Listen, y’all can say he’s ugly all y’all want (I won’t argue with you) but what I’m seeing of the characterization is fucking stellar! I don’t give a shit I’m sorry. The character work is too good for me to sleep on him.
I have officially decided that I’m not shipping black (& other poc) characters with white characters that have to be convinced of the poc’s humanity and worth. It’s a nice lesson for story telling purposes, I guess, but why the fuck would I want to ship a black or poc character with someone who either did call them a slur (or got really close to it), actively dehumanized them despite how fairly they were being treated by the poc character, or who had to be taught multiple times (often by the poc love interest at that) how not to be a racist/xenophobic peace of shit?
Like, that’s not romantic or sexy, and it’s not a relationship I want to see progress sexually or romantically. There’s nothing romantic in having to teach your love interest how not to treat you like shit based off only your appearance and the negative stigma associated with it. No black or poc character who has to go through that am I then going to ship with their abuser. Regular enemies to lovers is one thing (even interracially or between different species or creatures) but if the whole crux of the characters being enemies is because one person is just blatantly being racist then seeing those two characters come together isn’t compelling for me.
I’m also done accepting interracial ships where the black or poc character in the relationship gives their entire soul and effort to a white partner who barely gives any of that effort back and basically only has their black or poc s/o acting as their sidekick, assistant/lapdog/thankless savior, sextoy, and/or nothing more than a glorified accessory. I’ve collected enough of those as is, I want better.
P.S.: On my “treating them fairly and the yt character still being racist” point, no minority group (including black and other poc people) should have to be “nice” in order to not be met with racism or bigotry. If a minority is rude or awful the response isn’t then to result to throwing slurs around or misgendering them or whatever, the response is to buck the fuck up and actually pull some creativity out your ass and insult them about the plethora of other things about their person that is the actual problem. So, yes, when I’m talking fictional romance black and poc characters being “mean” is not a suitable excuse and a ‘get out of jail free card’ for the white character they’re positioned opposite of (whether they be future friends or love interests or future enemies or otherwise strangers) being racist to them or any other character of the same racial minority or species.
People acting like hating on Bonnie or downplaying her importance is the most radical thing to do like…🙄
Literally everybody does that, you’re not the free thinker above all the rest that you think you are.
And (tbf) neither am I, but constantly running into these type of comments is so irritating. Move on. Who the fuck spends that much time letting everyone know how much they hate a character, has zero understanding of why people would attach to them, and then celebrates those facts on top of everything else like that’s some shit to brag about?
I’d like to know how Drolta already knew Alucard was searching for Sekhmet’s mummy an entire episode before she was told anything by the vampire Richter failed to kill.
CASTLEVANIA: NOCTURNE SHIT THAT I LIKED WHILE WATCHING THROUGH S2 (SPOILERS)
- this is technically my live commentary as I was watching each episode, though there are some edits that I made after my first watch and some general commentary sprinkled throughout.
- there’s also some things I didn’t like in here, but there’s less of those opinions overall
- also featuring my heavy Drolta bias.
No vampire on this show seems to be able to handle the loss of a loved one normally (except for maybe Olrox, but that’s debatable considering his relationship with Mizrak; and I mean this from a Mizrak lashes out at Olrox a lot and an Olrox fell for him very hard in a short amount of time perspective, not from the viewpoint of me personally disliking Mizrak). They’re either carrying around their spouse’s rotted dismembered head or carrying their entire corpse around; none of these people can let go. Erzsebet had every right not to though, don’t get me wrong; I too would’ve been too devastated to go on without Drolta.
Love the horror strings taking over the background music when Drolta is finished being brought back to “life” but hasn’t yet come out of the forgemaster machine.
Yes I absolutely did rewatch her walking out of the machine and her scene right after multiple times.
Drolta’s got inches, just the curls on her corpse were long as hell. I need my hair like that in the next five years🤞🏾.
I love Drolta’s new design about as much as her old one, except for the wings. They're fine enough, their roundness just mildly vexes me. And I do mean mildly.
Drolta backstory!
Human Drolta! Her being dedicated enough to go to war for Sekhmet. I liked being able to see the circumstances that broke Drolta, that led her away from the path of a healer and corrupted her compassion and ceaseless dedication into bloodthirsty hate and misled obsession.
The first six minutes alone of “Angel of Death” S2E2, period.
