01x04 - Benchmark

[bunniefuu]

[SOFT VOCALIZING]

♪ ♪

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Once, long ago,
we lived in the human world.

The Moroi vampires,
who make the rules...

♪ ♪

And the Dhampir Guardians,

sworn to protect against our enemy,

the Strigoi.

Undead vampires who live to k*ll.

Now we live in a world of our own,

one grounded in elemental magic

and steeped in rules no one's
challenged in centuries...

until now.

♪ ♪

The spark of revolution
can come from anywhere.

Even two unlikely friends.

And one night that changed everything.

♪ ♪

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[BOTH GRUNTING]

[GRUNTING]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

♪ ♪

[DOOR CLICKS OPEN]

- Papa.
- I came as quickly as I could.

Where is he?

I'm all right, Robert.

I'm fine.

♪ ♪

What did you do?

♪ ♪

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

[DRAMATIC VOCALIZING]

♪ ♪

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Do you feel as good as you look?

I do.

Sonya was so scared for me.

I guess she did it without thinking.

She can't risk it again, Victor,

even for you.

- It's too hard on her.
- I know.

I feel so guilty.

I never would've asked this of her,

knowing what comes with it.

I'll talk to her.

I almost lost you.

I don't know what happened.

I was feeling a bit tired,

a little stressed, but...

it just came out of nowhere.

Not really nowhere,
with your family history.

I don't wanna jump to any conclusions.

It could be anything.

You need to see a doctor.

I need to get back to work.

♪ ♪

Christian asked me to give this to you.

Weirdly helpful for someone

who unceremoniously dumped me
on the dance floor.

I'm sure he had his reasons.

And I have mine
for not wanting his help,

even if I need it.

This whole thing's in Old Moroi,

so if something here explains
what's going on with me,

I won't be able to read it.

I can help translate.

I'm sure I can make time,

even with my upcoming Benchmark Tests.

Rose, focus on your tests. I'll be fine.

You'd be surprised
how much free time I have,

now that my whole life's gone to sh*t.

Are you doing okay?

Honestly, maybe I dodged a b*llet.

[CHUCKLES]

You should see how they are
on the Council.

I don't know how Victor stands it.

Now I'm back to plan A...
Graduate and see the world.

- Sign me up.
- But I do have to figure

this stuff out first,

'cause when we get to the human world,

I want our heads screwed on tight.

♪ ♪

Then that's the plan.

♪ ♪

Hey, Rose.

Thank Christian for the book.

♪ ♪

[DOOR CLICKS OPEN AND SHUT]

I didn't grow up here at court,

and as I formally declare my candidacy,

I see you're surprised.

But it's really Lissa Dragomir

you have to thank.

I'm young and new here,

and so I may seem like a radical choice.

But with a Dhampir best friend

and her association
with the Ozera family,

she was the radical.

Untethered from our traditions.

After learning much from my Aunt Irene,

I believe in the Elementalist cause.

My platform will put faith
and Moroi needs first.

Moroi don't live in a vacuum.

The Queen backed her horse,

and it stumbled out to the gate.

She waits for the Council to speak.

When you do, I hope you speak my name.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tatiana.

We will take all of this to heart.

Put your tongue
back in your mouth, Peter.

[DOOR CLICKING]

There's still time
for other candidates to emerge.

This council has serious
business to attend to.

We can't rely solely
on long-term repopulation

to solve our Guardian shortage issue.

We need a more immediate approach.

I can think of one deceased monk

who might object to another
of your aggressive approaches.

Let's keep things civil, Victor.

I propose we lower the age
of Guardian enlistment

down to , thereby expanding
our pool of eligible Dhampirs.

?

You'd make cannon fodder
out of children?

is not a child.

If they're properly trained,
they're fit to serve.

Isn't that the whole point?

How old is your youngest, Marie?

- And yours, Dane?
- Desperate times, Victor.

All in favor of scheduling the vote?

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

All opposed?

The vote is six to five. Motion carries.

[DRAMATIC ELECTRONIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Am I getting old,
or is this Benchmark class

full of toddlers?

No initiative from up top.

After the St. Jude's m*ssacre,
we have to test every Novice,

even underclassmen.

Those poor kids don't stand a chance.

Welcome, Moroi students.

For the next hours,

your usual Guardians will be replaced

with the Novices you see before you.

Novices, the Benchmark Tests
are your chance to show us

what you're made of.

You will be scored on your ability

to protect your assigned Moroi

during simulated surprise att*cks.

Guardians will act as Strigoi.

Everyone will be outfitted
with these special collars

containing blood squibs.

