Alucard flasbacks part II

This is the second part of the Alucard analysis and a final observation of AxI and the stance of the two characters in it after the flashbacks analysis.


Until the moment I have explained how Alucard used to be a man (vampire?) who lived in his present, trying to deny his past. So far I’m going to make distinctions with the Integra flashbacks. While Integra remembers events that happened ten years ago that is associated with Alucard or something he does and feels at the moment, having flashbacks about it. Alucard’s memories are unburied by conflict and his enemies first and foremost and, so far they are all unwanted first (he doesn’t recall them willingly, they just came to him as a form of bad dream that haunted him). Why? Because he’s a vampire, he measures time in a different way; Hellsing seems to be a constant present thing he remembers without trouble. Now the real menace his rivals present to his world? THAT is what makes him recall his grim past where he lost everything and brought him to tears each time. The first time, when he dreamed about his defeat a hundred of years ago, he tried to deny his pain contemplating it was ridiculous of him that was in volume 4. The second time, in volume 8, carried over to volume 9, he dreamed about his life and his transformation to a vampire, five hundred year ago, this time he awoke accepting his feelings. But it doesn’t end there. I’m going to go and analyze his real only flashback, one that wasn’t a dream, which took place in volume 10.

During Black Onyx arc, Alucard actually reminisced the scenes of his every defeat, by witnessing the warm, majestic sunlight hitting him. Hirano even compares the scenes by placing Girlycard/Dracula/Vlad mocking the idea of his defeat, each time HAPPENED THE SAME. He’s alone, standing on the field, surrounded by enemies, the sunrise came, the “scene of his death.” He’s mesmerized by it. What happens in THAT battle, at the present, is what triggers consciously the parallels, it’s not a vague memory born of a bad feeling like in the first dream or triggered by not his defeat by mostly how he became that way due to what Anderson did as his second dream shows, but this is Alucard realizing this scene is just the pivotal time of the times he was beat in the past. In terms of characterization, this has Alucard taken a huge leap forward, no longer he’s dreaming nightmares of what he used to be, but he’s remembering awake, with full consciousness. Now a lot of fans (including myself at times) can interpret that his peaceful smile at the end meant that he wanted to be beaten and defeated, contradicting his resolution after the Anderson fight, but I do another reading.

I think he made completely peace with his past, with what he lost in those scenes he remembered all, in that instant of dawn. In the past, when he was forced to remember, it was either welcomed by euphoria or crushing sadness (with a side of blood tears). He was running away from the past that haunted him, by the lives he wouldn’t live, by his own mistakes. This time, perplexed, he looks peaceful and smiled from the bottom of his heart. Why? Because, IMO, he realized his world wasn’t gone. He wasn’t defeated.

In those scenes that played over and over again, he had nothing left, nothing at all (as was established earlier), always losing what he wanted the most in the end of the narrative (the woman, in Abraham’s 100 years ago, and his condition as a Child and servant of God, in his own 500 years ago). In this scene that Alucard admitted it was just like those times, Integra’s cries cut up the air and he recognized her voice. In the scenes of the past, I should remark, he lost everything, then he was given the final blow… Here he didn’t. He passed peaceful, not to give up, but to fight again against millions, during 30 years to return to Integra’s side. This is significative, Alucard couldn’t care less about anything else, but going to her side immediately after his return. Even ignoring other things, like dunno, Seras who is once again only greeted because she interrupted them. Then Hirano wrote her off completely. Romancia was about Alucard and Integra, their victory, how their world was preserved.

