Dracula based on the book by Bram Stoker is brought to life by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.
In this first episode we meet Dracula (Claes Bang) as first an old man but we see him become younger and younger and more British as he spends time with lawyer Jonathan (John Heffernan). We are constantly cutting between Johnathan retelling his version of events to Sister Agatha (Dolly Wells) and us seeing what he is saying. We discover what Dracula has been hiding in the secret rooms of his castle which results in Johnathan dying yet still being alive. Near the end we see Dracula coming to the convent where Johnathan has run to and killing most of the nuns. We end this episode with Sister Agatha and Mina (Morfydd Clark) being cornered by Dracula and we are unsure whether they will survive.
We learn that the myths of vampires we have learnt or discovered in other shows is true like they don't like sunlight; have no reflection and they need to be invited in to enter a building. Claes Bang as Dracula puts on a fantastic performance as this iconic and well-known character. Bang makes us fear but also appreciate the complex nature of this terrifying character who is manipulative and smarter than we realise. He is a true master of evil and darkness. We fear what he might do next but we admire the lengths he goes to so he can get what he wants. It is exciting to see what more Bang can bring to this character in the next episode.
Heffernan as the lawyer Jonathan who all the events in this episode happen to. We see Johnathan begin as a lawyer with a beautiful fiancée but we see him end as an undead creature transitioning into a vampire inviting Dracula into the convent. Heffernan is remarkable as this character; he begins as the victim and ends up being the cause of the problems. We aren't sure what is the outcome of this character at the end of this episode. We see him die and then in the early stages of transitioning into a vampire after tasting Mina's blood. He then sees the monster he is becoming and attempts to kill himself by a stake through the heart. We see Dracula attempt to make a deal that he will kill him if he invites him in. Unsure whether Jonathan is actually dead now remains to be seen in the next episode but Heffernan did a great job is portraying this character in a way that helps the audience understand the story of Dracula.
This first episode is full of blood and guts. It is extremely gruesome and dark but it works as the story of Dracula is scary and full of guts and gore. We hoped that this episode would be dark but it was much darker than we expected yet it made this episode exciting to watch. A moment in particular is when Dracula transforms into his human body from the form of a wolf is quite difficult to watch as it is very explicit and gory. Even when he tears away the human flesh from his disguise to reveal his real face this is difficult to watch but it also interesting. It shows how good the CGI and the prosthetics of this show are as they are completely realistic and believable.
This episode is an amazing first episode in this adaptation of a classic and one of the most well-known villains. Gatiss and Moffat have done a great done in making us fear this character but also intrigued into wanting to know what his next move will be. He always seems to get what he wants and will he ever be stopped? A great start which will hopefully carry onto the next episode full of darkness, gore and mystery.