If you or your charge's squib
gets popped,

you're dead.

But if you stay alive

and rack up enough points,

you'll get to attend the Royal Tour

as part of the Guardian security team.

If you're lucky enough,
it can lead to a premium

Guardian assignment when you graduate.

- I'm winning this thing.
- You better.

I got odds on you.

But you're gonna have to b*at Rose.

Difficult, but not impossible.

And I'm fueled
by the unflinching expectations

of Janine Hathaway, so..

Lissa and I will try to leave
room for you at the top.

Don't worry, Rose.

When I win,

I'll find some way to make it up to you.

That's gonna hurt
when you're in traction.

- [CHUCKLES]
- But I'm game if you are.

And nothing less.

Pairings go live in three, two, one.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

- What the...
- No way.

- f*cking Zeklos.
- [CHUCKLING]

♪ ♪

[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]

♪ ♪

"As such, we may claim this man

"with the golden tongue

doth possess a spirit's fancy."

[CHUCKLES] Fantastic.

Only took me about an hour
to figure it out.

♪ ♪

And who the hell is this man?
[KNOCK AT DOOR]

Uh, just a second.

♪ ♪

Come in.

Lord Dashkov.

I've informed him
that he's only allowed entry

if he is not playing the role
of secret Strigoi assassin.

And I've informed him my time
is not to be wasted today.

Thank you, Eddie.

[DOOR CLICKS]
It's so late. What's going on?

The Royal Council is trying to take us

back to the Stone Age.

We can't have a government
of the Royal Moroi

for the Royal Moroi only.

We need to restore your voting power.

How?

No bloodline quorum means no vote.

Did you find another Dragomir
floating around?

No, but two can play
at Tatiana Vogel's game,

and I've been busy today.

There's a loophole,
like the one she found

to get you disqualified
from being queen.

What kind of loophole
gets me an instant family?

The kind where you get married.

If you marry, you'll regain
your seat at the table.

You've seen enough
to know what I'm up against.

The Dragomir vote may be
the only thing between us

and a future
I don't want to contemplate.

So I'll arrange
for suitors to meet with you

while supervised.

What do you say?

Will you help me keep
the Dominion on track?

[SUSPICIOUS MUSIC]

♪ ♪

You coming in to keep an eye on me?

You know, I don't mind an audience.

That's gonna be a no.

I'll just stand guard out here.

Suit yourself.

Which reminds me,

when laundry services pass through,

tell them to go easy on the starch.

I'm sensitive.

[BELL TOLLING]

[YAWNS]

You should get some sleep.

It's light out. Strigoi can't get in.

Yeah, but I don't trust
these m*therf*ckers.

Better safe than sorry.

[CHUCKLES] You really wanna b*at Rose.

Yup, but I also wanna go
on the Royal Tour.

My dad is in St. Ignatius
Province in Portugal.

Can't he just command to see you?

He's Royal, right?

Right.

It's been a while since he's checked in.

But I guess that's normal
for you guys, though.

Yeah. I guess it is.

You don't have to stay.

I'll stand guard in the hall, in case.

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Were you expecting anything?

Sorry, I have to.

♪ ♪

A lift ticket?

♪ ♪

Friday, : a.m.,
. degrees north,

. degrees west.

It's coordinates.

♪ ♪

Who wants to meet you?

♪ ♪

Married? This is insane.

Victor can't hold the Council alone,

and most Royal Moroi women
over are married.

Yes, over . What's the rush?

Now name me all the love match marriages

you can think of in the Royal Court.

Most Royal marriages are about power

and bloodlines and money and...

Not for your parents

and Victor and Robert.

- The lucky ones.
- Why do this at all?

Because if Victor is pressuring you...

He is.

But not for himself.

Okay, so who's the lucky groom?

Well, apparently,

there's only four people
with enough Dragomir blood

to count toward me regaining my quorum.

Does that mean you're related?

Only as much as a second cousin

ten times removed.

I pick one. We wed.

They take my name.

I take my vote back.

Okay, so who's on the list?

It's a little depressing.

As your maid of honor, I insist.

[CHUCKLES]

Okay.

Anthony Carter,

Ralf Dawoud, Wade Vogel,

and Jesse Zeklos.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Ugh, f*ck me.

You wanna marry me off?

It's an opportunity
for this family, son.

Your reputation is catching up with you.

You marry now,

gives us a chance at rehabilitation.

Are you serious?

[CHUCKLES]

[SCOFFS]

Why is it that every time
you send me off to breed,

I feel like I'm the one getting f*cked?

Watch your mouth.

Lissa is a lady in title and character.

