Vampire Academy (2022) s01e04 Episode Script

- Once, long ago,
we lived in the human world.
The Moroi vampires,
who make the rules
- And the Dhampir Guardians,
sworn to protect
against our enemy,
the Strigoi.
- Undead vampires
who live to kill.
- Now we live
in a world of our own,
one grounded in elemental magic
and steeped in rules no one's
challenged in centuries
until now.
- The spark of revolution
can come from anywhere.
Even two unlikely friends.
- And one night
that changed everything.
- Papa.
- I came as quickly as I could.
Where is he?
- I'm all right, Robert.
I'm fine.
- What did you do?
- Do you feel
as good as you look?
- I do.
Sonya was so scared for me.
I guess she did it
without thinking.
- She can't risk it again,
Victor,
even for you.
It's too hard on her.
- I know.
I feel so guilty.
I never would've
asked this of her,
knowing what comes with it.
- I'll talk to her.
I almost lost you.
- I don't know what happened.
I was feeling a bit tired,
a little stressed, but
it just came out of nowhere.
- Not really nowhere,
with your family history.
- I don't wanna jump
to any conclusions.
It could be anything.
- You need to see a doctor.
- I need to get back to work.
- Christian asked me
to give this to you.
- Weirdly helpful for someone
who unceremoniously dumped me
on the dance floor.
- I'm sure he had his reasons.
- And I have mine
for not wanting his help,
even if I need it.
This whole thing's in Old Moroi,
so if something here explains
what's going on with me,
I won't be able to read it.
- I can help translate.
I'm sure I can make time,
even with my upcoming
Benchmark Tests.
- Rose, focus on your tests.
I'll be fine.
You'd be surprised
how much free time I have,
now that my whole life's
gone to shit.
- Are you doing okay?
- Honestly,
maybe I dodged a bullet.
You should see how they are
on the Council.
I don't know
how Victor stands it.
Now I'm back to plan A
Graduate and see the world.
- Sign me up.
- But I do have to figure
this stuff out first,
'cause when we get
to the human world,
I want our heads
screwed on tight.
- Then that's the plan.
- Hey, Rose.
Thank Christian for the book.
- I didn't grow up
here at court,
and as I formally declare
my candidacy,
I see you're surprised.
But it's really Lissa Dragomir
you have to thank.
I'm young and new here,
and so I may seem
like a radical choice.
But with a Dhampir best friend
and her association
with the Ozera family,
she was the radical.
Untethered from our traditions.
After learning
much from my Aunt Irene,
I believe
in the Elementalist cause.
My platform will put faith
and Moroi needs first.
- Moroi don't live in a vacuum.
- The Queen backed her horse,
and it stumbled out to the gate.
She waits
for the Council to speak.
When you do,
I hope you speak my name.
Thank you.
- Thank you, Tatiana.
We will take
all of this to heart.
- Put your tongue
back in your mouth, Peter.
There's still time
for other candidates to emerge.
- This council has serious
business to attend to.
We can't rely solely
on long-term repopulation
to solve
our Guardian shortage issue.
We need
a more immediate approach.
- I can think
of one deceased monk
who might object to another
of your aggressive approaches.
- Let's keep things civil,
Victor.
- I propose we lower the age
of Guardian enlistment
down to 16, thereby expanding
our pool of eligible Dhampirs.
- 16?
You'd make cannon fodder
out of children?
- 16 is not a child.
If they're properly trained,
they're fit to serve.
Isn't that the whole point?
- How old is your youngest,
Marie?
And yours, Dane?
- Desperate times, Victor.
- All in favor
of scheduling the vote?
All opposed?
The vote is six to five.
Motion carries.
- Am I getting old,
or is this Benchmark class
full of toddlers?
- No initiative from up top.
After the St. Jude's massacre,
we have to test every Novice,
even underclassmen.
- Those poor kids
don't stand a chance.
- Welcome, Moroi students.
For the next 24 hours,
your usual Guardians
will be replaced
with the Novices
you see before you.
Novices, the Benchmark Tests
are your chance to show us
what you're made of.
You will be scored
on your ability
to protect your assigned Moroi
during simulated
surprise attacks.
