Aahana Swrup
Tommy Lynch’s Netflix pre-teen supernatural show, ‘I Woke Up a Vampire,’ centers around Carmela “Carmie” Henley and her journey of self-discovery. However, the kid’s path to teenagehood sees an unconventional start when her thirteenth birthday brings the revelation of her identity as a vampire/human offspring, a Vampling. As such, Carmie’s life easily becomes much more complicated than expected as she tries to navigate middle school with her best friend, Kev, by her side.
Carmie’s exploration of her supernatural identity plays a crucial role in the first season’s narrative, with the vampling and her best friend learning more about the mythic world. As a result, Carmie, who got adopted into the Henley family at a young age, begins to wonder about her birth parents. Therefore, if the mystery of Carmie’s birth mother, from whom the girl inherited the supernatural gene, has intrigued you, here is everything you need to know! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Carmie’s Parentage
When Carmie was only a few months old, the authorities found her in St. Paul’s fire station, abandoned with only a note stating her date of birth and name, Carmela. Soon after she was put in Social Services, Bill and Aasha Henley adopted her, and Carmie became their oldest child. Therefore, since Carmie never knew her biological parents and found a happy home with her adoptive parents and siblings, Jayden and Aiden, the pre-teen never felt the need to look into her genealogy.
However, everything changes on Carmie’s thirteenth birthday when she awakes from a nightmare floating high above her bed. In the dream, Carmie hears someone calling her a vampling in whispers as a cloud of dark smoke engulfs her. Due to this clue, Carmie and her best friend are able to figure out about the Mythic world, as depicted in a series of comics, “Blended,” written by Octavia Rhodes.
Meanwhile, Dylan Helsing, a young boy from a generation of hunters, moves into Carmie’s street in search of Blendeds to hunt. Although Carmie and Kev develop a friendship with the boy early on, they soon learn his true identity as a Blended hunter and realize the danger he poses to Carmie. Thus, needless to say, the young vampling integration into the supernatural world remains tumultuous.
As a result, Carmie starts wondering about her biological parents, who would have been able to help her with these issues. Even though Kev and his comic books provide great support, there’s only so much Kev can help him with since he’s only a human. Consequently, the duo decides to go straight to the source of Kev’s limited Blended knowledge and embark on a quest to search for Octavia Rhodes.
As it would turn out, Carmie and Kev don’t have to look too far since the Professor teaches at a university only one rocky superpowered flight away. At first, Rhodes refuses to hand over the answers to Carmie’s questions and insists that the girl must figure things out on her own. Nevertheless, Carmie manages to learn that her father is a human who disappeared around her birth, and her mother is apparently evil incarnate.
Although the newfound information about her birth mother plagues Carmie, who starts questioning her own morality, she tries to hold onto the goodness of her adoptive family. Soon, other problems on Carmie and Kev’s plates take priority, pushing the vampling’s genealogical issues to the backseat. Dylan has been catching Blendeds for the eccentric Collector, better known as Kev’s boss, the comic book shop owner.
In turn, the Collector trades the hunted Blendeds with a powerful Mythic, known only by her species, “The Shapeshifter.” As Dylan’s friendship with Carmie and Kev grows, he realizes he doesn’t want to hunt Blendeds anymore since he doesn’t believe all of them pose a threat to humanity after learning about Carmie. Still, on his last hunt, Dylan delivers Madison, one of Carmie’s friends and a werewolf, to the Collector.
Therefore, Carmie’s worries about her biological mother subside as she, Kev, and Dylan hatch a scheme to help Madison escape. Furthermore, after the mission succeeds, the kids get sidetracked by their school’s “Fangs of the Opera” production, wherein Carmie scores the lead role.
Nevertheless, the same day, Kev comes across a life-altering secret. Earlier, Rhodes sends Kev one of her unpublished comics about the elusive Shapeshifter. Within its pages remains the truth about Carmie’s mother, a.k.a. The Shapeshifter herself. After Kev and Dylan break the news to Carmie, the vampling is understandably troubled, well aware of the future complications her parentage will propose.
