This Castlevania article contains spoilers.
The vampire killers have essentially lost by the final scene of Castlevania: Nocturne. Richter, Annette, Tera, and Maria’s plan to destroy the Abbot’s Forgemaster machine has failed miserably, Tera is forced to sacrifice herself to Erzsebet Báthory in order to save Maria, and now the remaining heroes are on the run. There’s basically nothing stopping Drolta Tzuentes and her legion of monsters from hunting down their opponents. But just as a bloodthirsty Drolta is about to strike at her prey, a sword pierces her through the heart. And it’s no ordinary blade that finally takes down the vicious vampire but the one belonging to Alucard.
Yes, James Callis returns as the son of Dracula in the final moments of Nocturne, setting up what will likely be a much bigger role for the fan-favorite dhampir in season 2. His surprise cameo makes a lot of sense, as Nocturne is not only meant to adapt elements of Rondo of Blood but some of the other Konami games. Báthory and Tzuentes, for example, are actually from the 1994 Sega Genesis game Castlevania: Bloodlines, which takes place a century after Richter’s adventures. Meanwhile, Juste Belmont hails from the underrated 2002 Game Boy Advance title Harmony of Dissonance.
The show is also meant to bring in more elements from the 1997 PlayStation hit Symphony of the Night, arguably the best entry in the entire series. It’s why a heavily reimagined Olrox, one of the bosses in that installment, is prominently featured in Nocturne. And now we have Alucard, who will not only be a major boost to the ranks of heroes trying to stop Báthory, but whose arrival can bridge the gaps between the first animated series and Nocturne as well as Rondo and Symphony. After all, despite releasing years apart and on completely different game platforms, these two games essentially tell one complete story about Richter.
In fact, if Nocturne season 2 were to adapt Richter’s storyline from Symphony, it would mean some very dark times ahead for the young Belmont. You see, although Richter defeats Dracula and the sorcerer Shaft, the Dark Lord’s most loyal servant, and saves his beloved Annette in Rondo of Blood, things don’t turn out that well for the hero in the aftermath. When we meet Richter again a few years later in Symphony of the Night, he’s become the new Lord of the Castle, taking Dracula’s place as the main villain. His plan? To bring Dracula back from the dead!
But how has this happened? Why has a Belmont joined forces against the family’s sworn enemy?
The chaos forces Alucard to rise from his slumber and head to his father’s castle. It’s during the quest to find Richter that he learns that Shaft is behind Belmont’s sudden change of allegiance. In the time between Rondo and Symphony, the evil priest brainwashed Richter into taking over for Dracula. Much of the first half of Symphony sees Alucard fighting his way through the castle until a boss fight with Richter finally breaks the spell. But they’re both too late to stop Shaft’s ultimate plan, as Dracula is resurrected, launching Alucard into the famous second half of the game where he must make his way through an upside down version of the castle.
Nocturne isn’t completely beholden to the games, of course, and goes in its own direction when it needs to. We likely won’t see a direct adaptation of Symphony, but if the show does choose to use this part of Richter’s story, all of the key pieces are there.
While Shaft isn’t technically in Nocturne — at least not yet — it’s clear the Abbot is meant to fill the role of evil priest. But there’s also Olrox, the vampire that’s haunted Richter for years. Olrox killed Richter’s mother, the vampire hunter Julia Belmont, when he was just a boy and Richter is still dealing with the trauma of that life-altering event as an adult. In fact, when he learns that Olrox is back and working with Báthory in France, his immediate reaction is to run away from a fight before he’s forced to confront the vampire. A vampire who has that much of a hold on a Belmont would certainly think to use that to their advantage, especially Olrox, who has a personal vendetta against Richter.
We learn in the series that Olrox hunted down Julia in America to avenge the death of a lover, who Belmont vanquished prior to the events of Nocturne. And as he stood over Julia’s lifeless corpse, Olrox promised that he’d one day return for Richter so that he too could pay for the sins of his mother. What if Olrox’s final revenge on Julia is to turn her son to evil?
There’s also the vampire queen herself, who could manipulate Richter into joining her cause like she did the Abbot and Tera (in her defense, she didn’t really have much of a choice), leaving Alucard, Annette, and Maria to work together to save the young Belmont. And will it all lead to the return of the Dark Lord himself? In Castlevania lore, Dracula is said to rise once every century. Now that 300 years have passed, we’d say it’s about time for a comeback.
Castlevania: Nocturne is streaming now on Netflix.