Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2.TheCastlevaniafranchise might revolve around theBelmont family’s exploitsthroughout the generations, but Netflix’s adaptation of thelong-running video game serieswouldn’t be nearly as compelling without its ensemble cast. Maria Renard (Pixie Davies), the adopted sister ofCastlevania: Nocturneprotagonist Richter Belmont (Edward Bluemel), has one of the most engaging and complex arcs as Season 2 mercilesslyshifts her from an idealistic, fiery teenage revolutionary into a grieving daughter fueled by vengeance, who viscerally experiences the self-destructive danger of indulging those negative emotions. By the season’s end, Maria learns to overcome her darker instincts and gains a deeper understanding of her unique magic along the way. However,Season 2’s finale indicates that her anger and the poisonous temptations associated with it haven’t been fully dispensed with. Combined with the untapped potential inherent to her rare abilities, Maria’s future offers even more tantalizing storytelling possibilities. In other words, ifNocturneleaves Maria’s arc on that cliffhanger, we’re going to have some stern — but still loving — words.
‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Season 2 Puts Maria on a Complex Moral Path
Castlevania: Nocturne’s first seasonestablishes Maria as a courageous character who champions freedom, justice, and equality for everyday people experiencing systematic oppression by the French monarchy. Hand-in-hand with her convictions, which sometimes necessitate violence, lies atender heart. When one of the creatures Maria summons from different realms dies in battle for the first time, she grieves its loss. That same magic is impressive enough to catch the eye of the villainousErzsebet Báthory(Franka Potente), who plans to turn Maria into a vampire and weaponize her powers for Erzsebet’s benefit. Instead, Tera (Nastassja Kinski), Maria’s beloved mother, offers herself up as avampire servantin her daughter’s stead.
That profound loss, combined with the knowledge thather father is the Abbot(Richard Dormer), a local religious figure whom she despises, temporarily thrusts Maria down the troubling path Season 2 depicts. Her pull between the “good” she’s spent her young life aiming to uphold and the well of bleak emotions brought on by grief, fear, and anger plays intoCastlevania’s biggest strengths: namely, the murky morality surrounding whatdefines an individual as “evil,“and whether love can redeem someone’s past flaws. For Maria specifically, the French Revolution is already violent; just look at the spectacle they make of those bloody beheadings. Even after she learns to draw her magic from love instead of hate, Maria considers these public executions acceptable. In her words, the aristocracy deserves lethal punishment, just like the Abbot deserves his fatal fate. The Maria of Season 1 likely believed the same, butmurdering her own father undoubtedly colors her perspectivegoing forward — and it gives one enough pause to wonder what other moral obstacles might challenge her in the future.
Why Are Maria and Old Man Coyote Connected in ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’?
Although not a Speaker like her mother,Maria’s ability to summon interdimensional creaturesand use themin battletechnically makes her a witch. Although she draws these animals from another plane of existence, she knows next to nothing about that realm and why she can access it. It’s an ability thatCastlevania’s other magic users haven’t displayed thus far. Even more fascinating, the moral temperament of the animals Maria summons seems inseparable from her emotions. When the loss of her mother and her rage at her father’s culpability prompts her to naively kill the latter, Maria can’t control the dragon that emerges from her magic portal — and this grim moment is also whenNocturnefirst introduces the shadowy, shifting figure that swallows up her father’s corpsewith a wicked grin.
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Once this unsettling figure makes its debut, it keeps persistently reappearing, haunting our heroes' heels up untilNocturne’s ominous cliffhanger. As Tera watches her daughter from afar,the dark presence hovers behind her and places a hand on her shoulder, growing taller and taller as Tera adopts an eerily cruel but almost deliriously vacant expression. Olrox (Zahn McClarnon) calls the figure Old Man Coyote, a creator and trickster god from the mythology of the Crow tribe;Nocturneseems to have interpreted its version ofOld Man Coyote as a threatwith direct ties to Maria. Did the young revolutionary awaken an evil force from another dimension — a demon, Death, or something even worse? When Olrox reassures Mizrak (Aaron Neil) that the latter man isn’t the creature’s target, does that mean it has designs upon Maria? Everything about Maria’s Season 2 journey and destination tees up a plot with enough threads to span a full season exploring her moral conflict, the source of her powers, and the profoundly creepy form targeting the Renard women. Netflix, I’m waiting for thatSeason 3 renewalannouncement.
Castlevania: Nocturneis available to stream on Netflix.
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Castlevania: Nocturne
Richter Belmont, a descendant of the legendary vampire-hunting family, takes center stage as he confronts a resurgence of nightmarish creatures threatening humanity. Set in a richly detailed gothic universe, the series follows Richter’s journey as he hones his combat skills, discovers hidden truths about his lineage, and allies with other hunters. Each episode weaves together thrilling battles and deep lore, showcasing the relentless fight against the sinister forces that lurk in the shadows.
