WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Castlevania Season 2, streaming now on Netflix.
At first glance, Netflix's Castlevania is a straightforward story about Dracula’s quest to annihilate mankind following the death of his true life, and the handful of heroes who stand against him. However, just as the video game franchise hinted, there's a lot more depth to this medieval world.
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With the second season, which arrived Friday on the streaming service, writer Warren Ellis & Co. expand upon the sociopolitical state of Eastern Europe. While still set in 1475 Transylvania, the series provides greater insight into the wider world, and what we see is thought-provoking, to say the least.
The Dark Age of Religion
Last season, the Catholic Church burned people, including Dracula’s wife Lisa, at the stake for perceived witchcraft. This season, anyone who dabbles in science -- namely physics and medicine – is considered a heretic and an enemy of the church, and must be publicly executed.
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It’s a purge of anyone deemed a threat to God; accusations of dark magic is merely an excuse to scare the masses into supporting the church's crusade. Season 2 reiterates how the organization manipulates towns and villages into backing its cause -- burning books, killing innocents and destroying people of other faiths, similar to our own history. Little did the church realize, however, that inciting fear only helped to strengthen Dracula as an ambassador for the devil.
The Terror of Slavery
When we get the backstory of Dracula's human Forgemaster Isaac, who sided with him against mankind, we see the extent of slavery in this world. Isaac's African village was pillaged, and he was enslaved by Christian missionaries and forced to spread their beliefs. Eventually, he rebelled and began practicing the dark arts, in the process turning against humanity for killing his family.
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In the finale, after Dracula maroons Isaac in Egypt to spare him the wrath of his would-be assassins, the necromancer struggles to return to Wallachia, and to his master. However, he runs into slave traders who call him a "clumped piece of shit," and try to place him in chains. He slaughters them all, but in their exchange, Ellis' dialogue pulls no punches, reminding us of the horrors of slavery and xenophobia, and how people dehumanize others based on skin color or place of birth.
The Holocaust Parallel
As Dracula plots his revenge, the generals in his War Council begin to take issue with his vision. That leads to civil war, as they believe his actions will ultimately wipe out humanity, leaving vampires without a food source. When the uprising begins, we learn from one of the generals, the Nazi-esque Godbrand, how vampires survive across the globe.
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Over the centuries, vampires take certain territories they identify as rich with resources, and rule the lands. They then set up internment camps, and treat humans as livestock, feeding off of them.
The Population-Control Issue
Dracula's generals may have suspected he wants to end humanity, but his other necromancer, Hector, believes he will stick to his word and carry out their initial plan in terms of population control. Hector's backstory isn't as tragic as Isaac's, and rather than hate mankind, he considers humans as pets whose numbers need a drastic reduction, similar to Thanos' scheme in Avengers: Infinity War.
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That’s why he tries to sway Dracula from genocide, not realizing the vampire king is secretly plotting with Isaac the largest purge the world would ever see. Dracula lied to Hector in order to recruit him, but nevertheless admitted that the necromancer’s population-control plan was smart, because it would effectively leave those people who could be manipulated by fear into doing the vampires’ bidding. Most of all, fewer people would mean more available resources for everyone. However, Dracula had already lost hope, and wanted everybody – including his own species -- dead.
Now streaming on Netflix, Castlevania Season 2 stars Richard Armitage, James Callis, Matt Frewer, Graham McTavish, Alejandra Reynoso and Tony Amendola.