DRACULA — Let the Light One In
Episode 104 “From Darkness to Light”
[photos by Jonathon Hession/NBC]
Sorry for the late post, guys. This past weekend was very hectic for your recapper. Anyway, let’s get to it.
Last time on Dracula, the gay couple was destroyed in one fell swoop by Dracula. Murder first (Laurent). Then suicide (Poor Daniel Davenport). We hardly knew either of them but mainly Daniel who just showed up. Sad sad sad. Anyway, it was also revealed that Llona and Mina are one and the same. How that came to be is yet to be answered. Dracula wants to get a tan. He also enjoys sex with Lady Jayne, which is very clear with the sheer frequency of those interactions.
And we’re back and it’s butt-kicking time with Lady Jayne. Go girl! She is murdering all the vampires in the opening teaser. Damn. So much blood. Go NBC!
Then, we’re back to the coolest bromance in the show: Renfield and Dracula. They talk about Lady Jayne, the Vampire Slayer. Renfield doesn’t understand why Dracula won’t kill her or even break up with her. Dracula purrs that he wants to take away her trust. This can only end well. He then tells Assistant Renfield to make reservations for a table at a nice restaurant.
We’re introduced to the vampire friend from Dracula’s past. His name is Josef Cervenka and he hates Lady Jayne, the Vampire Slayer. He wants to kill her, but Dracula disagrees. Josef becomes a liability when he learns of Mina’s origin as Dracula’s former wife. Renfield concludes that he must be taken care of on account of his eating the help and knowing too much. He wonders if Josef can be trusted. Dracula thinks about it.
Back to Dracula and Mina and poor Lucy, who is told to leave so Dracula/Grayson can show her how he harnesses wireless energy. But that plan goes awry when there is a malfunction with the machines and Grayson saves her from being fried.
On to Dracula and Lady Jayne’s date. He straight up stands up Lady Jayne at the restaurant. Well played, Dracula. This is the all-powerful Dracula’s nefarious plan. Being a douchebag to a woman. How modern of him.
Also, Harker and Mina are still pretending to be happy. But that darn Grayson is in the middle of their relationship. This is a weird threesome but Jonathan convinces Mina its healthy. In other Mina news, she is working for Van Helsing as his assistant now. He stupidly leaves her alone to her work.
Van Helsing goes to Dracula and injects him with the solar serum in front of an incredulous Josef. And it finally starts to work. It’s not without its side effects, like his fingers being burnt by the sun. But that’s because they need a functioning heart. Well, by the end of this episode, I think Dracula’s well on his way to developing one.
Back to Mina, who finds Van Helsing’s secret room where he has potions, and this weird slide of blood cells she is curious about. Equally curious is Lucy about Mina.. It’s clear she’s in love with Mina. But Mina has put her in the friend zone. She calls Mina stupid and I agree. Open your eyes, Mina! She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Anyway, on to Lady Jayne and Grayson/Dracula as they discuss his douchebaggery and he makes it up to her by taking her to a…mud wrestling match? Turns out mud wrestling originated in 1896 London. Who knew? That Dracula really knows the way to a woman’s heart. Or at least her vagina. HOT DRACULA/GRAYSON AND LADY JAYNE SEX ALERT!!! They are really pushing the envelope with these sex scenes. Wow. But thanks for that. Really. I am most grateful to you, Dracula. Moving on…
I’ve been wondering what Szabo has been up to so I’m glad he finally appeared in this episode. I missed his long, girlish hair and sexy Hungarian accent. He and Jonathan talk about Grayson and his investigation of General Shaw. It’s brief and not interesting. What is more interesting is when Harker is guided to the mysterious Vera Markham. She knows something about Shaw. I wonder where this is going.
In My-gay-son’s-dead-and-I-don’t-know-what-to-do-about-it news, Daddy Davenport is still after Grayson for Daniel’s death. A member of The Order of the Dragon, he decides to seek justice with the assistance of his brethren and Lady Jayne but they refuse to go after Grayson. Then there’s an oil discussion between The Order and the Generals, Ogilvy and Shaw, who explains that the plan can’t move forward because the Sultan is getting in the way. He is quickly silenced by Browning who proceeds to pull a Darth Vader on him and tells General Shaw that General Ogilvy hanged himself. And now, The Order of the Dragon is free to topple the Ottoman Empire. For oil. All for oil.
Davenport meets with a “contractor” named Miss Kleiberson. They discuss his plan to avenge Daniel’s death and despite the fact that it would be unsanctioned by The Order, she decides to jump on board with the plan. But it’s gonna cost him. I think he can afford it though. Dracula is head over heels for Lady Jayne, who swiftly ends their relationship. He asserts that he’s not playing around and Josef shows up, dismayed by Dracula’s emo attitude. Clearly hurt by The Huntress, Dracula cries as Josef starts reminiscing about when they were the hunters. He asks again if he can kill her and Dracula replies, “Make her scream.”
But of course nothing is as it seems with Dracula and his Lady Jayne. So as soon as Josef appears ready to kill her, Dracula pulls a 180 and saves her. This prompts her to kill Josef and now she wants to get back together. Wow. First, he stands her up. Now, he fake saves her. So many cliches! Since I like these two together, I won’t complain too much. Let the games begin!
Lady Jayne claims she killed the vampire that Browning and she have been after, while Dracula gloats to Renfield about his plan. He makes a big deal about how he tricked Lady Jayne and stopped The Order. Renfield commends him on dispatching Josef. “Sometimes, you have to sacrifice a knight to capture a queen,” says Dracula. Indeed.
And of course we end with Renfield being kidnapped by Davenport who is still out for…REVENGE!
So it was a pretty good episode. But the oil storyline is still not working for me. I’m not crazy about the silly stuff Dracula’s doing and then bragging about like it was an awesome master plan. He didn’t do anything a teenaged boy wouldn’t do. Still, it remains a really fun show and I hope nothing too bad happens to my beloved Renfield. If so, I will be the next one out for revenge. Next week is “The Devil’s Waltz” where I’m sure we’ll finally get some answers as to how Mina resembles Llona, Dracula’s wife. And maybe Lucy will make her move…
Until then, bite me.
[Show Web Site at NBC] [Previous Recap: “Goblin Merchant Men”]
