The debt it owes classic literature grows by the week.
To groom her young acolyte for the war ahead, Lily takes Justine out for some tea.
How do you accomplish anything in this life?
Credit: Jonathan Hession/SHOWTIME
By the careful and silent accumulation of power.
As soon as they have that power, theyre going to war.
Now that Justine knows what theyre about, Lily and Dorian need her to make a choice.
And then he, Justine, and Lily all paint themselves in blood and have a threesome.
This is one artistic threesome.
I mean, this is some kaleidoscopic, Bryan Fuller-taunting-standards-and-practices-on-Hannibalsex happening here.
Theyre all kissing each other at once.
To build an empire, Lily says, you start with a single soldier.
Theyre out for a violent end, but their reasons are human.
See for example: Lilys tears as Justine tells her story.
Real pain fuels this mission.
So hes still the kind of man who shoves people against walls to get what he wants.
Hes still a voyeur.
But was I moved by his smile when his wife found the watch?
YES,FINE, I was.
Across the Atlantic, Ethan is stuck with someone else whos willing to use violence to reach her goals.
He wakes from his latest wolf attack with Hecate by his side, and shes not going anywhere.
But arent her motives pretty clear?
I want you to liberate your truest self, Hecate says.
The beast that prowls around your heart.
Its just that Ethan would rather not unlock it.
Only Ethan can save us.
He has been chosen.
Weve heard that before about Vanessa.
Why else would Dracula court her so intently?
(If any part of this is true, the odds are good that hes to blame.)
Their date ends at a fair, where he pulls her into a hall of mirrors.
Thats absurd, Sweet flirts.
But hes ignoring her wishes.
And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it werent for his meddling followers.
Its the ones claiming to be accurate reflections of reality that she doesnt like.
Theres no difference to me, Seward insists.
But theres a difference to Vanessa, and she grabs Sewards wrist and reads her past to prove it.
The reflection of a thing is not the thing.
Appearances can be deceiving.
Sweet is proof enough of that.
Thats one nursery rhyme-spouting creep I would not want to be alone with.
Shes met Dracula before.
Long ago in the white room where there was no time, confirms the vampire.
No day and no night.
Surely you remember, my lady, my lady.
Their encounter is enough to prompt Vanessa to end things with Sweet out of concern for his safety.
Take it as a sign of something like love, she says.
As soon as shes gone, he snaps a teacup in his hand.
She isnt abject and helpless.
What is his plan that it requires her to beg for him?
Vanessas aiming to find out.
Vanessa doesnt see Dracula, but she does see her orderly: Hes the Creature, before his death.
If not for the blood threesome, that would definitely be the No.
1 takeaway of the hour.
