On episode 3 of DRACULA called, “Goblin Merchant Men,” opens with a flashback to Dracula in chains being beaten by soldiers. He fights them off as they attack him with mace and spears, kicking and assaulting. He wakes still chained in the courtyard to face a trive of men in robes. One brings forth an animal skull and drips blood all over his face. The leader then pulls a knife and slits Drac’s throat while the others chant. He falls forward, collapsing. In his death haze, he sees a woman in a white dress, glowing and walking toward him. He calls her name as he goes down for the count. He wakes chained indoors now, suspended from the ceiling 20 feet up.
A man comes in and says he’s condemned to endless nights for abusing power. He pushes him on his chains into a patch of sunlight and he burns and screams. Drac breaks his chains and bares his fangs at his tormenter.
In the present, Grayson sits plucking at the keys of his grand piano. Renfield comes in and says he didn’t know he plated. Grayson says he hasn’t played in a century and was thinking about Lady Jayne. He finds her avocation of vampire hunting very unsavory. He says she must be affiliated with the Order of the Dragon and Renfield agrees. Renfield has brought him confirmation from Laurent’s solicitor selling him the shares and making him the majority shareholder in British Imperial Coolant.
Jonathon stops his carriage as he sees Lucy emerge from hers and then gestures for it to continue. He notes she’s stopping at Mina’s and rides on by. He was pulling a drive-by stalking on his ex Mina. Lucy tells her not to give a moment’s thought to that twit and says to come have fun with her.
Jayne comes into the hospital to see Dr. Murray as the head of the mental institution (that’s Mina’s Dad I believe).
Worth is outraged that Renfield and Harker are making business demands of him. He gets snotty and Renfield tells him he’s fired. Worth tells Renfield that he’s nothing more than a rich man’s novelty. Renfield delivers the news that he speaks for the new majority shareholder of the firm. Worth backs down, agrees to whatever they were asking and calls Renfield “sir.” Renfield chews Jonathon out for not being more assertive and being distracted in the meeting. He also tells him never to presume to defend him again.
Van Helsing is asked to blend a stimulant by Dr. Murray. He tells him it’s for Lady Jayne. Van Helsing reports to Grayson and they think she wants it for the Seers. Grayson says to give it to him. VH offers to make an ineffective solution but Grayson tells him to do it properly so they will stay in control.
Browning demands to know why Laurent sold Grayson his shares in the Coolant firm and Laurent says he had absolutely no choice. Browning wants to know if he threatened him and says the Order cannot protect him if he has violated the “principal oath” and that if he has no defense to offer he will stand before the brothers and face punishment. Laurent says nothing in his own defense.
Jayne sleeps naked beside Grayson. He puts on his clothes and stares down at her. He looks at an erotically painted screen in her room and then goes to explore her home. He finds a secret door behind a painting and enters. He goes through a couple of doors and finds a torch-lit room with weapons galore. He sees swords and on the floor is a large painted emblem. He hears the rattle of chains and goes to investigate. A starving vampire woman charges him from behind bars and begs him to kill her. He quiets her and takes her hand and kisses it. She collapses to the floor.
He returns to find Jayne still abed and clenches his fists into claws. He closes the doors and climbs up the bed like a predator toward her. She wakes, grabs his beck and kisses him, speaking his name. He returns her passionate embrace and murder seems to have left his mind for now.
At a restaurant, Jonathon dines alone when Davenport and his son Daniel call over a waiter to send him an expensive bottle of wine. They know he’s Grayson’s man. The waiter looks perturbed and says that Harker sent them a bottle instead. A very expensive one.
Lucy tells Mina about their fabulous plans for the evening. Mina asks if she has seen Jonathon and she says no and there’s been no cards or letters. Mina is ready to have fun. They head out for a lively evening. They guzzle champagne and giggle at the Savoy.
