DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Reginald the Vampire episode “The Hunger” has spoilers. Prepare to feed and proceed at your peril. 

Welcome back, baby vamps! Reginald the Vampire‘s second outing is even better than its predecessor. It allows for some much-needed character development as we get to know our leading players in this narrative. Unsurprisingly, Jacob Batalon is still charming as hell, leading the charge as our titular protagonist. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vampire’s journey depicted in this manner on TV. I’ve seen vampires refrain from feeding, but this series shows Reggie trying to feed and failing miserably. 

We’re so used to vampires in pop culture being perfect right out of the gate. Reginald is flawed and insecure, wearing his humanity on his sleeve even as a vamp. Watching his hilarious quest to find food in “The Hunger,” one fraught with roadblocks aplenty, endears us to him. 

Ready to delve into “The Hunger”? Let’s get to it. 

RELATED: Reginald the Vampire Series Premiere Recap: (S01E01) Dead Weight

We open right where we left off, with Sarah (Em Haine) confronting Reginald (Batalon) about the status of their relationship. She wants to hear the truth from him after he stood her up the night before. Reggie finds himself honing in on the blood pulsating in Sarah’s neck, which doesn’t help. His fangs are still extended, so he runs into the bathroom. 

While there, Reginald works up the courage to lay it all on the table. Just as he’s exclaiming, “I’m a motherf*cking vampire,” Reggie bursts into his living room to find Maurice (Mandela Van Peebles) waiting for him. We see Sarah leaving Reginald’s apartment, a look of confusion painted on her face. Maurice glamoured Sarah, but he erased more than Reginald’s vampire reveal — he wiped clean the memory of Reggie asking Sarah out on a date. She might not even remember she likes him!

Reginald sits on a red couch while looking discouraged in Reginald the Vampire Season 1 Episode 2, "The Hunger."

REGINALD THE VAMPIRE — “The Hunger” Season 1 Episode 2 — Pictured: Jacob Batalon as Reginald — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Maurice urges his baby vamp to feed. Otherwise, Reggie’s body will undergo unpleasant changes. Reginald practices his faulty glamour technique on Maurice. Maurice reminds him that vampires can’t glamour other vampires. 

RELATED: TV Review: Reginald the Vampire

Later, Reggie heads to work at the Slushy Shack. Ashley (Marguerite Hanna) approaches Reginald, asking him point-blank what’s wrong with him. They reveal that Todd (Aren Buchholz) wanted to approach Reggie initially, but Ashley feels they have a tried and true method of eliciting the truth. Reginald tells them about an anonymous friend he’s concerned about, one with a “health” issue. Said anonymous friend is Sarah. Reggie worries about how deep Maurice’s glamour goes regarding her memory loss. 

I love that Reginald the Vampire has a nonbinary character, and nobody draws attention to that aspect. They just exist as they are, as everyone else does. Beautiful. Next, Reginald reunites with Sarah in the employee break room. Not only does Sarah not recall their previously planned date, but she doesn’t remember their cute little friend language, i.e., talking in song titles. For example, Sarah believes Blur sang “Morning Glory” when it’s an Oasis tune. To be fair, both are rock bands from the UK. 

Meanwhile, a man built like a chimney and donning a kilt knocks Maurice on his ass. He’s a vamp named Erich (Andre Tricoteux). He’s there to enact vengeance on Isaac’s behalf. You know, the vampire Maurice staked in the pilot. Maurice asserts he killed Isaac because the latter was hurting his friend. After evading serious harm, Maurice confuses Erich with his super speed, fleeing the perilous situation. 

RELATED: Catch up on all the Purgatory shenanigans with our Wynonna Earp recaps!

Next, Reggie heads to Maurice’s house to ask for advice regarding the whole glamour thing. He meets Mike (Ryan Jinn), Maurice’s boyfriend/roommate/friend with benefits/probably all of the above. Mike invites Reginald in so the pair can wait for Maurice to return. Speaking of, we see Reggie’s maker purchasing some angel blood in a bid to destroy Angela. 

Mike, also a vampire, imparts undead wisdom to our baby vamp. Reggie frets over whether Sarah still likes him, but Mike insists that glamouring can’t erase someone’s feelings, only memories. Maurice returns home and joins the conversation. He and Mike encourage Reggie to utilize his gifts. In this case, Reginald’s superpower is his impressive intellect. 

Maurice stands behind his kitchen counter while resting his hands on it and looking anxious in Reginald the Vampire Season 1 Episode 2, "The Hunger."

REGINALD THE VAMPIRE — “The Hunger” Season 1 Episode 2 — Pictured: Mandela Van Peebles as Maurice — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Later, Reggie sits on a park bench at night, creepily people-watching, on the hunt for his first victim. A woman jogs by while wearing headphones. Firstly, what a brave soul. How can a woman or, let’s face it, anyone who’s not a white man confidently wear both headphones while walking alone at night? On another note, as someone born and raised in Ohio and who’s been to the Akron/Canton area many, many times — this looks nothing like it. 

RELATED: Read about haunted houses on the market with our SurrealEstate recaps!

Anyway, Reggie fails to feed on the lady, so he sets his sights on a man named Omar (Don Mike). He tails Omar for a bit, but the latter catches him in the act. Their exchange cracks me up. Reginald blatantly admits he’s a vampire; however, Omar’s not buying it. He tells Reggie that comic-con is next month. Reggie tries to extend his fangs, but they don’t release. Finally, Omar punches our baby vamp. 

