Revamp: The Undead Story 1×04 Review: Episode 4

Just when I’m sure I’ve got something figured out, Revamp: The Undead Story adds another layer. It answers a question, and suddenly I have two more.

Episode 4 wastes no time in confirming that, yes, Punn is – or was – a Hunter. And yes, the favor Jett asked of him was not to restore Ramil’s portrait, but to free – and then kill – him. And for at least some of the past week or so, he has been giving the other Hunters information; Caster mentions that Punn told them about Methus, and they used that to manufacture specific bullets. Punn also presumably told them about the silver knife. (Yet they mention how his phone has been off? When did the communication stop?)

We also learn in this episode that the reason Jett, Elise, and Punn became Hunters is because their orphanage was attacked when they were children. They clearly believe that it was vampires, which has fueled their rage for ten years. Methus, mentioning the attack to Ramil, also thinks that it was vampires.

However, I’m not so sure. In the dream flashback Punn has later, he and Elise don’t seem to have seen any attack – just the aftermath. Now, this show has done a stellar job at hiding information from us up until this point, so it’s possible there’s more to be revealed. What is clear, though, is that they are holding the Jonoel family responsible for something that may not have been their fault.

In episode 2, before Ramil gets cursed, he mentions rebel vampires. I have two theories, both currently equally plausible. The first is that the rebel vampires are responsible for the attack. Methus hadn’t known anything about it, and Ramil was obviously trapped in the painting and couldn’t have done it. The second is that it wasn’t vampires at all, but someone who wanted it to make it look like vampires. I don’t have a lot of evidence to support this, but it being a frame-up is a perfectly reasonable explanation. And I think it has something to do with the as-yet-to-be-identified occupant of the bed at the church.

(Don’t think I missed Jett referring to a “master”, either. The person in the bed? Someone else? There’s no way three orphans just decided to form a group of vampire hunters without someone to train and bankroll them.)

Whatever the reason, Jett and Elise have made it their mission to punish all vampires for what was likely the actions of a few. I wonder if that is why Punn eventually left. In his conversation with Elise (or, rather, Elise emotionally manipulating him, she should seriously consider therapy), it’s made fairly clear that he doesn’t want to kill anymore. But we still don’t know what led to him breaking ties with the others.

In confirming that Punn is a Hunter, it’s also confirmed that he is the one who killed Mariah in the flashback at the beginning of episode 3. (That sword flip after he kills her? Sorry, but that was hot. I don’t make the rules.) When he goes down into his serial killer lair (the book opening the hidden door is a classic), we see not only Mariah’s necklace, but ten total. This explains Punn’s obsession with Ramil’s necklace, although it doesn’t explain why. Was he just taking the necklaces as trophies, or do they mean something? Do they hold any powers on their own? (When Ramil healed Punn near the end of the episode, I swear his ring glowed.)

We also get confirmation that, yes, Ramil is a mind-reader. Methus thanks Punn for helping Ramil restore all four of his powers, which is how Punn learns about that ability. (Since he clearly didn’t believe it when Ramil told him that last week.) My question is: how long has that ability been restored? He only transferred three of his powers, so presumably his mind-reading didn’t go anywhere. Has Ramil known since the beginning that Punn is a Hunter?

I think he has. In last week’s review, I questioned as to how much of both Punn and Ramil’s behavior was for show. Punn has obviously been playing a role; he was tasked with infiltrating the enemy’s group and eliminating them. So he has been doing his best to make himself appear clueless and harmless. Likewise, I think Ramil has been doing his best to do the same. Is he naturally goofy? I think so, but not quite to the extent he is with Punn.

Boun had said, in the behind-the-scenes episode, that it’s natural to act that way around the person you love. But I think it’s more than that. I think Ramil has been exaggerating that aspect of his personality to break down Punn’s walls and get him to understand that he is not the enemy. He all but confirms that when Methus asks what he intends to do, and Ramil says that he’s done all that he can.

And how does this all tie into Punn’s nosebleeds? Well, here’s the thing. The scene where Ramil and Punn kiss in the rooftop garden, I wasn’t sure whether or not it was a dream, or it really happened – or how much of it happened. It’s odd that Ramil changed out of his pajamas and then back into his pajamas. The burst of golden light before Punn woke up was also odd. And Punn snagged his t-shirt in the dream, but in the morning his shirt was fine.

I think Ramil can influence Punn’s dreams. I think that may be why Punn has been dreaming of him. And we know that human blood is necessary for vampire rituals, which may explain Punn’s frequent nosebleeds. He’s had one each time he dreamed of Ramil.

It also confirms that these dreams of Punn’s have been going on for a while – at least for a few months. In Punn’s voiceover at the beginning of the episode, he recalls Jett mentioning that Punn is the only one who can break Ramil’s curse. That indicates that Jett probably knows about the dreams, which implies that Punn has been having them since before he left the Hunters. Granted, we don’t know exactly when he left, but still. It also indicates that everyone knew what Punn’s dreams meant.