The sequence where Drolta takes flight over the water and tests out her new body in front of Erzsebet. Erzsebet clapping for her, feeding off her elation because that’s her WIFE (EDIT: little does Erzsebet know she as a person is barely a passing fad to Drolta though).
Drolta saying “it is delightful” in response to feeling the sun for the first time without pain in centuries. The little smile on her face. That was cute, I love her.
I actually like Richter more this season. Not that I disliked him in season one though.
Him and Annette buzzing uncertainly around each other is cute too.
Whatever weird ass beef Drolta and Olrox have going on now (it was there in season one too, but now the tension feels heightened).
EDIT: And the fact that it’s Drolta who continues to question Olrox and poke holes in his stories instead of Erzsebet (who calls him “my dragon” and who acts like he’s more loyal than he is) really makes me think that Erzsebet would’ve ended up back confined if Drolta wasn’t such a good backbone for her. How much she predominantly only cares about killing and bringing about suffering for little reason other than she can and thinks she has a right to blinds her — and made her pretty un-intimidating to me as a result. She’s a big physical threat but it’s like she’s got nothing beyond that desire to hurt ruling her and it makes her sloppy and unimpressive whenever she tries to be intimidating (especially whenever Drolta’s not there).
The shot of Drolta rising up before Olrox to proclaim that hunting the French military during the day would be more fun than waiting to do it at night.
The entirety of Drolta tearing apart the soldiers and clearly basking in it. She is serving absolute looks while going on a bloodthirsty demenated binge and I love her all the more for it. Why shouldn’t she be allowed to tear off the top of a man’s skull if she wants to, yk?
Olrox stopping Mizrak from trying to fight Drolta essentially one on one was sweet (even if I don’t necessarily like Mizrak).
The continued stressing of the fact that Drolta is more of an abomination, even more unnatural than before, since being resurrected and going through the machine.
THEORY (I’m currently on “Angel of Death” S2Ep2 as I write this bit): I think Drolta knows more than she’s letting on about resurrecting Sekhmet and that she’s planning to bring her back to life in the only way she can, with Erzsebet’s body. I think possession and full bodily transformation is the endgame, and I don’t think Erzsebet’s figured that out yet. It’s highly possible that she loves Drolta more than Drolta even cares for her as a person; Drolta only cares for her body insofar as it’s capabilities to successfully contain a goddess’s soul. Though this may be my general distaste for Erzsebet (and need for Drolta to be better than giving the soul of an Egyptian goddess to the palest white woman she could find) poking its head out so idk.
OH MY GOD DROLTA'S SWORD PROOF?!?!?!??!!!!!
I mean she was proven to be bullet proof, yeah, but that has less oomph than her brushing off a sword attack.
Ahhhhh, and she’s fucking huge compared to humans!!! How delightful!! *giggles uncontrollably for a few seconds*
Olrox liking Mizrak enough to hold him while he cries for the people Drolta is slaughtering en mass is good shit. Him holding on to Olrox for dear life as he breaks down whilst he’s soothed as much as he can be is also good shit.
Drolta literally squeezing the life out of the revolutionary army’s captain and popping her like a stress toy. Go off Queen.
“For every suffering, a wisdom is gained.” *end of episode; cut to black* OMG?!!!
Drolta’s voice lines being performed so well every time? Glorious, end of discussion.
Why is Olrox so invested in Mizrak? Every interaction he’s had with that man has ended with Olrox upset. Like, he’s literally not fucking worth it.
Drolta just letting Alucard lead her to Sekhmet’s mummy. Why work hard, you know? Especially when she’s clearly been carrying Erzsebet’s entire plan.
Drolta saying “I was born three times. The second time a vampire, and the third…a new and glorious thing,” and then pressing a kiss to the forehead of the newest female night creature. Like, bitch, I want that to be me.
Oh yeah, Edouard is going to start an uprising. Erzsebet and Drolta Them are fucked. When that army turns on them that’s gonna be the end.
I know Olrox is mad about that brand, and shit, I’m mad for him. That would’ve drove me insane. I wouldn’t want to cede that much of myself to Erzsebet either (especially since she’s not even actually Sekhmet yet). But just in general it sucks that he was branded both against his will by Drolta and for a cause that he doesn’t believe in or want to follow.
Alright Maria, embrace your darkness! And then mellow out a bit, that step is crucial here. She’s got the spirit though, and that wolf is beautiful.
