting Jonathan into the Order of the Dragon, he is essentially sealing his own fate. He joined out of anger toward Grayson, not fully knowing what he was getting himself into. I suspect that he will eventually find out and want to leave, but finds that he cannot. I just hope that he finds out sooner than later before he becomes so brainwashed and hell bent that he will be to far gone to save.

I have a book called A Brief History of Secret Societies by David V. Barrett which I thought would have mention of the Order of the Dragon, but unfortunately it does not. It is a fascinating book, nonetheless, and if you are fascinated by secret societies then I suggest you pick it up. I have in the past reviews mentioned that the Order reminds me of the mafia and with the way it conducts itself, it is not far from that. I have a feeling that Jonathan (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is not done being a pawn…in everyone’s game.

Poor Mina, losing her best friend and fiancé in one stroke. It is unfortunate that it happened, and Mina’s rage, sadness and confusion are warranted. Of course Jonathan is willing to split the blame-sort of-by saying that Lucy has been throwing herself at him for the last two weeks. That does not by any means give him the right to act on that and shows how much his anger at Mina and Grayson has clouded his judgment. I do hope that this couple will reconcile, because I do like them together, but I feel that they have lost their way a bit. I have often quoted Shakespeare when it comes to matters of true love “the course of true love never did run smooth” from A Midsummer’s Night Dream which is one of my favorites.

Mina finally asks Grayson the question that has plagued her since she first saw him. What’s happening dear Mina is called fate? Mina may or may not be his wife reincarnated, she may just be a girl who happens to look like her and that you happen to “cast your spell” under.

When Mina asks Grayson if he loves her, he cannot answer. He wants to be a man again, who he once was before he became Dracula. He needs to rid the world of the Order first and then and only then can he be truly healed. When Mina informs him that she no longer loves Jonathan and the reason why…well, let’s just say that you never wake the beast.

When Grayson leaves Mina and heads to Lucy’s that’s when you really see the veracity of his power. The sheer terror that he can inflict if you cross him or hurt those he loves. It’s funny to me that Dracula has always been this figure of evil, yet what made him a vampire was the loss of his beloved.

The quote from the book says it all “Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds… true love?” that is not an evil statement. That is why Dracula is so drawn to Mina, she may very well be Ilona. That is why it always fascinated me, his motivation was love. It always had been love and loss.

And now ladies and gents the moment we have all been waiting for. It is a brutal scene, but done to perfection. She sealed her fate the moment she betrayed Mina. “If you insist on acting like a monster, then I will make you one” and that Grayson does. I have said this often, that the drinking of the blood or the siring of a vampire is very sexual act.

It is the fact that blood mixes with blood, that the jugular is such a vital part of the body and the neck has always been known to evoke strong feelings in the opposite sex. It is also what gives the vampire strength, it is its satisfaction, its climax, its release, much like an orgasm. Welcome, Lucy, make yourself comfortable you will be at this a very long time.

Well, my fine fanged friends, I do hope that you tune into the season finale Friday. To say that it will be epic will be putting it lightly. Enjoy!

Thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency. And thanks to Kenn for video embedding and additional images for my review. I will be back over the coming weeks with more on our series review sites for Dracula and next June for Defiance!

Please feel free to leave a comment here or If you prefer, you may also click the social media icons below to share this news article or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit the WHR on Facebook or me on Twitter by clicking the links or images avatars in this news story. See You on The Other Side“!

Until next time,

Sincere regards,

Lori