Here’s my Castlevania S3E4 Review! The episode title is “I Have a Scheme” and was directed by Sam Deats and written by Warren Ellis!

There’ll be no restraints on spoilers here so SPOILER ALERT

Alucard/ Sumi/ Taka

I like how these scenes not only introduces us to these new characters Sumi (Rila Fukushima) and Taka (Toru Uchikado) as they keep the lonely Alucard company. Viewers get to see their backstory while at the same time getting more glimpses into the new life Alucard has embraced ever since Trevor and Sypha left him to travel the world.

Great action sequences with Lady Cho and that old samurai. Great action and great pacing and the animation was superb.

Its also a nice touch to see Alucard (James Callis) smiling and they do justice with the animation.

Carmilla’s Castle

Morana and Striga have a great moment here. It’s literally the formation of a scheme that Carmilla set them upon. There’s a nice tender moment between these two vampires too which gives viewers more backstory and character exposition for them. I like how they mull over the facts nicely and they get this nice “eureka” moment.

Over in the cellars, Lenore continues to break down Hector’s defenses. There’s a meaty dialogue about commerce here that reflects the real world. Hector continues to be strong but while we all savor his comeuppance and betrayal of Dracula from season 2, we are slowly getting a better foothold on Hector again as a character.

Lindenfeld – Saint Germaine/ Trevor/ Sypha

In Lindenfeld, we get to see what’s inside the Priory thanks to Saint Germaine’s POV. We see that these guys have become a demon’s pawn, much like what the Judge had told Trevor and Sypha in the last episode. It’s all grim and disgusting and we move to Trevor and Sypha who are just outside and encounter the monks/priest protecting “the work”.

Trevor and the Judge have a great moment together too and its a nice exposition to what makes him tick, his backstory and how he ended up becoming the boss of the town. They also left out some ominous things that could come back to haunt them later.

Genoa – Isaac

In Genoa, Isaac finally arrives and as soon as the forgemaster and his gruesome beasties land, that cool captain leaves the port. We get some genuine moments where Isaac just wants passage and gets denied. This obviously has a bloody end and as the cameras goes up with continue seeing red sparks, providing a glimpse of how many more monsters Isaac adds to his army later.

Castlevania S3E4 Review Verdict

8/10

This puts action in the backseat and gives more exposition and world building. If you’re not used to Castlevania’s pacing then this could be a problem. But if you’ve stuck with the series for the past few seasons, ,this is normal.

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