‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Returns With More Bite, Blood & Brutality in Superior Season 2 [Review]

Castlevania: Nocturne works out its freshman growing pains with a more focused and emotionally powerful second season that’s rich in monsters, mayhem, and dark magic.

“Despair will rot you from the inside out.”

Castlevania was an incredibly consistent animated action series for Netflix that helped kickstart the streaming service’s impressive track record with video game adaptations. Castlevania reached great heights that made it far more than just a vampire series or video game adaptation and the end of its run after four seasons was met with disappointment. However, the announcement of a spin-off that’s immersed in the lore of Rondo of Blood had many excited for the Castlevania universe’s expansion. Unfortunately, Castlevania: Nocturne’s first season was decent, but forgettable. It was perfectly fine, which is not exactly the benchmark that one strives for with a spin-off to a series that was so subversive and passionate. 

Castlevania: Nocturne felt like a concession in nearly every regard and that its first season of eight episodes was merely a prologue to greater things to come. Season two doesn’t squander this foundation and uses it as an effective springboard to greater storytelling and action. If Castlevania: Nocturne season one was the series on training wheels, then season two is a high-octane motorcycle ride without a helmet. Nocturne rises to the occasion and allows itself to properly have fun in ways that just weren’t possible back in season one. And, if nothing else, Alucard (James Callis) is back in the mix to slit throats and break hearts.

Castlevania: Nocturne’s first season crescendoed to a powerful calamity that involved Erzsebet Bathory’s (Franka Potente) terrifying metamorphosis, Tera (Nastassja Kinski) succumbing to dark servitude and Alucard’s triumphant return. This sets season two up for success and these eight episodes largely feel like one giant battle that’s occasionally interrupted by introspective quests and harrowing feats of strength. The heroes search for Sekhmet’s missing soul, which turns into a physical and spiritual journey for Richter’s (Edward Bluemel) team while they do everything in their power to weaken the Vampire Messiah’s resources and prevent the Egyptian Goddess of War’s full-on resurrection. 

One of the most effective elements from Castlevania: Nocturne’s first season is how it juxtaposed its many undead atrocities with the French Revolution. This continues to be a rewarding setting that amplifies the season’s central themes of power, agency, equality, and legacy. There’s civil unrest among society, but also Erzsebet’s vampiric Night Creature army. The Revolution’s ability to reduce pain and death into entertainment is the perfect backdrop for Erzsebet’s endless bloodshed. Castlevania: Nocturne gleefully relitigates the nature of demons as labels like hero and villain become infinitely obscured and increasingly fluid.

Tera was an important bridge between Richter, Maria (Pixie Davies), and Erzsebet back in season one, yet her role becomes even more important this year as Erzsebet’s new magically-inclined vampire servant. Tera finds herself in a particularly tough place where she’s pulled between two worlds and functions as a grander threat for Maria. She’s forced to reckon with the grim idea that her new allegiance to her damned Messiah, Erzsebet, is stronger than her familial bond with Maria. This new skewed and tainted relationship between Maria and Tera fuels some of the season’s most interesting and uncomfortable moments. 

Maria’s own descent to the dark side also becomes one of the season’s central storylines and sources of suspense. Her trauma with her mother and how she processes this pain fosters a worrisome relationship where she abuses dark magic and begins something sinister that she may not be able to stop. This type of character development isn’t necessarily unexpected in vampire storytelling and a series like Castlevania: Nocturne, yet Maria’s transformation is genuinely disturbing and is often scarier than most of Erzsebet’s evil. There’s something sacred to be lost with Maria. Castlevania: Nocturne really explores the cataclysmic ripple effect of this purity being tainted. It’s also never too busy wallowing in melodrama to weaponize a wry sense of humor – typically by Richter and Juste (Iain Glen) – that’s perfectly interspersed through this darkness.

Castlevania: Nocturne’s gripping internal conflicts and identity crises are rich in conflict. It’s also rewarding that season two digs deeper into the exploration of the origins of Egyptian Gods like Sehkmet. Nocturne pulls its storytelling back to 1200s CE Southern Egypt and proceeds to span multiple centuries, the likes of which help Castlevania: Nocturne feel bigger than its predecessor. There’s a grander scope to this story that goes far beyond the traditional Dracula lore and origins. It successfully broadens the series’ scope and helps the narrative riff on some original ideas, rather than constantly remixing the same Transylvania ingredients. It’s a development that’s necessary for Castlevania’s survival and evolution.

