WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Castlevania Season 4, available now on Netflix.
Castlevania killed off its version of Count Dracula two seasons ago, but the shadow of the vampire king has never entirely left the show. That came to the forefront during the Season 4 finale when the presumed end of the anime series delivered a little coda. It not only draws the series back to Bram Stoker’s novel but may leave the door open for a purported spin-off or Season 5.
The series ended with the protagonists triumphant and evil seemingly defeated. Castle Dracula is opened and the common folk go about their lives in peace. The show’s various protagonists meditate on what they have experienced. The episode fades out as Sypha sums up the overall feeling with a simple statement, “I think we finally won.” It’s a solid flourish and a satisfying conclusion to the story. The coda depicts something entirely different: Lisa and Vlad Tepes, alive and seemingly restored to mortal life, checking into an inn on a rainy night. They talk about their plans and decide to travel to Whitby to live in peace.
Whitby is a city in Yorkshire, on the shore of the North Sea. More pertinent to Castlevania is Whitby Abbey, the ruins of a Gothic cathedral on a cliff overlooking the sea. Stoker spent his summers in the town, and the Abbey allegedly served as the inspiration for his famous novel. More than that, it plays a prominent role in Dracula’s story.
Whitby is a key part of the vampire's plans. Boxes of earth are sent from his native land on the ship with him to arrive at Whitby and from there to Carfax Abbey where he will make his new home. This is in accordance with traditional vampiric rules, stating that they must sleep in their native earth. Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray are vacationing in Whitby when the Demeter runs aground during a sudden storm that marks Count Dracula’s arrival to England from Transylvania.
Dracula arrives in Whitby to make a “fresh start” similar to Vlad and Lisa’s in Castlevania, feeding on the population of what was then the most powerful nation on Earth. It's no mistake that the Count’s incursion in the novel felt like a violation. The crew of the Demeter is dead when it arrives, spreading rumors of a plague, and Lucy immediately becomes his first victim, sleepwalking through the Abbey and exhibiting other strange behavior as he feeds on her.
From Castlevania’s standpoint, the implications are unclear, though it does bring the story directly back to the source. If Vlad and Lisa do indeed make a new beginning in Whitby, it represents a healing of sorts from the way Stoker’s novel presented the same act. More likely, however, is that it might serve as a gateway to Season 5 or a spin-off series, echoing the events of the novel more closely and putting its unique spin on the source material as always. Whatever direction the Castlevania chooses to take, the epilogue holds specific significance, suggesting that -- even if this series is over -- there still may be a good deal of material left to explore.
Castlevania stars Richard Armitage as Trevor Belmont, Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha Belnades, James Callis as Alucard, Theo James as Hector, Adetokumboh M'Cormack as Isaac, Jaime Murray as Carmilla, Jessica Brown Findlay as Lenore, Bill Nighy as St. Germain, Jason Isaacs as The Judge and Rila Fukushima as Sumi. All four seasons are available to stream now on Netflix.