In tonight’s finale episode of Dracula, the resonator gets a second demonstration, and Jonathan Harker makes a decision that will damage more than just his relationship with Mina.
Making Plans
The episode opens on Mina, listening to an announcement outside about the unveiling of the resonator. She has received an invitation to the event, and since Grayson will be there, of course she’s gonna go.
Speaking of Grayson, he, Renfield, and Van Helsing argue a bit about their plans, and Van Helsing confirms that he will not go to the demonstration with the other two men, but plans to meet them after. That’s not sketchy at all.
Grayson asks about Browning’s kidnapped children, but Van Helsing won’t say much, and mostly they’re all just excited about finally bringing down the Order that’s plagued their lives for so long.
Jonathan Harker’s Whereabouts
And what’s Jonathan been up to? No one is entirely sure, but Mina goes to him to give him back the cross he gifted her, and they argue a bit about her involvement with Grayson and his nature.
Harker tells her Grayson has made him do “vile” things, and tries to get Mina to swear that she doesn’t love him. She won’t make such a promise, which is quite the turnaround from earlier in the season. A lot happens in ten episodes, I guess.
On the day of the demonstration, Harker shows up after having gone missing for two days, and basically confesses to Grayson that he killed Davenport. Grayson tells him to get it together, and that if he can just get through that day, he’ll be fine.
But when Harker walks away, Grayson watches him for a bit rather shiftily, so I think he’s aware that something is going on with his young assistant.
The New Seer in Town
Lady Jayne has called in a famous seer, Loiza Scaverra, to help in the Order’s hunt for the Elder vampire. He brings a sacred relic to aid him in his efforts, and she puts many of the huntsman assembled into groups to track down any vampires he for which he can “see” the location.
Loiza gives them one location, 95 Lower Street, and a group goes to the site and fights with two vampires there. After the vampires are killed, the huntsmen were ordered to set off a flare for each one killed, and the group sets two off into the air.
This is reported to Jayne in a note, notably just after Browning gets a note that he doesn’t show her before he abruptly leaves. But Jayne is distracted by the hunt, so he’s able to slip out without much notice.
So what was in Browning’s note? Apparently notice of his wife receiving the ransom note Van Helsing prepared. When he goes to her, he finds that it’s not just the note she’s been sent, but a box as well, containing what appears to be a finger from one of his children.
So Mrs. Browning freaks out and attacks him, screaming that it’s his fault that their kids are gone. I mean, maybe if he hadn’t killed other children in the past, he wouldn’t be in this mess, but that’s just a guess on my part.
Renfield’s Downfall?
Van Helsing apparently decides it’s a good idea to destroy all his stuff while classic music plays and he dances along to it, which was more comical to me than it was probably supposed to be. Renfield walks in during this little scene, and Van Helsing promptly stabs him. Not cool, Van Helsing, not cool!
Van Helsing tells Renfield that he has no more use for Grayson, and that he will never walk in sunlight again. “Much like yourself,” he says to the poor, loyal soul bleeding to death at his feet (Seriously! Not cool!).
A Malfunction?
Some journalists shows up to take pictures of the resonator, led to the site by Jonathan, but of course they’re there with a nefarious purpose. While Grayson answers questions from other journalists, the first guys who showed up mess with wires for the resonator under Jonathan’s watch.
When Kowalski is about to catch them, one of the guys pretends he’s just reloading his camera, and Kowalski shoos them all away. But the damage has already been done. One of the “journalists” tells Jonathan that five minutes after the resonator is turned on, the whole place will blow.
So of course Jonathan freaks out and goes to find Mina, who he is aware will probably be there for Grayson’s big night, and will blow up at the same time everyone else does. It’s so nice that he cares about the well-being of all those other people too, what a swell guy! Not.
The Littlest Vampires
Back to Browning, who has found the creepy house his kids are being held in. There, Van Helsing grabs him and holds a knife to his neck, taking Browning’s gun in the process and holding it up to the back of his head.
Van Helsing then lights a lamp and asks if Browning recognizes him. Browning isn’t sure why he should, and Van Helsing tells him he murdered his family. Browning basically reacts the way I did, stating that that doesn’t exactly narrow it down, and realizes that Van Helsing was the one to unleash Dracula.
He then falls through a trap door, and Van Helsing drags a barrel over to the hole, presumably filled with lighter or fluid or something similar. In the lower level, Browning calls for his children, and they wander out of the darkness. Creepily.
