Original Airdate (NBC): November 1, 2013
Welcome back to Dracula, ladies and gentlemen. The premiere episode’s ratings were solid, so it looks like our beloved Count is staying put for the time being.
Alexander Grayson is out for a stroll. It isn’t hard for him to catch the eye of women passerby.
We flash back to Romania in 1881 immediately after Van Helsing resurrected Dracula from his tomb. Once the shackles have been removed, Dracula lunges at Van Helsing, but Van Helsing is prepared. He pins the Count to the ground with a crucifix-shaped dagger, which means that he can only lay there and listen to Van Helsing. A ray of sun pours down from the ceiling, offering an added safeguard for Van Helsing’s well being. Van Helsing knows who Dracula is. He is the former ruler of Wallachia, also known as Vlad Tepes and Vlad the Impaler, but he’s most known by the name Dracula. Van Helsing needs his help to defeat the Order of the Dragon. The Order has killed Van Helsing’s wife and children, and though he has means, he lacks the ability to take the order down for good. He knows that Dracula lost his wife to the Order, which is why he seeks out his help. Dracula listens intently, and he agrees to help. Once Van Helsing removes the dagger from Dracula’s foot, Dracula finishes feeding on the unsuspecting thief.
Back in the present, a few of the questions from last week are answered as Van Helsing draws blood from Grayson’s arm. Van Helsing comments that it’s similar to drawing blood from a corpse. As he works, Van Helsing criticizes Grayson’s lack of common sense. The death of Lord Clive has attracted attention, and there is talk of a vampire in London. And with the death of the huntsman, the rumor is confirmed. Evidently, the primary goal of the Van Helsing/Dracula duo was to introduce geomagnetic power to Londoners and force the Order of the Dragon into financial ruin. Grayson says he can handle it, but he’s grown tired of being poked with Van Helsing’s needles. Apparently, the good doctor has been working to ease Grayson’s aversion to sunlight, and Van Helsing thinks it’s funny that the Count has been through so much but can’t tolerate the poke of a few needles. Truly, though, Grayson can’t.
Lucy makes her way to Alistair as he prepares to enter the fencing match. She bestows her three ribbons upon him, much to her mother’s dismay, but Lucy insists that he will win. Her mother reminds her that Alistair is facing the reigning champion, who also happens to be Lord Davenport’s son. Not to worry, though–she made a wager he can’t possibly pass up. Meanwhile, Mina rushes in. She’s late because she had an accident in the lab while practicing her surgical technique, but the accident allowed her a change to stitch up her own hand. Most of it, anyway. Above them, Lady Jayne discusses the vampire situation, believing that the vampire has been chased into the ground. She intends to investigate herself, rather than call in another huntsman. Lord Davenport’s son makes quick work of Alistair, and while Lucy frowns, the bill is brought to the table and Jonathan is frustrated that Lucy’s mother pays for them and he can’t afford it. And by the look of it, Lucy is cooking up some trouble given the way she watches him squirm suddenly.
At The Inquisitor headquarters, Jonathan tells his roommate that he didn’t get the raise he was hoping for, which means that he’ll probably be an old man by the time he can afford to ask Mina to marry him.
Lord Laurent arrives at Grayson’s manor, and Grayson introduces the Lord to Renfield, explaining that they are the co-chairs of the coolant board. Coolant is what Grayson was after in last week’s episode, as he needs it to cool the generators that create the geomagnetic electricity. Laurent tries to heavy hand Grayson, telling him that he’s in a hurry. Grayson gets to the point and says that he’s unhappy with their business relationship, namely, having a business partner. Laurent is all too happy to buy out Grayson’s shares, but Grayson is more interested in buying out Laurent’s shares. Laurent doesn’t even look at the offer. “You see, Renfield, not interested,” Grayson drawls as soon as Laurent returns the unopened offer.
Renfield stops the car in front of The Inquisitor’s office. He can’t help but wonder why Grayson is intent on using Jonathan Harker as a tool to bring Mina closer to him. Grayson says that he couldn’t bear to lose her twice, so he must bring her into his world somehow, but he’s not willing to do it by force. To make her what he is would be an “abomination.” I think it’s fascinating that this version of Dracula has such an interesting moral code. Even he says that it might seem strange for someone like him to feel that way, but to him, it would be wrong.
Renfield goes inside to fetch Harker, and they all go for a drive. Grayson knows that Jonathan benefitted from their interview, but he was not given the raise. He says there’s nothing wrong with ambition. They stop for a brief business call. They’re at Lord Clive’s house, and a realtor meets them at the door. After a quick tour, Grayson launches into his plan. He needs a VP of Public Relations to help him navigate British society. He was pleased with Jonathan’s knowledge of Lord Clive’s gambling habits, which helped Grayson to negotiate a deal with the lord’s widow. Renfield has signed the paperwork, and Grayson offers the key to Jonathan. After all, Grayson’s attaché can’t live in a “hovel” while they work together. Jonathan is speechless, so Grayson gives him until Monday to make up his mind. There is also a very generous salary that comes with the job. As they leave the still speechless Jonathan on the front steps, Grayson tosses him the keys and tells him to lock up. Jonathan Rhys Meyers does a great job playing up the American side of Dracula.
Jonathan and Mina walk through the shops. She’s fretting over her surgical skills, and the cardiovascular system is the most complex system they have studied. Mina worries that her shortcomings will preclude her from being Van Helsing’s protégé. She quickly realizes that Jonathan hasn’t heard a word she’s said, and that’s when he tells her about Grayson’s offer. His fear is that it’s too good to be true, and that it’s suspicious that there’s no public record of him prior to a decade beforehand. Mina points out that everything he touches turns to gold, and his early fortune was made on the American frontier where they didn’t keep many records. She threatens to kick Jonathan if he doesn’t accept the offer.
