Keep Your Enemies Close… Review: Dracula – “A Whiff of Sulfur”

Season 1, Episode 2

Air Date: Friday, November 1, 2013, 10/9c on NBC.

Rating: ★★★★★

“Though I possess the means, I lack the power, the presence, and the ruthlessness to wield a tiny effect. Only you and I together can destroy them.” — Abraham Van Helsing

Dracula is quickly making itself into my favorite drama series this fall. I’m in love with the setting, the characters, and the story. It’s one of reinvention, redemption, and, of course, revenge. We can’t forget what hides behind it all: power. NBC has a real hit on its hands and I’m ecstatic to be along for the ride.

Observations and thoughts:

In case you wondered, Alexander Grayson/Dracula (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) wakes up fighting for his life (ha, ha). I mean that literally. My guess: vampires sense danger or are in tune to their senses, even in sleep. Why else does he whip out his blade, fighting stance at the ready to battle the only other person in the room? The fight sequences in Dracula are very on point for a TV series. The use of wire work is flawless and not overdone. Meyers gives an astounding performance of the newly awakened vampire. He writhes on the ground, appearing to be in unspeakable pain. He’s quite convincing. So convincing, in fact, he almost seems taken over by the thought that he is Dracula. Bravo!

“He insists on calling me sir because he knows how much it annoys me.” Renfield (Nonso Anozie) steals every scene he’s in. You can’t help but wonder what goes through the mind of the big fellow who stands silently in the background. Knowing who his master is, you’d think he would be more subservient and less forthcoming. I’m more than impressed by Anozie’s ability to transform himself into Alexander’s right-hand man. I wouldn’t mistake his character for a mere lackey, though. No, I think Renfield is a close friend and confidant—one Alexander would be lost without.

Jonathan Harker (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) looks a gift horse in the mouth and tells it to sod off. I’m not sure what his aversion to Alexander is but he’s smart to follow his gut. His internal inquiry of “Why me” is probably what makes him a good journalist. Trusting one’s first instincts is key in his line of work. But it doesn’t bring in the big bucks, and that’s what kills Harker’s confidence. The constant reminder of his poverty finally gets to him. Everyone has a breaking point, right? But what is money without respect, and he’s lost mine.

Of course, Van Helsing (Thomas Kretschmann) has a modus operandi for working with Alexander. Why else would the famed vampire hunter request the assistance of perhaps the most deadly being on earth? We learn what use the two men have for one another in this week’s episode, “A Whiff of Sulfur.”

I didn’t expect the amount of comic relief presented in this drama series. Dracula leans more toward the serious in every aspect of its premise. It’s quite refreshing in that I have something surprising to look forward to. Who knows what will happen next?

I almost feel like I should have looked away during the scene between Alexander and Lady Jayne (Victoria Smurfit). His kissing her neck … whoo! I just knew he was going to bite her. The chemistry between Meyers and Smurfit is off the charts. Someone’s taking their job seriously! In other news, Mina Murray (Jessica De Gouw) makes an appearance in a very intimate encounter between Alexander and Lady Jayne. Just thinking about Alexander’s feelings toward Mina and how he’s exacting them upon Lady Jayne is mindboggling. If she only knew. Who, you ask? Does it really matter?

Funny lines:

Van Helsing: “The other arm.”

Alexander: “Must I?”

Van Helsing: “Stop being a baby.”

Alexander: “Knives, swords, lances, stakes, a century in a metal box—mere annoyances. But your needles will be the death of me.”

Lady Jayne: “I presume you have no objection to my deployment of the Seers?”

Browning (Ben Miles): “It’s more than a whiff of sulfur about those two.”

Lady Jayne: “But better the devil you know…”

Renfield: “If I may ask a question, sir?”

Alexander: “I’d rather you didn’t, and yet somehow I know that you will.”

I think my favorite character this week (next to Renfield, of course) is Lady Jayne. She’s fierce and a force to be reckoned with. Smurfit does an excellent job portraying the mysterious aristocrat. Who doesn’t like a kick ass woman who’s not afraid to behead a mofo? What will she do once she finds the vampire in her city? I know it’ll just kill her to realize she’s been sleeping with the enemy.

Tune in to Dracula Fridays at 10/9c only on NBC. For more on the show, visit the official site.

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Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle