It's difficult to find a good video-game adaptation in this day and age. When one is finally found, it's hard to keep the quality going over the multiple seasons, and when the show comes to an end, it feels like it's ending too soon. This is the case with the Netflix series Castlevania.
Castlevania only has thirty-three episodes across four seasons under its belt. And yet, those four seasons are jam-packed with astonishing visuals, fantastic character arcs, and emotional beats that make for some amazing episodes and one of the greatest video-game adaptations.
Back In The World (8.6)
Given the recent release of season four, it's no surprise that a lot of the episodes are ranked higher than others. While it's possible for them to drop in ranking, "Back In The World" still serves as a good episode no matter where one puts it.
As Alucard leads a group of villagers to his castle, Sypha and Trevor butt heads, and Zemfir and Carmilla's, Isaac's, and Saint Germain's schemes slowly coming together. This episode has enough action and intrigue to set the stage for things to come.
Monument (8.6)
Probably the worst thing about season one of Castlevania was how short it was. Only four episodes long, the season came to an end on a high note with the speaker magician Sypha and monster hunter Trevor Belmont battling Night Creatures and uncovering the cities sleeping soldier: Dracula's son, Alucard.
Following a fight between the three, the episode and season reach their end with Alucard agreeing to help the pair fight his father. The final scene of all three heroes standing together made for one heck of an image and created one of the series's best trios.
The River (8.6)
Throughout its run, Castlevania always seemed to have moments, or rather episodes, that signaled the beginning of the end was at hand. "The River" served as season two's turning point as everything started to come together for the finale.
With Dracula and his forces dealing with betrayal from Hector and Carmilla, Trevor, Alucard, and Sypha worked together to try and drag Dracula's castle to the Belmont estate as monsters pulled right from the games began to descend. With Trevor showing off the classic morningstar whip for the first time and Sypha's powers at their peak, the episode serves as almost an underrated one.
Death Magic (9.2)
The calm before the storm. Although most of the episodes of Castlevania don't exactly take it easy or slow, there are episodes that feel like build-up, full of slower moments that will lead into the final phases of the season.
"Death Magic," although full of amazing action and moments, is one such episode. Setting in place the final pieces for the last two episodes and fulfilling arcs for characters like Saint Germain and Zamfir, the episode serves as the barely contained calm before the raging storm to come.
Abandon All Hope (9.3)
For each final episode of each Castlevania season, a question emerged: how are they gonna top this? While season one had a modest finale, two and three raised the bar every step of the way, with three's ending wowing many a fan.
As the plots of Carmila and Isaac started to solidify, Alucard started to become more like his father after killing Taka and Sumi. While those plot points began to focus, Trevor, Sypha, and Germain fought the Visitor to a standstill, with Trevor delivering the epic final blow with his twin whips. Yet, the episode felt somber, not victorious at all, which set the stage for the final season to come.
The Harvest (9.5)
There was plenty of action, blood, and gore in this episode, as Sypha, Trevor, the Judge, and Saint Germain battled against Night creatures, and Isaac fought the Legion.
The episode is amazing in the action category and clearly won over viewers, appealing to its core audiences in many different ways.
It’s Been A Strange Ride (9.5)
There's no better way to describe Castlevania than "It's Been A Strange Ride." The show had some pretty bizarre moments over the seasons, and yet, it never ceased to amaze and bring in the viewers, especially with the final episode.
Although some fans find it a little odd how happy of an ending everyone, save for Saint Germain and Hector, got, it was still a satisfying enough conclusion that brought everything full circle relationship-wise and left room for a potential spin-off as well.
For Love (9.5)
Truth be told, Castlevania could've ended with season two, especially after the last two episodes blew everyone away. With the setup from the previous season and episodes, the second to last episode saw Sypha, Alucard, and Trevor facing down an army of vampires and Dracula himself.
What followed was an amazing episode full of nods to the games. As iconic soundtrack and song Bloody Tears played, an epic opening fight followed by a brutal battle with Dracula transpired, all leading to Alucard facing down his father one last time. In what became an emotional episode, the episode saw the death of Dracula before the season finale and wowed audiences.
You Don’t Deserve My Blood (9.7)
Now, given that the fourth season just came out, some of these ratings will probably shift and change as time goes on. Yet, "You Don't Deserve My Blood" will probably remain towards the top.
The culmination of Isaac's plotting and planning, the episode saw the forge master lead his army of Night Creatures against Carmilla's forces. Resulting in a reunion between Hector and Isaac and a final duel between Isaac and Carmilla that dazzled and captivated up until the final moments, the episode saw an end to Isaac's and Carmilla's arcs in a mostly satisfying manner.
The Endings (9.9)
It's funny how the second-to-last episodes almost always seem to be the best with season one as the exception. "The Endings" saw the threads of all the seasons coming together and gave fans the reunion of their favorite trio as they faced down the twist villain of the season, Death itself.
As the vampire Varney revealed himself as Death and tried to use Dracula as a means to sow destruction across the world, the episode saw betrayals, the death of Saint Germain, epic battles with the trio, vampires, and monsters. All of it leading to a jaw-dropping finale with Trevor Belmont taking on Death in a final duel. Truly, this ended up being an episode for the ages.