Netflix’s First Kill, which released all eight episodes on Friday, adds its own spin to the classic Romeo and Juliet story.
Juliette comes from a family of vampires and rejects her beastly lineage because she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. The teen’s refusal to make her first kill is having an adverse effect on her body: Her intense (and erotic) dreams about her intriguing new classmate are getting worse, and the blood pills her parents gave her aren’t working anymore.
The longer she delays making the kill, the more feral and bloodthirsty she’ll become. This puts not only herself but her entire family at risk, since they survive by laying low.
The classmate Juliette has eyes for is Calliope, aka Cal, who just moved to Savannah a few weeks ago. Unbeknownst to Juliette, Cal comes from a family of revered monster hunters. Unlike her vampire classmate, Cal embraces her lineage and wants to be the best monster hunter in history. Unfortunately, she flubbed her first shot at killing one and has been relegated to the role of the lookout ever since.
She tags along for a hunt with her brothers, Theo and Apollo, who are headed to a 300-year-old cemetery to dispatch several ghouls at the Guild’s request. Her siblings easily take down their respective ghouls, but Theo’s earpiece falls out, and he misses Cal’s warning of a third creature headed towards him. She jumps in to fight — and maybe land her first kill — but is quickly overpowered. Her brothers step in to complete the mission, and they realize the ghoul is actually a feral vampire. Odd.
Cal may have fumbled another potential kill, but she is determined to not rack up a third failed attempt. She set her sights on Juliette, who she immediately clocks as a vampire, and even leaves her silver bracelet on the ground as a trap. Juliette burning her hand while attempting to pick it up gives her all the confirmation she needs.
Earlier in the episode, a nervous Juliette awkwardly invites Cal to a party. It’s at this function that they find themselves alone in the pantry, making out and dry humping. Juliette gives in to her raging hormones and bites Cal. But Cal was prepared for that and stakes Juliette right through the heart.
These two are so doomed.
What did you think of First Kill’s series premiere? Are you all in for this star-crossed romance? Grade the episode below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
