Richter Belmont isn't Trevor. Honestly, that’s the first thing you have to wrap your head around before we even get into the weeds of this Castlevania Nocturne season 1 recap. Richter starts the show as a kid watching his mom, Julia, get her throat ripped out by a dandy vampire named Olrox. It’s brutal. It sets the tone for a series that is way more interested in the messy intersection of revolution and trauma than the original 2017 series ever was.
Fast forward to 1792. France is screaming. The Revolution is in full swing, and Richter is living in the French countryside with Tera, a speaker, and her daughter Maria Renard. Maria is basically a teenage firebrand who can summon celestial animals and wants to guillotine every aristocrat in sight. It’s a vibe. But while the humans are fighting over bread and liberty, the vampires are planning something way worse: an "Eclipsed Sun" that will let them walk in the daylight forever.
The Messiah and the Machine
The big bad this time around isn't Dracula. He's gone (or at least chilling in the afterlife). Instead, we get Erzsebet Báthory. She claims to be the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, and frankly, she’s got the power to back up the ego. She doesn't just want to rule; she wants to be God.
To do this, she needs the "Infernal Machine." This thing is a nightmare built by an Abbot who—shocker—is actually Maria’s biological father. The Church making deals with Hell? Groundbreaking. The Abbot, Emmanuel, thinks he’s saving the world from the "godless" revolutionaries by summoning Night Creatures to keep order. It’s the classic "I’m doing evil for the greater good" trope, but it hits harder here because he’s literally sacrificing his own people to feed a machine that turns souls into monsters.
The stakes are personal.
Richter is out of his depth. He’s lost his magic—his "spark"—because he's terrified. Every time he sees a vampire, he sees his mother dying. It’s a relatable bit of PTSD that keeps him from being the powerhouse we know from the Symphony of the Night games.
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When the Magic Finally Hits
The middle of the season is a slow burn. We meet Annette and Edouard. Annette is a former slave from Saint-Domingue (Haiti) who escaped using the power of her ancestors. She’s arguably the most powerful person in the group, but she’s driven by a need for vengeance against Vaublanc, the vampire who ran her plantation.
Edouard is a singer. He’s the heart of the group. And then, he dies.
It’s a gut-punch. But in Nocturne, death isn't the end. He gets shoved into the Infernal Machine and turned into a Night Creature. Except, he keeps his soul. He starts singing in the pits of the Abbot’s basement, leading a literal choir of monsters in a quiet rebellion. It’s one of the most haunting sequences in the whole franchise.
Richter eventually has his "come to Jesus" moment. He meets Juste Belmont, his grandfather, who is a broken old man living in the woods. Juste has lost everything. Seeing what happens when a Belmont gives up forces Richter to find his own strength. He doesn't just find it; he explodes. He regains his magic, dons the iconic headband, and starts whipping vampires into blue flames. It’s the fan-service moment we all waited for, and it feels earned because he had to crawl through the dirt to get there.
That Absurd Ending at the Abbey
The finale is pure chaos. The revolutionaries and our heroes storm the Abbey to stop the ritual. It goes poorly. Erzsebet Báthory arrives, and she isn't just a vampire anymore—she’s a literal titan of shadow and gold. She drinks the blood of a goddess (or whatever was in that chalice) and becomes invulnerable.
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Richter, Maria, and Annette give it everything. It’s not enough.
Tera, in an act of pure desperation to save Maria, offers herself to the Abbot and Erzsebet. She is turned into a vampire. It’s devastating. The woman who was the mother figure for the entire group is now a creature of the night, and she looks terrifying.
Our heroes are fleeing. They’re beaten. They’re running through the woods with a literal army of vampires on their heels. Just when you think they’re about to get slaughtered, a glowing sword flies through the air.
Alucard.
The son of Dracula shows up in the final thirty seconds, looking like he hasn't aged a day since 1797, and puts a sword through Drolta (Erzsebet’s right-hand woman). He looks at Richter and basically says, "I'm here to help." Roll credits.
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What This Means for Season 2
If you’re looking at this Castlevania Nocturne season 1 recap and wondering what’s next, the answer is "war." The sun is eclipsed. The "Messiah" has won the first round.
- The Alucard Factor: He is the power level jump the team needs. Richter is strong, but Alucard is a demi-god. His dynamic with a new Belmont is going to be the backbone of the next season.
- The Fate of Tera: She isn't just a vampire; she’s a vampire with Speaker magic. That makes her a nuclear threat. Maria having to fight her own mother is the emotional stakes we’re looking at.
- The Night Creature Rebellion: Edouard is still in the Abbey. He’s gathering an army of monsters with souls. This suggests that the "villains" might have an internal uprising to deal with.
The most important takeaway? Richter is finally a Belmont. He’s stopped running. The show spent eight episodes breaking him down just so it could build him back up for the inevitable rematch with Báthory. If you're jumping back into the series, keep an eye on the Abbot—his regret is palpable, and he might be the key to shutting down the Infernal Machine for good.
Get ready for the French countryside to get a lot darker before the dawn actually breaks.
Next Steps for the Viewer
- Watch the "Edouard's Song" sequences again: There are subtle hints in the lyrics about how the Night Creatures can regain their humanity.
- Track the Saint-Domingue Backstory: Annette’s connection to the Orishas (Ogun and Papa Legba) provides a different power system than the Belmonts' alchemy, which will likely be the only way to hurt a "god" like Erzsebet.
- Revisit the Original Series: Understanding Alucard's relationship with Trevor and Sypha makes his appearance here much more meaningful, especially his reaction to seeing the Belmont name live on.