DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Reginald the Vampire season finale episode “Reginald Andres Beyond the Thunderdome” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, baby vamps! We’ve finally reached season finale territory on Reginald the Vampire, and it’s time for Reggie to face the music. The dreaded Assessment is here! Thankfully, heroes always prevail over villains, so naturally, Reginald achieves a passing grade and then some. I enjoyed the over-the-top cheesiness of “Reginald Andres Beyond the Thunderdome.” That title feels like a nod to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, no?
It’s earnest, wholesome, fun and heartwarming. Bonds deepen, and new relationships develop. I love the camaraderie between our group of protagonists and how everyone bands together to save Reggie and Maurice. It’s not a pitch-perfect season finale, but the unevenness and scrappy attitude feel very on-brand for this show.
Ready to delve into “Reginald Andres Beyond the Thunderdome”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with Maurice (Mandela Van Peebles) meeting with Mike (Ryan Jinn) at night. Mike gives Maurice the suitcase full of angel blood. What could that be for, I wonder? Mike reveals he doesn’t plan to attend the Assessment because he doesn’t want to watch Maurice die. Next, Maurice reunites with Reginald (Jacob Batalon) on the bridge, where the latter discovered he was a vampire. They talk about how their sire/progeny bond is still going strong. Unfortunately, Penelope’s (Georgia Waters) and LeBron’s (Sean Yves Lessard) arrival ruins the mood.
LeBron and Penelope hand over paperwork regarding the Assessment. Reggie pokes fun at LeBron because his last name is, wait for it, James. What makes it even funnier is they’re living in LeBron James’ birthplace — Akron. Maurice and Reginald wait for the vampiric proceedings to begin in a dingy cell. Maurice expresses his faith in Reggie’s plan. It’s all going to work out (Right?).
Then, a statuesque guard (Ayisha Issa) leads Reginald to his doom. Reggie, in typical fashion, adorably talks her ear off due to his nerves. Finally, they arrive in the dome-shaped room for the Assessment. The guard announces the entrance of Logan the Impenetrable (Julian Richings). Maurice sits next to him with a stern guard keeping watch. We see Eve (Hannah Levien) among the vampire audience. Logan delivers a flowery, hate-riddled speech about the purity and preservation of vampires — blah, blah, blah. Sounding an awful lot like a certain mustached fellow who committed genocide, are we?
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Irritated, Reggie urges Logan to get on with the show. Thus, the Assessment begins with a series of tests. He fails every one of them. Meanwhile, we see Sarah (Em Haine) and Ashley (Marguerite Hanna) coming together to execute their part of Operation: Save Reginald. Reggie finally scores a win in the test department and foils Logan’s plans. He accrues a string of victories, including carrying a bee’s nest without getting stung.
However, Reginald’s triumphs might turn to abject failure should he not pass this final test. He must successfully extract a stuffed horse from a claw machine. Those are practically unbeatable! Sure enough, despite Reggie’s unrelenting optimism, he suffers defeat. The punishment? An instant “F” on the Assessment followed by a lengthy torture session and a brutal death by sunlight. Maurice will die after him.
Later, we see Reginald strapped to a board. The torturer emerges with a formidable-looking blade. Angela (Savannah Basley) enters the scene with Todd (Aren Buchholz) hot on her heels. Logan reveals that not only will Reginald and Maurice die, but Reggie’s progeny must also perish. Reginald emphatically insists that Todd is a human, but Logan claims the latter’s been a vampire for a day.
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Then, Logan pours more salt into the wound by declaring that any human who knows Reginald’s a vampire will die. We see a handful of vamp assassins make a beeline for the Slushy Shack to take out Sarah and Ashley. Meanwhile, Claire (Thailey Roberge) gets into a tanning bed at a salon. Suddenly, the lights switch off. Claire finds two cloaked assassins standing before her. Her eyes glow a luminous blue. Beams of light emit from her hands, and she fries the attackers on the spot. So, there’s that. Is Claire a superhero now?
Next, Reggie undergoes some light torture (okay, maybe not “light”). Logan’s lackey cuts Reginald’s stomach open. Logan orders the curtains thrown open so Todd can sizzle in the sunlight. Of course, Todd’s not actually a vampire, so no sizzling occurs. Reggie procures Sarah’s disco ball from his insides and tosses it on the floor. Angela kicks it over to Todd, who exposes it to the sunlight, which reflects on the vampire audience. The vamps try to flee in the ensuing mayhem. The guard who brought Reginald in for the Assessment kills the torturer and frees Reggie, much to Logan’s dismay.
Then, Reginald, armed with a squirt gun, shoots angel blood at the vamps. We see them die instantly — it’s very Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Finally, Logan is the last one standing. Logan threatens Reggie, reminding our heroes who he is. However, he’s not invincible enough to outlive Maurice staking him. Bye-bye, Logan the Douche Bag! Thus, Maurice becomes the new Deacon of the Americas. He pardons Reginald and officially invites him into the vampire community.
