WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Chapelwaite Season 1, Episode 8, “Hold the Night,” which aired Sunday on Epix.
Thus far on Chapelwaite, the vampires have been portrayed as the antagonists and the source of the supernatural horror plaguing Preacher’s Corners, Jerusalem’s Lot and Chapelwaite itself. Phillip and Stephen Boone are the cause of the “illness” that killed multiple children and adults in Preacher’s Corners. Jakub and his Promised cult want to raise an ancient worm god to bring about eternal darkness, and Phillip and Stephen Boone also have plans to raise this god themselves. Both groups also have murdered many people to get the blood that they need to survive. Ultimately, the undead thus far have been pretty unequivocally been shown to be the enemy of the living.
However, the transformations of Mary Dennison and Loa Boone complicate this narrative of good humans versus evil vampires. Both Mary and Loa still have moments of humanity and seem to care about their loved ones despite their new role as vampires. While some of this behavior could be an act, they also could be evidence that vampires are not inherently evil despite the horrible acts committed by Jakub, the Promised, and Phillip and Stephen Boone. By examining Mary and Loa’s arc thus far, we can see how vampires might not all be evil, and their monstrosity might be based more on their choices.
Mary Dennison’s Transformation Contrasts Sharply With Her Life Before
Before becoming a vampire, Mary Dennison was portrayed as one of the most morally kind characters on the show. Multiple characters, including her husband George and Martin Burroughs, the town’s minister, spoke highly of her faith. Her descent with the illness is still characterized by religious imagery. She believes that God is visiting her, not Phillip Boone, and that the visits are holy and promise eternal life. When Minister Burroughs watches over Mary, he reassures her that there are no better servants of God than she is. However, her descriptions of the visits and the promises of an eternal life “in the dark” make it clear that a darker fate awaits her.
George becomes aware of the truth that Mary is transforming into a vampire throughout “The Offer.” However, instead of telling Mary and allowing her to make choices regarding her destiny, he instead takes matters into his own hands and kills her to try to prevent the transformation. While she might not have been in the condition to understand his words or make decisions, she still deserved to know the truth. His actions actually hasten her transformation and make it even more traumatic since she also has to face her husband’s betrayal, too.
In “Hold the Night,” Mary seems to have lost all faith after her transformation. While this loss of faith could be a side effect of becoming a vampire, Mary also could be understandably traumatized by her murder, learning vampires are real and understanding that she now is a vampire, too. She tells George, “I’m different only because I know death. I’ve been there and returned, but we all die someday. So, am I really so different?” She claims that there is nothing after death, and she also tries to get George to choose to become a vampire, too so that they can spend eternity together.
While Mary’s pleas to George might mainly be motivated by a desire to be free, she also seems genuinely worried that he will die and become nothing. This concern is particularly time-sensitive because Phillip Boone wounded George in the gut during their fight in the previous episode, and the wound is slowly killing him. Still, she drinks his blood even though he is potentially dying because of blood loss. Therefore, Mary exists in a gray area currently where it is unclear whether her transformation has truly eliminated her morals or if her words are more in response to the trauma.
Loa Boone Still Seems to Retain Her Love for Her Family
Throughout the series, Loa Boone places her family at the center of her world. Loa’s rift with her father stems mainly from her grief and her fear that her mother Maya Boone will be forgotten in the wake of their move to Chapelwaite. Loa also feels everything deeply, and her decision to become a vampire is partially rooted in a desire to connect with her undead relatives. Stephen Boone, in particular, is far more willing to discuss grief and validate Loa’s feelings, particularly Loa’s worries about her father’s health.
After her transformation, Loa seems to forsake her family, boldly declaring Phillip and Stephen Boone her new family now. However, she still seems to care for her father, Honor and Tane. After Charles finds the book in “De Vermis Mysteriis,” Loa pleads with him to give her the book and become a vampire, too. From their conversation, it is clear that Phillip and Stephen have not told her the full truth about what the book contains or their plans to bring about the apocalypse. She instead focuses on the fact that her father is suffering from the curse, and she believes that if Charles becomes a vampire, too, his suffering will end. Since Loa’s leg was cured when she transformed, she has firsthand knowledge of the ways in which a vampiric transformation can heal, and also, the Boone family curse only affects living Boones.
Loa’s motivations still seem to be protecting her family and keeping them united, even after becoming a vampire. At the end of “De Vermis Mysteriis,” Loa breaks away from Phillip and Stephen, especially since they pretty easily lose their part of the battle. She later reappears in “Hold the Night” after Tane is separated from the rest of his family and is threatened by the Promised. Loa kills and drinks from Tane’s possible attacker, and then she convinces Tane to give her De Vermis Mysteriis. At the end of the episode, when all hope seems lost, the Promised stop attacking Chapelwaite and leave, and Tane reveals the truth: Loa gave the book to Jakub in exchange for her family’s lives.
Thus, Loa seems to now be aligned with Jakub and the Promised, but her decision is guided more by a desire to protect her family than any belief in Jakub’s cult or the worm god. At the end of “Hold the Night,” Loa and Mary still stand in contrast with the other vampires on the show. While their transformations have changed them, there is some evidence that there may still be some humanity in them. If so, then the Boone family may be able to convince them to help avert the apocalypse.
To see how Loa and Mary continue to change in the wake of their vampiric transformations, new episodes of Chapelwaite drop Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on EPIX.
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