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Episode 2 aired and it was amazing – here’s the review and Black Dagger Brotherhood recap! Want to watch for yourself? Head over to Passionflix! Need a Black Dagger Brotherhood character guide or BDB family tree to understand the lineage and relationships? I’ve got those here too, along with a Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward reading order guide.

Black Dagger Brotherhood S1E2 Review

One of the first things I want to address is the sex scenes, or lack thereof in this episode. This might be a negative point for some viewers, but I think it was the right way to go. My main concern with this series becoming televised was that it would be soft core porn, and not respect the romance and integrity of the storyline. An episode without explicit steamy moments gives it room to breathe, and allows us to become immersed in the characters and storyline without too much distraction.

Because, whew, those scenes are a distraction in the best way. I’m certainly not complaining! After meeting the primary characters last week, we got to really delve in and get to know them better in episode 2. I am loving every moment between Wrath and Beth, and every moment with Butch, but I’m also dying to get to more scenes with the full brotherhood. Rhage has always had my heart, and I’m so pleased with the portrayal of him so far.

I guess I would be remiss just to say that Rhage has my heart. Truly, they all do. V’s book (Lover Unbound) is the first one I read and my introduction to the series, so I treasure his story in a unique way. These books were my salvation during an incredibly difficult period of my life, so meeting Wrath and Beth in Dark Lover completely captivated me. Similarly, Butch was immediately unforgettable. I’ll get more into details on the personal significance of each book in another post, but Rhage, Mary and Lover Eternal showed me the complete spectrum of the world. It wasn’t just romance and vampires but also pain and heart and scenes that made me laugh out loud. But, as Jane would say, anyway…

We got to spend some more quality time with Vishous and Rhage in episode 2, although not nearly enough for my preference. That’s as it should be, and I’m not complaining, just excited for what’s to come!

Once again the script stayed extremely close to the book, with only a few lines that I didn’t immediately recognize from the pages. The ordering of scenes and some explanatory language helped to tell a cohesive story, even if you don’t have the background of reading the books a million times. I can’t speak to how the experience is or was for someone brand new to the BDB world, but I would guess it’s pretty positive overall.

Before the episode 2 Black Dagger Brotherhood recap, I want to mention just how effectively body language is used so far. There’s a lot of acting with the eyes and facial expressions, not to mention just the way characters physically move and interact. This was another concern of mine before viewing, and I’m pleased to say that it all feels authentic to the source material.

I suspect I will want to give each episode 10 out of 10 daggers, but I’m going to review this one at an 8, through no fault of its own. I’m just impatient to get to certain scenes with the brothers, certain quotes and interactions, and I would love to hurry through the scenes with the lessers and Billy Riddle. They’re an essential part of the story, and I don’t begrudge their presence, but I am so excited to get to the good parts!

Black Dagger Brotherhood S1E2 Recap

Episode 2 begins with Havers doing his blood experiments, and extends all the way through dead human females as vampire bait, Beth and Butch on a date, some karate dojo scenes, and Beth at the mansion with Wrath.

It hasn’t been explicitly mentioned yet that the dead prostitutes are vampire bait, but it’s pretty clear to see even if you don’t have the back story. RIP Cherry Pie, she was gone too soon. Mr. X uses her body to determine how many tranquilizer shots are needed to subdue a civilian male vampire, and plans to interrogate the first one he catches.

Elsewhere, Havers is trying to get Marissa to join him for a meal, despite her depression over her situation with Wrath. Sidenote, Havers might be kinda hot? It’s hard to tell with his clothes and glasses and hair but I think underneath he’s a good looking guy. Anyway, Havers gives us some background on the relationship between Marissa and Wrath, and Marissa reiterates that she doesn’t want to be free of Wrath.

When we get to Beth and Wrath, it’s after their first night together, but not yet daylight. Wrath is having an uncharacteristically tender moment with Beth, sunglasses off and everything. I liked that they kept in Beth’s temptation to touch Wrath, her reticence, and his insistence that she go ahead. It helps us to see the softer side of their connection and gives us insight into where Wrath’s head is at. I suspect this will help us moving forward, because Wrath can be kind of a dick at some points in this story.

We also have a moment where Beth asks Wrath if Butch sent him, which I was hoping for in episode 1. That assumption of hers makes the audience more comfortable with the abrupt nature of their hook up and helps us to understand Beth’s perspective a bit more, in my opinion. Wrath assures her that she doesn’t need to worry about Billy Riddle, and then he’s off into the night. We’re left wondering if Beth will follow his instructions to come to a certain address if she hasn’t heard from him.

