WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Passage, airing Monday nights on Fox.

Fox's The Passage adapts Justin Cronin's trilogy of novels that positions a young girl, Amy Bellafonte, as mankind's last hope when vampirism begins to spread. In its first season, the show focuses on Amy (Saniyya Sidney) being infected by the U.S. government with a vampire virus, because her age and genetic makeup indicate her body is most likely able to produce a cure.

With Amy in the spotlight as a hybrid, daywalker (and possibly the next step in our evolution), the series then crafts a vampire villain way more sinister than even Dracula in Dr. Tim Fanning (Jamie McShane).

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Fanning turns out to be patient zero, having survived an expedition to investigate a Bolivian bat-carried virus that could have cured numerous diseases. The scientist slowly grows into a vampire overlord, and the government realizes that it can cultivate his blood to create super-soldiers. Using twelve test subjects on a mysterious island, they begin boosting their immune systems, which results in enhanced strength and agility all traits Fanning possesses as the "father" of what would go on to be his acolytes. Little does the government know that while Project Noah was designed to produce weaponized enhanced humans for the military, Fanning has subverted it to build his own army. And this is where he begins to be differentiated from Dracula in a bigger, fiercer way.

Initially, the show pits him as a modern day Dracula, using his scientific brain to play Project Noah's doctors and subjects. But as each episode progresses, he exhibits traits that end up making him far more powerful than the legendary monster. First, he has stronger psychic powers that Dracula, abilities which don't just extend to those he's bitten or those injected with his blood; Fanning can actually infiltrate the minds of humans. He preys on people's emotions, using his mind games to muddy the waters when trying to guess who's really been infected. He even telepathically links up humans and vampires, using both as tools to do whatever he wants.

Unlike Dracula, Dr. Fanning isn't biting folks right and left, or using seductive women to create a legion of soldiers. A covenant of twelve is his way of ensuring "only the strong" are chosen as his victims, people he puts them through mental trials and tribulations where they endure their darkest moments, leading them to willingly submit to him. It breaks the typical bite-and-kill arc we've seen in tons of Dracula adaptations over the years, as Fanning spreads his anti-life philosophy across the planet.

Fanning could escape any time he wants, but he chooses to remain "imprisoned" in his cell, toying with humanity. He's selective about spreading the virus, and with Amy now coming into play, he may have the protege he needs to rule the world. Fanning's been a huge mental threat, leaving the audience guessing who he's mind-controlling, and considering she's already exhibiting mutant powers such as telepathy, durability and sonic screams, if Amy submits, he'll have the biggest physical weapon alive.

Interestingly enough, as much as the show has been steeped in science, Fanning has teased that the virus may have a biblical origins. But whether it's demonic in nature, or a plague that's evolved over the centuries, Fanning's vampirism transcends the idea of a shadowy king of the vampires who prefers to hide in the dark, bed women and feast on unsuspecting villages. He's meticulously planning an outbreak, with apostles designed to be the ultimate killers, and with Amy now in line, not even sunlight will be able to stop him and his army.

The Passage airs Mondays on Fox at 9 pm E.T.