Character development and world-building aside, this season’s fight sequences are on a whole other level. Castlevania: Nocturne’s battles were easily a highlight of the first season, but these action spectacles feel like something orchestrated by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Lord of the Rings: War of Rohirrim) or one of the blood-soaked duels from Kizumonogatari. A sword clash with Alucard kicks off the season that’s pure bliss and makes the fan favorite vampire look like some kind of God. His movements exceed perception and leave a pile of limbs and slabs of bodies in their wake. The action sequences never miss in Castlevania: Nocturne, even when other elements fall short. This season has vampires fighting against dragons, so what more could you really want?

Alucard’s bloody massacres are a cut above the rest and one of the many ways in which he adds to the series and makes it such a demonstrable improvement over Nocturne’s freshman year. It’s bad-ass behavior and just so glorious to see Alucard brazenly use the full extent of his vampiric powers, whether that involves dispersing into a flock of bats to avoid an attack or psychically charging weapons to fly through enemies’ torsos. Castlevania: Nocturne never forgets that Alucard is a one-of-a-kind vicious force of nature.

The season is full of immaculate and inventive battle choreography. Lengthy sequences play out where Richter, Annette (Thuso Mbedu), and Maria deliver acrobatic action and explosive elemental magic while they’re bombarded by the undead. Each fight sequence offers something new and showcases contrasting combat styles. Maria gains the ability to summon Night Creatures from the abyss, which makes all of her battles feel fresh and unpredictable. However, it’s Annette who becomes the season’s surprise VIP. Nocturne proudly celebrates this action and allows battles to play out in chaotic single-take sequences where the tension mounts and reaches an intense breaking point. It’s proud of its stylized action, lingering on this chaos, rather than cutting around it and obscuring the craft. This all culminates in a truly epic war between Richter, Maria, Annette, Alucard and Erzsebet’s forces, which contains some of the most satisfying carnage and action from any Castlevania season. It’s a finale that rises to the occasion and concludes on the strongest note possible, if this does in fact end up being a premature series finale.

Castlevania: Nocturne is an artistic achievement and this season’s animation is absolutely gorgeous, whether it’s the presentation of elegant character profiles and environments, intricate battle sequences, or the execution of remarkable bursts of magic. Beautiful expressions of light and shadow wash across the characters and texture their heightened expressions. Each episode is dense in visual delights that help accentuate Nocturne’s gothic horror and dark beauty. Stunning animation comes together with an ornate musical score and fantastical storytelling. So many frames look like gorgeous gothic paintings or Ayami Kojima’s Japanese Castlevania box art brought to life.

This season’s animation also highlights plenty of creative Night Creature monster designs. There are many multi-limbed beasts and creatures that pull from all corners of folklore and pop culture, rather than purely Konami’s catalogue of Castlevania games. These episodes really visually capture the art of a vampire’s duality. Erzsebet, Drolta (Elarica Johnson), and other deadly monsters look beautiful from one angle and terrifying from another. It’s a delicate balance, but Castlevania: Nocturne finds the right mix between austere and scary. Annette’s journey into the spirit world is another enlightening experience that further allows the season to flex its artistic muscles.

Castlevania: Nocturne culminates in a cathartic battle, which shouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone who has seen the rest of the Castlevania franchise. There’s a rather perfunctory quality to Nocturne’s finale, albeit one that feels appropriate for a series whose future is up in the air. Nocturne goes out on a triumphant and resolute note that avoids manipulative cliffhangers or teases for what’s to come. This restraint is appreciated and it allows these characters a satisfying sense of closure, even if there’s more evil in the world to be vanquished. Castlevania: Nocturne reinforces that the healing power of love and family is a magic that’s far stronger than any trick of the Devil. This may seem glib in a series like Castlevania, but it’s more subversive than one would think when this love is shared between holy heroes, undead monsters, and everything in between. Love is just another name for the one who wields the blade or shoulders the brunt of a brutal blast.

“Castlevania: Nocturne” Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.