Then, we get to the mansion. Hooray! Rhage and Wrath! Rhage has such a smirk, even when Wrath is holding him against the wall for his cheeky comments. I love how the other brothers show up and don’t find this encounter even slightly odd. They just assume that Rhage has been running his mouth, which, of course he has. We get a few lines from Tohr, V, and Phury, and Z is in the background looking menacing.

Wrath and V go out to investigate, and we get to hear more of V’s voice. I thought I would have an issue with the brothers having different types of of accents, but so far it’s working for me. Wrath’s voice is kind of European and soft spoken, but very powerful. Rhage has I believe an Australian accent, which adds to his charm. And V has this chocolatey sort of deep voice that just feels right. Butch, of course, has his Boston Southie accent that seems effortless.

We see them discovering the dead civilian vampire, and bringing him home to his parents. This is a powerful scene because it shows the toll this war is taking on the population, and the true cost of what the lessers are doing. We can see Wrath’s regret and distress on his face as the parents mourn over their son. I believe in the books it is Wrath who carries the dead male, but in this episode it was V. I think it’s more impactful with Wrath carrying him, but it’s a small point.

Next we see Beth visit the police station and get info on the recent murder of Cherry Pie. This is how we discover that Beth was in a foster home with Cherry (Mary), which gives us some background information on her life. Again, word for word dialogue from the book, which I appreciate. Butch asks her to dinner, and she absentmindedly agrees but then declines when she realizes what she’s said. Beth asks Butch about the “friend” he sent over, which rattles both of them as Beth realizes she doesn’t know who Wrath is or where TF he came from, and Butch realizes Beth had some guy at her apartment that she suddenly doesn’t want to talk about.

Dojo scenes, karate, Mr. X watching with pleasure as Billy Riddle kicks the crap out of another kid. And Billy and Mr. X both clearly enjoy it too much. I hate these guys, which I guess means the show is doing a good job in its portrayal of them. We come back to this location again later, and we see that the students aren’t allowed to cry when defeated. Later, Mr. X takes the losing student (referred to as “loser” in the book) in the car, and they pick up Billy. Billy sits behind him in the car and just gives the poor kid a death stare from the backseat, which is unnerving.

Beth, back at her office, researches the address and phone number that Wrath gave her. She’s barely able to find any info, so she decides she’s going to stay away. She gives Butch a call and asks if he’s free for dinner, and he moves forward with that plan before she can even clarify that it’s not, on her end, a date.

Now we’re at the mansion, with delightful Fritz being his delightful self. He tries to let Wrath know that he wants to take care of him, but we all know Wrath is tricky to talk to. Fritz oversteps a bit, but who can stay mad at that face? Wrath snaps back, and quickly realizes he was too intense when Fritz retreats like a puppy who was just kicked. Damn near broke my heart to see the look on his face. This scene also has commentary on how in the future he will cut Wrath’s meat and not serve him rice. This gives us some insight or intrigue as to why this is needed for Wrath, if you didn’t already know. Luckily, Wrath takes as moment to reassure Fritz that his home and job are secure. Fritz tries to get Wrath on board with the mansion being his home, too, but Wrath remains unconvinced.

V appears in the hallway and gives Wrath some background on Billy Riddle, plus mentions a dream he had that Wrath does not want to hear about. He tells Wrath to remember that two guards tortured will happily fight each other. Then he fades out, smoking as usual, still the perfect attitude and inflection for that character.

I was curious how they would handle the scene of Beth and Butch in the car after dinner, and I think it was done pretty well. We see Butch grab Beth for a kiss, and we see Beth give it a shot. But we – and Butch – realize he’s not doing it for her, and he also recognizes the pity in her face. She can see his life and future and it’s not what she wants. We have a nice moment of clarity where they both are established firmly as friends, but unfortunately Wrath was creeping on the street and spying on them. He’s all distraught, and Butch catches a glimpse of him, so of course Butch has to investigate and try to protect Beth.

He “catches” Wrath, in that Wrath allows himself to be caught. There’s a heated exchange between Beth and Butch as he interrogates Wrath and she interjects, despite Butch ordering her to go inside to safety. Butch strips Wrath of his weapons and money, and arrests Wrath for trespassing, among other potential crimes. When Beth follows and asks who Wrath is, Wrath just tells her that her father sent him. Beth can’t help but be intrigued, so she calls a taxi to follow them to the station.