Maria going “who are you” completely baffled when Juste shows up and attacks Tera is killing me. I’m laughing too hard, I had to pause it for a minute.
Tera’s control is immaculate for such a new vampire.
This is probably bad, but good for Maria. A coming of rage might be good for her. Sometimes you just want to kill your shitty harmfully delusional father; no, that wasn’t kind of cathartic for me at all /s.
Drolta being the one to turn Erzsebet. Truly all the power that woman ever gained after being confined was because of Drolta. That’s…something.
You know what? As Drolta started to fight Alucard I immediately realized that I really do not want to see Drolta die again. I know she probably will, all things considered, but still.
I understand that Tera left because she personally sees that she’s a bad influence on Maria, and she wants to protect her daughter from that side of herself until she has her own darker impulses under control. But how tf was she so sure that abandoning her child wouldn’t’ve pushed Maria right over the edge? Honestly I’ve never liked when parents do shit like run away from their kids “for their own good” unless they’re literally turning into uncontrollable monsters; like, you know what’ll really go great with this trauma sandwich? A nice tall glass of trauma lemonade with a special shot of abandonment issues mixed in! 🙄
Not Olrox offering to take that man with him. Omg. I bet you Olrox will come back and risk his life for Mizrak, and maybe even be killed doing it. At least let him be the one to kill Drolta (I have to accept her inevitable death atp, and at least let it be at the hands of the man she branded so that he can go out with a win and so that they can have a good ass fight beforehand).
EDIT: Okay, so I lost that bet but I’m super okay with that. And like, I get the Mizrox relationship I guess, but it’s just not for me.
I think the nicest thing Mizrak ever said to Olrox without immediately following his words up by calling Olrox a disgusting soulless monster was after Olrox said he was leaving for good. Don’t switch up now bitch, I just hope by the time someone else comes around you're done with this ‘lashing out, existential crisis’ shit.
The spirits overwhelming Annette was a nice touch, but I can tell the spirit world stuff will make me uncomfortable so I’m going to stop watching as it is now night.
Richter being so attuned to Annette whenever she’s in distress (even when it’s silent) and rushing to make sure she’s okay every time. He’s not always correct when he makes an assumption about why she might be disturbed when he’s reassuring her, but that’s mostly just because he doesn’t have all the information.
Annette being attuned to Richter enough to pinpoint when he’s feeling insecure and then assuage his feelings. Annette constantly using reason to defuse any possible tension between Alucard and Richter, and being just as fully prepared to call Richter out when he screws up as she is to come to his defense.
Them coming to mutually understand and respect both of their circumstances and the trauma they experienced growing up.
“Mephisto” is unsettling imo, but Olrox’s interaction with him was interesting. Olrox just has such a calm demeanor even when he’s technically outmatched or upset, and it’s very engaging.
Drolta kicking Alucard into the river. Just her kicking with her hoofs in general, she does it a lot throughout the season and I love it every time. The move is just such a finisher that I can’t help but find it appealing. It’s a competence thing, I really can’t help myself.
ABOVE THIS TEXT IS MY COMMENTARY FOR EPISODES 1-5 & BELOW IT IS EPISODES 6-8
Annette, girl, every bit of your story is riveting! Like, there’s legitimately so much here and that feels crazy. I love it! I shall cherish this fictional black woman being allowed to have negative traits (s1) without being demonized for it and then being given actual time and dedication in her personal story and the show’s overall story.
Just— ALL OF EPISODE SIX. The whole thing’s going on the list.
Alucard teasing Richter about his affections for Annette.
Richter moving the cushioning into place for Annette to sit on when she stopped hovering.
Fuck, is Sekhmet going to be the one to kill Drolta? I hope it brings her peace before she dies at least (even if she is a villian, yes).
Fuck, Olrox hasn’t left yet. Sorry, that’s more commentary than anything but I am legitimately scared for what he’s going to do.
Alright, magical girl transformation! Not, Sekhmet being ready to come for Erzsebet. I’m not going to argue.
Hold on is episode seven the first time Edouard's face hands lift? It’s not right? Am I tripping?
Edouard's singing in episode seven. It’s probably the most effective his spontaneous singing has been, and adds to the scene and themes with a lot of purpose.
Drolta looking like a spider at 05:30 in episode seven when she decides to fight Alucard.
Maria falling right into Richter as she lands and her and him hugging.
