‘Firebite’ Recap: ‘The Rise of the Fallen’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains minor spoilers for the season finale of ‘Firebite’.
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When we last settled in to discuss the wondrously refreshing AMC+ series, Firebite, we talked at length about the hero’s journey and understandably so. For ‘Hero’s Life’ dug deep into what heroic acts genuinely look like and how sometimes heroic acts can be foolish and disastrous in nature and well, revisiting those themes is critical to our discussion today… because it turns out the show wasn’t quite done with exploring that journey. For the season finale of this show, ‘The Rise of the Fallen’, looked to expand upon it further by genuinely looking at one particular motivation for heroism that we don’t think about all that often… selfishness.

Which at first glance, seems to be a negative connotation to associate with this series and this concept, but it is anything but. Because some heroes are driven, out of the selfish belief that they can heal old personal wounds and in the process of entering their quest to do so... they accomplish wonders for others and well… it is selfishness in that positive vein that entered Shanika’s heart in this tale. Because she genuinely wanted to be selfish in this tale and make years of fussiness and resistance right and that motivated her to truly take to the Bloodhunter way in this tale and go the extra mile and do good for all and that means that in many ways, Firebite has been about more than just shaking up the vampire sub-genre of horror… it’s also been a hero’s origin story.

Because by the end of this tale, Shanika is indeed fully committed to dealing with the vampires that roam the mines and their new Queen, Eleona. Which means that now our hero has her nemesis and boy, does Shanika have quite the foil to deal with. Since we saw Eleona commit to some serious darkness here, the kind that is flawlessly misguided and misplaced as you find with only the finest of villains and watching these two transform into their respective roles, truly leaves one excited for the future of this series. Since it would lead to more powerful moments akin to the finale of this tale and it would also bring about… chances for more depth and commentary. Something that this episode leaned hard into, and that’s a wonderful thing.

For horror is always at its best when it takes a little time to reflect upon our modern world and shine a light upon topics that leave people uncomfortable and this episode accomplished that, by revisiting some of the racial context introduced early on in the season. Because we heard some seriously unsettling things come out of vampire mouths in this tale, the kind that made it clear that this all- white group of vampires, are flat out racist toward Black people, plain and simple. Which brought about a great deal of commentary and observations about race relations in our world right now and the power of privilege and expanding upon this further in season two, would allow for some powerful moments and examinations to take place, the kind that would shine a solid light on an important problem.

If anything, this was just a brilliant way to bring season one of this dynamic series to a close. Because it truly set the stage for the future in a dynamic and compelling manner, and it truly brought growth to everyone we’ve met in this first outing. Because Shanika is ready to throw down and be a hero and the once mousey Eleona is now as fierce as they come, and everyone that didn’t want to fight for the cause is ready to do so and that just… leaves us hungry and eager for more. So, we can see if by chance there can be any kind of hope for the people of Opal City to live normal lives without the specter of evil hanging over their heads and well, hopefully we get news of a season two and soon… so we can get the answers to those questions and see where this incredible story will take us next.

To learn more about Eleona, visit our interview with the actor plays her, Yael Stone, right here.

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