Poor Butch, he tries to handle this appropriately at this point, but Wrath is too strong and immediately relieves himself of the handcuffs. He pins Butch to the wall and, lucky for Butch, Beth shows up and demands Wrath let him go. Wrath tries to make his getaway, to avoid additional interactions with cops, and Beth follows, because she’s determined to know the truth and she doesn’t care about the danger that Wrath presents. It’s hard to get past the curiosity so I can’t really blame her.

Wrath suddenly lists out the weird symptoms that Beth has been having, from sore teeth to craving raw meat and feeling like her skin is tight. He calls out that the orgasms he gave her were the first she’s had, and lets her know that she’s about to get sick, and something monumental is happening to her. He promises not to hurt her, and to take her to her father’s house, but she’s not convinced. Still, she has to know the truth, so she decides to follow his lead.

A slight deviation from the book that disappointed me – Beth tells Wrath that those orgasms were not her first (matches the book) but Wrath doesn’t respond with his book comment, which was, “then why were you so surprised to be having them?” I felt like that little detail added some nuance and personality that would have fit well in this scene. Anyway, they take a cab and Beth calls the station so Butch can get some help as he lays nearly lifeless in the alley outside. It’s a rough night for poor Butch.

The show did include a line I love from the book, even though it’s not significant or necessary really at all. Jose asks Butch what happened to his neck, and Butch responds that it was used to hold his body off the ground. Even in crisis, Butch has his sarcasm and snark firmly in place.

After the cab drops off Wrath and Beth, they have an intense conversation walking down the street. Wrath tries to ask Beth about her relationship with Beth, and she doesn’t feel like he deserves that information. She tries to deny Wrath’s importance to her, but he calls out that he could basically take her right there on the street and she wouldn’t object. Wrath doesn’t need her to like him, but he doesn’t want her lies. Beth, in return, calls out that Wrath wants her even more than she wants him, and realizes that his issue with Butch is his jealousy. Beth wonders why he cares so much after just a few hours together, but Wrath just pulls her in for a kiss and says “You don’t know this yet, but you are mine.”

This is understandably rather overwhelming for Beth, but Wrath reassures her that she will be okay and no one – himself included – will hurt her. She wishes she had never met him, which is really her wishing that her life didn’t get so weird all of a sudden, but you can tell Wrath takes it personally.

But now we get to see Fritz meet Beth! He’s so excited! It’s an honor for him to meet her and he pledges his loyalty to her in the old language. I just want to hug this man, he’s the best. Fritz also mentions that Rhage is here after a little accident, which is a scene I was hoping for!

We get to see Rhage in the bathroom, sewing up his severely mangled arm, and immediately distracted by “the cutie”, who Wrath quickly clarifies is not interested in movie stars. Poor Beth struggles with the bloody mess she just saw, but Rhage was entirely chill as he worked on his own injury. It was a very brief moment with Rhage, but it was done to perfection.

Now we’re coming to the big moment, where it’s clear some truths are going to be revealed. These truths require Beth to walk down a dark staircase hidden behind a secret passageway revealed by opening a giant painting, which is more than a bit ominous. But Beth is brave, and curious, so she gives it a go. As they head downstairs, Wrath tells Beth about her father, Darius, and how great he was. It’s really unfortunate that we only get to spend those few minutes with Darius in episode 1, he’s truly a wonderful character.

We get to see Wrath’s chamber at the mansion, which is just as dark and candlelit as the book described. Wrath tells Beth that she has inherited the house and everything Darius has, but she is (again, understandably) suspicious. There’s a very real moment where she’s like dude, you don’t have to lie, you already got me in bed. To be clear, she did not say dude, that’s just my Southern California coming through. Now we’re at the big moment where Wrath is trying to tell Beth that her father knew her, and explain why he never made direct contact. Wrath reveals that Darius was as his is – and he shows her his teeth.

There’s another real moment where Beth is vey upset that Wrath is a weird vampire role player trying to pretend his teeth are real, and she feels foolish, deceived and confused. Wrath insists that his teeth are real, and she decides to GTFO. Wrath doesn’t stop her, but he does appear right outside when she leaves the house, which proves his point and is also freaking scary.

This is the first time we really see Beth break, and you can’t blame the girl. Imagine you had the best sex of your life, realize in the morning it was a risky one night stand with a total stranger, and then get sucked into his backstory about knowing your dad and being there to protect you. Then, out of nowhere, oh BTW I’m a vampire and I can basically prove that some supernatural shit is happening here. This kinda breaks her brain temporarily, and Wrath picks her up (effortlessly) and carries her inside.

This is another key scene, because Wrath clears up Beth’s – and our – misconceptions about vampires. They aren’t blood sucking killers, they’re a persecuted minority trying to survive. Oh, and by the way Beth, this means you’re about to become a vampire too. Surprise! And no, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. He tells her she will need to drink blood, and he clarifies that she won’t need to kill anyone to do it.

