First Kiss – As the first episode of First Kill begins, Juliette Fairmont (Sarah Catherine Hook) has a dream that she is making out with a girl. Juliette says that was a crazy one. When she wakes up sometimes, her heart is racing and her throat is dry. She isn’t sure whether the pills are stopping the dreams from being more real or making them worse. Juliette often feels like she doesn’t fit in. While the others know what they like, she is the only one stuck pretending. She puts on lipstick before joining her mom and dad in the kitchen. Margot (Elizabeth Mitchell) has gotten her more pills since she is almost out. Sebastian (Will Swenson) asks if she is feeling okay after going through them so quickly. Although Juliette tells them she is fine, she isn’t and her parents know it. Saying it would be the end of everything, but she isn’t ready for whatever comes next.

They think it might be ready since it has been three weeks since her birthday. Elinor (Gracie Dzienny) enters and interrupts the conversation. Juliette says Elinor is her role model because she is a self-confident, bull-by-the-horns kind of girl. She takes the bottle from her mother and heads for the door. Elinor stops her, wipes off the lipstick, and tells her that isn’t her color. She puts her hair down and says she is going to kill Ben Wheeler (Jonas Dylan Allen) one day because he won’t stop blowing his horn. Juliette would never allow it. Juliette and Ben sing as they ride to school together. She admits Ben is the kind of boy you fall in love with. They’ve been hanging out since they were born. They dated for a month when they were 12 until they found out that they’re gay. Ben is the cool kid and a star athlete who gets invited to all the parties making Juliette popular by association.

Her body is still changing, but Ben helps her blend in and look normal. At their lockers, they talk about Noah and whether he is gay despite having a girlfriend. She gets another migraine and remembers someone telling her to stay out of the sun because it makes them worse. The pills help. Later, Ben tries to convince her to go with him to Noah’s party tonight. During lunch, Juliette stares at Calliope (Imani Lewis) so Ben urges her to go over and talk to her. She claims they have talked although flashbacks show otherwise. As they leave the school, Juliette bumps into Calliope and drops her blood pills. Calliope knows her name is Juliette because they have English together. Although Calliope asks her to call her Cal, Juliette says she likes Calliope since it is classical and beautiful.

Cal tells her she should meet her brother Theseus and Apollo. Ben urges Juliette to tell her about the party so she does. Juliette stops her to remove a bee from her shoulder and clasp it in her palms. During class, the kids pass around a flyer about the party. Juliette has always been sensitive, but it is getting worse every day. Just when she thought it was getting too much, she runs into Calliope. She wonders who Cal is and why she showed up now. Cal isn’t her first or second crush, but this one seems different. She feels like it is going to happen although she doesn’t know when. As Juliette tries to rush out of the classroom, she drops her belongings. She makes it into the hallway only to find that Cal has already gone. She finds a bracelet on the ground near her lock. When she tries to pick it up, the necklace burns her hand.

Juliette rushes to the bathroom to check the wound and question who wears pure silver. Her fangs begin showing. She hasn’t told anyone and not even Ben, yet she keeps wishing she could tell Cal. Once Juliette goes home, she asks her mom if she can go to Noah’s party. Her mother says she looks peaked so she hopes the night terrors haven’t started. Her mom agrees to let her go to the party after she says she feels great. That night, her parents find the pills in her bag. They insist she can’t keep taking them because they’re clearly not effective anymore. Margot worries they shouldn’t have let her wait this long. Although Juliette tells her dad she isn’t ready, her mom says it isn’t that hard and you just need to choose someone.

When Sebastian says he knows it is scary, Juliette says it is wrong. Margot reveals she puts herself and this entire family at risk every day that she doesn’t do this. She reminds her daughter that some humans have trained to hunt and kill them. Sebastian has made it as safe as he can in Savannah for them, but they survive by their commitment to blend in. If she continues refusing to embrace her nature, it will get closer to controlling her. She will begin killing recklessly because she has to feed. Elinor asks Jules what she did this time. Juliette says she just wanted to go to a party. When Elinor wants to change her clothes, Margot tells her that this isn’t a game. Elinor says she will make Jules understand. As she brushes Juliette’s hair, she admits the first kill is a big step because it changes you.

Jules claims she doesn’t want to change. Elinor explains that she is already changing and that is why the pills are no longer working. She begins telling Juliette about her first kill who was a man named Freddy. Since he barely fought back, Elinor believes some people prefer dying young. Elinor has a bunch of driver’s licenses in her drawer. She tells Jules to go out there and find someone unless she already has. Juliette thinks of Cal and says she likes her. Juliette doesn’t want to hurt her or anyone. Elinor asks if she has started crying blood yet. Before putting lipstick on Jules, she warns her that this is only going to get worse if she keeps putting it off. Elinor advises her to stay calm, be prepared, to always finish what you start. Ben and Jules arrive at the party moments later. Once Ben learns that Noah (Roberto Mendez) is on the patio, he leaves Jules.

