Episode 5 -“The Natural Order”
Here we see Richter hasn’t healed at all from his mother’s death, and Olrox is able to let him open up to those emotions as we see him crying by the shore. I mean, let’s face it – seeing your mother die, witnessing the very moment her life ended, and then having her murderer leave you go because you’re not the one he was after would absolutely scar you for life. While Annette was pretty upset with him, maybe this is something he needed – maybe this encounter will only bring him more purpose towards ending these vampires and their Messiah.
Annette decides to go back to the abbey in the middle of the night to continue rescuing Edouard and is confronted by Tera and Maria. They try to stop her only to realize she can’t be stopped. She tells them she’s just going to go spy on the chateau and the abbey just for more information, telling them it’s not fair that she’s free and he isn’t. She’s mad at Richter for running away from his fears instead of confronting them, and though she’s right, everyone’s different when it comes to facing their own demons. Again – this show knows how to tug at our heartstrings when it comes to feelings and emotions.
We see Olrox attack a rich person on the street instead of the beggar, and it only makes him even more relatable. The man is dangerous, yet doesn’t seem to be malicious or abusive of his powers in the least bit – very much unlike his fellow vampires. Comte de Vaublanc, on the other hand, is a giant asshole. Annette puts him in his place, though, and this is an important contrast to how we see Richter at the beginning of the episode.
While Richter runs away from his past, afraid, Annette faces it head-on and guarantees the slow and painful demise of the man who robbed her of her mother and of those she loved. It was a very poetic death, the one where the bad guy realizes there’s no escaping death and spills all the beans about the Messiah and the scope of her powers.
Vaublanc says humans being slaves to vampires is the natural order. Annette says the natural order is the sun rising and devouring darkness. I kinda have to agree with her.
The Abbot stops by Tera’s to talk, and the revelation that he is Maria’s father makes complete sense now. That‘s why he wouldn’t let Drolta kill her. In true priest fashion, he goes on and on about divine purposes and how he feels he was meant to take this part in what’s to come and join the list of great men who bore great responsibilities. I like him less and less every time he opens his mouth at this point.
We switch to Richter – and see him try to bargain for some food at an inn. The bartender says no, but he’s happy when an older man pays for his meal. The old man doesn’t just have some gold to spare and a bad attitude – he’s got some skills! Not only does he roll a natural 20 in sleight of hand, stealing Richter’s whip, but he also knows how to use the thing. He’s scarily good with it, turns out. Which makes perfect sense – that’s Juste Belmont, Richter’s own grandfather.
An episode filled with awkward family reunions. Curious to see how these revelations play out in the remaining three episodes.