Who can stand against Dracula? Almost every Castlevania game pits the player against the iconic Dark Lord, who hovers dismissively above all other vampires. He’s been so iconic for so long that every medium has multiple iconic versions of the character. Netflix’s Castlevania depicted Dracula with some humanity, bringing moving new dimensions to the villain. The series introduced antagonists to mirror and enhance Dracula, including the mighty Queen of Styria, Carmilla.
Netflix’s Castlevania is likely the most coherent story in the franchise. Most classic games rely entirely on a few text blocks and environmental details. Symphony of the Night is celebrated for its gameplay and presentation, but its narrative is less compelling. The most recent entries add cutscenes, but they tend to be more generic. Adi Shankar’s Bootleg Universe gave the fanbase the most engaging iteration of the classic Dracula-hunting experience.
Who is Carmilla in the Castlevania games?
Carmilla is a boss who has appeared in several Castlevania games dating back to 1987. She enjoys several unique designs and fighting styles. The early games were somewhat famous for borrowing characters from classic stories and adapting them with little concern for their original presentation. She’s introduced as a reference to Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel of the same name, which predated Dracula as the first vampire novel. Carmilla’s first appearance came in Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. The guide refers to her as “Female Vampire” or “Vampira,” but her name is hidden in one of the game’s clue books. Castlevania II depicts her as a floating mask with a glinting gem in its eye socket. She attacks by crying fireballs. Her first appearance is among her most iconic, as it later appeared preferentially in games like Super Smash Bros. Ulitmate.
Carmilla returned for Castlevania: Rondo of Bloodand Dracula X. She discovered her most routinely revisited appearance in those titles. She appears as a beautiful, scantily clad woman, sometimes a succubus, lounging atop a massive human skull. The skull cries bloody tears, which act much like the fireballs of her Castlevania II iteration. Her story usually involves resurrecting Dracula, a detail she shares with most Castlevania villains. She returned for Castlevania: Judgement, the ill-fated fighting game. That game gave her a body, branding her a sexualized succubus type. Circle of the Moon grants Carmilla her most notable in-game spotlight, but it and several other entries misspell her name as “Camilla.”
Who is Carmilla in the Castlevania series?
Netflix’s Carmilla adopts scant elements of her in-game appearance, but most of her presentation is invented for the show’s more complex narrative. She joins the plot in season two as Dracula prepares to launch his genocidal rampage against humanity in single-minded revenge for his wife’s death. She becomes one of Dracula’s generals, each of whom brings an army to enhance Dracula’s forces. She’s the lone dissenter and most skilled manipulator among his ragtag bunch. Carmilla sees Dracula’s scheme as short-sighted and anger-driven. She gradually pulls support from Dracula by demonstrating his mounting madness and suggesting an alternative strategy. While Dracula wants humanity wiped clean from the Earth, Carmilla promises to keep a reasonable supply as livestock to satiate the vampires’ need for blood. She’s shrewd, calculating, and cruel. Though her introduction paints her as a high-minded rival to Dracula, she has more in common with the iconic final boss than she lets on. Her succinct admission came in season four with this line:
The first part of my life was men taking things from me. And then I took their lives. And their things. And their homes. And then we took Styria. After which we formed our little enclave. We tried not to do more harm. We tried to make a home. And when the wolf people came from the north, and the armies from the west, and every other bastards came for us. And we asked for help. What did the rest of the vampire world say? “Bloody women,” they said. “Let them die,” they said. So I’m going to take everything from everybody.
Carmilla was traumatized by the unnamed older man who sired her. Her grudge against him extends and morphs into a vicious, burning hatred of all men. Carmilla despises Dracula, but her intentions are no more noble or practical than his. She lies to her fellow vampires, stringing them along with promises of a sensible solution. Her schemes fall apart as Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard wipe out the other generals and eventually slay Dracula. Though she and her allies leash one of Dracula’s Forgemasters, ensuring a steady supply of undead monsters, Carmilla loses support every day. The facade falls away when Isaac, the Forgemaster she couldn’t convince, strikes back. Isaac shatters Carmilla’s feigned sanity, defeats her in combat, and assures her that her death is for the best. Carmilla succumbs to her unhinged nature and takes her own life, madly proclaiming herself the victor as she dies.
Carmilla evolved from a floating mask to a nightmarish three-dimensional character. Her small-screen iteration is simultaneously one of the most complex and straightforward presences in the series. She’s a chaotic dark mirror of Dracula’s downfall, representing something beyond vengeful madness. And yet, the familiar bloody tear she shares before she dies still evokes strong emotions. Carmilla deserved the immense upgrade she got, even though nothing would be enough for her.
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