Dhruv Trivedi
‘First Kill’ follows the budding teen romance between Juliette and Calliope, who hail from rival ancient factions. Juliette comes from a long line of vampires, Calliope hails from a family of celebrated monster-hunters. While both girls are driven to live up to their side’s expectations, they are also unable to ignore the passion they feel for each other.
The show blends two highly contrasting worlds, the first being Juliette and Calliope’s regular high-school existence and the second being the daunting and violent ancient world that their respective orders are a part of. Whereas Calliope’s family is part of a guild of monster hunters, some members of Juliette’s family are often referred to as “legacy” vampires. Let’s take a closer look at these legacy vampires and see what they’re about. SPOILERS AHEAD.
What is a Legacy Vampire?
The show distinguishes between regular or “made” vampires and legacy vampires. The former variety consists of humans that were turned into vampires after being bitten by one. On the other hand, legacy vampires share a bloodline with the original ancient vampires and are, therefore, “born with the thirst.”
There is an inherent hierarchy between made and legacy vampires, with the former considered to be lower and less powerful. Most notably, Juliette’s father, Sebastian, is a made vampire and is looked down upon by his mother-in-law, Davina, who is a high-ranking legacy vampire. The fact that the “lowly” Sebastian married her daughter is a cause of great irritation for Davina. Of course, after one argument too many, Sebastian ends up killing Davina and then lives in fear of the repercussions.
Legacy vampires are also seen to have specific powers, like being immune to silver. This makes the guild hunters, who rely on the silver to kill their foes, especially wary of legacy monsters. Ultimately, a legacy vampire can be considered part of the group’s royalty, while made vampires become foot soldiers. The only exception to this is Sebastian, who, despite being a made vampire, holds a position of power through his marriage to a legacy vampire.
Is Juliette a Legacy Vampire?
Juliette is a legacy vampire from her mother’s side. Since the requirement for being a legacy vampire is to be part of the bloodline, it appears that Juliette has the rank of a full-fledged legacy vampire despite her father not being one. In fact, Juliette is also referred to as a “legacy” by Calliope’s hunter family. It is likely that she partly survives the stab by Calliope in episode 1 because of her legacy powers.
It also appears that Juliette’s family is especially powerful, even amongst legacy families. Her grandmother, Davina, holds the rank of Keeper of the Emerald Malkia, which is passed on to her mother when Sebastian kills Davina. With the title passing on, Juliette’s elder sister Elinor becomes the Keeper in Waiting.
Thus, Juliette herself is in line to inherit a powerful rank as a legacy vampire. Ironically, this makes it all the more difficult for her to have a relationship with Calliope. Seeing how marrying a made vampire instead of a legacy vampire caused trouble for Juliette’s mother, it is easy to imagine just how scandalous Juliette’s relationship with Calliope, who hails from an opposing guild hunter family, would be.
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