Oh this episode, aaaargh. It just makes so little sense.
So Vanessa is still having visions about the red door. But hey, that’s ok, everyone’s dreaming about this damn door. Dmitri, random samurai people, everyone. Red doors for everyone!
Vanessa remembers where the red door is - it’s in the bunker where Axel got bitten and there was radiation and all the fun stuff.
But first they run into Doc and Axel (which means we have round #86746 of Doc’s guilt trip) - yay Axel is saved. Except no. Because Vanessa has decided not to bite him because Dylan/Dillon/I’m not looking up the spelling and issues and, really?
Honestly, there is zero reason why we’re dragging around Axel half dead this whole damn episode, unable to feed him because Julius and Doc are both ex vampires because their blood is poison. So Axel is staggering around, half dead, suffering but Vanessa won’t bite him for reasons… whatever reasons. Gods alone know what reasons.
So Axel is still suffering and we send Julius and Doc off to get fuel and treat julius’s infected leg with antibiotics they got from… somewhere?
While Vanessa goes to the bunker and is met with the ninja character we’ve been seeing around. She’s Scarlet Harker
And part of me has a wonderful League of Extraordinary Gentleman squee (I loved the concept, hated the comics) of Van Helsing and Mina Harker all getting together but I don’t think we’re going there
She’s been raised by her vampire hunting parents and trained in all kinds of vampire killing until she is the vampire killingest of them all. And she tries to kill Axel - but Vanessa protests! How dare she kill Axel! We’re not killing him! We’re just leaving him to slowly starve to death unnecessarily because of ANGST damn it! Even Scarlet doesn’t buy this bullshit and she and Vanessa fight
Scarlet is by far the better fighter. Vanessa is, however, invulnerable and super strong. And that kind of wins - so Axel gets to suffer a bit longer for no apparent reason
So it’s time for Vanessa and Scarlet to explore the vault (because Scarlet has also been having red door dreams). They get into the vault using Vanessa’s name which is troublesome
Inside the power is still on and the find the place is a lab producing vampire hybrids - or was. Scarlet speculates Vanessa may be from there, especially when there’s a computer that reacts to her fingerprints. I think at this point absolutely no-one can be shocked that Vanessa is a vampire hybrid, even she doesn’t try to hard to be outraged
They find a creche and Vanessa remembers her mother (despite being told she died in childbirth) warning a scientist off because she refused to let her daughter - Vanessa - be used as an experiment. When the scientist tries to refuse she makes it clear she is a Van Helsing and will fuck him up most royally if he tries to stop her. This is a persuasive argument.
She goes to take her daughters out. Yes plural - Vanessa and Scarlet. Yes turns out Scarlet is a Van Helsing but apparently without the powers… yet? There’s a lot of questions to be answered here.
The memory/vision/who even knows any more also points to a hinky looking key hidden behind the mural. Which is also when the phone rings - which is a feat in a post-dystopia. The voice on the other side is clearly their mother but she doesn’t explain anything because Dmitri visits
Yes it’s time for a showdown
Speaking of Dmitri, he’s also dreaming of the red door and apparently an Elder vampire - which is yet another twist. In response to that he’s sent one of his minions to be an ambassador to the Sisters - who apparently wear spooky masks and really hate Dmitri.
There seems to be a whole lot of mysteries and questions being raised all the time. Scarlett, the Sisters, the key, mother Van Helsing running around - there’s a whole lot of questions here. I would like some answers...