Meanwhile, Angela (Savannah Basley) pays Maurice and Mike a visit. She hasn’t seen her “soldier” in decades, so she wanted to check up on Maurice. You can cut the tension between Angela and Maurice with a rusty butter knife. There’s so much subtext lingering underneath their words. I can’t wait to learn more about their complex relationship. 

Next, Reginald spots Claire (Thailey Roberge) outside the Slushy Shack, so he follows her home. Our boy’s not looking good. Unfortunately, he lets his fangs slip out in front of Claire. Thus, she learns his secret. Initially, Claire refuses to invite Reggie into her home, but she reveals that that vampire trope is a load of bull. 

RELATED: Top 10 Vampires From Books, Film and TV

While in Claire’s home, our gracious host gives Reginald uncooked meat. It’s not as good as human blood, but it’ll do the trick in a pinch. He scarfs it down in a few bites. Before departing, Claire asks Reginald if he’ll visit her more often. Her mom works a lot, and she gets lonely. Reggie shakes on it, but his finger goes flying off his hand. Uh-oh. Remember those unpleasant bodily changes Maurice was talking about? Maurice and Mike receive an invite to Angela’s humble abode for an elegant vampire dinner party. 

Reggie wakes the following morning to find he has a new finger in place of the lost one. Regeneration sure is fun! He heads to work, still looking worse for the wear. He slaps on some foundation courtesy of Sarah, which makes him look sickly. Sarah asks Reggie if he’s going to head outside for his shift. Todd is not a happy camper right now. Reggie regales Sarah with a story about a horse and an ant. It’s a thinly-veiled metaphor for Reginald loving Sarah, but Sarah doesn’t pick up on that. 

Todd and Sarah stand behind the counter at the Slushy Shack while wearing dark blue jackets in Reginald the Vampire Season 1 Episode 2, "The Hunger."

REGINALD THE VAMPIRE — “The Hunger” Season 1 Episode 2 — Pictured: (l-r) Aren Buchholz as Todd, Em Haine as Sarah — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

On the floor, Todd tells Reggie he looks like sh*t, and his hat isn’t standard Slushy Shack dress code. Claire urges Reginald to feed on Todd because he’s Todd. Meanwhile, Maurice and Mike arrive at Angela’s for dinner. Penelope (Georgia Waters) joins them. Things get hot and steamy when Angela pours her blood out for everyone to drink. Then, they all each other. The clothes come off, and … it’s vampire orgy time! I never thought of vampires as being gender monogamous, so I love this. You live forever, so why not do it with everyone?

RELATED: Luke Hutchie Talks EZRA and Making a Campy Vampire Show

Then, Claire lures Todd into the break room under the guise of Reginald’s “death.” Reggie shows off his bloodshot eyes and unsheathes his fangs with ease. Before Todd can effectively fire him, Reggie glamours the former like a pro. Finally, Reginald feasts, and it’s glorious. Use that dirtbag as your blood bag! Todd’s facial expressions while Reggie feeds on him are hilarious. 

Meanwhile, Maurice wakes after the vamp orgy. He confronts Angela, asking her if she drugged him. Then, he inquires about Mike. Angela holds a heart in her hands, which alludes to her killing him. Maurice passes out. Later, Sarah encounters Todd in the break room, who’s now sporting a fashionable scarf around his neck. Todd seems off. He’s overly enthusiastic about working. 

Reggie feels like a million bucks after feeding on Todd. Before he can revel in his newfound vigor, he senses Maurice is in danger. That’s because he is!

RELATED: Movie Review: Hellraiser

We see Maurice in a coffin on a conveyor belt, heading straight toward a furnace. Angela rebukes Maurice for his actions, mainly regarding how he contributed to their fractured relationship. She also criticizes him for turning Reginald, calling Reggie an “abomination.” She believes they must keep the vampire community pure. This monologue smacks of white supremacy and Nazism, even though the vampires on this show are diverse. I imagine white supremacy is something the series wishes to call out. This sounds like something Hitler would’ve said about his Aryan race. 

Angela wears a dark burgundy coat while standing outside at night in Reginald the Vampire Season 1 Episode 2, "The Hunger."

REGINALD THE VAMPIRE — “The Hunger” Season 1 Episode 2 — Pictured: Savannah Basley as Angela — (Photo by: James Dittiger/SYFY)

Anyway, Reggie arrives at Angela’s house on a bike. He heads inside, but before he can save Maurice, he runs into Erich, who’s washing the dishes. Erich seizes Reggie by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Thankfully, Reginald glamours Erich to drop him. Yes, you read that correctly — Reginald Andres can glamour other vampires!

Finally, Reginald saves Maurice from incineration. Meanwhile, Angela wipes the steam off her mirror after showering post-orgy. She hears the commotion outside her door and extends her fangs in response. 

Someone’s angry. 

RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Marceline the Vampire Queen

“The Hunger” is bursting at the seams with potential, showcasing Reginald the Vampire‘s emotional depths, heart and playful humor. We have an idea of where this series can take us. The performances are solid, and the narrative is not too plot-heavy. Instead, it seems the writers are taking the first few episodes of the season to focus on the characters as any show should. Otherwise, how will we root for them? 

All in all, it’s a nice balance of humor and heart, along with character and plot development. I’m excited to see what lies ahead. 

Give me all the vampire orgies, awkward glamouring, Ashley’s conspiracy theories, dirtbag Todd becoming vampire puppy chow and giant vamps in kilts. 🩸

Reginald the Vampire airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on your Syfy affiliate. 

Marvel Us Podcast Ep 50 – BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1992)

Melody McCune
Follow me!
Latest posts by Melody McCune (see all)