Dhruv Trivedi
‘Underworld: Awakening’ (2012) returns in its fourth installment of the ancient war between Vampires and Lycans. With both species driven into hiding after their discovery and subsequent purge by the humans, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) wakes up in a world very different from the one she remembers. She now has a daughter, who becomes the prize of an especially bloody battle between the warring species, this time fighting for their very survival.
The stakes are also raised as new forms of hybrids emerge on both sides, making for some truly awesome showdowns. The battle continues, and new allies are found, even though Michael Corvin remains unseen. Let’s take a closer look at where ‘Underworld: Awakening’ leaves Selene and the Vampire coven. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Underworld: Awakening Plot Synopsis
The film opens with a flashback narrated by Selene, where we see her falling in love with the hybrid Michael Corvin after saving his life. The human discovery and subsequent purge of the Vampires and Lycans is then described, with both species being driven into hiding. Selene finds Michael being chased by human forces armed with silver bullets and ultraviolet flash bombs and attempts to save him, but the two are thrown apart from the force of an explosion. Selene then wakes up in a lab and finds that she’s been kept cryogenically frozen for many years.
As she escapes the facility, Selene sees visions that she thinks are Michael’s. However, she soon discovers that she is sharing the vision of a young girl named Eve, who also escaped from the Antigen facility. Eve, it is revealed, is Selene’s hybrid daughter who was born in the facility whilst her mother was kept frozen. We are soon given a taste of Eve’s incredible powers when she fights off a pursuing Lycan and tears it in half.
Eve and Selene are rescued by David, the son of one of the elders of the Vampire coven. He brings them to their hideout, much to the anger of his father, who is convinced that the presence of Eve and Selene will spell trouble. Soon enough, the Lycans attack the Vampire stronghold and defeat them, kidnapping Eve in the process. Contrary to what the Vampires believed about the dwindling Lycans, the werewolves come in great numbers, with some much bigger than Selene remembers them being. It is soon discovered that the Antigen facility where she was held is a cover for the Lycans trying to create a vaccine that will make them immune to silver.
Underworld: Awakening Ending: Is Michael Corvin Dead?
Realizing that’s where her daughter is most likely taken, Selene attacks the facility along with a sympathetic police detective who lost his Vampire wife during the purge. The Lycans are well equipped and retaliate hard as they try to take Eve out of the facility and away from Selene. The van is intercepted by the detective while Selene goes inside the facility and discovers Micheal’s body frozen in a lab. She shoots a hole through his cryogenic chamber, shattering the glass, and then continues looking for Eve.
Before she can get to her daughter, Selena is intercepted by the oversized Lycan, who is the result of the anti-silver vaccine. He heals fast and is immune to silver but is outsmarted by the Vampire heroine and killed. She then finds her daughter, as well as David, who has recovered after his battle with the Lycans and now has Selene’s blood in him after being healed by her. Michael’s chamber is empty, and Selene, along with David and Eve, sets off into the night, promising to bring the Vampire coven back into power.
So Selene’s lover Michael Corvin, who seems to be the father of Eve, is once again not to be found. Selene only catches a brief glimpse of him frozen in the chamber before she fires a bullet at it and resumes her battle. This is a callback to how Selene initially escaped the very same facility in the beginning, when a leak in her chamber resulted in her waking up from cryo-sleep.
Therefore, despite the Vampire elder offhandedly saying the Michael has been dead for many years, and Selene also expecting him to have not survived the explosion, it seems like Michael Corvin is alive. Much like how Selene was when she first woke up, Michael is likely disoriented and has no idea where he is or how much time (12 years) has passed. Fortunately, Eve is able to share his vision and can see where he is going, hinting that she and Selene will soon be reunited with Michael, who is the first hybrid.
Who is Alexander Corvinus?
Alexander Corvinus, also known as the “Founding Father,” was the first of the immortals and is responsible for the existence of both the Vampires and Lycans. Part of a Hungarian war clan, his blood abnormality eventually mutated to make him immortal. Out of his 3 sons, one was bitten by a rabid wolf and turned into a Lycan, while the second was later bitten by a bat and became the first Vampire. His third son was mortal.
In ‘Underworld: Awakening,’ Selene informs the detective that she is able to survive in the sunlight thanks to a gift from Alexander Corvinus. In fact, moments before his death, Corvinus gave his immortal blood to Selene, making her immune to sunlight and giving her strength and physical capabilities a significant boost. This is why she was subsequently able to kill his son Marcus, the original Vampire.
Why are the Lycans after Selene’s Daughter Eve?
The Lycans have been secretly building their strength and carrying out research on a vaccine under the guise of a human research facility called Antigen. Thought to be dwindling and in hiding, whilst kidnapping Eve, they show a full force of their strength, including the oversized, instantly healing Lycan, who is the son of the head Lycan researcher, Dr. Jacob Lane. We subsequently find that Eve has been raised in the facility and had never been outside until she escaped with Selene.
Eve is the daughter of Selene and Michael and is thought to be an advanced form of hybrids — more powerful than the Vampires and Lycans. This is seen quite clearly on multiple occasions when the little girl loses her temper and ends up decimating whatever creature is causing her harm. It is also mentioned that Eve, being a child, hasn’t yet discovered the extent of her capabilities, meaning she is going to get a whole lot stronger.
The Lycans, in an attempt to gain immunity from silver and become stronger, plan to harvest genetic material from Eve to use in their vaccines. We can already see the results of the vaccine in the almost unkillable behemoth Lycan. Hence, they are after Eve to use her rare hybrid blood to empower themselves and defeat the Vampires and humans.
Eve’s extraordinary power comes from the fact that she is the daughter of Selene and Michael, who are both powerful hybrids themselves. Michael, apart from carrying the genes of the original Corvinus clan — which was immortal — has also been bitten by Selene and subsequently by the Lycan leader Lucian. This resulted in him becoming the first Vampire-Lycan hybrid with significantly superior powers. Selena, a Vampire, got her strength after imbibing the blood of the original immortal Alexander Corvinus. Therefore, the daughter of Selene and Michael basically holds the holy grail of genetic material that draws from the strengths of all the species, making her a very valuable asset.
Read More: Where Was Underworld: Awakening Filmed?
