Vampire Academy Season 1 Episodes 1-4 Review: Intriguing Politics, Lovable Characters, Intense World-building, and a Few Concerns
Vampire Academy Season 1 Episodes 1-4 give us a decent introduction to the world of the Moroi vampires, Dhampir guardians, and Strigoi. For those unfamiliar with the books, there is a lot of information to process.
The brief terminology overview at the beginning of the episodes definitely helps, but it’s not enough when there’s so much info-dumping. In addition to understanding the general mechanics and traditions of the world, we’re also thrown into the various nuances of court politics along with Lissa.
The show trusts us to be able to follow along and put the pieces together, which is nice at times, but we could’ve benefitted from a bit more of an explanation. Hopefully, most of the worldbuilding is behind us, and the rest of the series doesn’t require doing a lot of mental gymnastics as we try to keep up.
The world of Vampire Academy is rich though, and you can tell there are so many stories that can be told in future seasons. I’m definitely already sold on this premise and don’t want the show to end anytime soon.
One thing that is abundantly clear in these first four episodes is that Lissa and Rose are the heart of the show. It’s impossible not to fall in love with them and root for them to get the future they’ve always wanted.
Rose: Guardians are raised to be tough. It’s the only way to survive, especially as a woman, and I am tough, but I have seen what battle can do to people. Lissa keeps my heart in the right place. She always has a kind word or a compassionate ear for anyone who needs it. She’s everything good and everything right, and she’s my family.
Vampire Academy Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” mentions various ways that Lissa has skirted the rules to bring Rose with her everywhere she goes. From attending balls to rooming together, they are inseparable, court politics be damned. It’s clear that they would do anything for each other.
Through Rose and Lissa, we’re able to get a good look at the two main classes of the show: the Moroi royalty and the Dhampir guardians.
The characters and storylines are a bit more captivating on the guardian side due to the comradery between the guardian novices and the competition element. Rose and Dimitri’s insane chemistry doesn’t hurt either.
Somehow, Lissa doesn’t have any friends at St. Vladimir’s aside from Rose, which doesn’t quite make sense. The main person around her age that we see her spend significant time with is Christian. If we’re being honest, I don’t trust him, and I don’t understand why Lissa does.
He lurks around in the dark and shows off during their first meeting, and somehow that’s enough to win Lissa over. Aside from the save at the selection ceremony, Christian doesn’t do anything to earn Lissa’s trust.
Yes, he is forbidden due to his parents’ poor decision-making, so there should be some thrill watching Lissa and Christian fall for each other, but there’s not. It’s baffling that she’s enamored with him.
At least Vampire Academy Season 1 Episode 3, “Death Watch,” addresses the issue through Rose, but it’s not enough.
The connection over losing parents is a great reason to bond, but what would’ve been better is if we had seen Lissa struggle to connect with her own friends or if there was some awkwardness there once she returned after her family’s deaths.
Then, she and Christian could have instantly clicked, and we would’ve seen how Christian understands her better than other people in her life. Instead, I’m simply waiting for him to betray everyone for his parents, which seems like a real possibility.
Vampire Academy has set up an intriguing mystery with Lissa’s spirit element powers and her mind link with Rose. However, the show hasn’t handled either all that well so far.
Right when we are finally going to start looking into Lissa and Rose’s mind link, the focus is suddenly shifted to Lissa’s new ability to get people to do what she wants. The show pushes aside one mystery to focus on another.
The assumption is that both of these things are tied to Lissa’s spirit element powers, but the show hasn’t made the connection yet. Rose also hasn’t had a mind link episode since telling Lissa about it on Vampire Academy Season 1 Episode 2, “Earth. Air. Water. Fire.”
Rose either needs to have one on Vampire Academy Season 1 Episode 5, “Near Guard Far Guard,” or someone needs to bring it back up again. It is made into such a big deal prior to the compulsion discovery that it doesn’t make sense for the show to ignore it.
Vampire Academy needs to fix the pacing of these mysteries otherwise it will become a bigger issue as the season progresses. In addition to the pacing, the how and why the compulsion and the mind link happen haven’t been expressly explored yet.
From what we can tell, Rose slips into Lissa’s mind when Lissa is in a heightened emotional state, whether it’s a panic attack or a make-out session. The environment around when Lissa compels people is less clear.
She appears to knowingly use it during Vampire Academy Season 1 Episode 4, “Benchmark,” suggesting that she has figured out how to control it, but we don’t see her trying to master it. She simply does it.
There are still some issues to work out with both of these mysteries, but they are fascinating. I can’t wait to dive into Sonya’s powers and learn more about Moroi who specialized in the spirit element.
Overall, Vampire Academy Season 1 Episodes 1-4 prove that this show is worth watching. There are some issues, but between the characters and the mysteries the show has set up, I’m hooked.
Stray Thoughts
- I don’t totally hate Mia.
- Christian is the one who told Tatiana about the rule that led to Lissa not being able to be queen, right?
- The voiceover at the beginning gives off CW vibes.
- I love that the show doesn’t shy away from the darkness of the court and the traditions of the world.
- The Strigoi potentially being more capable than the Moroi/Guardians knew is fascinating, and I can’t wait to learn more.
What did you think of the first four episodes of Vampire Academy? Will you be tuning in to the rest of the season? Remember, from here on out, the show is releasing one new episode a week. Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Vampire Academy premiere Thursdays on Peacock.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).