The Castlevania Ending Explained!

The final season of Castlevania has dropped! Talk about a heavy, climactic conclusion… Certainly, It's Been a Strange Ride (wink) That's the name of the last episode. Anyway, let's break it down! I'm Jacki Jing with Anime News Network and this is Castlevania's Ending Explained. Before we begin though, please subscribe to our YouTube Page, hit that notification bell and follow us on social media!

Set the scene! Dracula's floating castle is under attack, and finally our three protagonists are reunited. Alucard informs Trevor and Sypha of the present situation, that “vampires and night creatures are trying to kill a castle full of human refugees, and a madman upstairs.” Really, can't sum it up better than that.

The three slash, hack, burn, electrify and freeze their way through swarms of monsters, including giant rock creatures and a laser-spitting dinosaur with omnivorous dentia (to name a couple).

All the while, Varney's strongest warriors (led by Dragan) bring the Rebis to Saint Germain and Varney transforms into The Alchemist, revealing that he has been fooling Saint Germain all along, “guiding” him, and he is truly, Death incarnate himself. Was it just me or was he giving off some serious Berserk Void vibes? We all know Executive Producer Adi Shankar loves Berserk. So, possibly, some influence there.

Death explains that his “treasure” has been stolen. Dracula was going to bring death to the world and Death is only “a spirit, a function of the world” that cannot raise armies and “can't fight a world teeming with life and bleed it to death.”

Death explains that actual death *is* his meat, his sustenance -- and only human hands can reach into hell, thus why he needs Saint Germain. Saint Germain doesn't grasp the concept of the Rebis, and Death explains that if Dracula and Lisa are both trapped in the Rebis, Dracula will go insane, trapped in it with his screaming wife and “his rage will known no bounds' leading to endless murder.”

Death threatens that Saint Germain will never see his love again if he stops the process and Saint Germain continues to use death magic to manipulate the portal to the Infinite Corridor, determined to resurrect Dracula and Lisa from Hell into the Rebis.

Meanwhile, Trevor, Alucard and Sypha think they've almost made it to Saint Germain, but Dragan's motley crew of demonic vampires stands in their way. The trio throws everything they got at them and manages to pick them off, bringing us to a 3 v. 1 battle against Dragan. Their onslaught of attacks are defended well by Dragan, and he manages to take Trevor out of the battle by ripping off his arm which explodes on impact. Sypha uses this opening though to torch Dragan with a wall of fire and Alucard slices him in half.

The three almost reach Saint Germain and then Death puts up a wall. Trevor identifies Death from past Belmont literature and puts together that Death was likely hiding in Dracula's Court, trying to keep Dracula alive and thriving so he could feast. Death's plan is to bring Dracula back alive, even crazier and angrier in the Rebis form, so he would create more death and destruction for Death to feed upon. They try to break through, but Saint Germain successfully pulls Dracula and Lisa from hell into the Rebis. Dracula and Lisa let out torturous screams as the Rebis takes life.

Trevor eventually knocks down the wall with his whip, he sprints full speed as the floor collapses beneath him, he tosses holy water into the air and throws his four-bladed cross, spiraling rapidly, it pierces the holy water and the combined attack destroys the Rebis. Dracula and Lisa's spirits are freed at that point and now are back in the real world.

Now, all that's left is Death. This fight is for Trevor, and Trevor alone. He explains to Sypha he must do this and to not* name their child Trefor. Death seems overpowered and the fight mirrors old NES/SNES final boss battles, with a gigantic Death swiping his arm, knocking Trevor over easily and repeatedly. Trevor gets an opening and activates his blade, he jumps off a cliff from floating stone to floating stone and digs the blade right into the center of Death's forehead and all we see is a bright white explosion followed by silence.

Next, we see Hector and Lenore, a prisoner now after Isaac and his night creatures killed Carmilla and took over her lair (Isaac is apparently now a very cheerful leader). Lenore and Hector discuss the differences between strength and power and what the desire for power leads to and how it ruined Lenore's life. She explains to Hector that she does not want to live like this and decides for her final moment she wants to see “what's so special about the sun you keep talking about”. She asks what he'll do next before she walks outside and he tells her he will write a book. He follows her out. With her last breath, she scoffs and says “Is that's all there is to it? Hector, you are a silly man.” She disintegrates in front of his eyes.

Back at Dracula's castle, the sun has risen and shines bright as the refugees rebuild. Alucard and Greta have a friendly chat and it's inferred there's a budding romance. Then we see Sypha getting ready to leave. She reveals to Alucard that she's pregnant and ready to return home to her people. Alucard and Greta beg her to stay in the Village that will be called, aptly, Belmont. She decides to stay and starts spouting off plans to improve things already, critiquing Alucard for not tying down horses. But that horse slowly approaching is carrying an ominous hooded man. Sypha runs up and the man falls in her arms, and it is no other than Trevor himself. Alive -- and still full of one liners. I will certainly miss Trevor and Sypha's married couple banter. #relationshipgoals
But how in the heck did Trevor survive? Executive Producer Kevin Kolde says the answer? “The magic of animation. But really, there's a moment in the climactic, big fight between Trevor and Death, where you see Saint Germain touches the key that he used to open the portal into the Infinite Corridor, right as Trevor winds up his final blow against Death. So, Saint Germain is able to open the corridor one last time and Trevor is transported into the Infinite Corridor and then found his way out, per his explanation in Episode 10, on the banks of the Danube.”

I asked “So, basically, it was Saint Germain's last act in his dying moment?” Kolde said “Correct. We try not to draw too much attention to it, but you see his finger fall and touch the key just as Trevor is going in for the kill.” I honestly did NOT catch that the first time. But def happens. Was I the only one who missed that?

Where you going? The finale ain't over yet! We see Dracula and Lisa Tepes check into an inn. A second chance. Both of them are a little confused, but are grateful. So, I don't know if anyone else was disappointed by this but there's no family reunion with Alucard. I asked Kolde why? He said “I think in their minds Alucard's been through enough. He's had a rough go of it and he needs time to find himself and process -- he's been under the shadow of them and what's happened to them or what he's done to them for quite some time and they just want to give him the ability to live his own life.”

Dracula and Lisa decide to travel, their first stop being in London, and they lovingly embrace and embrace their “brand new future together” END SCENE!!

In the past, Castlevania has been gory, ruthless and brutal, but we saw themes of forgiveness and peace in this last season. I asked Kolde why they decided to go this route?

He explained that “Ultimately, we are trying for happy endings and sometimes we get them, sometimes we don't. Some of our characters had them and some of them didn't. Specifically, Lenore, it's really sad, but Lenore made a choice and you have to respect the choice that she made. She made it from a clear head. If you read the internet, there's a whole faction of people that want Lenore to die horribly -- I don't know -- it's one of my favorite moments in Episode 10, the whole interaction between Hector and Lenore. It's super bittersweet, I think people will draw from it what they will, but she felt like it was her time and she didn't want to live in the circumstances she was presented with.”

What did you think of Lenore's death? What'd you think of the ending of this epic show? Is anyone else sad that Alucard didn't get to see Mom and Dad? Comment Below and don't forget to subscribe to Anime News Network and follow us on social media.