So, do they all know what that part of the curse means? Do they know that Punn is meant to be Ramil’s forever love? Is that why they all assumed Punn was the only person who could get close enough to Ramil to take him out?

Ramil being able to influence Punn’s dreams would also explain their seemingly sudden love confessions. It’s been a little more than a week, so it’s way too early for any serious feelings to have developed… Not unless they’ve been existing in shared dreams for a significant amount of time. After all, we still don’t know why – or how – Ramil chose Punn to break his curse.

It’s unlikely he just picked someone at random. He would have needed to know Punn to his core to trust that Punn wouldn’t use the situation to his advantage. And he hasn’t. He has had ample time to kill Ramil and he hasn’t. Ramil literally slept on his couch, and Punn just smiled at him and went to bed, even though he had a knife in his hand. Ramil knows this; when he tells Ciar and Methus that he trusts Punn, he doesn’t mean that he believes what he says. He means that he trusts that Punn won’t kill him.

And Punn doesn’t, even when he has a knife to Ramil – a silver knife, the only thing that can kill him. Ramil literally moves the knife to his heart and almost begs Punn to kill him – because then Punn will be free, just like he’s wanted, free to live a normal life with his brother. And Punn still won’t kill him. (By the way, that scene was just phenomenal. Kudos to both Boun and Prem for acting their butts off.)

Likewise, Punn has that same trust in Ramil. Ramil has also had ample time to kill Punn, especially now that he’s been restored to full power. (Side note: I assumed that him getting his powers back meant the others would no longer have powers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case? Not sure how this whole thing works, which is the problem with establishing new lore.) He lets Ramil almost bite him in episode 1. Even though he could easily overpower him. Even though he has no way of knowing at that point that Ramil doesn’t hurt humans.

And now that he knows that Ramil has always known he was a Hunter, he has to be thinking about the fact that Ramil could very easily have killed him – or let Methus kill him. But he didn’t.

By the way, all of this isn’t meant to imply that I don’t think their feelings are genuine. Punn even admits to himself that his feelings have changed since Ramil fell out of the painting. He goes, of his own accord (in his best Kim Possible cosplay), to the other Hunters and says he’s no longer going through with the mission. He makes sure to reassure Ramil that he’ll be back. He’s been pushing Ramil away, but after he takes himself off the mission, he seems to be trying to get closer; he’s the one who goes to Ramil’s room, he’s the one who initiates the cuddling.

And it’s easy to tell that Ramil’s feelings are genuine. He’s made it clear to Methus and Ciar that he won’t tolerate slander about Punn – even if it’s the truth. He wants to make a giant garden of roses, because Punn has always wanted a garden and roses are his favorite flower. He’s willing to die for Punn’s freedom, proclaiming that the brief amount of time they’ve spent together means that he can die happy.

So yes, I do believe their feelings are genuine. And given the dreams that Punn has been having (that Ramil may or may not also be having), I can understand how they may feel a deeper emotional connection than makes sense with the amount of time they’ve actually known each other. Plus, there’s the fact that they just went through an emotionally charged confrontation and have confirmed that neither of them is capable of killing the other. Which is its own kind of romantic.

A lot happened in this episode, and honestly, I’m kind of surprised how fast we seem to be moving. We seem to have flown past what I assumed would be the central conflict of the series – Punn being a Hunter and Ramil being a vampire. I know we haven’t entirely left that behind, but we got to it more quickly than I was expecting. Similarly, Ramil and Punn confessing to each other happened much sooner than I thought.

Obviously, a big portion of the plot is going to be pitting the vampires against the Hunters, with Punn falling on the side of the vampires. He’s already broken from the Hunters, and from the look Jett gave him, he knows why. (Which would make sense, if they know about the dreams and what Punn breaking the curse truly means.)

I think a big arc that will be coming is the fracturing of Ciar from the rest of the family. He was already upset that he wasn’t chosen to break the curse; now he’s upset that he’s being dismissed when he’s right. Punn is a Hunter. He wants to prove it to Ramil, prove that he can’t trust humans, but Ramil blows him off. Now, Ramil blows him off because he already knows Punn is a Hunter and is working on his own plan, but Ciar doesn’t seem to know that. (Does Ciar not know about the mind-reading? Does he not realize it’s back?)

I think this will nicely parallel what Punn is going through with Pokpong. Everything Punn has been doing has been to free himself of his dangerous life so that he and Pokpong can be a family, like he promised. Unfortunately, because he’s not able to be honest with his brother, everything he does just pushes them further away from each other. It’s the same with Ciar and Ramil; Ramil has been hiding his intentions from Ciar, leaving Ciar to believe that he’s being ignored.

There is so much going on in this show! Last night I rewatched the first three episodes with the added context of Punn being a Hunter, and now I can’t wait to watch again with the knowledge that Ramil knew that Punn was a Hunter. It’s so fun trying to pick up on any hints that they dropped before the reveal.

But with no coda scene and such a short promo, I’m concerned with what’s going to happen in next week’s episode. It looks like Ramil and Punn may still not be on the same page, despite confessing and consummating their relationship. That’s hardly surprising, given we still have six episodes to go!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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