Guardians will act as Strigoi.
Everyone will be outfitted
with these special collars
containing blood squibs.
If you or your charge's squib
gets popped,
you're dead.
But if you stay alive
and rack up enough points,
you'll get to attend
the Royal Tour
as part of
the Guardian security team.
If you're lucky enough,
it can lead to a premium
Guardian assignment
when you graduate.
- I'm winning this thing.
- You better.
I got odds on you.
- But you're gonna
have to beat Rose.
- Difficult, but not impossible.
- And I'm fueled
by the unflinching expectations
of Janine Hathaway, so..
Lissa and I will try to leave
room for you at the top.
- Don't worry, Rose.
When I win,
I'll find some way
to make it up to you.
- That's gonna hurt
when you're in traction.
But I'm game if you are.
- And nothing less.
Pairings go live
in three, two, one.
- What the
- No way.
Fucking Zeklos.
- "As such,
we may claim this man
"with the golden tongue
doth possess a spirit's fancy."
Fantastic.
Only took me about an hour
to figure it out.
And who the hell is this man?
Uh, just a second.
Come in.
- Lord Dashkov.
I've informed him
that he's only allowed entry
if he is not playing the role
of secret Strigoi assassin.
- And I've informed him my time
is not to be wasted today.
- Thank you, Eddie.
It's so late. What's going on?
- The Royal Council
is trying to take us
back to the Stone Age.
We can't have a government
of the Royal Moroi
for the Royal Moroi only.
We need to restore
your voting power.
- How?
No bloodline quorum
means no vote.
Did you find another Dragomir
floating around?
- No, but two can play
at Tatiana Vogel's game,
and I've been busy today.
There's a loophole,
like the one she found
to get you disqualified
from being queen.
- What kind of loophole
gets me an instant family?
- The kind
where you get married.
If you marry, you'll regain
your seat at the table.
You've seen enough
to know what I'm up against.
The Dragomir vote may be
the only thing between us
and a future
I don't want to contemplate.
So I'll arrange
for suitors to meet with you
while supervised.
What do you say?
Will you help me keep
the Dominion on track?
- You coming in
to keep an eye on me?
You know,
I don't mind an audience.
- That's gonna be a no.
I'll just stand guard out here.
- Suit yourself.
Which reminds me,
when laundry services
pass through,
tell them to go easy
on the starch.
I'm sensitive.
- You should get some sleep.
It's light out.
Strigoi can't get in.
- Yeah, but I don't trust
these motherfuckers.
Better safe than sorry.
You really wanna beat Rose.
- Yup, but I also wanna go
on the Royal Tour.
My dad is in St. Ignatius
Province in Portugal.
- Can't he just command
to see you?
He's Royal, right?
- Right.
It's been a while
since he's checked in.
But I guess that's normal
for you guys, though.
- Yeah. I guess it is.
You don't have to stay.
- I'll stand guard in the hall,
in case.
Were you expecting anything?
Sorry, I have to.
A lift ticket?
Friday, 3:00 a.m.,
43.0485 degrees north,
2.631 degrees west.
It's coordinates.
Who wants to meet you?
- Married? This is insane.
- Victor can't hold
the Council alone,
and most Royal Moroi women
over 21 are married.
- Yes, over 21. What's the rush?
- Now name me
all the love match marriages
you can think of
in the Royal Court.
Most Royal marriages
are about power
and bloodlines and money and
- Not for your parents
and Victor and Robert.
- The lucky ones.
- Why do this at all?
Because if Victor
is pressuring you
- He is.
But not for himself.
- Okay,
so who's the lucky groom?
- Well, apparently,
there's only four people
with enough Dragomir blood
to count toward me
regaining my quorum.
- Does that mean you're related?
- Only as much
as a second cousin
ten times removed.
I pick one. We wed.
They take my name.
I take my vote back.
- Okay, so who's on the list?
- It's a little depressing.
- As your maid of honor,
I insist.
Okay.
Anthony Carter,
Ralf Dawoud, Wade Vogel,
and Jesse Zeklos.
- Ugh, fuck me.
- You wanna marry me off?
