‘First Kill’ is about lineage, heritage and tradition. It’s not just about a queer romance but the fact all of this wraps around the queer romance is very interesting. It’s what makes it all work together. They’re telling a star-crossed lovers story much like Romeo and Juliet where the respective families have been mortal enemies and in a civil war for decades - centuries even from the Legacy Vampire side.
There’s a prophecy to fulfill and Juliette and Calliope are The Chosen Ones for it.
My guess is Juliette and Calliope are meant to be what breaks the tradition of Vampire VS Hunter not so much by hammering the wall down between Vampires and Hunters, but more so by bridging their two families together. I believe that is their shared destiny. To break with the tradition and unite the families. And I don’t think Netflix got that. I don’t think they paid attention to the deeper story being told there. And that’s why they just dropped it. They didn’t see the potential it had. What I’m about to explain will make you see it because it’s hidden within the visuals.
Calliette are the Guild Hunter and the Legacy Vampire that fall in love and DON’T end up killing each other like how that historically happened with the first Guild Hunter and the first Legacy Vampire. We know the first Legacy Vampire to be Lilith. We don’t know who the first Guild Hunter is. Some people are saying Eve but then,… they make Eve out to be more of a victim than a fighter so I don’t necessarily think it’s her. But it is somebody of Burns ancestry I’m sure because it wouldn’t work if it wasn’t. If we’re going with the whole descendant/reincarnation concept… it would have to be someone of Burns ancestry just like how Lilith is of Atwood ancestry. So the deeper story there is the enemies-to-lovers/lovers-to-enemies and star-crossed part of the love story because Calliette are mortal enemies naturally. It’s instinctual for them to want to kill one another. And so they’re fighting against their very nature as much as they’re fighting against their lineage. However, the stars have brought them together for the opposite to occur since it failed the first time doing it. So it is very similar to Romeo and Juliet but there are huge differences. For one thing R&J wasn’t supernatural. So ‘First Kill’ is automatically much more compelling just on that alone. And I could really see what they were doing there. Where they were going. So it’s infuriating that it got cancelled because I don’t think Netflix did. I really don’t think they saw the depth of this concept.
And everything I’ve just said here is cleverly hidden in two scenes:
The Pantry Scene
The Eden Dream Scene
And I could explain how - I have actually - but I think the fun is in working it out for yourselves just as I have done. Believe it or not - I actually had in mind a very similar concept for a historical crossover fanfiction story between the Universes of ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ and ‘The Mummy’. I was also going to do R&J supernaturally. The only thing is mine wasn’t going to be lovers-to-enemies nor really star-crossed lovers. Mine was just about descendant/reincarnation and how the worlds of 4 characters collide because of this connection. Because of their true natures. But it was absolutely in the same hemisphere of thinking as V.E. Schwab and Felicia D. Henderson for ‘First Kill’.
The whole having their true natures be both their burden and their gift. I totally get what they were doing with that. And it really is a huge shame because they had something very compelling there. A great set up initially that would have found its footing in a Season 2 and I am still angry at Netflix because they really missed the point of ‘First Kill’. What it actually is and where it could and would most likely go.