She needs to be courted,
then betrothed, then married,

and that is exactly
what you are going to do.

Am I clear?

♪ ♪

Good boy.

♪ ♪

[BELL TOLLING]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Most people think it's the perfume,

but what truly makes the hyacinth unique

is the number of varieties.

Care to wager a guess on how many?

Do I have to?

I'd love your opinion on something.

Oh, okay. Sure.

I was thinking of going blond.

Hot or... or not?

I think I would make
an excellent husband.

I mean, you wouldn't be
my first kiss, exactly.

- I think hot.
- And then there's the orchids.

Oh, and don't even get me
started on the succulents.

- [CHUCKLES]
- For our next date,

we should go to the Stakehaus.

There's roads of rare books.

Sorry. Too soon?

No, no. Tell me more.

Or maybe streaks would be better.

Hey, come here. Yeah.

How 'bout you streak your ass
right up out of here?

How 'bout that?

♪ ♪

[LAUGHS]

Keep up, Rose.

Are you trying to make me look
bad in front of your friend?

I suggest your remind your little face

it belongs to a Dhampir, yeah?

Yes, I'm late, but it doesn't
really matter, does it?

'Cause we both know
you're not gonna pick me.

So can we just sit here
and talk, just in case?

My dad has eyes everywhere.

So maybe just act like
you don't totally hate me,

and then we never have to do this again.

Hmm.

Done.

I have other places I'd rather be too.

Excellent.

Awesome.

[BELL TOLLING]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

What are you guys doing here?

We're kind of
in the middle of something.

[DOORS SLAM]

Dean? Herk? What are you doing here?

Mikhail told me to be here.

Dimitri told me.

Alberta told us.

sh*t. It's a trap.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

- Strigois!
- Come on!

♪ ♪

Jesse, Lissa, get out.
Eddie, you take far guard.

♪ ♪

[GRUNTING]

[COLLAR BEEPING]

♪ ♪

You've been paying attention.

I have a fairly decent teacher.

- Fairly decent?
- [GRUNTS]

So the rules work?

[BOTH GRUNTING]

Still room for improvement.

♪ ♪

Ah... [BREATHING HEAVILY]

Time!

[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

If your blood squib's intact,

consider yourself a winner.

Benchmarks are done for the night,

so feel free to celebrate later.

You've all earned it. Congrats.

[CLAPPING]

Whoo!

♪ ♪

What part of "get out"
do you not understand?

What were you thinking back there?

Uh, that it was all pretend?

Relax. None of this is real.

I wasn't actually gonna get m*rder*d.

Really? 'Cause I'm ready to k*ll you

right here, right now.

d*ck.

First rule of being a Guardian:

they come first.

More rules. Goody.

Rose.

Jesse told us what you said to him.

I was being hyperbolic.

- He...
- He's pissed.

And he's a Royal.

With a snap of his fingers,
he can get you decommissioned.

- For trying to save his life?
- Look, we get it, Rose.

We're all just one wrong move
away from trouble.

So just rein it in, okay?

Other than that,
you handled yourself well.

You aided Eddie
in protecting his charge,

took on the great Dimitri Belikov

and lived to tell the tale.

Look, you've moved up two positions.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Why is Meredith still in second place?

She hasn't even been on campus.

Pre-approved family visit
freezes your ranking.

It's not her fault the Council
made us pull up the test.

You could complain more,
or you could get some sleep.

I plan on coming for you
even harder next time.

Can't wait,

Comrade.

♪ ♪

You wanted to see me, Father?

I did indeed.

How was your date?

Oh, cut short by a fake Strigoi att*ck.

Then you'll need
to reschedule immediately.

She's never gonna pick me.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

You'll have to reschedule immediately.

♪ ♪

[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Sorry, milady,
we don't open for an hour.

I-I just need one book, please.

It's called "Spirit's Fancy:
Ancient Myths of Moroi Magic."

I just need something that's
not written in Old Moroi,

and I haven't been able
to find this one anywhere.

You wouldn't.
That writer was excommunicated.

She's been banned.

Show me the book.

I implore you to reconsider.

is simply too young to be a Guardian.

And avoiding the problem
won't make it go away.

I think we should vote.

- We?
- The High Priestess has

persuaded her sister,
the head of the Vogel family,

to give Tatiana her proxy.

She felt it would help raise
my profile as I run for Queen.

It certainly does.

- Shall we vote, then?
- How?

The only way to know the effects

of fighting a Strigoi
on someone that young

is to put them up
against a real Strigoi.

This is a nonstarter.

My cousin at St. Jude says

the Royals there are desperate.

We must do something, Victor.