Laurent dresses and still in bed Daniel asks where he’s going. Daniel begs him to run away with him. Laurent says he can’t run and has to face punishment from the Order. He says he knew he was signing his death warrant when he sold his stock to Grayson but had to protect his family.
Renfiled and Grayson wait in the carriage and sees Lucy and Mina giggling drunkenly on the street. They’ve been waiting there all night. There’s a vase of flowers and a card. Renfield warns him of the coming sun. Grayson tells Renfield he wants to see her face when she reads the card but daylight is coming as the ladies stayed out all night partying…
Renfield tells him sorry and slams the curtains closed and the door of the carriage shut to protect Grayson from the coming light and he protests but gives in. Lucy opens the card and reads a message that congratulates her on her test and encourages her to pursue her dreams. She looks thoughtful as she holds the flowers like she’s considering who the message could be from.
Grayson strides through his home and Renfield follows. Grayson confronts Van Helsing about his lack of progress with the formula to protect him from the sun. He’s up to three minutes and 12 seconds. Grayson says he can have a cup of tea before he bursts into flames. He says he’s tired of skulking in the shadows and wants to be like other men. VH tells him that he’ll never be like other men. Grayson stomps away.
A child sleeps while his candle carousel rotates and flickers light. His father, Laurent, looks at some of his toy soldiers. Later he is ushered into a room to face his punishment. He steps forward into the room of men in robes. His lover Daniel is there. He admits that he did what they forbade him. Browning tells him the punishment has been handed down for generations and asks if he will accept the blade. Browning plunges it into Laurent’s heart and he falls dead. The blood seeps across the marble floor.
Lucy and Mina are indulging in absinthe and sugar at a club. They watch couples dance erotically. Mina is quite intoxicated and cuddling with her bestie Lucy. Suddenly Mina breaks away from her friend and goes out into a courtyard. It looks like the one Grayson was condemned to eternal life in. There’s a tree of purple blossoms and when she runs to go back in the club, the door slams in her face. She wakes on a chaise in the club and sees a man coming for her. He offers her more absinthe. She says she’s at her limit.
He tells her she’s witty and he offers to paint her a portrait or write her a poem. She asks how many women have fallen for that and he promises she’s the last. She asks if women really fall for this. He gets snotty with her and says that a rich woman look her is only there to observe the lower classes and to slum for fun. He’s jerked backwards and away from his menacing stance in front of Mina. It’s Grayson and he glares at the man and he scampers away.
[10:56:36 PM] Rachel Rowan: Mina stands with Grayson on a balcony overlooking the city. She thanks him for the rescue and he tells her it was nothing. She asks why he’s there and he says the club is notorious for its parties and he likes the music. He asks why she’s troubled and encourages her to tell him. She tells him it’s Jonathon. He says he can’t believe he would do anything to hurt her. She says that Jonathon said terrible things to her and she walked away and doesn’t know how to fix it. He tells her that Bohemian nightlife is no
substitute for real happiness. He tells her sometimes who we’re meant to be with can take us by surprise and steps closer. Lucy interrupts and he offers to see them home. Lucy says her carriage is waiting and declines. Grayson walks away politely.
Grayson comes in and Jonathon tells him he’s been lunching with the men on the list he gave him. He mentions Browning and tells him he was at Grayson’s party. He tells Jonathon that he heard he’s broken up with his lady friend and he can’t remember her name. Jonathon says it’s Mina but that he doesn’t want to discuss it. Jonathon says he needs to talk to he can get his head back together. Jonathon says he’s known Mina a long time and that she’s very stubborn. He tells him she wants to stick with her studies even though he can now support her. Grayson tells him he’s a fool because he wants to rise above his station yet he doesn’t want her to do the same. Jonathon asks if he’s calling him a hypocrite and Grayson says – just a fool in love.
