Me in high school except it was all in my head

This show is corny, cringey, and low budget and its the best show I’ve ever seen idc. As a young lesbian it makes me so happy to see this.

Sapphics deserve their own cringey, corny, teenage vampire romance. Its our time to rise!!🏳🌈

This show is giving me a main character that is a DARK SKINNED SAPPHIC GIRL, with siblings and parents that aren’t homophobic. They better not cancel this shit. I will be so livid! This is the kind of representation I have been waiting to see!!!

My favorite plot point in First Kill is *SPOILERS* when the vampire father gets angry at the vampire grandmother so he eats her, like SWALLOWS HER WHOLE, and then the vampire mother comes in and is all like "where is my mother" and he goes "um... i ate her" and everyone is just like.... "well, that's unfortunate, anyway..."

if the straights get cringey, cheesy shows, why cant we? everyone deserves this kind of content across the spectrum. this show is bad but damnit it's our show and I love it

My biggest complaint about the first season is the writers seemingly deciding partway through that actually the general public DOES know about monsters. Overall it’s a cheesy, messy show, but since that’s deliberate, I can’t really fault them for it.

Not every show needs to be a masterpiece, let teens have their campy little drama, especially teens that aren’t as represented.

If Riverdale got as many seasons as it got, then First Kill definetly deserves to get atleast a second season imo

(Spoilers) I’m never going to be over the “you ate my mother” moment, that was CAMP. This show is so bad but so good, I loved it and hope that it gets 11 seasons

thank you SO much for doing this review. i think this show isn’t getting nearly enough credit. it’s cringy, cheesy, and so entertaining, i’m obsessed. please netflix give us another season! 😭🌈

I knew I could trust your expert opinion on this, Amanda. I've seen people say "wlw deserve better!" and no? We deserve campy teen vampire shows! If I had seen this when I was in highschool I would have gone bananas

Is this show campy and cheesy? Yes. Is it a little on the nose at some points? (Juliette, for one thing.) Yes. Did I absolutely adore it, and hope for several more seasons? HECK YES!

Seeing reviews about how "the teen lesbian vampire show is cliche and cringey" and I'm like "yesss??? Hello? As opposed to what OTHER teen lesbian vampire show?" Of all of the teen vampire shows to be well written why do the lesbians have to do everything?

The thing that messed me up about the show was not the writing or acting or even the cgi. It was the amount of times characters would lay on their beds WITH SHOES ON. This is the only show where it caught my attention everytime. Other then that, this show is a comfort and i had a lot of fun watching it. i hope we get more seasons! 😁

I loved this show so much for all it's awkwardness and cringe. The one thing I can't get over is Theo, who was BLEEDING OUT ON THE FLOOR saying "help me" and Juliette somehow interpreting it as "drain my blood so I can die peacefully." Like, babe, I know you have one braincell that's completely occupied with simping for Calliope but come on

I saw someone say that this has "my babysitter's a vampire" energy and as someone who used to love that movie/show I totally agree. Is it objectively good?? No. But I will defend it with my entire being Bcus my god is it entertaining. (Spoilers) I would pay money to see the dad eat grandma again

Finding this video in November 2022, binging the whole show in 2 days before googling it, realizing it's been cancelled 3 months before I knew it even existed... My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

The acting is miles better than in most of the other teenage romance shows, when the father almost died i really cried a little and i didn't even cry when Mufasa died, so that's a huge accomplishment. Also so far blessedly zero sex scenes, so that's a giant plus for me

As a former (teenage) lesbian (I am a straight trans man but lived as such for like 18 years) we DID make out in parties and have ridiculously intense relationships not even having 1 proper date (lived in a homophobic small town so that's the reason). So all these intense scenes and the passion and the awkwardness. SPOT ON. I felt called out

This show is a hot mess and I love ALL OF IT! Also, “I didn’t watch The 100, but I’ll still never forgive them for Clexa” made me cackle.

Was it incredibly over the top most of the time? Yes. Was the writing really cringy at times? Yes. Did I still binge through it because it's absolute cringey goodness? Absolutely!

If you go into this show expecting a low budget, “Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries” esque show meant for young teenagers you will have the time of your life. If you’re expecting some high art, deep and complex show meant for digestion you’ll be disappointed. Hopefully it’s success will give them the budget they need. I’m fine with it being cheesy because I think thats part of the charm I just want better quality.

