I thought the third season might actually be a prequel, exploring an earlier time in the Belmont lineage.
That may very well still happen but not this season!
This season begins roughly a month after the conclusion of season 2, Sypha and Trevor are traveling the country side and arrive at the strange town of Lindenfeld, here we meet a mysterious man by the name Saint Germaine who's intentions are never clear, a creepy head of the towns priory, Prior Sala who exudes a sense of unease, and the Judge of Lindenfeld who seems to have the towns wellbeing at heart.
Alucard is living a simple life away from all the horrors of man and beast when he is met by Sumi and Taka brother and sister from Japan seeking knowledge to fight the Vampire Cho.
Issac arrives at a Port town somewhere in the Middle East, he meets a mysterious merchant who supposedly has a large Carpathian transmission mirror, the merchant advises him that it was sold years ago to a couple, but offers him a distance mirror instead which shows him the way to Styria where his former ally and fellow forgemaster Hector has been taken. Issac meets the Captain of a ship which he commissions to go to Genoa and discovers thru a philosophical conversation with the Captain not every human is evil and deserves to be wiped from existence.
And then there’s Hector the other Forgemaster captured and dragged hundreds of miles to Carmillas Castle in Styria. We are introduced to the ruling counsel of Styria, the quartet of Vampire sisters who rule this land, Carmilla, Striga, Morana, and Lenore.
So the 4 main protagonist are spread out across Europe and this season each will face their own nightmarish horrors.
I was absolutely astonished how engaging the third season of CastleVania was, I binged the entire season (10 episodes) in one sitting this morning! One of the first scenes in season three is a shot of the woods and there is a unique angle of a squirrel climbing a tree, this scene makes for a perfect analogy of the different angle the characters all experience in season 3. I particularly liked the development of Issac throughout this season as he seems to begin to question his own beliefs of humanity and his focus via his interactions with the Captain and the Merchant.
I also really appreciated the juxtaposition of Hector's life from a Forgemaster with a pet to a pet Forgemaster.
The whole season is a lesson for all these characters on betrayal, and none of them emerge from this better than they did at the onset of the season, the final scene with Alucard is rather ominous....
The level of subtlety and nuance is remarkable as is the style and quality of the animation! There are plenty of Easter eggs sprinkled throughout like the mask the merchant is polishing when Issac enters his shop might be the mask from Castlevania Lords of Shadow.
If you still aren't watching Castlevania on Netflix you're missing out on a masterfully planned story with superbly developed characters with phenomenal voice acting talents and a beautifully illustrated world these characters exist in!
I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here! There is so much to hypothesize about!
A+