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Later, Reginald, Maurice and Todd return to the Slushy Shack to find two piles of dust in front of the entrance. The assassins never made it inside. They reunite with Sarah, Ashley, Nikki (Christin Park) and Claire. Sarah and Reggie share a smooch. Then, we see how the gang joined forces to save Reginald and Maurice. Firstly, Reggie enlists Angela’s aid. Next, everyone gathers at Reginald’s apartment to brainstorm a game plan. We see the idea for the disco ball and the angel blood in the squirt gun come to fruition. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Meanwhile, Penelope and LeBron grovel before Angela. Maurice reinstated Angela in her former position, meaning Penelope and LeBron better watch their backs. Angela wants to rip Eve’s heart out and feed it to her. She’s back, baby.
Reggie and Todd bond at the Slushy Shack, which is a peculiar sight. They’ve come so far since the pilot. Reginald considers Todd to be a friend. Pigs are flying, folks. Admittedly, I’m glad to see Todd on the path to redemption. That said, I wish we got to see him apologize to Reggie. Anyway, Todd continues to beg Reginald to turn him into a vampire. Reggie continues to reject him.
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Next, Maurice asks Claire how she thwarted the attackers. He and Reggie wanted to place her in that tanning salon because the UV rays would protect her. Claire reveals she killed them herself and briefly demonstrates her newfound abilities. She explains they recently surfaced. Maurice expresses interest in learning more about Claire’s powers. Me too!
Meanwhile, Nikki and Ashley grow closer. Ashley asks Nikki how old she is, while Nikki wonders why they aren’t terrified of her. Then, Nikki invites Ashley on a nice walk in the pitch black of night. They hold hands. How romantic. I adore this pairing.
Mike tries a slushy for the first time, and the verdict is: it sucks. Todd asks Mike if he’d turn him into a vamp. To Todd’s surprise, Mike agrees to do it. Todd, in his excitement, kisses Mike. Both ostensibly enjoy it, but Todd apologizes repeatedly. He wonders aloud whether Mike glamoured him and chalks the kiss to his elatedness at becoming a vampire. Aww. Unsurprisingly, Todd would want to be a vampire. He’s obsessed with his image and achieving physical perfection. It masks how he feels inside and his struggle to accept himself. I hope he can embrace his identity one day.
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Next, we see Eve fighting for her life after the bloody end of the Assessment. Uriel (Georgie Daburas) appears, introducing himself as one of the seven archangels and Eve’s “maker.” Eve acknowledges Uriel as an “Emissary of the Golden Divine.” Eve believes Uriel is there to save the vampires, but the latter reveals his objective is to “eradicate a grievous mistake.” He withdraws a fiery blade and kills her.
Later, Reggie and Maurice talk about the future. With Maurice in charge of the vampire council in the US, they can bring about positive change for the vamp community. First thing’s first — no more discriminating against vampires. Bigotry will no longer be the norm. That sounds like a great first decree. Maurice reunites with Angela, and they, too, talk about the future. Sure, they joined forces for this venture, but Angela still vows to take him down one day. Something tells me they enjoy chasing each other like this—that good ole lovers-to-enemies pipeline.
Then, Reginald and Sarah stand outside in the spot where Reggie prayed for a better life in the pilot. Reggie claims he’ll do anything to restore their relationship status. Sarah reveals that while she forgives him, and they might get back together down the line, she’s stepping away for now. Sarah has a lot to think about. Understandable. Back inside, Reginald greets a customer behind the counter. We see it’s none other than Uriel, the Vampire Slayer.
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If I had to list a few gripes regarding “Reginald Andres Beyond the Thunderdome,” the first would be Logan’s death. It was almost too easy to stake him, a vamp who’s supposed to be ancient. Perhaps that’s my bias, though. Julian Richings always kills it in roles like these, and I would’ve loved to spend more time establishing him as a formidable foe.
Claire suddenly developing powers feels out-of-left-field to me. Whatever happened to her mom issue? That sulfur smell in her mother’s room? Maybe Claire’s behind said smell, but we haven’t seen evidence of her burgeoning abilities at any point in the season. It almost feels like it was sandwiched in there so we’d have a storyline to explore in Season 2. Of course, Uriel’s arrival is a pretty significant narrative thread. Despite my gripes, I enjoyed this finale. It wraps the main plotline, if a bit messily, while introducing new ideas for the sophomore season.
Reginald the Vampire is campy bloodsucking goodness, brimming with intriguing, fully fleshed-out characters and unadulterated sweetness. The diversity and LGBTQIA+ representation are lovely, along with the show’s positive message. It takes a staunch stance against fatphobia and endeavors to topple our ridiculous societal beauty standards. Jacob Batalon effectively leads the charge as our charming titular character. I’m glad he has the chance to headline his own series.
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So, if there’s a takeaway from this season, it’s embracing your inner weirdo. Love who you love and, more importantly, love who you are.
How will Reggie and the gang eradicate this new threat? Will we meet more archangels besides Uriel? What’s up with Claire? Will we get Midd (my ship name for Mike/Todd) or Marodd (Maurice/Todd)? Only time (and a Season 2 greenlight) will tell.
Reginald the Vampire Season 1 is now streaming on the Syfy app.🩸
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
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