The first season of Netflix’s First Kill has come to a truly unpredictable end. Throughout the season, vampire Juliette (Sarah Catherine Hook) and vampire hunter Cal (Imani Lewis) have been yearning for one another as their romance has blossomed, much to the chagrin of their respective families and their communities at-large. After all, it has been repeatedly proved that vampires and hunters do not mix.
Their bond has created quite a few obstacles – for themselves and others – and led to several near-death experiences, forcing the two to lean on each other more than anyone else. With so much on the line going into the season finale, as Oliver (Dylan McNamara) continues trying to get Juliette on his side and with relationships up in the air, the season finale is completely game-changing. Let’s break it down.
After the fight with Elinor (Gracie Dzienny), Cal and Juliette walk into the bathroom to see Theo (Phillip Mullings Jr.) and Apollo (Dominic Goodman) on the floor, with Theo seemingly having bled out. With no memory of what happened, due to Elinor’s sneaky and special ability, Cal and Apollo head home to process what happened and tell their parents. Juliette, meanwhile, cleans up the blood around the bathroom, leaving no trace that any of them were there except Theo’s body in a stall. When she’s finished, she leaves the bar and finds a tube of lipstick in the parking lot – Elinor’s lipstick, to be exact – and puts the pieces of the night together. But, there’s a surprise twist waiting for Cal and Apollo when they arrive home: Theo, at the dining table, laughing and eating with their parents like nothing happened.
Unsure of what’s going on, but not wanting to reveal what happened earlier that night to their parents, Cal and Apollo awkwardly join the family for dinner while scrutinizing Theo’s odd behavior, like a new nickname he has for Cal or his sudden bout of supposed indigestion. . Once Theo leaves the table, he feels the full impact of what is happening to him. Made vampires can not eat anything but blood, so his body is rejecting the meal he’s just had. And, as his fangs come in, so does his thirst for blood, though everything is clearly too much to handle. Shortly thereafter, Talia (Aubin Wise) breaks down Theo’s bedroom door in all of her motherhood glory and finds her son with blood coming out of his eyes and mouth. While she’s terrified of what’s happening to him, Jack (Jason R. Moore) immediately takes action and straps Theo down in the family’s basement, preparing to defeat the monster that, in his eyes, has taken the place of his now-dead son. Thus, a battle between the Burns family commences over Theo’s soul. Out of the four other Burnses, Talia is the only one absolutely dead set on not murdering Theo, while both Cal and Apollo side with their father and refuse to believe that any part of their brother remains.
In a frenzy, Theo escapes, rushing out of their house and knocking Juliette to the ground by the front door before battling Apollo in the yard. Jack and Cal join Apollo outside, but before the fight continues, Juliette explains what is happening to Theo. After being created, everything is too much for a new vampire to handle. Everything is too loud, too bright, and the thirst for blood is unquenchable. That is until they drink from the person who created them, and then they can begin to think semi-clearly again as the transition continues. It’s a shock to everyone when Juliette offers her wrist to Theo, but this turn of events is quickly cleared up. After finding the lipstick in the parking lot, Juliette heard something from the bathroom. Upon her return, she found Theo asking for help, so she drained him of blood to help him go with dignity. Apparently, there’s always a chance that this can turn somebody into a vampire, which Juliette knew, but she did it anyway. It’s this decision that pushes Cal over the edge and effectively ends whatever relationship has been blossoming between them. Cal’s anger and heartbreak take hold of her, causing her to lash out at Juliette and threaten to impale her with a silver spear. When Juliette reminds Cal the spear won’t kill her, Cal vows to spend her life finding a way to destroy every monster like Juliette. To Cal, at this moment, Juliette is no longer a person or the girl she has come to love, but a monster to be erased from the world.
Over at the Fairmont residence, they are experiencing their own fair share of difficulties… though maybe none quite as devastating. Since Sebastian (Will Swenson) ate his mother-in-law, the snake has been hungrily residing in him, still actively transforming him into the first made – not born – legacy vampire. Determined to keep this unfortunate turn of events under wraps, Margot (Elizabeth Mitchell) decides it’s her time to be the new Keeper, eager to step into the role and leave her mother in the past with most of her outdated traditions. However, this plan is short-lived when news arrives by messenger that the legacy council will be arriving in two days to evaluate Margot’s mother competency as the Keeper and consider the future of the emerald malkia. Given the snake hasn’t finished turning Sebastian (he’s still shedding), removing the malkia could potentially kill him, so what’s Margot going to do? Much more is on the line than just her status.
As for the Fairmont brood, the war between the siblings is finally beginning. After finding Elinor’s lipstick at the scene of the crime, Juliette is furious with her sister, ready to make her pay for what she’s done. However, it is not until the confrontation when Elinor threatens the rest of the Burns family that Juliette makes the decision to join Oliver and take Elinor down for her crimes. And, unfortunately for her, Elinor’s ego leaves her blind to the coming attack. Together, Juliette and Oliver give the key to Elinor’s storage locker to the police, where they find the driver’s licenses of the dozens of people Elinor has killed over the years. Seems like maybe showing off to her little sister was not the smartest move, but that arrogance is her biggest flaw and the best weapon her siblings had to use against her.
When the police arrive at the Fairmont home to arrest Elinor, her parents exclaim that she should keep quiet, and she’ll be out soon enough, but it’s not too long before she realizes those were just lies meant to get her to go without a (bigger) fight. A visit from her lawyer – aka Oliver – seemingly cements her downfall, which is only confirmed later with a conversation between Margot and Sebastian, in which Margot expresses that going to prison could be good for Elinor and put her back in line. Where the family stands at the end of the episode is unclear, as all three children are quite separated from their parents. Can the Fairmonts come back together and become the legacy family of envy again?
To end this intense season finale, Talia makes a bold move. Refusing to let her husband kill their son, who she knows still exists despite him being a vampire, she asks for a moment alone to say goodbyes in the basement. Instead, she helps him escape, taking him to Oliver to stay alive, be safe, and learn control. (Oliver throws her a pretty wonderful comment about being the best mother he’s ever known, too, which is quite an interesting turn to keep these families connected despite Cal and Juliette’s breakup.) Once inside, Oliver takes Theo to the back where a horde of monsters are waiting. Now, it’s time for Oliver to reign pure chaos upon Savannah.