This is an integral difference between J.R. Ward’s vampires and “traditional” vampires in media and pop culture. The standard concept is that vampires drink human blood and generally either kill the human or turn them into a vampire themselves. In Ward’s world, male vampires need to feed off female vampires, and vice versa. Human blood can keep you alive, but just barely, and it’s not that appealing.

Important note for much later in the series – the male/female blood exchange is true even for gay vampires. It adds a layer of complexity to the relationships between vampires and humans, or other non-vampire beings, as well as the gay relationships that come down the road. It’s a really interesting dynamic and I love this twist on the usual story. Also, this helps us to understand the research that Havers was doing and why he’s so stressed, having to feed on a female vampire despite having lost his mate and the love of his life, Evangeline.

We end on another key moment, where Wrath tells Beth that he will feed her when she changes, and Beth asks if it will hurt. But she’s not asking if it will hurt her – she wants to make sure she won’t hurt him. It says a lot about her character and her compassion that this is her primary concern over her own wellbeing, now that she’s processed a bit.

And that’s a wrap on the Black Dagger Brotherhood recap for episode 2! Oh, one more minor complaint….give a girl some previews of next week ASAP! I want this to end like an episode of Melrose Place, where I immediately get to see what’s in store and what to look forward to for the entire week while I wait. But it’s a small complaint, and they do release a preview after a few days, so I will be happy with what I get.

Check back soon for the Black Dagger Brotherhood S1E3 recap and review…

Black Dagger Brotherhood Reading Order

Dark Lover (Wrath & Beth) 2005

Lover Eternal (Rhage & Mary) 2006

Lover Awakened (Zsadist & Bella) 2006

Lover Revealed (Butch & Marissa) 2007

Lover Unbound (Vishous & Jane) 2007

Lover Enshrined (Phury & Cormia) 2008

Father Mine (Zsadist & Bella) 2008

The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider’s Guide 2008

The Story of Son (The Black Dagger Brotherhood World) (Claire & Michael) (Note – originally published in the romance anthology Dead After Dark in 2008)

Lover Avenged (Rehv & Ehlena) 2009

Lover Mine (John Matthew & Xhex) 2010

Lover Unleashed (Payne & Manny) 2011

Lover Reborn (Tohr & Autumn) 2012

Lover at Last (Blay & Qhuinn) 2013

The King (Wrath & Beth) 2014

The Shadows (Trez & Selena, iAm & maichen) 2015

Blood Kiss (Black Dagger Legacy) (Paradise & Craeg) 2015

The Beast (Rhage & Mary) 2017

Blood Vow (Black Dagger Legacy) (Axe & Elise) (Rhage & Mary) 2016

The Chosen (Layla & Xcor, Blay & Qhuinn) 2017

Blood Fury (Black Dagger Legacy) (Peyton & Novo, Saxton & Ruhn) 2018

Dearest Ivie (The Black Dagger Brotherhood World) (Ivie & Silas) 2018

The Thief (Assail & Sola) 2018

Prisoner of Night (The Black Dagger Brotherhood World) (Ahmare & Duran) 2019

The Savior (Murhder & Sarah) 2019

Blood Truth (Black Dagger Legacy) (Boone & Helaine) 2019

Where Winter Finds You (A Caldwell Christmas) (Trez & Therese) 2019

The Sinner (Syn & Jo) 2020

The Jackal (The Black Dagger Brotherhood Prison Camp) (Jackal & Nyx) 2020

A Warm Heart in Winter (A Caldwell Christmas) (Blay & Qhuinn) 2020

Lover Unveiled (Sahvage & Mae) 2021

Claimed (The Lair of the Wolven Book 1) (Lydia & Daniel) 2021

The Wolf (The Black Dagger Brotherhood Prison Camp) (Lucan & Rio) 2022

Darius: A Black Dagger Brotherhood Love Story (Darius & Anne) 2022

The Viper (The Black Dagger Brotherhood Prison Camp) (Kane & Nadya) 2022

Forever (The Lair of the Wolven Book 2) (Lydia & Daniel) 2023

Lassiter (Lassiter & Rahvyn) 2023

Mine (The Lair of the Wolven Book 3) (Lydia & Daniel) 2024

A Bloom in Winter (A Black Dagger Brotherhood Holiday Book) (Apex & Callum) 2024

The Beloved (Nalla & Nate) 2025

Lover Forbidden (Lyric & Devlin) 2025