Recap and Review
Episode 8 starts off innocently enough with a man alone at a firing range - nothing bad could happen right? Wrong! Bad boy Steppin' Razor returns in a big way, murdering the man and starting a killing spree of people from Blade's past. This also triggers multiple Blade flashbacks, all with Blade as a young boy learning to deal with his condition.
Before the flashbacks began, Blade and Shen discovered that the fluid from the previous episode was actually a virus that's been designed to take out a specific group of... well.. something. While they don't yet know who (or what) it targets, my guess is purebloods (can't be humans since they'd lose their food source).
Now, I had heard that this episode was going to feature flashbacks, and while I normally hate such devices, the flashbacks utilized in this episode were pretty good. They tied together Blade's past with the murders taking place, making sure to provide a great backstory while not seeming out of place. It was definitely interesting to see how Blade and his father had to try and deal with him and his thirst for blood. Bringing in a young Whistler (Blade's mentor from the movies) was a great tie in and showing how Blade was the cause of his bum leg was a nice reward for fans of the movies.
With the flashbacks ending with Blade running away as a small child, the hunt for Steppin' Razor brought Blade full circle back to his home and to his father (whom he thought dead). During the best fight scene yet, Blade matched up against Steppin' pretty evenly. Blade's father showed up at just the right time, plunging Blade's sword through both vampires, ashing Steppin' and wounding Blade. Even though his father saved his life, Blade still holds ill feelings towards his father, so they parted ways moments after seeing each other for the first time in years.
While Blade was off chasing down his past, Charlotte was busy trying to secure her future. She and her spy met up in a limosine to discuss Marcus and his hidden agendas. Unfortunately for Charlotte, her spy has come up with nothing so far. The spy did prove to be at least somewhat useful, as she brought Charlotte a gift in the form of a baby. It was disturbing to see Charlotte hold the baby and alluding to eating it, though I must admit it did add to the creepiness and cruelty of her character.
For most of the episode Krista was busy taking care of her dying mother. As was foreshadowed in the previous episode, Krista decided to take things into her own hands (and teeth), biting her mother in an effort to turn her into a vampire. Her actions didn't go unnoticed, however, as Charlotte's spy arrived just in time to catch her in the act. But before the two could start what would likely be an incredible vampire catfight, agent Ray Collins showed up with a perfect "oh shit", ending the episode.
Notable Scenes
- Young Blade beating his hand to a bloody pulp to escape.
- Blade's father thrusting the sword through both Blade and Steppin'.
- Ray Collins' "oh shit".
Closing ThoughtsAs you may have noticed by my recap and review above, I didn't really come away with as much from this episode as I have in previous episodes. Don't get me wrong, I loved the episode and all the backstory given, but with nothing really new being revealed, there's not as much to talk about.
I will say that I'm a bit disapointed with Krista deciding to try and turn her mother. I was really hoping they wouldn't take the show in that direction as I don't see Krista doing that when nearly every episode she makes it clear that she hates what she is. I understand that it would have been tough to just let her mom go when she has the ability to save her, but she should know the consequences.
It was interesting that Boone as absent again, making it two episodes in a row that he hasn't made an appearance. With Armaya now knowing of Marcus' plans, it'll be interesting to see what kind of role Boone might play in the grande scheme of things. Maybe he'll meet up with Krista's mom and they could go on a killing spree together? Naw.. that'd be too disturbing.
[tags]blade episode, sacrifice, Blade: The Series[/tags]