Impressions: FROM DUSK TILL DAWN Episode 304 Features this Season’s Most Ambitious Story Yet

Hell hath no fury like a Xibalban queen scorned, especially when said queen wants to literally raise Hell on Earth. Looking to get one up on the Gecko Brothers, a possessed Kate and a few of her friends from the underworld go after her culebra brother, Scott Fuller, who is now the lead singer of a rock band that feeds on the blood of sinners. It’s just another day in the wild world of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, which airs its most ambitious season 3 episode tonight at 9:00pm ET on El Rey Network.

The last time we saw Scott, he was absolutely shaken after Carlos shot his sister, Kate, and with his former mentor-turned-enemy now scattered across the earth after being sliced and diced at Jacknife Jed’s, Scott has turned to music to soothe his troubled soul… and feed his voracious appetite. Dining exclusively on people who have committed atrocious crimes, Scott and the vampiric band members of the Christian rock group “Fanglorious” make a decent life for themselves on the road. But when Kate, aka the Xibalban queen Amaru living in Kate’s body, summons ancient warriors to hunt down her sibling (the last surviving member of her immediate family following the events at the Titty Twister in season 1), it’s time for Scott to drop the guitar and put the blades back in his hands.

Story-wise, this is the best episode yet this season. Writer Marcel Rodriguez utilizes a surprisingly effective wraparound subplot with Richie and a mysterious stranger in a bar, opening and ending the episode on a solid note. She also expands the series' mythology with minimal exposition and a hell of a lot of humor, including a perfectly placed Sex Machine reference when Richie quotes a book that actually turns out to be written by the quirky professor. But best of all, Rodriguez reintroduces how culebras can absorb the memories and skills of their victims through the blood they consume, and boy does she do some really interesting things with the creepy concept, even providing a more moral path for Richie and Scott to take as bloodsuckers who might be choosing to only sink their teeth into predators of the human variety.

As Scott Fuller, Brandon Soo Hoo turns in a strong performance in his first appearance (not including his image on the Fanglorious poster in episode 3) this season. Soo Hoo had one of the more drastic character arcs through seasons 1 and 2, and after the supposed deaths of Kate and Carlos at the end of the second season, it was Scott whose life was turned upside-down the most. Scott is resilient, though, and Soo Hoo instills a great strength and sorrow in the character, who is in a constant state of mourning for his old life and former family.

As much as this is a Scott-centric episode, it’s Zane Holtz who steals the show. Ever since being back with his brother and living a comfortable (yet humbling) life in the culebra hierarchy, Richie’s sense of humor and one-liners have never been better. As Seth slips into a darker mental state each episode, it’s Richie who embraces the chaos with a shark’s grin and a twinkle in his eye, and it's great to see Holtz getting the opportunity to really flex Richie's comedic and dramatic chops.

While the Jaguar warriors might be the least memorable monsters of the week so far this season (it’s tough to top the Skull Keeper), they still set the stage for fluid, engaging fight scenes throughout the episode, including a couple of brawls with Richie that should go down as some of the series’ most impressive battles yet. Hats off and fangs out to director Eagle Egilsson, the stunt crew, and the actors for putting together one hell of an episode. Here’s hoping that next week’s installment can rock as hard as “Fanglorious."