Bishop (Netflix's Castlevania)

The Bishop is a character in Netflix's Castlevania animated series, as well as being a major antagonist in the first season.

He is voiced by Matt Frewer, who is also known for voicing Panic from the Disney animated film, Hercules.

Season 1

The Bishop was a senior cleric of the diocese of Targoviste, subordinate to the Archbishop of that city. Considering the Archbishop to be less zealous in the service of the Church than himself, the Bishop took several duties upon himself, including the finding and denunciation of suspected witches. It was the Bishop who personally condemned Lisa Tepes after seeing the medical equipment in her cottage. His denunciation was quickly seconded by Targoviste's mayor, and Lisa was burned alive at the stake. The Bishop was present when Dracula appeared over his wife's pyre, warning the assembled crowd that he would return in a year with an army to slaughter them all. The Bishop denounced this appearance as a falsehood, crafted by the Devil to trick them - but made sure to relocate from Targoviste before the year was out, citing a falling out with his superior, the less pious Archbishop, over his questionable proclivities. He was thus not present when Dracula returned, planting his castle in the center of Targoviste and massacring its inhabitants.

Arriving in gresit in the wake of these events, the Bishop's ultimate goal, after hell had been unleashed, shifted to becoming the most powerful cleric in Wallachia. With all the other major cities having been destroyed by Dracula's army, he in essence would become the holy oligarch of his own bent faith. He also recruited a corps of priests who policed Gresit for "impious" folk, ruling the city with an iron fist.

When Dracula's hordes began to invade Gresit, the Bishop put the blame on the small tribe of Speakers who had come to the city to offer aid. While an angry mob went to kill the Speakers under the guidance of his priests, the Bishop remained secure within the walls of his own church. He was shocked when some of the demons entered the church unhindered, and he was confronted by their leader, Blue Fangs , who mocked the malignant cleric for his evil hypocrisy, knowing full well that his atrocities had been committed due to his blindness to goodness in those whom he saw as impious and his reflexive desire to destroy that which he did not understand, twisting the true faith and cutting him off from God. Exhausting verbal defense of his actions, the Bishop was helpless to prevent Blue Fangs from brutally "kissing" him to death.

Season 2

The Bishop's corpse, along with several other victims of the attack on Gresit, is gathered up by Dracula's soldiers and turned over to Hector. At Carmilla's direction, Hector reanimates the Bishop as a zombie, and then commands him to kneel in the river in Braila, sanctifying the water and making it lethal when Carmilla's forces launch a surprise attack and collapse the bridge Dracula's army is crossing, causing his soldiers to fall into the water and die almost instantly. Since he is now a zombie, the Bishop is also destroyed by the blessed water, consumed by blue flames while still muttering meaningless prayers.

Trivia

• The Bishop seems to have some similarities with Disney villain, Judge Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, since both appear to be abusive and deluded religious leaders.