![]() As soon as the pounding heartbeat becomes audible while the four drive away in the reacquired Wanda, it’s clear we’re listening through Vanessa’s ears, and she believes Axel is still alive. Nevertheless, he is alive, and despite any reticence to accept this as believable, even within the context of a vampire tale, some good does come out of it. So when Axel turns out to be only “mostly dead,” perhaps we should try to imagine the terror one faces when buried alive and then be happy that such a formidable and likable character will still be around to fight the looming evil. Nobody cares if Jason or Freddy keeps coming long after they should be dead, or if innocent characters keep making bad choices, because within the context of the horror genre, these actions are perfectly acceptable. We hate Sam now and want him dead in the same way that we love and admire Axel Miller and mourn his death.Įven so, the entertainment landscape has changed, and though Van Helsing chronicles the hero’s journey of Vanessa, it is, at its heart, a horror story. If there are no real stakes for the characters, then any emotional investment in them seems pointless. “Mankind lost a great soldier today.” And herein lies Van Helsing’s greatest obstacle. Watching the four pallbearers carry his body to the freshly dug grave and Julius’ insistence that someone say something meaningful is crushing. That said, after Sam’s difficult to justify getaway in “Save Yourself,” no matter how much Axel means to the show, his resurrection after the heartbreaking burial scene borders on disingenuous. To ignore the inner struggle she’s experiencing over her set of circumstances and rebuke her for every questionable decision she makes seems patently unfair. We needed to see this side of her to remember that whatever she is, whatever she’s become, at her core, she’s still a human being. It’s a moving scene as we wait to see if history will repeat itself, and when it doesn’t, and Axel is restored, it’s satisfying to see Vanessa smile again. She finally articulates her reluctance to turn Axel a bit more clearly here, and as hardened has she’s become, even she can see the desperation in his eyes as he holds a gun to his head. Of course it’s convenient to forget the perilous road she’s traveled, and that her followers look to her for guidance and answers even though she’s just as lost as they are. ![]() ![]() One of the things I love about Van Helsing is how complicated Vanessa has become, and even though she’s the show’s hero, it’s sometimes difficult to like her.
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