Bringing up that flashback again, there is a romantic quality about it, now those who care observant would notice there’s a certain extra witness in the scene where Alucard remembers his defeat. That’s right, shocked-looking blonde Girlycard Mina and how moments before Major had told Integra his goal was to recreate or rehearse Alucard’s defeat… 100 years ago, that play that happened that night. Now Alucard recalls it, he even recalls Mina, NOT in any other dream, but in his real flashback, the one scene that has Integra playing a shocked-looking witness as Mina did in the past. The difference was that Mina didn’t call for him, pleaded to him to stay, etc. Integra did, desperately. That is when his future and present replace the long lost past. This gives closure to the narration Hirano made in volume 7 ending. I’m not going to deny Integra’s role is also spiritual, either, I think she also stands for the God he wanted to serve, but the story makes her grow and grow more in a romantic angle direction. In a gothic Dracula way…

This brings me to the AxI relationship. A lot has been wondering. Forty years? Damn, even without the thirty years of wait, TEN years, what took them so long if they had hots for each others? One answer perhaps is the simpler one, every good series needs their doses of UST between the hero and the heroine, if solved before the end it sorta… becomes boring. Which may have been a good reason, outside the story. Another one is that Alucard was playing Integra’s knight in shining armor to her chaste lady, the knight courting involves in proving himself to her until she accepts him as equal to wed. Now this works narrative wise perfectly as well. They do have this dynamic, brought up at the beginning and at the end. But in the viewpoint of the characters' psychology there’s another reason, IMO, it was because Integra hasn’t completely understood Alucard which she didn’t until volume nine (because Alucard’s vulnerable sides came to surface during the battle) and because Alucard couldn’t really start any romantic relationship (as far as Integra and Alucard are concerned about ‘romantic’) as long he didn’t get over his issues which he didn’t… until the last volume.

There’s no denying that Alucard was attracted and interested on Integra before that point, the way he hits on her, the way he defends her honor and how he protects her as he doesn’t protect anyone else. Major knows that too. But he didn’t want things to change, IMO, not until his past caught up with him (after his first dream) because he was happy as things were. Then he remembered he could lose her (and lose everything else too!), among other things. He wasn’t ready for a more serious commitment until he let go of his ancient story. While he was aggressive in a sexual way, he was probably hesitant to go beyond talking until the very end with the bedroom scene (which is, in Dracula spinoffs, the most romantic imaginary that involves the Count and his love interest/conquest, Dracula rarely kisses… it’s not iconic. He does sneak into his beloved’s chambers as she sleeps to feed from her). He fully realized that he had a heart.

Integra, on the other hand, had more ‘romantic’ feelings for him but was passive and insecure in the sexual department (she’s more a romantic than a sexual creature), which made her defensive against his verbal advances, but she enjoyed his gentlemanly stuff. And, as the flashback shows, she has portrayed Alucard in a romantic light in her psyche (not sexual, but romantic). If you notice all the scenes has her reactionary to Alucard’s harassment antics. I like this, actually, because makes Integra vulnerable and not a perfect woman who knows everything and does everything right. When she worries about her age and wrinkles, she doesn’t care for any opinion but Alucard’s to cheer her up, to show she was insecure in case he would find her unattractive upon his return. That makes her all more charming to me. It was in the end of the story, when they finally reunited, when she got over her insecurities, she is the one that finally makes the step forward. It’s over, after all, he explained what he did during the last thirty years she waited for him.

At the end, she is the one who bites her ring finger. She’s being the one who finally makes the advances. Alucard? Is all for that.

On an ending note, I'll like to add that no matter what is Integra's fate, wherever she dies of age or becomes a vampire (or hell Alucard suddenly gets divided by zero AGAIN, that's plausible too or if Integra becomes a vampire and dies, that's also plausible. Being a vampire doesn't give one automatic immunity), Alucard will always return to her side. The manga has made that evident by all the instances he did, wherever is a mission to a local town, overseas or the math land itself, he always comes back to her. While other people need to catch his attention (even someone he cares about as Seras, who must be noisy to make him react), Integra doesn't, Alucard straightway moves towards her. He returns to her side over and over again.

Even if she dies, one day, he's bound to go to her, maybe making a stop to say hi to certain beloved enemy in Hell.