Lady Jayne enters a bar and opium club to find the Seers. They’re in a room in the back getting high off of a hookah. They don’t think they’re ready to look for a vampire. Lady Jayne disagrees.
Lords Laurent presents Grayson’s offer to Mr. Browning. He also tells him that Grayson has tried to buy all of their coolant supply. Browning is glad that Laurent refused the offer, and he also cautions that allowing the idea of geomagnetic electricity to get into the imaginations of the city would be dangerous. Therefore, any member of the Order who does business with Grayson will face consequences.
Lady Jayne presses Grayson about his demonstration, calling the party a cotillion. Grayson agrees that he was the belle of the ball. She absolutely needs to know how he did it. He replies that he can’t give away his secrets, but he has been known to dabble in magic and the occult. He spins a coin on a plate, and as it spins he stands behind her. The coin disappears suddenly, and when she asks where it went, he kisses her ear and tells her. She laughs. He asks if they should show the butler, so poor Jenkins is excused. They move into the bedroom, where they make love before a roaring fire. Grayson seems to be a good lover, but when he looks at Jayne, he’s imagining Mina in her place.
It’s a stormy day as Mina heads to her destination. Renfield stops her so that Grayson can pop his head out of his carriage and offer her a ride. She asks Renfield if it’s proper for a woman to go unaccompanied in a man’s carriage. “To tell you the truth, ma’am, I don’t believe my employer ever gave a damn about what’s proper,” Renfield replies. Mina beams. She hands Grayson her books and gets inside. She says that only she can sully her own reputation.
Jonathan’s roommate says he’s insane not to accept Grayson’s offer. Jonathan thinks he has an agenda for choosing him specifically. He thinks the offer feels wrong, but he doesn’t know why.
The carriage travels the streets as Grayson asks Mina if she discussed his offer with Jonathan. He laughs tightly when she told him about her threat to kick him. Changing the subject, he asks what she’s studying. She tells the story of being the daughter of the head doctor in London and how everyone asked if she wanted to grow up to be a nurse. She’d insist as a child that she wanted to be a doctor as well, and she says it was cute until she was about fourteen. “So what?” Grayson says, telling her that those two words are the most effective way to block any kind of criticism. She admits being nervous about an exam that day that could shatter her dreams. Grayson says that when it comes to dreams, “one may falter, but the only way to fail is to abandon them.” She stares in awe at him, and then she gives him a big smile as she gets out of the carriage. Ah, Alexander Grayson, you smooth talker….
Mina prepares for the exam. The cadaver is on the table and she picks up the scalpel, repeating Grayson’s mantra as she works. She completes her work and delivers her diagnosis as the dissected heart sits on a plate. Grayson watches from the shadows as the attending physicians listen to her recitation and give her a round of applause.
The Seers use the round mirror to see the vampire. Grayson has left the hospital and is walking down the street. As they hone in on him, he turns and looks at them through the mirror, sending them scrambling away as the mirror shatters and drips silvery blood. Jayne catches up to Browning and delivers the report. Such retaliation is unheard of, unless they’re dealing with a very old vampire. Browning wants to know that they will be able to contain him. She vows to destroy him with or without the Seers.
Jonathan returns home to his dingy apartment to be presented with a bill from the landlady. At that precise moment, Mina and Lucy descend the stairs and Mina shares her news that she not only passed, but she’s at the top of her class. Lucy is taking them for a meal at the Savoy. Jonathan makes an excuse about having a deadline, but Lucy interjects that it’s her treat.
Apparently, that incident with Lucy is enough to push Jonathan to accept Grayson’s offer. Grayson is delighted, telling him that “you will call me Alexander, and I will call you Harker.” He insists that he never does anything that doesn’t please him, which is something that Renfield agrees with. The first line of business for Jonathan is to tell Grayson everything he knows about Laurent. At first Jonathan gives Grayson the obvious information, but upon being pressed, Jonathan says that Grayson can learn everything he needs to know at 10pm at the local club.
Grayson gains entrance to the private club, and he soon finds Lord Laurent cavorting with Lord Davenport’s son, Daniel, the fencing champion. Grayson approaches the happy couple as they finish sharing a passionate kiss. Grayson insists that he has no issue with who people choose to love, but in this case, both men stand to lose a lot if they are exposed. Of course, this grabs their attention.
Jonathan tells his friends that he plans to propose to Mina. His friends laugh that she doesn’t fit the mold of a traditional English wife, but Jonathan informs them that things will change once they’re married. Mina happens to walk in as he’s explaining that the silly university nonsense will cease. She rushes out and he runs to catch up to her. She says he has never been supportive of her. She doesn’t want anything to do with him.
Grayson sits alone in a restaurant and watches as the patrons file out after finishing their meals. When the last guests leave, he approaches the hostess, Sinead, who says she can’t return his coat if he hasn’t got a stub. He can always buy another coat, though. Right now she needs to be his next meal. As he feeds on the girl in the alley, Lady Jayne hunts the vampire. He’s miles ahead of her, though, and disappears when she finds the girl. What an interesting cat and mouse game these two are sharing.
And that brings us to the end of tonight’s episode. I appreciate the fact that we’re learning so much so quickly. Next week’s episode takes us back four hundred years to witness the birth of the legend. Personally, I can‘t wait to see it. I think the writers have done a brilliant job recreating a familiar story and presenting it in a whole new light. What did you think? Leave your comments below!
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