Pantry cherries: when you make your own preserves, you do it a bulk. They likely wouldn't consume this many maraschino cherries in a year or two unless they make a LOT of desserts or cocktails so they might turn into gifts for friends and family throughout the year. (Flashback to the time I made 2 dozen jars of pickles for my in-laws)

So hear me out: Ashley gets her liver taken while REALLY drunk, even for Ashley, at Noah's party. Cops specifically comment that there is a ridiculous amount of alcohol there, even for a teenage party. When Noah finds the gang in the woods, on their way to *someone else's party*, a party just springs up around them, complete with alcohol. It was probably giving the show too much credit, but I had my breath held for Noah to be some Dionysian demon feeding on the excesses of youth. BUT NOPE. A WITCH DID IT.

I honestly hated this show, but I encourage everyone to stream it (even if they literally leave the room) so that Netflix and other media empires get it in their heads that we want and deserve content like this and they don’t jump to the (obviously wrong) assumption that it is doing poorly solely for being sapphic

As a lesbian from Savannah this felt specifically geared towards me and I am HERE for it

This show is a bit cringey, badly CGIed and I honestly am so glad it exists. WLWs deserve this.

The minute I saw the cover art I thought, "lesbian vampires? Yeah Amanda is definitely covering this"

I LOVED the show. Yes it's campy, yes there are some weird plot progressions but this is exactly the show I wish I had when I was a young baby gay. I really, really, really hope there will be more seasons! Just hope it doesn't fall down the Riverdale hole. I really loved the story at the end with the stepmother actually taking the side of her son more than the biological father. Hope in season 2 they steer away from the whole Oliver set up, and take more time to explore the complicated (family) situations between Juliette and Calliope. Also strongly vouch for Elinor getting a redemption arc because she rocks!

Amanda doing this video is the human equivalent of whispering "pspsps" to all the sapphics out there, love you all

As soon as I saw the trailer, I new it was going to get a lot of hate because people love to hate anything made for teenage girls. But I was also hoping it would get some love for people that can appreciate what it is. I was specifically hoping that you would talk about it. So glad you did and I’m so glad it’s getting sone love and, from the sound of it, that it resonated with it’s target audience. Didn’t know Schwab was involved, one of my favourite authors! I might give it a watch!

I cannot believe you mentioned D.E.B.S. in the year of our Lord 2022. It would be so cool if you reviewed it though!! (btw: I just find it really funny that Cal was down to be with a vampire romantically, but the moment her brother was turned she was like "hell no!")

Just wanna say I really appreciate how Amanda always says "bio mom" throughout this vid. It's subtle, but coming from an adopted family it actually means a lot. The the phrase "real mom/real parents" gets thrown around a lot and it's not helpful or kind. "biological parents" is the correct term, the people who adopted you and actually raised you are your "real parents."

Idc how ‘bad’ this was, I’ll defend this to my grave. Lowkey, I was kinda hoping we’d get some Killing Eve type slow burn for a bit, but I definitely need the cat & mouse game played up. I’m just irritated that the plot & lore devolved so quickly; they absolutely tried to fit too much into the 8 episodes, and it didn’t need to be so convoluted. It actually needed to be simpler bc the story can wrap nicely, but still leave enough unexplored & unsolved that would help push for more seasons. We shouldn’t be introducing these extra supernatural creatures in this first season, and especially not so abruptly. They need to put me in the writers room, I’ll have this shit all on lock.

The mothers were really powerful and wellwritten, i liked that

This is not really a show for me but I'll put it on in the background just so there is a chance you get to see another season of it.

About the cherries thing, Juliette's actress Sarah Catherine Hook said in an interview that they actually managed that part in one shot (though her and Imani did spend upwards of 12 hours shooting the entirety of the pantry scene)

Yes, obviously the most ridiculous detail in all of this was how you're suddenly thrown the info that the entire town knows about monsters and there's an alarm for it. The rest all made sense in it's own way, but I dunno, Ben could have reacted differently to the whole vampire thing if he already knew about monsters, right?

