The first episode of Carmilla dropped ten years ago today (19th August), and so I give you this post in celebration. As is only right for a show that has meant so much to me.
Let’s start with the basics, shall we?
Happy Ten Years! Ten years of vampires and gays, and a community I am so glad I wandered into, though late I may have been. Carmilla, I figure, is a show that means a lot to a lot of people. For the little webseries that could, while it never felt large at the time I found it, it always felt active. It shall not fade away quietly into the night.
So, let’s start where all anniversary posts do, with Thank You.
Just, Simply, Thank You
To the creators, cast, KindaTV and everyone behind the scenes on this little webseries, for bringing Carmilla to life and giving us this wonderful little series. Thank you to the community that has built up around it. Thank you to those that have not let it be forgotten.
There is not enough thanks that can be given for those that breathed life into Carmilla, but thank you nonetheless. To Natasha Negovanlis and Elise Bauman for giving us Carmilla Karnstein and Laura Hollis respectively, bringing to our screens that beautiful love, and showing us that love has no boundaries. Thank you to K Alexander for LaFontaine, who showed us gender ain’t nothing. To Annie Briggs for Lola Perry, and one stellar performance as The Dean. To Sharon Belle, Matt O’Connor and Nicole Stamp for Danny, Kirsch and Mel, and showing us stereotypes can be broken. To Enrico Colantoni for portraying a father who understand pronouns as quickly as he took advice from a giant. To Sophia Walker and Aaron Chartrand for the fashionable Matska Belmonde and Will but most importantly JP. To everyone who ever gave a little bit of their time to Carmilla. Thank you, from a fan who needed this show when they found it, and desperately wished they’d found it sooner.
What It Means
It’s no secret that Carmilla means a lot to me. I have watched many things multiple times, but I don’t think there is anything I have watched as much as I have watched Carmilla.
I was late to the party with Carmilla, not finding it until… everything, had come out… But I found it when I needed it, the same year I started to discover myself and figure out who I was. I think, the same year I came out. I was a baby gay when I came across Carmilla in a late night YouTube scrolling, and immediately watched basically the entire first season. It must’ve been like 1am and I was hooked.
I don’t know if they were one of the first gay couples I ever watched on TV, it feels like it was so long ago now. Considering how much TV I had definitely watched before them, I’m going to go with no, but they were one of the first that felt given the attention they more than deserved. I know I watched Wynonna Earp around the same time, which pretty famously has some pretty good lesbians of it’s own, and some cast members in common, who have met. Carmilla helped me make friends who understood, and I will always be thankful for that.
I have since watched Carmilla numerous times. At least once a year since I found it, and considering I watched it twice just these past few months I am going to go with I’ve probably watched it a lot more than that in all likelihood. Each time I love it just as much, if not more as the time before. I have loved a lot of TV over the years, but none series so much as I have loved Carmilla.
It’s Love
We’ve discussed before how much I often have to say about Carmilla and how often those thoughts can get away from me. Believe me, the editing I have planned to do on a variety of Carmilla related notes is… well, let’s just say a long list. I want to say something about this stunning web series here, but as you may be aware I have not been watching Carmilla lately… and my notes are… disorganised on the best of days. So, lets try be brief here, and perhaps say something generally… not that their wonderfully constructed narrative is vast for generalisations. These many thoughts are often an indication of my love, so let’s start there.
Between murder mysteries and death-defying escapades to save the world Carmilla is, at its heart, a love story. In my opinion, a truly beautiful one, and one I highly recommend investing yourself in. It will teach you how to love, as much as it will show you what love can mean.
I can talk about the love between Carmilla and Laura for days… as many may be aware. They have a beautiful, romantic love between them. One that is written very well, and earned. Not without its struggles, but it’s a relationship that works. They earned that relationship, fought for it and risked it. They understand and love each other with everything they have. I love them a lot. They are one of my favourites, and currently one of my devices backgrounds.
Hollistein are not the only love Carmilla offers, though. For one, we have Laf and Perry, which have at the very least a very deep platonic love, and if you ask many a fanfic writers, a romantic one too. Speaking on the canon, though, they are much more subtle than Laura and Carmilla are with their endless relationship drama and occasionally some unresolved feelings. Theirs is an unspoken love shown through action. Laf does a hell of a lot for Perry in Season 3, and though there is some yelling involved Perry more than shows that she reciprocates that care and love for Laf.
Kirsch. Kirsch loves, his is not reciprocated, but he loves. He’s sweet and he tries, and eventually Danny cares for him too. Love has many definitions and meanings to different people, and sometimes all it is is the reciprocated desire to care for one another. They show us that.
In fact, they all show us that. The Summer society each love their sisters. Danny dies, and despite their fighting, still Mel cares. Kirsch feels betrayed by his brothers because he cared for them in ways they clearly did not care for him. Carmilla and Mattie have a sisterly love, built upon years of friendship. A love, that in spite of their often murderous actions we love too. We feel Carmilla’s pain, and though ill-advised coping mechanisms understand them. There is so much love on this show. Hell, even in the end, everything The Dean did was for love.
If you take nothing else away from Carmilla you should take that love matters. Even when everything may end, love still matters. It can drive so many people, and understanding and accepting it is all we really need. Carmilla showed us that any love, any kind with anybody is worth caring about, worth having, worth keeping in your life.
Love matters.
Thanks
Ten Years is a near scary amount of time. So many of the shows I love have far surpassed ten years since the pilot, and so many more are reaching that milestone, with AOS having achieved the same milestone last year, and others I have loved to come I’m sure. That is a scary milestone, but also a significant sign of how much a show can mean to people, that it’s a worthy enough milestone to mention. These anniversaries are important, because it reminds us that stuff like this, does not just fade away.
Carmilla may feel like a distant memory in a fandoms past, but it is not. A small but active fanbase is all one needs to keep going. We keep rewatching it, writing about it, sharing it with friends. In the end, you create more and you don’t forget. I have watched Carmilla more times than I can remember, and I intend to watch it many more times in the future. I may even watch it this week.
With that said, thank you. To the cast and crew once more for bringing this little web series that could to life. To the community for not letting it die. Finally, to you, dear reader, for joining me on this small celebration of mine for this series I love so much.
I hope you’ll join me for next. One is due Wednesday.
Until then thank you once more.
You can follow me on Instagram at: @thebomff or on Threads at: @thebomff
On to the next!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images, narratives or characters present or referenced in this post. All rights belong to KindaTV, Marvel, and all other relevant parties.