- It's an opportunity
for this family, son.
Your reputation
is catching up with you.
You marry now,
gives us a chance
at rehabilitation.
- Are you serious?
Why is it that every time
you send me off to breed,
I feel like
I'm the one getting fucked?
- Watch your mouth.
Lissa is a lady
in title and character.
She needs to be courted,
then betrothed, then married,
and that is exactly
what you are going to do.
Am I clear?
Good boy.
- Most people think
it's the perfume,
but what truly makes
the hyacinth unique
is the number of varieties.
Care to wager a guess
on how many?
- Do I have to?
- I'd love your opinion
on something.
- Oh, okay. Sure.
- I was thinking of going blond.
Hot or or not?
- I think I would make
an excellent husband.
I mean, you wouldn't be
my first kiss, exactly.
- I think hot.
- And then there's the orchids.
Oh, and don't even get me
started on the succulents.
For our next date,
we should go to the Stakehaus.
There's roads of rare books.
Sorry. Too soon?
- No, no. Tell me more.
- Or maybe streaks
would be better.
- Hey, come here. Yeah.
How 'bout you streak your ass
right up out of here?
How 'bout that?
- Keep up, Rose.
Are you trying to make me look
bad in front of your friend?
I suggest your remind
your little face
it belongs to a Dhampir, yeah?
Yes, I'm late, but it doesn't
really matter, does it?
'Cause we both know
you're not gonna pick me.
So can we just sit here
and talk, just in case?
My dad has eyes everywhere.
So maybe just act like
you don't totally hate me,
and then we never
have to do this again.
- Hmm.
Done.
I have other places
I'd rather be too.
- Excellent.
- Awesome.
- What are you guys doing here?
We're kind of
in the middle of something.
Dean? Herk?
What are you doing here?
- Mikhail told me to be here.
- Dimitri told me.
- Alberta told us.
- Shit. It's a trap.
- Strigois!
- Come on!
- Jesse, Lissa, get out.
Eddie, you take far guard.
- You've been paying attention.
- I have
a fairly decent teacher.
Fairly decent?
- So the rules work?
- Still room for improvement.
Ah
- Time!
If your blood squib's intact,
consider yourself a winner.
Benchmarks are done
for the night,
so feel free to celebrate later.
You've all earned it. Congrats.
- Whoo!
- What part of "get out"
do you not understand?
What were you thinking
back there?
- Uh, that it was all pretend?
Relax. None of this is real.
I wasn't actually
gonna get murdered.
- Really?
'Cause I'm ready to kill you
right here, right now.
Dick.
- First rule
of being a Guardian:
they come first.
- More rules. Goody.
- Rose.
- Jesse told us
what you said to him.
- I was being hyperbolic.
He
- He's pissed.
And he's a Royal.
With a snap of his fingers,
he can get you decommissioned.
- For trying to save his life?
- Look, we get it, Rose.
We're all just one wrong move
away from trouble.
So just rein it in, okay?
- Other than that,
you handled yourself well.
You aided Eddie
in protecting his charge,
took on the great
Dimitri Belikov
and lived to tell the tale.
Look, you've moved up
two positions.
- Why is Meredith
still in second place?
She hasn't even been on campus.
- Pre-approved family visit
freezes your ranking.
It's not her fault the Council
made us pull up the test.
- You could complain more,
or you could get some sleep.
I plan on coming for you
even harder next time.
- Can't wait,
Comrade.
- You wanted to see me, Father?
- I did indeed.
How was your date?
- Oh, cut short
by a fake Strigoi attack.
- Then you'll need
to reschedule immediately.
- She's never gonna pick me.
- You'll have
to reschedule immediately.
- Sorry, milady,
we don't open for an hour.
- I-I just need one book,
please.
"Ancient Myths of Moroi Magic."
I just need something that's
not written in Old Moroi,
and I haven't been able
to find this one anywhere.
- You wouldn't.
That writer was excommunicated.
She's been banned.
- Show me the book.
- I implore you to reconsider.
16 is simply too young
to be a Guardian.
- And avoiding the problem
won't make it go away.
I think we should vote.
- We?