When Browning tells them to come to him, the siblings smile at each other, evilly, I might add, then show off their brand new fangs to Daddy. Turns out, Van Helsing fed them some of Dracula’s blood and now they’re a part of the family of the undead too!
And while the evil little ones gnaw on their own father, Van Helsing pours the lighter fluid over the lot of them and lights the house on fire. There’s a very brief scene of him freaking out over the screams outside, I guess because he’s hearing the screams of his own children or something, it’s not totally clear.
The Demonstration
At the demonstration, Jonathan runs around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to find Mina, while Grayson addresses the crowd. He tells them they’re about to see the first transmission of wireless energy, and he’s got quite the impatient bunch on his hands, because they all start chanting “Show us!” repeatedly.
When Jonathan does find Mina, he tells her the resonator is about to explode, and when she runs to tell Grayson, Jonathan tries to go after her. He conveniently gets in the way of some aggressive guy who punches him in the face, which means he’s down for just long enough for Mina to reach the stage.
The Disaster
Just after the first few lightbulbs start to ignite, Mina makes it to Grayson and warns him about the explosion. He realizes it’s all Harker’s doing, and immediately tries to shut down the demonstration. Of course, that doesn’t work, so Mina pulls the fire alarm to try to alert people and get them out of the space. However, in all the excitement, the alarm isn’t heeded.
Jonathan shows up and tries to get Mina to leave again, and Grayson demands to know what was done to the machine. He informs his former employer that his men reversed the wires in the generator, and Grayson turns and tells Mina to go with Jonathan. She is dragged off as stuff really starts to explode, and Grayson makes an attempt to fix the wires.
The Destruction
It’s all in vain as the resonator blows up, and the venue goes up in flames. The type of fireball you see streets away, huge flames, if that gives you some context. And Grayson was right at the heart of the explosion.
In the aftermath, Mina and Jonathan wander about a bit, disoriented, but alive. She screams for Grayson, and Jonathan insists there’s no way he survived. She condemns her former lover as a murderer, and leaves him to cry in the middle of the destruction.
Lady Jayne vs. Dracula
Just before the demonstration, the Seer told Jayne that he “saw” Dracula, down by the river before a large crowd of people. She deduces that Dracula is Grayson after all, and rushes to the scene. But only after the Seer has given her a knife from the papal armory for the confrontation.
After the explosion, Lady Jayne finds Grayson among the wreckage, and they face off after he warns her to walk away. He emerges the victor after a short but intense fight, holding her against the wall and saying, “I thought you loved me.” Way too cheesy for me, I gotta say.
She informs him that she lied, then stabs him with the super special knife. He then throws her through the air, and she’s impaled on something right through her middle, which gives him some time to monologue at her about having darkness inside her and knowing what it’s like to live in darkness.
Lady Jayne tells him, while still being impaled, I might add, that he cannot live through Mina, and will never be what she needs, calling him an “undead thing.” Rude. She tells him to just kill her, rather than turn her, stating that he owes her that much. Surprisingly, he obliges her dying wish.
Lucy’s Transformation
Lucy is basically in bed this entire episode, since she’s turning into a vampire and all. Her mother fusses over her, telling her she wants to call a doctor, but Lucy tells her not to involve doctors before turning back over and staying in bed until almost the end of this finale episode of Dracula.
Later, she asks her mother to give her a hug, then promptly bites her in the neck and turns her into her first kill. I wish the character had been given a bit more to do this episode, but that’s a pretty intense way for her to end the season, I suppose.
Together At Last
Mina wanders into Grayson’s house, all distraught because she thinks he’s dead, and sees the painting of Ilona there. Grayson wanders in and they embrace, and I was totally distracted by the fact that he was stroking her face with his hand covered in blood, but she doesn’t seem to mind. After they chat a bit about him loving Ilona in a past life, and Mina there and then, they share a kiss.
The kiss turns into them having sex, and somehow the blood has mysteriously disappeared sometime between the kiss and the two of them being in bed. TV magic, I guess. It’s all very sensual, and with that, the fated couple is together again.
Grayson = Dracula
In the final scene of this episode, Van Helsing opens a box containing crosses with daggers hidden in them just as Harker enters the room. He tells Jonathan that he will tell him everything he needs to know to destroy Grayson, and reveals the businessman’s true name: Dracula.
And that’s it! The end of the episode. And maybe the series as well? Dracula hasn’t been picked up by NBC for another season yet. But if it is, be sure to check out BuddyTV.com for the latest news on the series!
Dracula airs Fridays at 10pm on NBC.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
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