Episode 4 features exactly what I’ve talked about wanting in the series, and mixes it with what I normally hate within a series. For example, the episode of K9 “Mind Snap” features flashbacks to previous episodes. Which seems a bit pointless, considering the 21 that go beforehand were all part of the same series. Young Dracula handles the flashback episode differently, and it might be the first example that works.
The conversations between Vlad and Erin are good. They’re all the things I normally say are wonderful about the scenes involving two people in the series (good acting, good directing, so on). The scenes with two people are so far the strongest point of the new Young Dracula series, and so episode 4 takes this and stretches it across 30 minutes. Excellent. But the conversation, in real time, would only last about ten minutes. Not good.
Which brings me onto the flashbacks. They are useful, for both a new viewer and an old viewer who has forgotten what’s happened. They’ve also stopped any need for explanation later on, which is also good. But some of them just seem a bit unnecessary, and the constant interruptions aren’t always appreciated. But some of the flashbacks are excellent, and some of them do add an extra dimension to the episode. However, are all the flashbacks needed? Including the ones from two episodes ago? Old flashbacks, a few of them, is great. Old flashback, lots of them, is good. Old flashbacks with flashbacks to more recent stuff, pointless. And it’s these ones which got in the way of the excellent scene between Vlad and Erin.
Despite, in some cases, being utterly pointless, the flashbacks did have a good use. They’ve illustrated how the series have moved on, they’ve helped a new, casual, or forgetful viewer with the series. And they’ve enabled the series to move on for the next nine episodes without looking back.
The Count, Renfield, Ingrid and Wolfie are a little… unnecessary in this episode. They again feel like another interruption, when all we really want to know is whether or not Erin is going to kill Vlad or not. (Not, I think at the minute, by the way.) But again, the scenes with the others (Count and so on) do keep Young Dracula from going into a full proper grown up interesting drama. And whether that’s a good or a bad thing, depends on the age of the viewer. So for me – the light hearted stuff isn’t really that useful. I am glad that Wolfie hasn’t been in it too much. I was worried he would dominate the series, but the scenes with him being kept to a minimum, and keeping Vlad as the main focus, is excellent.
Overall, this episode is a mixed bag. The flashbacks of the old series are useful, and they mean that from now on, the series can keep on moving forward. The conversation between Vlad and Erin is dramatic, emotional and excellent (if only it had been a little longer) and it shows promise for future episodes. (And the opening scene also indicates the kind of thing that frankly, despite it being a dream sequence, we’ve all been predicting from episode one.) The other scenes (that aren’t flashbacks) are slightly unnecessary but again, for a younger viewer, would be great. And the flashbacks of the previous episodes from THIS series… well… why?
Focussing purely on the new content in episode four – the episode was very good, and maintains the high standard already set. Episode four enables the audience and the characters to look to the future – and that’s exactly what needs to happen.
Excellent, excellent, excellent series so far.
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