Dhruv Trivedi
Netflix’s ‘First Kill’ follows the high school romance between Juliette and Calliope, which sounds simple enough until it is revealed that the former is a vampire and the latter is a vampire hunter. Juliette hails from an ancient order of legacy vampires, while Calliope is part of a proud guild-sponsored monster-hunting family. The budding romance between the two threatens to upturn the precarious peace between the two ancient orders, and a few gruesome deaths soon have the entire community in a panic.
Based on a story by author V.E. Schwab, ‘First Kill’ balances a young romance with themes of ancient rivalry. The tumultuous season closes on an intriguing note, leaving the fates of many important players in the wind. Let’s take a closer look at the ending of ‘First Kill’ season 1 and see how things end up. SPOILERS AHEAD.
First Kill Season 1 Recap
The series opens with Juliette introducing her ancient “legacy” vampire family. Still an uninitiated vampire, she goes through disorienting spells and stays calm by swallowing capsules of blood. Despite her family’s insistence, Juliette cannot bring herself to kill another human and is thus unable to feed like a regular vampire. When she first crosses paths with Calliope, the new girl in school, Juliette is transfixed. Her obsession with Calliope soon turns into a kiss that the two share during a high school party. However, Calliope hails from a family of monster hunters and knows Juliette’s true identity. During their kiss, the latter tries to bite Calliope, who reacts by stabbing Juliette with a stake.
As news spreads of a budding romance between the vampire and the monster hunter, both families grow concerned. Calliope and Juliette fight to stay together, and in the process, they both get their first kills. However, things get chaotic when the vampire side begins killing people, resulting in the formation of a local vigilante group known as the MAAMs. The two protagonists are uncontrollably drawn to each other even as their families try to keep their respective orders at bay to avoid an all-out war between vampires and hunters.
Meanwhile, an internal rift in Juliette’s family reveals that her father, Sebastian, is not a pure vampire but a human who was turned into one. This leads to an argument between Sebastian and his matriarchal mother-in-law, Davina, in which the former kills the latter. The family keeps the murder secret but now lives in fear of the vampire order finding out that their leader Davina has been killed. Secretly, Davina’s powerful rank of Keeper of the Emerald Malkia transfers to her daughter (Juliette’s mother, Margot).
First Kill Season 1 Ending: What Happens to Theo? How Does Theo Turn Into a Vampire?
In the guild hunter family, Calliope’s brother Theo grapples with hazy memories of his biological mother being brutally killed by a monster. In an attempt to find the perpetrator, he agrees to accept help from Juliette’s wily vampire sister, Elinor. Things don’t go smoothly, and Theo is stabbed in an ensuing scuffle. His siblings Calliope and Apollo fear him to be dead, but Theo survives, only to start showing signs of turning into a vampire.
Theo’s father, Jack, attempts to kill him, but the young man escapes with his mother, Talia. As season 1 closes, Juliette and Calliope’s relationship suffers a terrible blow when the latter discovers that the former might have a hand in turning Theo into a vampire. The two go their separate ways, realizing that any relationship between them will be seeded with chaos.
The final moments of season 1 hinge heavily on Theo’s unexpected fate and its repercussions. During his meeting with Elinor, Theo is accidentally stabbed by his brother, Apollo. When Juliette finds Theo bleeding and asking for help, she bites him to save his life by turning him into a vampire. However, it is not until much later, when he starts getting a thirst for blood, does Theo’s family realize what has happened.
Calliope’s hunter family is put in a ghastly predicament because of Theo’s conversion into a vampire. The family known for killing vampires is forced to live by their code, and as Jack prepares to kill his son, Juliette intervenes. She explains how Theo, as a new vampire, is thirsting for blood before letting him feed on her arm. Watching Juliette help Theo with his vampiric habit causes a major rift between her and Calliope.
Despite Juliette’s attempts to quell the family, Jack remains adamant about killing his son. Talia grudgingly agrees but then helps Theo escape. In the end, Theo is missing but alive. However, his life is in constant peril because he is now hunted by his own family and guild. Since Juliette is the one that turns him into a vampire, we could also see some form of bond between her and Theo begin to appear.
Do Juliette and Calliope Break Up?
The breathless season closer sees the central relationship between Juliette and Calliope break down, at least for the time being. Calliope blames Juliette for turning Theo into a vampire even as the latter pleads that she did it only to save his life. However, Theo’s unexpected conversion is only the last in a string of chaotic events that conspire to keep Juliette and Calliope apart.
Their relationship is apparent not only to their parents but also to the ancient orders that oversee them. Therefore, Juliette and Calliope understand that being together will likely tear their families apart. At the end of season 1, seeing the ravages that are primarily a result of their relationship, Juliette and Calliope go their separate ways. In the final moments, they both acknowledge that their passion for each other is so strong that it is destructive to their way of life.
Thus, the show’s central couple, Juliette and Calliope, do not end up together at the end of season 1. However, both still feel a strong attraction to the other, and given that they are torn apart by circumstances, a romance between the two is still highly likely.
Is Elinor Going to Prison?
Elinor also faces a surprising fate at the end of season 1 as she finds herself in the clutches of the law. For a character as confident and self-assured in her power as Elinor, being at the mercy of a police detective is almost comical. Despite her father’s assurances of a lawyer, however, things don’t look too good for Elinor.
Thanks to her vengeful brother, Oliver, the detectives find Elinor’s collection of identity cards that she retains as keepsakes from her victims. This is as incriminating as any proof that can be found, and Elinor could likely be imprisoned.
However, prison might just turn into a boon for Elinor. The elder vampire sister has always coveted power, and having the entire criminal population of the prison at her disposal might be precisely what she needs. Elinor has certain powers over the minds of her victims, enabling her to wipe out parts of their memories. Combined with her more obvious vampiric powers, Elinor could very well take control of her fellow inmates and create an army to do her bidding.
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