- The High Priestess has
persuaded her sister,
the head of the Vogel family,
to give Tatiana her proxy.
- She felt it would help raise
my profile as I run for Queen.
- It certainly does.
- Shall we vote, then?
- How?
- The only way to know
the effects
of fighting a Strigoi
on someone that young
is to put them up
against a real Strigoi.
This is a nonstarter.
- My cousin at St. Jude says
the Royals there are desperate.
- We must do something, Victor.
- What if as a stopgap
measure, mind you,
while we study alternatives
We pull Guardians off
Non-Royal Moroi, temporarily?
- You'd get rid
of your husband's protection?
- Long enough
to stop this lunacy?
Yes, and he would want me to.
- I think
that's a marvelous idea.
- Not hungry today?
- I should be.
I just got a lot on my mind.
- Something happen with Lissa?
- Is it that obvious?
- Well, it is to me.
After all,
you're one of
my most faithful customers.
There we go.
You wanna tell me about it?
What's to say?
She's a princess
or at least she was,
while I'm
- A total catch.
Don't listen to the haters.
They don't know you.
- But
my parents did.
And
And they
they didn't stick around.
- Hey,
your parents loved you.
And they were good people.
Look how you turned out.
And Lissa sees that.
What other people say
doesn't matter.
The only thing that matters
is what you feel.
- Hey.
I need a favor.
I need to go beyond the wards,
and you have a car.
- And if I felt like laughing,
that would be hilarious.
Fuck off.
- You know I'm good with fire.
I could teach you
how to stand up to your father.
Is he always like that?
- He's just being a dad.
What, you're saying
your parents never hit you?
- Never.
They were great.
- Well, they were also
fucking Strigoi.
So I'd pick my dad any day,
thanks.
No one's fucking touching him.
But there is something else
you could do for me.
I need you to pick up a girl.
I don't want my father
to see me with her.
- I knew you'd find a way.
- Congratulations,
but you can only hold
the top spot for so long.
- Depends.
You might not get so lucky
next time
when it comes
to who you're fighting.
- What's that supposed to mean?
- Nothing.
Just got a lot riding on this.
- All right, moody.
Can you at least just tell me
where Christian is?
I need to talk to him.
- He's probably out
with that snow bunny
he's hooking up with.
- A girl?
Who?
- I don't know.
She wrote down a time
and coordinates
on some ski lift ticket.
- Wait, did he tell you
the ski lift ticket
was from a girl?
- Not exactly.
- I think it was
from his parents.
- His parents are dead.
- Not dead enough.
- Shit.
Shit, Rose, the meeting spot
was outside the wards.
We gotta go.
- No!
We have to tell someone.
- Tell them I let my Royal
go outside the fucking wards?
- Look,
I've already made the mistake
of breaking that rule once.
- Well, I'm his Guardian,
and I say fuck the rules!
- Thanks for the ride.
- What is this place?
Wait!
What about Strigoi?
We can't just leave him here.
- I'll be fine.
- Rose? You all right?
- We need to find
Alberta and Mikhail.
I hate staying here and
following your fucking rules,
but he needs
more than me right now.
- Who does? Tell me.
It's Mason.
- Christian
- Mom?
- My boy.
I'm here.
- Where?
- I don't want you to see me,
not yet.
- Is Dad here?
- Next time.
- I have so many questions.
- We've missed you so much.
We always meant
to come back for you.
- But
why leave me at all?
- We wanted to be together
forever.
- Christian!
- Mom, wait.
I can get rid of them.
- Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
- I need you to go.
It's okay.
She doesn't wanna hurt me.
- If you're talking
about your mom,
she's probably less crazy
about me.
- No, no, no Mason!
It's not like you think. It's
- Christian!
- Orders are to take one alive.
- Is that your father?
- Hey. I'm so sorry I'm late.
- It's all right.
I sit here for hours
most days anyways.
- So I have a little secret.
We captured a Strigoi tonight.
It's our first in a while.
But I had
to accompany it to lock off,
which took forever, so
- Hey, you okay?
- I have a secret too.
I'm not supposed to tell you,
but I want to.
- You can tell me anything.
