First Kill Season 1 Review: It’s Not That Serious

Warning: This review contains spoilers for the entirety of First Kill Season 1.

Despite having a big name like Elizabeth Mitchell among its cast, First Kill is the kind of show you cannot take too seriously. Its special effects are cartoonish and some plot lines fall within the same category.

However, it does give us two things we desperately need on TV: women in power and a queer love story. Not everyone may agree with how the latter is done, but you can’t deny it is good that the main characters are two lesbians.

First Kill tries to give us a contemporary Romeo and Juliet. Monster-hunter daughter falls in love with the monster she is supposed to hunt. Families fight and many die trying to keep the girls apart.

The show itself references the tragic love story when Juliette and Calliope are in their school theater. The set up is ready for the high school to give a show of the famous play. Cal recites a passage, confessing she has read it one too many times.

It is Juliette who says “it sounds familiar,” pointing out how their stories may be similar. That night, they fall asleep in fake Verona.

It definitely does not stand on the same level as Shakespeare’s love story, but it does something for those who continue to look for women-loving-women representation in the media.

Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Calliope and Juliette are alive at the end of Season 1. However, their love story may be just as dead as Shakespeare’s. After transforming Cal’s brother Theo into a vampire, the girls break up and go their separate ways.

Do they really? At the end of First Kill Season 1 Episode 8, Cal is seen running towards something. We could assume their connection is still really strong and she is going after Juliette.

First Kill may not have given us the perfect teen lesbian vampire love story, but it goes where many refuse to go. Lesbian representation where one of the women does not die is definitely lacking these days.

Hopefully, the show will not go there if we get a Season 2.

First Kill does another thing not many shows seem to do: it puts women at the center of the story. This appears obvious with Juliette and Cal being the two main characters. However, it goes deeper than that.

Just like the Legacies, the show is a matriarchy. Margot Fairmont and Talia Burns are just as important as the two teenagers. They are leaders and protectors of their families.

Margot comes from a family of Legacies who have been in control of the Emerald Malkia for centuries. After Lilith’s bite, the female Legacies have been in charge of their families, passing power down to their daughters.

Although her husband is the town’s DA, Margot is the one who decides what the family does, who they relate to, and what will happen with their children.

However, when she was young, she was the one to go against the norm and marry a human. She later turned him into a vampire, but her mother’s disappointment was already there.

Now, we see Margot having to deal with a similar situation with her own daughter. Juliette has fallen in love with a human who threatens everything her family stands for.

She seems to be understanding of Juliette’s feelings but will not let her jeopardize everything she has worked for her entire life. Margot still respects tradition and will uphold it as she becomes the Keeper of the Emerald Malkia.

Margot Fairmont knows how to handle her power and does not let it get to her head. Her daughter Elinor is another story.

From the beginning of the season, we can see Elinor is proud of being a Legacy vampire, unlike her sister. She wants to get Juliette on board with the idea, trying to get her to commit her first kill and later teaching her how to feed.

What may seem sisterly love at the beginning, ends up showing its true colors. Elinor does not care about anyone but herself. She craves the power and will do anything to become the Keeper of the Emerald Malkia.

She is probably the most terrifying villain of the story and Gracie Dzienny’s portrayal is perfect for it.

The Burns may not come from a Legacy of matriarchs, but the women have the power in the family. If we pay close attention to every appearance by The Guild, we will notice it is always a woman in charge.

Just like that, Talia Burns has the upper hand in her family. At first sight, it does not look like it. They are always waiting for the father to come back or letting him decide what to do next.

However, it is Talia who faces Margot every time. It is Talia who keeps Cal in check. It is Talia who makes the decision to trust Oliver with her son.

Her superpower? Being a mother. She will fight until the end for her children, even if that means watching them become that which she dislikes the most.

I have a feeling Talia Burns will be front and center if we get Season 2.

First Kill is definitely not the perfect vampire show or the perfect queer show, but it does what it set out to be. With terrible CGI, it gives us romance, fights, and women in charge. If you do not take it seriously, it is a great show to binge-watch.

Stray Thoughts

• The soundtrack of the entire show is perfect. So perfect that it uses a song which lyrics say “our love is deeper than Edward and Bella’s.”
• The point of view change of the voice-over between Cal and Juliette works extremely well with how the episodes start and end.
• The mother-daughter relationships are very complex and fall perfectly with the idea of a matriarchy. Talia and Cal’s is a more obvious love, while Margot is an expert at hiding how much she loves her children.
• Juliette’s dilemma between living in two different worlds is something that should be explored more in-depth if we get a second season.
• The idea of there being a legacy and breaking it for love being repeated through generations is a great storyline that should be dealt with in a potential Season 2. Margot and Juliette should have better conversations about it.
• If Season 2 happens, it will be interesting to see what happens with Oliver and Theo. Will he succeed in his revenge? Or will the Fairmonts and the Burns unite against him?
• The best irony of the entire show was Elinor constantly hanging out and hunting at a bar called Wooden Stake.

What did you think of this season of First Kill? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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First Kill is currently streaming on Netflix.

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