Summary
“Freedom Was Sweeter” devotes most of its runtime to flashbacks fleshing out Annette’s backstory and motivations, though it does tease some potential dissent within the vampire camp.
Episode 3 of Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1, “Freedom Was Sweeter”, lives up to its title by devoting over half of its runtime to a flashback explaining how Annette went from a slave in Saint-Domingue to a revolutionary champion.
But the past also informs the present-day, as its villains live on, dedicating their evil to a new cause in Europe – the crushing of the French Revolution and the embrace of a Vampire Messiah.
Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1 Episode 3 Recap
After a cold open in which Vaublanc, who was established as a real villain in Episode 2, pledges allegiance to Countess Erzebet Bathory and is willingly branded by Drolta, “Freedom Was Sweeter” settles into the story of Annette’s past that comprises most of the runtime.
Still nursing guilt over Edouard’s dearth, Annette recounts how she met him in the first place.
READ: Castlevania Season 4 Review
As a child in Saint-Domingue, 1780, Annette, like Richter, witnessed the death of her mother at the hands of Vaublanc, who at the time was a slave master.
Ogun and Cecile
As Annette is ostensibly descended from Ogun, the “God of Iron” in many African religions, her powers over rock and metal begin to manifest at a young age, though she can’t control them. However, she’s able to escape the same fate as her mother and keep moving until she eventually meets Edouard, a freeborn opera singer who entertains the colonizers as cover for his work hiding runaway slaves.
Edouard introduces Annette to the Maroons, where she meets Cecile, who taught her to use her powers. With the Maroons, Annette and Edouard hunted down Vaublanc and the other slavers, though Vaublanc was able to turn into a bat and escape.
After liberating Saint-Domingue, Cecile is crippled by a sudden vision of the Vampire Messiah in Europe. Both Annette and Edouard agree to leave and take on Countess Bathory, which is how they came to be in France.
Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1 Episode 3 Ending Explained
“Freedom was Sweeter” only catches up to the present day just about in time to end.
On the vampire side of things, it does seem like Olrox isn’t necessarily as on-board with the Messiah as one would have first suspected. He confronts the Abbot’s right-hand man, Mizrak, about why the Abbot is creating Night Creatures for Countess Bathory, actually cautioning him outright about the Messiah’s brutality.
READ: Castlevania Season 4 Ending Explained
But the Abbot seems all-in. Another of his speeches is juxtaposed with Annette addressing the French revolutionaries, their contrasting ideologies laying out the obvious narrative underpinnings of the show.
At the end of the episode, the revolutionaries are attacked by Night Creatures, including the one fashioned from Edouard, whom Annette recognizes by his eyes.
Edouard saves Annette’s life, but “Freedom Was Sweeter” ends with her breaking down in tears over the fate of her friend.
You can stream Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1 Episode 3, “Freedom Was Sweeter”, exclusively on Netflix.
