Anyone that has yet to watch
Friday night’s episode of Dracula,
entitled ‘A Whiff of Sulfur’, here’s the only point where I will suggest you do
that before reading ahead. As always, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
You’ve been warned.
Not a great second episode, not
bad, but it was a little tedious and boring at points. It almost feels like
there is too much set up to be had with, that there really isn’t enough story
to depend on. This is a series about Dracula, a vampire that has had many
variations of his story told. Certainly there must be a more interesting way of
writing him into Victorian England that is better than what they are doing.
Yes, this is the beginning of this tale, but too much beginning can alienate an
audience.
One of the things that I have note
that I did like this episode was the way the fight scenes are filmed. I quite
enjoyed the slowed down cinematography to accentuate how visceral violence can
be. Still, this technique may eventually become boring if it is the only way
fighting scenes are filmed. But for the second episode, I do still enjoy it.
The rest of the cinematography on the other hand was far too English for my
liking. I don’t know what it is about English television, but I’ve never been
able to enjoy its low quality filming style, and this series appears to be
adapting that. For now I can get passed it, but I’m not sure for how long that
will last.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers I also have
to commend for being the best part of this series. He is a phenomenal actor,
and quite perfect for this role. While I’m still not a fan of his need to use
an American accent and how annoying it is compared to the British one he adapts
while in the company of Renfield, I do seem to be able to get passed it. The
way he is able to play this character is just splendid. And might I add how
fantastic he looked in the flashback scenes where he has longer hair and blood
distorting his face. I also find it quite intriguing, and almost despairing, to
see that he imagines Mina – or her likeness at least – in the woman he was
sleeping with’s place. Dracula really did love his wife.
While I am happy to see that Mina
isn’t a proper English woman, and wishes to strive for something more, I do
think that the character needs to be developed more. At this moment, she seems
rather flimsy and almost dull, with a personality that doesn’t appear to come
out quite clearly. I do hold out hope for her, but I’m worried that it may be
the actress, and not the character herself.
Of the other characters, Harker is
the only one that strikes me as half as interesting as the two aforementioned
characters. While it disappoints me that in his drunken stupor he thought he
could stagnate Mina’s dreams once a ring fit on her finger, I hope that this is
resolved somewhat in the long run. I do hope Dracula himself and Mina end up
together eventually, but now would be too soon if this series hopes to hold
together for many seasons. But again about Harker, I am happy to follow him in
his curiousity of this seemingly American character. It’s nice to be able to
wonder along with a character that seeks the answers the audience duly seeks. I
just hope he’s not as misogynistic as he came off in this episode, although it
may have had something to do with his yearning to be able to take care of Mina
while he couldn’t pay for anything in this episode until he got the new job.
All in all, this isn’t the worst
thing out there, but it does lack a certain appeal. I hope to find it more
interesting, and that the villains of the piece gain more personality than the
blandness they’ve so far appeared to have. They’re kind of boring, and that’s
not a great thing to have in a series you want to last. I was happy to see that
there were opening credits, although rapid in their introduction. I’m always
more interested in watching a series like the good old days where opening
credits were the norm, as compared with today where an opening title is what’s
usual. I will continue to give this series a few more episodes, but intrigue is
a necessity for the long run.
My rating: 6 out of 10.
Best Lines:
“To lose her twice would be more than I could bear.” –
Grayson (aka Dracula) explains to Renfield his reasoning behind keeping Mina in
his life.
“Even you, you miserable git.” – Harker says to one of his
co-workers.
Okay, I’m off to write up my review for Haven now. After that I’ll be writing reviews of Once Upon A Time and Revenge. Then I’m all caught up. If you
have yet to read my apology and reason behind the lateness of this review,
please check out the end of my latest Revolution
review. Stay tuned.
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