I'M SO MAD IS OVER 😭😭😭 This is the show we've been waiting for

Okay I'm not gonna lie I probably wouldn't have gone back and finished this series as I really wasn't enjoying some of the acting/dialogue during the hunter brothers/family scenes, but I've enjoyed so much of your content Amanda that I'm watching this one for you. I'm still hurting from Netflix cancelling "I'm not okay with this" so if another view can help this one getting finished then I'm back off to Netflix to finish it, maybe I'll end up enjoying it more.

To be fair, a dead gay character doesn’t necessarily imply a kill your gays trope. Otherwise all gay characters need to be completely immune from death or disaster. And when you have s heavily gay show, as this one seems to be, it makes sense that all gay characters not be completely safe

I want to thank you Amanda. I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it having seen it on the Netflix homepage. Watched it in one sitting. Thanks again for the introduction to this show. Hopw for season two.

No, this video *definitely* needs to be about how Amanda the High Schooler wanted to be special, with all the different phases. Jedi, Hunter, Vampire, Pokemon Trainer...

I too lost my actual shit at the discovery that everybody just knows about monster's, even though, previous to the moment that it explicitly revealed, it had felt like a big secret.

Amanda, I think you would LOVE Our Flag Means Death! It’s so lovely and funny, plus it’s only 10 half hour episodes so it’s easy to get through. It’s got lots of lovely LGBTQ+ representation and a heartbreakingly beautiful last few episodes. Would love to hear your thoughts!!

As someone old enough to remember when Buffy was the "it" show about vamps and hunters.... I kinda got Buffy season 1 meets Shakespeare vibes (especially when considering the cringe special effects). But gotta say that there is enough unique lore that it most certainly isn't a Buffy makeover for almost middle aged millennials.

I literally watching the last episode right now, it's low budget but the history is very exciting, its twilight but not boring and even better it's lesbian romance we don't have many nowadays. The whole Romeo and Juliet thing it's amazing.

I loved this show, and though I felt the story was too fast paced (not really the romance, but now that I think about it, I do wish there was more tension and bonding between the two before they really let themselves be in love. But because it’s a Romeo and Juliette inspired story, it makes sense. Romeo and Juliette fell in love immediately after their first kiss too) and some of the editing choices were weird I was down for everything they gave me. Except that scene at the end where Oliver showed Theo his growing monster army. It felt a little out of character for someone who was supposed to have dubious motivations and a schemer. Like it’s like he wants his monster plan to fail, cause it would be high key out of character if Theo didn’t sabotage him. (I also thought it was weird that Theo barely had any lines after he was turned into a vampire. Like, surely he could still speak. Like he didn’t even get to say whether he wanted to die or not).

34:59 the one thing i hated was the cancelling. absolutely LOVED the show. i am devastated that they cancelled it :(

i was HOPING you'd finally talk about first kill. this shit is like twilight for gays, it's amazing, it's perfect, the cgi, the random sexual scenes, the acting, the music, the death, the drama, ahshczahckx

Thank you so much for covering this! I really hope it gets renewed. It’s the corny campy vampire love story I’ve always needed. And it’s amazing to see a POC queer woman as a co-main character!!

This is unimportant but I think it’s so funny that people keep saying they’re rushed when it is a blatant Romeo + Juliet adaptation

I felt like I was watching a 2012 series adapted from a 2010 book. I feel like if I were a pre-teen I would have loved it lol. Is it perfect? No! But I didn't hate it. I had a similar impression to Amanda's. Plus it is cute and queer :)

This show is the vampire diaries I needed as a young bisexual in my teen years. A series that didn't make sense, didn't have great plot, but showed who I was. That's what pretty little liars and vampire diaries was for the most part. But I was so excited to see a show where the main characters and others were a part of the LGBTQ+ community. I'm so disappointed that they didn't continue the series. Especially for the teens today.

Great recap! Something I never understood was why didn’t Elinor just do her mind-Jedi trick on Juliette to make her have her first kill earlier. If she did it to Oliver for fun then she could have done it to Jules to secure the family’s position of power. SMH

i literally loved it, it reminded me of 2010 shows, your teen wolf, pll, gossip girl, n etc

My favorite part about watching Amanda's videos are the part where she fangirls as hard as I did while watching the show. It makes me feel like I'm not alone in this obsession.