Ben texts her telling her to come to the kitchen. Cal is sitting on the couch nearby. They end up playing spin the bottle. Ben moves the bottle to make sure Cal and Jules get to go into the closet together. They take a shot before hitting the closet. Jules kisses her immediately and confesses she has wanted to do that for a while now. Cal agrees to let her do it again. They end up making out and grinding against one another. Jules either bites her on the neck or imagines biting her. Then, the story switches to Cal’s perspective as she claims everything good about teenage girls is considered a weakness. After she returns from her ride, her mom offers to give her a ride to school. Cal claims her family treats her like she has all the potential in the world but has a lot to learn.

She argues that she is ready to prove to them what she is capable of. It is her second week in Savannah. It isn’t easy making friends when you know you’re going to be in a new city in a few months. Cal goes through the day just to get back home where she feels normal with her family. She started having nightmares when her parents first started hunting. For years, she’d see monsters when she closed her eyes before she learned the worst ones look human. She learned that from the first Guild Guardian she ever met named JoJo (Mikala Gibson). The Guardians ward off monsters and evil spirits using special candles, sage, and sea salt. JoJo tells Apollo (Dominic Goodman) and Theo (Phillip Mullings Jr) to get out of her way so she can do her job right.

She hears her brothers outside. She rushes out and learns they got a tip at Colonial Park Cemetery although they don’t think she should go. She decides to go with them anyway. As they drive away, JoJo reminds Cal’s mom to keep an eye out. Cal asks her brother why they’re showing up now. Apollo doesn’t care. The guild sends them to kill them so they do. Cal wonders why they’re back 25 years after the Guild cleaned up. Theo admits it is strange since Savannah has always been tough to keep clean. The cemetery they’re going to dates back three centuries and is the final resting place for over 10,000 souls, including victims of the yellow fever epidemic and graves desecrated by Sherman’s army. Cal spent a lot of time pretending to be normal.

While other families go to Disneyland and the movies, her family goes hunting. Once they arrive, Cal learns they got a tip about disturbed graves, exhumed bodies, and human-looking teeth. They believe it might be ghouls. The brothers grab weapons while informing Cal that she is going to be their lookout once again. Cal argues she is going to be the best hunter that has ever lived. Theo got his first kill at 12 while Apollo got his shot at 14. Cal got her first chance last winter but failed. Her brothers say it will be up to mom and dad when she gets another shot. Cal climbs into a tree to keep an eye on the ghouls. The brothers split up to take down two ghouls. Once the brothers kill the ghouls, Cal spots another one. She tries to inform Theo, but his earpiece is on the ground so he can’t hear her.

She goes after it to protect her brother. She almost gets killed until her brothers save her. When they get home, they tell their mother about the two ghouls and one vampire they killed. Cal’s mother admits they weren’t always so bold. Apollo would love to finish the job here before their father gets home because he hates that. Cal won’t feel like a member of this family under her time finally comes. Jack (Jason Moore) calls Cal to ask about her new school and whether she had made any friends. She argues that this is her life and she wants to show them. Her father promises her time is coming. Her mother takes the phone to say they’re going to go over their assignments. The family sits down and begins doing so. Talia (Aubin Wise) learns that she is going to be a stay-at-home mom. Theo will be an independent analyst.

Apollo complains about being a trainer again. He argues with them a bit before Theo and Talia toast to killing monsters.  Tess calls Cal later to talk about her new girl. She tells Cal that she got her first kill. Cal asks her what it was like. Tess can’t answer because her family is calling her. Cal takes her frustration out on her heavy bag. She says her family always underestimates her, but she won’t underestimate Juliette. There is a feeling you get when a monster’s breath eases up your nostrils. After their meeting outside, Cal picks up one of her pills and squeezes the blood out of it. Then, she places the bracelet near Jules’s locker and watches her pick it up using her phone. Jules is the one they warned her about because she is the kind that leads with a smile. Since Jules is a monster and Cal is a hunter, there is only one way this story ends.

When they kiss in the closet, we see that Cal has a stake behind her back. Cal says there are three rules for being a great hunter while Jules notes the three rules for your first kill. Jules bites her neck before Cal stabs her with the stake.

 

First Kill Review

First Kill is a supernatural drama that could easily be considered a modern Romeo and Juliet. Juliette is the vampire struggling with the idea of having to kill someone for the first time. As for Calliope, she is the hunter who is tasked with killing monsters and vampires like Juliette. However, there is a good chance that romance is going to get in the way of the bloodshed.

While the underlying story is interesting, this will require an acquired taste to fully enjoy. It is heavily diverse and the main characters are part of the LGBT community. Many viewers will agree that this was truly just as bad as they thought it would be. From the very beginning, First Kill oozes of cringe to the point that my skin was crawling when Jules and Ben were singing Carrie Underwood.

The story isn’t too complex so this could easily be something that allows you to shut your mind off and just enjoy some silly entertainment. The acting is surprisingly decent considering the story, but the music is on the verge of being obnoxious. In particular, Sarah Catherine Hook stands out among the cast. If viewers can stomach the cringe and overlook the many flaws, they may enjoy First Kill.

It is clear that a lot of viewers are going to hate this though. The first episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of First Kill can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support our work at this link.