ad Blood
ad Blood
Nick discovers an ancient, terrifying evil is behind a series of grisly murders plaguing the city, and he may not be able to stop it. He is unknowingly paired with Chief Inspector Liam O'Neal of Dublin C.I.D., a vampire hunter with a dark secret, who has tracked the murdering creature's bloody trail half way around the world.
Wary of O'Neal, Nick begins an investigation of his own, learning the Chief Inspector's true identity, as well as that of the killer -- Jack the Ripper. A vampire created by LaCroix, Nick had a chance to destroy the Ripper a century ago, but turned his back, unleashing a century of carnage around the world. He must now put aside his guilt and finish the job, but in doing so, O'Neal may finish him.
I've always thought it was a risk to have a famous person from the past appear for a single episode in a series. If it works, great; you've saved yourself lots of character development and background history. If it fails... well, there were a few *really* bad episodes of Star Trek.
In this case, they seem to have succeeded. The only real bone I have to pick is with the way the Ripper disappears for several years, reappears, kills half a dozen people, and disappears utterly. If I were an insanely bloodthirsty immortal, I don't think I'd be wise enough to go into hiding for years between my killing sprees.
Liam O'Neill (played by Cedric Smith) was an odd figure; a sort of partial vampire who now hunts vampires. It was audacious of him to go to the Raven and start waving a cross at suspected vampires. An inspired guess, but dangerous. It makes sense that even LaCroix would consider Liam to be dangerous. I'm surprised that LaCroix didn't make more of an attempt to kill Liam, other than luring Liam to the Ripper.
Why does the Captain think that the "old grain mill" is a false lead? Just because the novice Bridget suggested it? Even though the clues were good enough that Nick thought it was a good lead?
There was also an awful lot of car swerving in this episode. Ok, so only two cases: when Natalie is asked if she believes in vampires, and when Bridget puts a cross in Nick's face. Still, it's a nice touch.
Another nice detail was the furnishings in Janette's back rooms of the Raven. The Matisse on the wall shows that she, too, accumulated a lot of wealth (makes sense). Janette herself plays a fairly neutral position, trying not to overtly cross Nick while she follows LaCroix's lead.
My favorite line from this episode has to be when Schanke is bugging Bridget about kissing Liam, when Nick tells her, "if he keeps bothering you, I give you my permission to shoot him".
One final question: why did Liam tell Natalie "I hope we never meet again" when he left? Does it mean that if he came back, he would have to try to kill Nick, thus hurting her? Or just that he didn't enjoy Toronto?
Episode rating (0 to 10): 7
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