It’s interesting to me how so many of these elements of the vampires (worst monsters look like “us”, before the first kill they have headaches and hyper senses and might have a meltdown) all sound like being autistic. Not even metaphorical; my brain actually does pump up the volume on smells, sounds, etc. that cause headaches. I guess the missing element is that I never completed my transformation by feeding on someone?

I was cringing so hard at the CG snake, especially when they had the one or two scenes of a real snake that was very clearly a very different snake 😂 Adored the show

The Alice Cullen T Shirt belongs in the hall of fame. No argument. It is what it is.

Favorite moments: 5. The only two attempts at a Savannah drawl coming from the nutty vampire hunter with the bedazzled stake, and from Ben's mom, working a twang so laborious that it impedes her ability to chant angrily outside the ugly new-money generic early-aughts McMansion that a centuries-old vampire family occupies in one of the most storied and architecturally-identifiable cities in this hemisphere 4. Three generations of Legacy vampire women, in upper middle class retiree department store attire, chanting a sacred Legacy vampire woman chant about their magic snake to absolutely no effect or discernible purpose 3. Dad eats Grandma because she's being super-annoying; Dad immediately starts whining to Mom that her mother was just being SO AWFUL 2. Weird COPS shaky-cam low-angle shots of a sprinting Theo 1. Dad and Mom embracing with intense '90s soap opera energy because the other families are going to cotton onto the fact that Dad ate Grandma

Haven't watched it but from what I can tell my biggest complaint would be Cal's hair 😩 let black, female, lead characters (especially the ones who are meant to be attractive/the main love interest) *HAVE NATURAL HAIR* 😭

I cringed through the entire first episode… and kept watching. It completely drew me in, if only because I wanted to see what ridiculous thing would happen next. Absolutely loved the cheesiness of it all, and surprisingly it made me cry (spoiler) when the brother was turned and disowned from his family, but mom saved him! Broke my heart!

This show is adorable! I hope there are more seasons, cause this show has given me DEBS and Wynonna Earp vibes and I'm here for it!

ok i paused this video and watched the entire series. It's great, i love it. The dad eating the grandma was incredible, but i did also genuinely like the sibling dynamics in cal's family (and the parents too. Her mom and her stepbrother in the last episode, bruuuhhh). Usually i'm very picky with tv shows, i haven't watched any shows this year at all so far, but I really enjoyed this one

My only problem with the show was the writing and pace, it felt like the writers wanted to put too much elements and conflicts instead of focused on letting julliete and cal get to form a connection.

"I'll do anything" 👁👁 that was so freaking funny I lov you Amanda

If this does not get renewed, I will be even more upset that I was when Archive 81 did not get a second season.

I love that my two favorite visual entertainment critics are both named Amanda. I also am a fellow natural redhead so theres that too hahahah. I always love your insight because it's so well spoken but it's like you say what we are all thinking and I love it! Plus I save alot of time by watching your reviews instead of the actual movie or show itself if its something I am on the fence about in general.

"Aren't you in my-" *Crush walking away* OW! That one hits so close to home, it bruised my heart and memories.

I love this show. Yes it can be cringey at times but I love that the main couple is lesbian and that one of them is black. It’s different and it’s nice that different relationships are represented. I hope that they renew it for a second season

Loved the show so much! When I saw the previews I was excited...and then I binged the whole thing on its first day/night/morning, lol Love the awkwardness, the campiness, the intersectionality, and then the specific storyline of these Legacy Vampires. The "how to kill them" seems fairly obvious if you have all the info the viewer does (haven't read the story, so no clue if that's part of it), but hopefully there are several more seasons for characters to try to figure that out

Yes, the show is super camp, but did I have tears in my eyes when Juliette asked Cal to come to the party? Also yes, because that shit's brave, I wish I had that courage.

