Dracula recap: 5 surprising twists from premiere episode

4. Dracula’s Unusual Powers

Myth always tells of Dracula having the ability to turn into a wolf and even controlling wolves as well as the ability to turn into a bat. In this premiere episode, we learn that Dracula (Claes Bang) doesn’t shift into a wolf, so much as he takes over the wolf as a Doppelganger would.

In the process of taking one’s blood, like the Vampires in Underworld, he gains his victim’s memories along with the blood. He also inherits the skills and knowledge of the person whose blood he is taking. His favorite saying in the series is “blood is lives,” not life, but lives. He absorbs a part of them when he takes their blood, and they become a part of him.

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This was the reason why he wanted to keep Harker prisoner for a month. Dracula is planning to purchase an estate in England, and he was taking Harker’s blood to assimilate the language and customs of England. He wanted to fit in with the English aristocrats and pass as an Englishman.

3. Van Helsing is a Nun.

This is a major twist from Dracula movies and the novel. Sister Agatha is later revealed to be none other than the famous monster hunter Van Helsing. In this episode, she isn’t really a daring monster hunter, Sister Agatha is simply curious and wants to learn more about our illustrious Vampire. She is a budding occultist and wants to learn as much about Dracula as she can, especially as to ‘why’ he is afraid of the cross.

Sister Agatha questions as to why Vampires cannot enter without being invited, why they are afraid of the cross, and why daylight burns them. The rules of the Beast work against Vampires, but she doesn’t understand ‘why’ they work.  In both the movies and the novel, Van Helsing is a man, so this is an interesting twist to the story.

2. Dracula isn’t even interested in Mina Murray

In all the movies and even the novel, Mina Murray (Morfydd Clark) plays a prominent role in the story, either as a love interest like in the 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula or as an instrument of revenge like in the novel itself.

It is revealed later in the interrogation that the second nun that entered Harker’s room is Mina herself dressed as a nun. Sister Agatha thought it best that Mina heard the whole sordid story from Harker himself about what happened with Dracula. Later on in the episode, when Harker gave Dracula permission to enter the convent, Sister Agatha and Mina hid in the prayer room.

Fortifying themselves for a final battle, they created a circle of communion wafers to keep them safe, but once again, Harker betrays them. Well, sort of, Dracula became Harker and Mina thinking their love for each other would be strong enough invited him into the circle. She was wrong, and Dracula was eyeing her like his next meal when Sister Agatha offered herself in place of Mina. So Mina caught a reprieve and escaped while leaving Dracula alone with Sister Agatha when the episode ends.