WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Season 1 of Netflix's V Wars.
Netflix's V Wars positions most of its vampires as enemies of mankind. Led by Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes), patient zero who was infected at the Arctic Circle, the Bloods have formed the Blood Nation across America, seeking equal rights. They go about it in terrorist fashion, however, and those who don't join Blood Nation skulk around in the shadows, feeding off women and children.
However, Mila (Laura Vandervoort), esd bitten by her sister, a high-level vampire called a Verdulak, and because of her genetic makeup, Mila can suppress the urge to kill humans. She raids blood banks to satisfy her needs, but because of her hatred of Bloods, she becomes a vigilante like Blade. Unfortunately, though, the series wastes her character by not giving her enough screen time.
Like Blade, she connects more with her humanity, but uses her vamp side for killing Bloods. At night, Mila saves victims by killing their attackers, and in some cases she even feeds off the Bloods. Mila's journey takes her to nightclubs and alleys, but rather than wielding a sword or a shades with a cool leather jacket, she's disguised as a civilian -- although one armed with a nightstick. Of course, when she turns into a vampire, Mila is one of the strongest, fiercest Bloods in the series.
Still, in the 10 episodes, V Wars places priority on Ian Somerhalder's Luther, his ruined friendship with Michael, and how they negotiate a deal between the government and Blood Nation. We only get bits and pieces of Mila's escapades as a super-soldier. Making her back-up in the narrative is an awful move because not only does she add a different dynamic in terms of action sequences, it's really interesting to watch her grapple with her duality. She's a paragon of virtue because, despite hating her own kind, she doesn't enjoy killing them, because she's attempting to be a good person. Mila was turned by her sister, Danika, in a brazen attack, after all, only for Danika to then go to Michael's camp as his lover. As a result, Mila feels spurned by the one person she thought she could trust.
We don't even get flashbacks into their past, which informs Mila's angst as she kills Bloods. She's picturing herself killing her sister, so some context is needed to make us empathize more with her. That's why, following a coup at Blood Nation in which Michael is overthrown, it doesn't resonate when Danika is sent away and Mila confronts her. What makes it worse is Mila doesn't even get to cut a bloody path to her sister, but instead knocks out only one Blood as she infiltrates the camp.
Instead they simply bump into each other in the woods, and Mila blasts her with a shotgun off-screen. It's so underwhelming to be teased with this moment for the entire season only for it to be resolved in this way. It's also boring not seeing Mila taking on Blood Nation's finest. These vamps can all walk in the day, so while she's not a Daywalker, you were left anticipating something akin to when Blade raided Deacon Frost's compound rather than a simple stroll to her destiny.
And so, by the time the final scene shows Mila with a new haircut four months after a new Blood Nation rises up, you can't help but feel the show didn't know what to do with her. She's now training Luther to move from a scientist to a hunter, but it's a monumental plot shift that feels way too convenient. Had V Wars made its Blade even more badass through additional scenes, then we'd be more hyped for the hunt because she would have been positioned as the ultimate weapon in Luther's arsenal.
V Wars stars Ian Somerhalder (Dr. Luther Swann), Adrian Holmes (Michael Fayne), Jacky Lai (Kaylee Vo), Peter Outerbridge (Calix Niklos), Kyle Breitkopf (Dez), Laura Vandervoort (Mila Dubov) and Kimberly-Sue Murray (Danika Dubov). Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.