Nocturne Season 2 creates a symphony of the night

This article contains spoilers for Castlevania: Nocturne season 2.

If you count both shows as one, Netflix’s Castlevania franchise has been running for six seasons and eight years, with “Castlevania: Nocturne” season 2 marks the last entry in the stylish video game adaptation by Powerhouse Animation. And yet, in all that time, the show hasn’t touched the most beloved and critically acclaimed game, Castlevania. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night completely reimagined the property when it hit the original PlayStation and Sega Saturn back in 1997. Now that it’s all wrapped up at the end of Season 2 of Nocturne, fans can finally get a proper adaptation of this legendary game … provided the series is renewed by Netflix.

Writing on X in October 2024, series director Samuel Dietz confirmed that the show “is going on hiatus until release, and we’ll find out if we’ll be picking it back up”, adding: “If you want to see more Castlevania-quality shows, please support S2 when it comes out!” Upgrading in the modern age of streaming is always a risky proposition, especially with Netflix. However, Castlevania was much more successful than the others in threading the needle. Its longevity is a true anomaly these days, and if Netflix sees fit to continue the story, Season 3 of Nocturne could be a new high.

“Castlevania: Nocturne” season 2 finale wraps up many of the major storylines started in season 1, including the terrifying reign of Erzebet Báthory (Franco Patente), the Sekhmet saga, and the will-they-won’t-they dynamic between Richter Belmont (Edward Blumel ) and Annette (Tuso Mbedu). At the same time, some threads are deliberately left dangling, and they all point to Symphony of the Night.

The first Castlevania show is an adaptation of the original Nintendo Entertainment System’s Castlevania 3 with some additional story elements borrowed from the PlayStation 2 game Curse of Darkness. Both games are prequels to the first two games in the franchise. Nocturne, on the other hand, is a bit looser when it comes to the source material. Richter Belmont first enters the game in 1993’s Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, in which he battles a resurrected Dracula to save his love, Annette. Bringing villains back to life again and again is a riskier proposition on television than in video games, so Nocturne wisely decided to create a new villain for Richter to face on the show.

The action of “Symphony of the Night” takes place five years after “Rondo”. In this game, Richter disappears and Dracula’s castle returns, prompting Alucard (James Callis in the Netflix series) to enter it and investigate. He faces the mind-controlled Richter before fighting his father Dracula again. Maria Renard (Pixie Davis on the Netflix show) also features prominently.

The biggest hurdle for Nocturne, which sets up the Symphony of the Night storyline in Season 3, is Dracula’s return to the ranks, in part because his Netflix voice actor, Graham McTavish, is very busy these days. In the first two seasons of Nocturne, Richter has a different villain to overcome, but his character is still in the same basic place where we find him at the beginning of Symphony of the Night.

Castlevania: Nocturne had several key pieces put in place to finally tackle Symphony of the Night. At the end of season 2, Richter and Annette get together, as they do in the games, and Richter goes to another part of the world, which could be the main material for his disappearance in the games. Meanwhile, Alucard decides to stay with Maria and Juste Belmont (Iain Glenn) in Paris, at least for now. This keeps him close to the action as he is the protagonist of the Symphony.

Season 2’s biggest unresolved thread is the mysterious apparition looming in the background — a figure Olrox (Zan McClarnon) calls both “Old Man Coyote” and “Mephistopheles.” It’s not yet confirmed, but it’s possible that this character is Death (Malcolm McDowell) from Season 4 of Castlevania, an ancient being whose physical form was destroyed by Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage). Death plays a key role in “Symphony of the Night,” and his possible presence in “Nocturne” season 2 could give us an idea of ​​how the show might bring back some of those storylines.

Obviously, many storylines of “Symphony” will have to be refined for the animated series. First, the actual action of Castlevania isn’t enough to fill a season, as it’s mostly action. Richter’s love for Annette could be the reason that pushes him into a vulnerable place, or maybe Maria will get in over his head in France, prompting him to make a desperate play.

It’s hard to imagine “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” without Dracula. This is the biggest gap that Nocturne needs to fill to bring the game to life. But while bringing him back at the beginning of Nocturne may have been too much, enough time has passed for the storyline to start working. Dracula hasn’t been a main character in the franchise for four seasons, and it’s been hundreds of years in the universe since he was last believed to be alive.

The bigger question is how the show could make him a villain again when he had to come back. For now Movies about Dracula usually make him the big bad guy, by the time he dies in “Castlevania” he’s really more of a tragic figure. The final scene of the original Castlevania series reveals that Death’s attempt to bring back Dracula and his wife Lisa (Emily Swallow) was successful, but not quite as he planned. The two return to Earth in their normal bodies and decide to live a peaceful life together, allowing Alucard to believe they are truly dead so he can move on. It’s unclear if this resurrected Lisa is alive, but Dracula is believed to still be alive during the events of Nocturne. Still, it’s hard to imagine him enjoying the carnage on Earth again after being reunited with his wife.

Despite this, it feels like we are on the brink. Nocturne won’t last more than four seasons if its predecessor is anything to go by. You haven’t cast Richter Belmont as your new main character, and you don’t plan to adapt Symphony of the Night, so now is the time.

The first two seasons of Castlevania: Nocturne are now streaming on Netflix.