Omg, Maria tamed the dragon thing. Beautiful. I knew all she needed after the fall was to mellow back out and the power up speaks for itself.
Drolta’s nails turning into a fucking SWORD! EDIT: SWORDS!!???!!!
The insanity of Drolta’s laughing after Alucard cuts her “living” hair. I’m in pain for her, and she’s laughing that shit off?
Richter making an ice claw to keep from blowing away during his fight with Erzsebet (who’s got the two souls of Sekhmet by now).
Drolta headbutting Alucard.
OLROX!!!! Holy shit! He came back, and he’s helping Alucard!
Awwww, Richter using his ice magic to cool Annette (and thus Sekhmet’s third soul) down after realizing that she was literally burning up after collapsing. King.
I’ll never undermine the merits of getting to see Erzsebet essentially curb stomped by the majority of the gang.
Shit, Mizrak just got hit badly and I think he’s dying. Now are they gonna let him die or is Olrox going to turn him? I don’t like his ass, but if him dying will upset Olrox too much then I suppose I’ll deal without being too pissy.
Annette’s fight directly correlating to Sekhmet’s third soul’s ability to retrieve the rest of her souls.
Maria, Juste, and Richter team up. That’s all.
Richter rushing to take the brunt of Erzsebet’s attack on Annette.
Oh shit, Mizrak isn’t dead! Good for him.
Erzsebet getting tore the fuck up!
Sekhmet full scale telling Erzsebet she wasn’t ever shit. And then Drolta telling her the same thing before killing Erzsebet is crazy. No hate fr, but no love lost either (not even a little).
Drolta’s little monologue before she kills Erzsebet. A beautiful performance with beautiful animation.
Oh boy, not Drolta losing her shit too. Goddamnit. This isn’t going to end well at all. Fuck!
Third Drolta form though! That’s exciting, now she’s larger and a cross between her vampire form and her night creature form (with obvious feline features). And this time she’s been called an obscenity! And by Sekhmet’s third soul no less. She’s like a Pokémon kind of.
How is she still so pretty!!!!???!!!!!!😍😍😍 *squeals*
Drolta kicking Erzsebet. Hehehe.
Anyway, she only just got any amount of Sekhmet in her and can already pause Richter and Alucard mid strike and grow back the hand Richter so smartly cut off (it was a smart move, I’m not being sarcastic). All I’m saying is that she might be unhinged, and she might need to get her ass beat, but she’s still more powerful than Erzsebet despite having had far less time with any power that wasn’t mortal in some manner. Once again: Queen.
“Unclean thing”. Yet another insult lobbed onto Drolta. I’m just collecting them atp.
I like Sekhmet and Drolta having a conversation. Drolta crying does pain me though.
Richter letting Annette go 😭🙃. Him respecting what Annette agreed to (or did she agree?).
Drolta’s scream of anguish and rage and who knows what else. Fucking amazing. Elarica Johnson did not miss once this whole season (EDIT: and she didn’t last season either, don’t fret). Also it’s crazy that I actually recognize Drolta’s VA from the one episode of P-Valley I ever watched.
Drolta being able to stab Alucard with his sword was nice. I don’t know why she didn’t just cut and run though, I guess she’d been unmoored enough to not care anymore and just be lashing out but idk. Don’t know if I like that character beat for her, but yeah.
Jesus, they split my woman in half. Fucking hell.
Olrox came back for that last hit on Drolta. I don’t know why, but he did. He deserved that one though, I can’t be mad.
Alucard and Juste’s conversation. Uncle Alucard!
Annette’s fight in the “spirit world” was good, but I didn’t really comment about it because it didn’t really have any different beats to highlight.
I’m going to be honest, as much as I like these characters I know for a fact my interest in the show going forward will wane without Drolta, but the journeys of the other characters are still nice to see.
OKAY so I didn’t call exactly how Drolta would turn against Erzsebet, but that’s alright.
Well Mizrak is a vampire now. So long as Olrox is happy I guess. *big sigh* More angst to come though, so that’s (maybe) fun.
EDIT: And no hate to the Mizrox shippers, all of this shit is my opinion, I haven’t seriously cared about policing what other people ship in a decade.
Apparently “Mephisto” and Tera are in cahoots. I don’t know what’s going on there. Also, “Mephisto’s” shadow form occasionally having teeth is wild imagery.