What if... as a stopgap
measure, mind you,

while we study alternatives...

We pull Guardians off
Non-Royal Moroi, temporarily?

You'd get rid
of your husband's protection?

Long enough to stop this lunacy?

Yes, and he would want me to.

I think that's a marvelous idea.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Not hungry today?

I should be.

I just got a lot on my mind.

Something happen with Lissa?

Is it that obvious?

Well, it is to me.

[WHISPERING] After all,

you're one of
my most faithful customers.

There we go. You wanna tell me about it?

[SIGHS]

What's to say?

She's a princess or at least she was,

while I'm...

A total catch.

- [SCOFFS]
- Don't listen to the haters.

They don't know you.

But...

my parents did.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

And...

And they...

they didn't stick around.

Hey,

your parents loved you.

And they were good people.

Look how you turned out.

And Lissa sees that.

What other people say doesn't matter.

The only thing that matters
is what you feel.

♪ ♪

Hey.

I need a favor.

I need to go beyond the wards,
and... you have a car.

And if I felt like laughing,
that would be hilarious.

f*ck off.

You know I'm good with fire.

I could teach you
how to stand up to your father.

Is he always like that?

He's just being a dad.

What, you're saying
your parents never hit you?

Never.

They were great.

Well, they were also f*cking Strigoi.

So I'd pick my dad any day, thanks.

No one's f*cking touching him.

But there is something else
you could do for me.

[SUSPICIOUS MUSIC]

I need you to pick up a girl.

I don't want my father
to see me with her.

♪ ♪

I knew you'd find a way.

[ENGINE TURNS OVER]

♪ ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

♪ Pardon me as I part the seas ♪

[OVERLAPPING VOICES] [LAUGHTER]

[HIP-HOP DANCE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Congratulations,

but you can only hold
the top spot for so long.

Depends.

You might not get so lucky next time

when it comes to who you're fighting.

- What's that supposed to mean?
- Nothing.

Just got a lot riding on this.

♪ ♪

All right, moody.

Can you at least just tell me
where Christian is?

I need to talk to him.

He's probably out with that snow bunny

he's hooking up with.

A girl?

- Who?
- I don't know.

She wrote down a time and coordinates

on some ski lift ticket.

Wait, did he tell you

the ski lift ticket was from a girl?

Not exactly.

♪ ♪

I think it was from his parents.

- His parents are dead.
- Not dead enough.

sh*t.

sh*t, Rose, the meeting spot
was outside the wards.

- We gotta go.
- No!

We have to tell someone.

Tell them I let my Royal
go outside the f*cking wards?

Look, I've already made the mistake

of breaking that rule once.

Well, I'm his Guardian,

and I say f*ck the rules!

♪ ♪

♪ Can't stop, won't stop,
we all we got! ♪

- Thanks for the ride.
- What is this place?

Wait!

What about Strigoi?
We can't just leave him here.

I'll be fine.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Rose? You all right?

We need to find Alberta and Mikhail.

I hate staying here and
following your f*cking rules,

but he needs more than me right now.

Who does? Tell me.

It's Mason. [PANTING]

[BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY]

♪ ♪

[GASPING]

[HEAVY BREATHING FADES]

♪ ♪

[BOTH GASP]

[BOTH PANTING]

[SOFT EERIE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Christian...

Mom?

My boy.

I'm here.

Where?

I don't want you to see me,

not yet.

- Is Dad here?
- Next time.

I have so many questions.

We've missed you so much.

We always meant to come back for you.

But...

why leave me at all?

We wanted to be together forever.

Christian!

Mom, wait. I can get rid of them.

♪ ♪

Hey.

Hey.

- Hey.
- I need you to go.

It's okay. She doesn't wanna hurt me.

If you're talking about your mom,

she's probably less crazy about me.

No, no, no... Mason!

It's not like you think. It's...

[TWIG SNAPS]

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[GROWLING]

Christian!

[BOTH GRUNTING]

Orders are to take one alive.

- [TASER CRACKLING]
- [ROARING]

Is that your father?

[GROWLING]

♪ ♪

[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Hey. I'm so sorry I'm late.

It's all right.

I sit here for hours most days anyways.

So I have a little secret.

We captured a Strigoi tonight.

It's our first in a while.

But I had to accompany it to lock off,

which took forever, so...

♪ ♪

Hey, you okay?

I have a secret too.

I'm not supposed to tell you,
but I want to.

You can tell me anything.

♪ ♪

There are some things
you don't know about me.

Like?

There's a darkness inside me.

It sometimes makes me...

act out.

In ways that might scare you.

What if I'm not easily scared?

My job is to fight to the death.

