Castlevania Season 4 (2021)
…………………………………………………
Castlevania Season 4 Review
The fourth and final season of Castlevania ended on a really strong note. Admittedly it has its glaring flaws, but for the most part it truly delivered and I am sad that it’s over.
………………………………………………….
“Trefor is a terrible name“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
While I love that the show has quite a lot of truly greatly developed, important characters, this season still had that structural issue that saw some characters leave for a couple of episodes and some just have an abrupt conclusion. The finale was problematic. It was meant as a closure and sort of an epilogue, but it worked only in the main trio and that incredibly poetic death scene of Lenore, but the bringing back of Dracula and Lisa was totally unnecessary.
Still, the multiverse storyline ended up being great. The role of alchemy was wonderful and the character of Saint Germain got a fantastic arc this season. He turned into a bad guy and ended up sacrificing himself, but he remains a tragic figure first and foremost and just an excellent character all around.
Trevor and Sypha quarreling quite a bit in the first half of the season was a lot of fun, but their romance still was wonderful and playful. Sypha kicked some serious ass in this season while Trevor was reliably snarky and funny. It was also great seeing the trio get back together, but it happened way too late in the game unfortunately.
Speaking of Alucard, I really liked his newfound dynamic with Greta, though even more could have been done with this. He actually ended up being one of the most positive, most human characters on the show and I was all up for that.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Isaac got to change this season. It was probably a bit too quick, but still the necessary seeds were planted all the way back in the previous season with the captain character. Growing into a warrior for the good figure, it was fantastic seeing him take some agency as well as Hector himself. That final fight with Carmilla was just incredibly epic. She got a lot of monologuing to do this time, but she still remains the show’s best, most menacing villain.
As for Hector, he ended up tricking Lenore and all the vampires as he sided with his old friend. Finally learning to fight for himself and not be literally a pawn in others’ schemes, it was very important that he changed and learned this. It would have been terrible had the show not done this for him. But that final scene with Lenore was so powerful and I still contend that their relationship was the most fascinating one on the show.
Striga and Morana ended up fleeing from battle, which was a great development for the two. As for the new characters, they are a mixed bag. Ratko talked about being strong way too much only to be killed by Trevor rather quickly. Dragan was also not that memorable, though I liked that they included some Slavic characters for a change.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Varney ended up being Death itself, which was a fantastic nod to the games’ villain, but the final fight felt too unrealistic, though epic of course. The animation in Castlevania is still amazing while the voice acting and the dialogue excelled again. There are many episodes that are just build-up with a lot of conversations, but those speeches were impactful. And the action was terrific when it finally happened, though the battles could have been a bit longer.
The fourth season of Castlevania is a wonderful conclusion to this terrific series. It has its structural issues and the finale is a mixed bag, but the characters mostly got their moments to shine, the dialogue continued to excel and the action was quite epic.
Worst Episodes: Murder Wakes It Up and Having the World.
Best Episodes: You Don’t Deserve My Blood and Walk Away.