- There are some things
you don't know about me.
- Like?
- There's a darkness inside me.
It sometimes makes me
act out.
In ways that might scare you.
- What if I'm not easily scared?
My job is to fight to the death.
Now, I know darkness.
Right now, all I see is light.
- Look, I know
I should be thanking you,
and I am grateful, but I
- Listen.
I get this place
has been hard on you.
But you put a lot of people
at risk tonight.
It's my duty to put my life
on the line for you.
But when you walk headfirst
into danger
- I know.
I'm sorry.
But
I wanted to see my parents.
- They're not
your parents anymore.
- I know. They're Strigoi.
They're monsters, but
what if that's not all they are?
- You want something
you can't have, Christian.
That way lies madness.
- When I was a kid
our family had this cat
named Harvey.
Wasn't the friendliest.
Except to me, for some reason.
He'd follow me around
and bring me gifts
of dead birds.
I know.
I thought it was gross too.
And then I realized
that was his way
of showing affection.
I mean, if a cat,
with a brain the size of a pea,
can feel that way
Maybe my parents still can too.
- Mason.
- 'Cause you just had
to snitch, didn't you?
Because of you, I got knocked
out of the Benchmarks
and tanked on the leaderboard.
- I didn't snitch.
I got your shit saved.
Forgive me if I didn't want
to see you get hurt or worse.
- Don't act like
you did this for me.
You just didn't wanna
risk your ranking.
- That's bullshit.
- You are all about you.
We only hook up
when you want it.
We only talk when you need it.
If it's not about you,
it doesn't exist.
Do you even know why
I wanted to win today?
Because if I got to go
on the Royal Tour,
I was gonna get
to see my father.
- Mason, I didn't know that.
- Of course you didn't know.
Because you never fucking ask.
Come in.
Lissa, what are you
- Dimitri told me about tonight.
Hey, you could've died,
Christian.
I know you don't care
about what I think, but
- I care too much
about what you think.
I'm sorry.
I never wanna scare you.
Um, what have you got there?
- Spirit Use is real
And it's hiding in plain sight.
Look.
It's Compulsion.
- That's St. Vladimir.
He has a golden threaded tongue.
The one I read about.
That's the same as you.
- Yeah.
This stuff is
kind of everywhere,
if you know
what you're looking for.
This feels dangerous.
- But if it is real
and I have this new magic
and I can gain
a seat at the table
where decisions are being made
- Yeah, but how?
Using Compulsion on the Council?
- No, never.
I'm just saying maybe
I'm not powerless anymore,
in more ways than one.
If even a part of this is real,
maybe Compulsion
is just the start
of what Spirit Users can do.
In these stories,
there's even Spirit Users
who can see auras.
- Some can even heal people.
- Yeah, there's a darkness
that comes with Spirit,
because that kind of power
always comes with a price.
Still, I don't know
how much of this is true.
Can't do half of these things,
but
if it is true,
can you imagine
all the people I could help?
- I can imagine.
- I think
you should get some sleep.
- Sure.
- Victor?
I thought you'd be
at the Council meeting.
- I'd rather be with you.
- You saw a doctor, didn't you?
- I hate
that I wasn't there to help.
- You don't think you helped?
Because of you,
Christian and Mason
survived the night.
- All I did was tell you that
my friends were in trouble.
I didn't fight.
I just sat here,
while you and the other
Guardians saved them.
Mason said
that I didn't come after him
to protect my ranking.
- He's wrong.
What you did was far harder
than fighting tonight,
at least for you.
You're number one
because you obeyed
the chain of command.
You did your duty.
- Well, it sucked.
- Maybe.
But tonight, Roza,
you were brave.
- Roza?
- Sorry.
Every now and then,
my Russian childhood comes out.
- I like it.
- You also live
to fight another day,
which brings us
to another important rule
Always be ready,
'cause today is a new day,
and the Benchmarks continue.
Good luck, Roza.
- Forgive the late hour,
but a way forward
has been suggested.
- Has it?
- Victor was right
when he said the only way
to test a Novice's acumen
is by confronting them
with a real Strigoi.
It would appear
we now have one available
and the votes to make it happen.