The True Villain Of Castlevania Season 3 Isn't Who You Think

The third season of the horror anime Castlevania introduced fans to a slew of characters inspired by the popular video game franchise that Konami has recently left unforgivably fallow. Whether they're vampire or human, the series does an excellent job at portraying these characters as both vile and sympathetic. New characters, such as vampire council members Lenore (Jessica Brown Findlay), Morana (Yasmine Al Massri), and Striga (Ivana Milicevic), are all on a quest to conquer humanity and raise them as livestock in order to maintain a steady supply of blood. However, each character carries their own trauma from their past life as a human. Many are still capable of loyalty and love, providing an added layer of complexity to the series' cast of bloodthirsty villains.

This rule also applies to characters such as Isaac (Adetokumboh M'Cormack), a human forgemaster who also wants to wipe out all of humanity. As the third season progresses, Isaac grows as a character, and even displays brief moments of kindness and understanding while interacting with certain humans during his solo journey.

Despite all these examples of complex villains, however, the series does contain at least one horrific character with zero redeeming qualities — and it's not one that fans will initially suspect.

Spoilers beyond for season 3 of Castlevania.

Perhaps Dracula's onto something about humans being basically terrible, and no one represents the species' feet of clay better than The Judge (John Isaacs). 

This character is introduced at the beginning of the third season when famed hunter Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage) and Speaker sorceress Sypha Belnades (Alejandra Reynoso) encounter him in the small village of Lindenfield. While The Judge comes off as a bit stern, he does keep the village organized and has Lindenfield's citizens' best interests at heart. As the Lindenfield plot progresses, he even assists Trevor and Sypha in their investigation into the strange occurrences happening at the local church. Determined to uncover the truth, The Judge proves to be a valuable asset when Trevor and Sypha learn the terrifying goals of the church.

However, the discoveries about the church pale in comparison to what The Judge had been doing throughout his years of leadership. There is one scene in which The Judge tells one of the rambunctious village children where they can find an apple orchard in the woods. That child is never seen again. It's revealed that "the orchard" The Judge mentioned was in fact a spike-filled trap designed to mercilessly kill unsuspecting children. After killing them, The Judge keeps the children's shoes as mementos in his home.

The Judge's true nature is revealed in the third season finale, when Judge begs Trevor and Sypha to burn down his house containing all of the evidence. The duo are sickened by the discovery, and are forever scarred by the atrocities committed by The Judge. While The Judge tries to justify these actions by claiming he was maintaining "order," there's really no valid excuse to go this far. He's truly one of Castlevania's most twisted villains — one that puts even the worst vampires to shame.