The freshman season of Blade: The Series comes to an end with the episode “Conclave.”
In the episode Marcus discovers the whereabouts of Blade’s hideout and sends a team to take out the Day walker once and for all. During the battle Blade’s ally Shen is captured and tortured for information. Meanwhile Marcus is also calling a meeting of all the pure bloods promising them power beyond their wildest dreams. What the pure bloods don’t know is that Marcus really plans on unleashing the “Aurora” virus, which is deadly to pure bloods.
I have been a big fan of this series since it started. When the idea of turning Blade into a TV series was first announced I was a bit hesitant because of the obstacles it would have to overcome in order to be somewhat decent. No Wesley Snipes, no Whistler, and about 1/3 the budget of any of the three films.
By the end of the first episode I thought “ok this is a lot better than I thought,” and by the end of the 4th episode I was a full blown fan of the series. The reason I personally like the show is because it takes you deeper into the vampire world than any of the films did. I think this is due to the fact that the show’s main character isn’t Blade, it’s Krista.
The show also does a good job of touching base on more of Blade’s back story. In the original film we learned that Blade was born to a Mother that was bitten by a vampire thus he was born half human, half vampire or as we’re told “with all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses.” In the series we are shown that as he got older Blade become more and more blood thirsty, and his parents were forced to keep him confined to his room, until the day he broke out and took a human life defending a friend of his. We’re also told that that Blade’s parents contact Abraham Whistler in an attempt to find a place for him to go where he would be given proper care. Whistler meets Blade for the first time when he is still a child, and during a botched robbery attempt at his friend’s shop Blade kills one of the would be robbers, and during the escape snaps Whistler’s leg, giving him that famous “limp” we all know from the movies.
So now that I’ve touched base on why it is I like the show, let’s get back to what I thought about the season finale.
Since they only had an hour to end the season it was pretty apparent that the episode would be non-stop action from start to finish. This episode was particularly great for a reason that most people might not have even realized….Blade didn’t wear his glasses for most of the episode. I know some of you might be saying “what? What do Blade’s glasses have to do with how good the episode is??” well let me explain.
During the course of the season Blade has worn his signature shades in almost every scene. Yes we’ve seen him without them, but for the most part he’s always sporting the glasses. In “Conclave” his glasses are broken during the attack on his hideout and apparently since his glasses are the only thing he doesn’t have a back up for, he’s forced to go “shadeless” for the remainder of the episode. This gives Kirk “Sticky” Jones the perfect opportunity the showcase some emotion with his facial expressions, which is something he hasn’t done much of.
Most of the show’s criticism has come on the shoulders of Kirk “Sticky” Jones who plays the series’ title character Blade. I guess this is to be expected since Jones is filling some pretty big shoes. Fans of the films know at least two things about the character: (1) If it weren’t for the films, Blade would still be a second rate Spider-Man character, and (2) Wesley Snipes IS Blade.
Armed with this knowledge, it was obvious that whoever was cast in the role would face an onslaught of naysayers looking for any excuse in the world to completely trash the actor and his portrayal of the Day walker.
Throughout the course of the show Jones has been solid. Is he Wesley Snipes? No he’s not, but that’s not a bad thing either. What actor wants to create a carbon copy when taking over a character from a fellow actor? Jones set out to create his own version of Blade, and that’s just what he did. Blade still kicks ass, wears shades, and is a man of few words….sounds good to me.
The episode was also great because it set up some real conflict within the vampire world. Now that Marcus (who is not a pure blood) has “ashed” all of the top pure bloods from the various houses, he’s going to be looking over his shoulder for awhile with the knowledge that the remaining pure bloods want him dead.
I am REALLY hoping that Spike TV renews Blade: The Series for a second season. Not only do I want to see Blade continue to kick vampire ass, but I want to see what happens between Marcus and Krista now that he knows she’s been working for Blade behind his back.
Hopefully, we’ll get a season DVD set in the near future.