Van Helsing opens with Violet (Keeya King) still reeling from the death of Julius (Aleks Paunovic). Axel (Jonathan Scarfe) tries to reach out but gets immediately shut down shortly before the group’s vehicle gets blown up. Under attack from the military, the group head into some abandoned mines.

The team gets split in two after a vampire attack. Axel and Ivory (Jennifer Cheon Garcia) find themselves on one side of a cave in and Violet and Jack (Nicole Muñoz) on the other. One of the themes of the episode is relationships given the reminder of Scarlet’s death in the “previously on”.

Van Helsing S05E08: Missteps

Van Helsing S05E08 Still
The Team is getting smaller 🙁

I feel like the loss of the map was a bit of an eye-roll moment as well as Axel’s complete lack of agility. The sisters Van Helsing find a mysterious girl who they try to help. After they track her down, in a moment that probably lost me they allow this stranger to steal the amulet. Unfortunately, things just get worse from there with the plot forcing characters into stupid mistake after stupid mistake.

The mysterious child is hiding in the mines because her father has been turned into a vampire. The same one who appears when the team first start making their way into the mine.

Van Helsing
Heart to Heart REJECTED

A New Plan

This episode was a let down though the final part does rally a bit. The team decides to split up to raise the chances of a Van Helsing and their bite making it to the end. That idea of the two heirs being too important to keep together could and should have been put forward in a less lazy manner.

The theme of love and whether or not it is worth the potential pain is a relevant theme. The implementation though just felt really awkward and forced. Looking at the season so far this just feels like a one-off blip and I’m looking forward to next week.