Want to hear more from the actors and creators of your favorite shows and films? Subscribe to The Cinema Spot on YouTube for all of our upcoming interviews!
Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
Vampires, Night Creatures, and evil-doers beware, Clive Bradley’s Castlevania: Nocturne is back with a new season. Season 2 picks up immediately in the aftermath of Season 1’s dramatic finale, wasting no time getting into the new status quo. Now joined by the legendary Adrian “Alucard” Țepeș (voiced by James Callis), Richter Belmont (voiced by Edward Bluemel) and his band of vampire hunters are in a desperate race against time. Erzsebet Báthory (voiced by Franka Potente), the Vampire Messiah, who already seems invincible, seeks the full power of the goddess Sekhmet so she can plunge the world into endless darkness and terror.
Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 is written by Bradley, Testament, Temi Oh, and Zodwa
Nyoni. Sam and Adam Deats serve as directors for all eight episodes.
The new season features the voices of Edward Bluemel, Pixie Davies, Thuso Mbedu, Sydney James Harcourt, Nastassja Kinski, Zahn McClarnon, Franka Potente, James Callis, Richard Dormer, Iain Glen, Elarica Johnson, Aaron Neil, and more.
Colorful Characters
Much like Warren Ellis’s original Castlevania series as well as Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1, Season 2 provides plenty of colorful characters to enjoy. However, two of the more interesting characters from Season 1, Orlox (voiced by Zahn McClarnon) and Edouard (voiced by Sydney James Harcourt), are sidelined this season. They are still involved in the plot and have huge effects. Overall, though, they feel more like afterthoughts or plot devices than characters.
As for the main cast, Belmont and Maria Renard (voiced by Pixie Davies) feel improved this tie around. Of the two, Maria has the far more engaging arc. As she struggles with the darkness within her and her parents’ legacy, she truly gets to shine in Episode 4, “Monstrous Things”. Belmont is fine, yet his arc does not quite exist. He changes through the season, albeit mostly in small ways.
The more interesting of the main cast is Annette (voiced by Thuso Mbedu). Her storyline is by far the most intriguing and engaging of the core trio. Much of this arc gets into massive spoilers, but it goes without saying that it’s great that she gets such a big spotlight. Rounding out the core cast is Alucard. The character returns from the original series, and it’s delightful to see him on screen again. However, without Trevor and Sypha to bounce off of, he feels a little more deflated. Obviously, it’s been about 300 years since the original series, so the character feeling different is to be expected, but that same magic just isn’t quite there.
The Antagonists
Diving into the antagonists, Erzsebet Báthory is still very bland. She is just evil seemingly to be evil. This season does not take the opportunity to add more depth to her which is a shame. On the other hand, this season does add quite a bit of backstory to her main companion/henchwoman, Drolta Tzuentes (voiced by Elarica Johnson). Tzuentes is fleshed out this season and becomes the more interesting villain by far. Her return doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 quickly just handwaves any explanation away so that does put a bit of a damper on her. Otherwise, she’s great fun to watch.
Delightful Voice Performances and Animation
Across the board, all of the performances are fine. It’s a bit of a continuation of the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne, wherein it feels as if all the actors aren’t as engaged as they could be. They have for sure improved but still feels like the actors may want to be elsewhere at times.
As always, Castlevania: Nocturne is animated by Powerhouse Animation, who did the original series as well as Tomb Raider: Legend of Lara Croft for Netflix. Castlevania is the studio’s golden child, and it truly shows here. The character models have great detail, the world looks great, and the fights look incredible. The fight sequences are Powerhouse’s bread and butter, and throughout both Castlevania and Castlevania: Nocturne, they have perfected their style. More to the point, the 3D animated fight sequences are all incredible. Almost every episode delivers one, albeit with varying levels of 3D. The bigger fights in later episodes get more 3D, longer, and more detailed than the ones early on.
This does come somewhat at the expense of non-fight scenes. While the character models may look great, and the world overall stunning, sometimes there is just not much going on in a particular scene. Additionally, at times the lip sync for the voice acting feels off. Although, even then, it’s hard not to be in awe of the action sequences so it’s a fair trade-off to make.
Additional Thoughts on Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2
As for the actual storyline this season, it’s nothing that hasn’t been seen before. The protagonists race against time to stop Báthory from gaining more power. It’s fairly straightforward material. However, the season does take some to get going and doesn’t really pick up until Episode 4. This may not be too much of an issue when marathoning the series. Each episode itself is pretty well-paced, usually running about twenty-five minutes. While a lot more happens in some episodes than others, each does feel as if the plot advances or the characters get a big moment. When it’s all said and done, it does feel like Season 2 ends in a satisfying manner.
In general, the dialogue and the writing at times do feel like it’s 90% of what the original Castlevania series was, but it never quite recaptures that same tone. This is understandable given the change in writers along with the series wanting to have its own identity.
The Verdict on Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2
In the end, Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 provides satisfying closure to storylines set up in Season 1, despite a tedious first half. While it does take its time to get going once it starts up, it’s fun to watch even if the characters are not quite as developed or interesting as one may want.
Score: 3/5
Castlevania Nocturne Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix!
Be sure to check back with The Cinema Spot for more action, adventure, fantasy, and thriller reviews! And check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Letterboxd pages!
Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.