Mina sleeps in Lucy’s bed and Lucy touches her face to wake her. She tells Mina she was thinking. She asks what about and Lucy says you. She says Mina inspires her to greater independence. Mina wakes in a panic because it’s 2 pm and she slept through Van Helsing’s class. In his office, VH fixes her a hangover remedy and she chokes it down and thinks him. He asks if he’s wasting his time with her. He says she must fight to break out of the confines society puts on her. She begs for a second chance. VH agrees and tells her to be there at 5 am tomorrow to be his assistant for the term. She smiles, pleased.
A man works soldering while Grayson watches. VH comes in and tells him he’s completed the serum for Lady Jayne’s seers. Grayson says they’ll track the power back to them and there will be a plague on the city. The lunatic asylum doctor sends the packet of the drugs off with an errand boy. The Seers take it and try to track Grayson. The sister Seer says it’s working. She reaches out to their mirror and conjures the image of a room. She sees a man and woman having sex (Jayne and Grayson). The brother Seer says the vampire is with her. Grayson stares back at them from the mirror. The sister collapses choking. She begs for help. The brother collapses as well and whispers that they’ve been poisoned. They lie utterly still and Van Helsing comes in. He says his serum has taken hold and they should be paralyzed. He asks if they have any idea what it’s like to hear the screams of your wife and children.
There’s a flashback to his children being dragged away and burned alive. VH says the Order did it for his disobedience. He says he lost everything that night. He tells them the monster they seek cannot be found while he’s still of use to VH. He tells them he’s worried traces of the drug will remain in their system post-mortem and that would put him under suspicion. He tells them science requires sacrifice and pulls out a hammer. He tells them not to worry, that he’ll be quick. He bashes their skulls and brains in with gusto.
Mina runs to answer a knock at her door. It’s Jonathon. She tells him sorry for everything and he says it’s his fault not hers and he’s been stubborn. He says he now understands her dreams and knows she doesn’t need his protection or keeping. He asks just to love her instead. He kisses her cheek and says good evening and walks away. She chases after him and jumps into his arms. She tells him he forgot the most important thing – she asks him to marry her and be her husband. He laughs and says he wanted to ask her so many times – he says he even bought a ring. He unfastens a chain from around his neck and asks her permission to put it on her. They kiss and hold each other in the middle of the street.
Grayson watches from his carriage as Jonathon twirls her around. He looks happy for her yet sad. At home he tells Renfield he performed an act that brought great joy to someone else. He says he guided them back together and Renfield calls it a good deed. Grayson says he should be horrified but likes the feeling it gave him. Renfield reminds him he’s keeping Mina in his orbit when it could be wiser to let her go. Grayson says he’s too smart for his own good and Renfield says it’s his cross to bare.
Grayson says the first morning he was a vampire and the sun burned his skin he knew he would never be the same. Renfield asks what he did and Grayson says he ripped out the throat of the bastard priest. Renfield says that’s not a bad morning and he agrees he’s had worse.
Browning and Lady Jayne stare at the desecrated corpses of the Seers. They agree that it’s unprecedented to have the trackers tracked back. They agree that this event will invite other vampires to London and that it will soon be crawling with vampire vermin.
Daniel mourns his lost lover Laurent. He sits at his dressing table crying and loads his pistol clumsily. His father Davenport listens to his gramophone when he hears a shot. He runs upstairs to find his son dead with a bullet through his temple. He reads the suicide note Daniel left. He sees the photo of Daniel and Laurent on the desk and all you can see of the note is Grayson’s name. Davenport cries out Grayson mournfully.
THE END!
If you loved tonight’s show and can’t wait until next week we have a sneak peek video and some spoilers for next week’s episode called, “From Darkness to Light,” below for you.
On next week’s episode Grayson ruthlessly sets out to compromise Lady Jayne, by winning her heart. Lucy’s enthusiastic plans for Mina and Harker’s engagement party conceals a broken heart. Grayson’s unexpected reunion with a very old friend proves a growing complication to his and Van Helsing’s mission of vengeance. Van Helsing achieves a breakthrough in his efforts to enable Grayson to conquer sunlight, only to suffer an unanticipated setback.