Now, I know darkness.

Right now, all I see is light.

♪ ♪

[BELL TOLLING]

Look, I know I should be thanking you,

and I am grateful, but I...

Listen.

I get this place has been hard on you.

But you put a lot of people
at risk tonight.

It's my duty to put my life
on the line for you.

But when you walk headfirst
into danger...

I know.

I'm sorry.

But...

I wanted to see my parents.

They're not your parents anymore.

I know. They're Strigoi.

They're monsters, but...

what if that's not all they are?

You want something
you can't have, Christian.

♪ ♪

That way lies madness.

When I was a kid...

our family had this cat named Harvey.

[CHUCKLES]

Wasn't the friendliest.

Except to me, for some reason.

He'd follow me around

and bring me gifts of dead birds.

[LAUGHING] I know.

I thought it was gross too.

And then I realized

that was his way of showing affection.

I mean, if a cat,

with a brain the size of a pea,

can feel that way...

Maybe my parents still can too.

♪ ♪

Mason.

'Cause you just had
to snitch, didn't you?

Because of you, I got knocked
out of the Benchmarks

and tanked on the leaderboard.

I didn't snitch. I got your sh*t saved.

Forgive me if I didn't want
to see you get hurt or worse.

Don't act like you did this for me.

You just didn't wanna risk your ranking.

- That's bullshit.
- You are all about you.

We only hook up when you want it.

We only talk when you need it.

If it's not about you, it doesn't exist.

Do you even know why

I wanted to win today?

Because if I got to go
on the Royal Tour,

I was gonna get to see my father.

- Mason, I didn't know that.
- Of course you didn't know.

Because you never f*cking ask.

- [KNOCK AT DOOR]
- Come in.

Lissa, what are you...

Dimitri told me about tonight.

Hey, you could've d*ed, Christian.

I know you don't care
about what I think, but...

I care too much about what you think.

I'm sorry.

I never wanna scare you.

[SOFT BALLAD]

Um, what have you got there?

Spirit Use is real...

♪ ♪

And it's hiding in plain sight.

Look.

It's Compulsion.

That's St. Vladimir.

He has a golden threaded tongue.

The one I read about.
That's the same as you.

Yeah.

This stuff is kind of everywhere,

if you know what you're looking for.

[SIGHS] This feels dangerous.

But if it is real
and I have this new magic

and I can gain a seat at the table

where decisions are being made...

Yeah, but how?

Using Compulsion on the Council?

No, never.

I'm just saying maybe
I'm not powerless anymore,

in more ways than one.

If even a part of this is real,

maybe Compulsion is just the start

of what Spirit Users can do.

In these stories,

there's even Spirit Users
who can see auras.

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

Some can even heal people.

♪ Keep it all behind these eyes ♪

[ENERGY HUMMING]

♪ If you wanna look behind ♪

[BIRD TWITTERING]

Yeah, there's a darkness
that comes with Spirit,

because that kind of power
always comes with a price.

Still, I don't know
how much of this is true.

Can't do half of these things, but...

if it is true,

can you imagine
all the people I could help?

I can imagine.

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ If you want me now ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Keep it all behind these eyes ♪

I think you should get some sleep.

Sure.

♪ ♪

[DOOR CLICKS OPEN AND SHUT]

Victor?

I thought you'd be
at the Council meeting.

I'd rather be with you.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

You saw a doctor, didn't you?

♪ ♪

[BREATHING DEEPLY]

♪ ♪

I hate that I wasn't there to help.

[BOTH GRUNTING]

You don't think you helped?

Because of you,

Christian and Mason survived the night.

♪ ♪

All I did was tell you that
my friends were in trouble.

I didn't fight.

I just sat here,

while you and the other
Guardians saved them.

Mason said that I didn't come after him

to protect my ranking.

He's wrong.

What you did was far harder
than fighting tonight,

at least for you.

You're number one because you obeyed

the chain of command.

You did your duty.

Well, it sucked.

Maybe.

But tonight, Roza, you were brave.

Roza?

Sorry.

Every now and then,
my Russian childhood comes out.

♪ ♪

I like it.

♪ ♪

You also live to fight another day,

which brings us
to another important rule...

Always be ready,
'cause today is a new day,

and the Benchmarks continue.

[WHISPERING] Good luck, Roza.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Forgive the late hour,

but a way forward has been suggested.

Has it?

Victor was right

when he said the only way
to test a Novice's acumen

is by confronting them
with a real Strigoi.

It would appear
we now have one available

and the votes to make it happen.

[GROWLING]

♪ ♪

[ELECTRONIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[DOG BARKS]