Low Stakes – A "Kindred: The Embraced" Rewatch

Ryan Skonnord
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TV & Film

A look back from two perspectives at a short-lived TV series from the '90s based on the RPG "Vampire: The Masquerade".

Episodes

  1. 11/05/2025

    Conclusion: The Riddle

    We wrap up our rewatch of Kindred: The Embraced. We review the "Daedalus: Last Will and Testament" segment from the 2013 DVD release, react to other reviews and commentary from around the web, speculate about things we'd have liked to see in a second season, list our favorite episodes and characters, and pull back the curtain a bit on the podcast itself. Spoilers for "Daedalus: Last Will and Testament" are approximately from 29:40 to 42:48. As mentioned, here are some links to "Vampire Reviews" by Maven of the Eventide: From Dusk Till Dawn review; Kindred: The Embraced review. (And she's also done Let's Plays of a lot of V:tM-franchise video games!) Book of the Kindred and Prince of the City are available for purchase at DriveThruFiction and DriveThruRPG. Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Reddit: u/RyanSkonnord Email: ryanskonnord@gmail.com Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 51m

  2. 10/29/2025

    Episode 8 Review: "Cabin in the Woods"

    We discuss the final episode of Kindred: The Embraced, which sees Julian and Caitlin on a vacation to the Sonoma wine country. The ascendant Brujah primogen (guest star Titus Welliver) uses the opportunity to strike at Julian and exploit a shameful secret of Archon's. This week's featured character creation options are the vampires that fall outside the thirteen "true" clans: the Caitiffs, the thin-bloods, the bloodlines, and the Kuei-jin. ☥◑👁️鬼 Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 35m

  3. 10/22/2025

    Episode 7 Review: "Bad Moon Rising"

    We discuss the penultimate episode of Kindred: The Embraced, in which a pair of villainous Nosferatu (Skipp Sudduth and Patricia Charbonneau) abduct an infant child from a single mother (Out of This World's Maureen Flannigan). The effort to rescue the baby forces both Julian and Caitlin to confront their past decisions. This week's featured clans are the ones classically aligned with the Sabbat: the inscrutable Lasombra and the unpronouncable Tzimisce. 👤🐉 If you'd like to hear more from us about another adaptation of Dracula into modern fiction, don't miss our guest appearance on the Dracula 2000 episode of Everything I Learned from Movies. Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 48m

  4. 10/15/2025

    Episode 6 Review: "The Rise and Fall of Eddie Fiori"

    We discuss the sixth episode of Kindred: The Embraced, in which Eddie's ambitions against Julian finally come to a head. Eddie's sire and mentor (Ed O'Ross) employs the services of a face-changing assassin (Blair Valk) to kill Julian so that Eddie can seize control of the city at last. Caitlin becomes a pawn when a private investigator (Jack Conley), sent by a jealous Lillie, unexpectedly captures the Masquerade-breaking assassination attempt on film. Our plans to feature a clan that didn't make it into the TV show are thrown into disarray as the Assamites unexpectedly no longer meet the criteria. We discuss them anyway, along with the Ravnos. 🗡️🃏 Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 14m

  5. 10/08/2025

    Episode 5 Review: "Live Hard, Die Young, and Leave a Good Looking Corpse"

    We discuss the fifth episode of Kindred: The Embraced. Meet Zane (guest star Ivan Sergei), Lillie's childe, a rising rock talent with an artist's passion for unlife. Zane recklessly Embraces a string of groupies, leaving Frank and Julian to pick up the pieces when one of them, Grace (Chandra West), turns up in the hospital scared, confused, and without a pulse. This week's featured clan that didn't make it into the TV show are charismatic tempters after Zane's own heart: the Followers of Set, recently known as the Ministry. 🐍 Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 20m

  6. 10/01/2025

    Episode 4 Review: "Romeo and Juliet"

    We discuss the fourth episode of Kindred: The Embraced, in which Sasha's immortal fate is decided and Daedalus grapples with his sense of responsibility for an innocent child (played by a young Emile Hirsch). This week's featured clan that didn't make it into the TV show is one that also has strong opinions about the ties of blood: la Famiglia Giovanni. ℊ As mentioned in the podcast, here's a link to Jenny Nicholson's retrospective on The Vampire Diaries. Jeff Kober appears at 29:50. And here's a link to my selfie from when I had the chance to meet Erika Ishii from L.A. By Night, after I heard her ask a question from the audience of a podcast I was also attending. The photo is pretty blurry because I took it hastily, hoping not to hold her up. But talking to her was great! Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 55m

  7. 09/24/2025

    Episode 3 Review: "Nightstalker"

    We discuss the unaired third episode of Kindred: The Embraced. A fledgling vampire (guest star Nicky Katt) eschews Cash's guidance and goes on a reckless killing spree, to Julian's displeasure. Daedalus falls in love with a singer, Elaine (Kimberly Kates), and turns to alchemy in the hope of curing his cursed appearance so he can be with her. This week's featured clan that didn't make it into the TV show is one that might have felt at home alongside Starkweather in the psych ward: the Malkavians. 🪞 The Bluesky user whose comment we react to is @estrusflask.bsky.social ("Stone Cold Jane Austen"). Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 31m

  8. 09/17/2025

    Episode 2 Review: "Prince of the City"

    We discuss the second episode of Kindred: The Embraced, in which the Brujah clan faces consequences for a murdered mortal and Julian turns the tables on an investigative reporter. We confirm Sonny's status as the resident favorite character and contemplate Julian's role as a father figure. Ryan begins telling Diana about some of the Vampire: The Masquerade clans that didn't make it into the adaptation, starting with his long-time favorite. ▲ For context on the latest Erik King reaction images, see "But You Can't Prove It" at Know Your Meme. Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 26m

  9. 09/10/2025

    Episode 1 Review: "Pilot"

    We discuss the pilot episode of Kindred: The Embraced, in which our protagonist, police detective Frank Kohanek, pursues mob boss Julian Luna and is drawn into the secret world of immortal predators. We get our first look at the clans of the Kindred, which number only five in this version of the setting. For context on Sonny's actor and the "surprise, MF'er" meme, see https://youtu.be/5gAenGrKHKU. Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    1h 27m

  10. 09/03/2025

    Introduction: The Becoming

    Ryan looks back at the TV series Kindred: The Embraced and how it fits into the larger history of the Vampire: The Masquerade franchise. Diana recounts her experience as a fan of the show during its original 1996 run. Bluesky: @ryanskonnord.bsky.social‬ Check out our other podcast appearances: Happily Ever Aftermath Everything I Learned from Movies Chekhov's Whatever Music: "Epic Skies" by Ron Patton. Used under license via Melody Loops.

    37 min
  • 10 Episodes

About

A look back from two perspectives at a short-lived TV series from the '90s based on the RPG "Vampire: The Masquerade".

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