I absolutely loved it, are there a number of issues, of course, but a sapphic vampire/ hunter romance is exactly what I've always wanted.

you didn't mention it but ashnikko's 'slumber party' playing in the background of the party when they share their first kiss is hilarious

This show was absolutely ridiculous. I think a couple really great performances on top of the interesting premise really carried the show. I'd say the actress that played Juliet was honestly SO good.. everything from her felt natural and it really took me on a journey. Both of the mom's were incredible.. Cal's mom was SO intensely good in some of the emotional scenes that I found myself getting emotional despite the silly plot. Elinor also played a really over the top but fun to watch villain and I hope she's in the next season. Cal's acting left a lot to be desired for me.. She seemed really stiff and awkward but not in a natural or endearing way.. more like a "what do I do with my hands and face while I say my lines" type of way. Oliver was also really awkward. The plot was all over the place and made no sense a lot of the time but at the end of the day I'm glad I watched it. I want to support the diversity of people in this film and I would watch a season 2! Thanks for the recommendation Amanda! I binged it within the first 5 minutes of your video and finished it TONIGHT!

Amanda defending the show's dialogue "teenagers are stupid" Yes Amanda, yes they are. I enjoyed the show but your video is hilarious thanks for making me watch it and making the video

Apollo held Theo for quite a while Cal and Jules were coming there so he should know if Theo was dead which does say "he was dead" when Cal asks outside Theo's room . What if he was already becoming a vampire? he did come awake and ask Jules to help him. Jules could be assuming she had turned him but maybe the severing turned him through some way that took longer to complete . we saw many scenes of Theo talking about how weird he felt during the severing.

If Riverdale can get 7 season, we definitely deserve more than one season season of First Kill

YES I was waiting for your rec for this show

Tbh I wasn't a fan of the show aside from the main couple and their relationship. The hunter stuff specifically was awfully annoying to me. BUT it's great it exists. Simply exists. That's all I'm asking for. And it's awesome to see all this excitement for the show - in the video and the comments. Shows with queer protagonists (not just some side charas whose stories are told in four minutes) are still rare. So seeing shows like this makes me happy just for that reason, whatever genre it is or cringe there might be. It's all about variety. Us queer folks have different tastes and age groups, too. Not every LGBTQ+ person is into gay drama movies with an unhappy ending or documentaries lol Edit: Also, this better doesn't get cancelled. Still mad about a certain other show. Do better this time, Netflix!

"Bad choices at every turn" I feel like you just summed up the teenage experience 🤣

I couldn't get passed the first episode, but to get more variety we need more shows, so supporting this is important, I'll try to give it another chance

So uh... who's gonna tell Amanda the bad news...?

Mainlined the entire show in a single sitting. It was everything I needed in my lesbian vampire fiction thats been missing since Carmilla ended.

Amanda: Digidestined Me: - perks up like a dog hearing a can opened -

“Monster drill! Where r u ?” That’s fucking hilarious

Watched First Kill all the way through in one day, as recommended.. So glad I did! Definitely need a second season!

I’m refusing to call something that amuses or entertains me a “guilty pleasure,” but if I *were* to use the expression it’d perfectly apply here.

I think the town knowing that monsters are real but just kind of... half dealing and half ignoring that fact was very much a nod to BTVS. Half-expecting Cal to get the class protector umbrella next season.

I wasn't sure if I was going to watch this show, but when I saw that you made a video and the thumbnail said you'd die for them, I watched the whole thing and LOVED it! Your reviews are always spot-on. Thanks for the recommendation!

Why couldn't Juliet's dad have leveraged his DA status to line her up a pedophile or someone already on death row as her first kill? Especially given that she only has to make this one kill before being able to get by with just partially feeding, you'd think that'd be the obvious thing to get her to just do it & get it over with, & the easiest to cover up rather than having to hope she gets her first kill in some way that no one's gonna' notice.

I love this show. I love the campiness. I love the beauty of awkward teenage romance. I love the characters. I love that the teens are really the main characters and get the respect they deserve. I love that their parents don't just dismiss their feelings as unimportant or transitory. There is definitely some influence from one of my favorite vampire romances: Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla. Good story trumps production values every time for me.

Yo I did like a ten part review series on tiktok and 100% hit all these points. Im really happy you are a fan cause I have been advocating for this show for weeks. People are way too hard on it and I need a season 2

Rewatching this and I'm just now really appreciating the great costuming in this. It's Gen Z, it's weird, it's fashion, it's fun and not over the top.

As a straight white Mormon male from Utah this show experience sounds a lot like me watching movies like “The best two years” or “the rm” growing up and I’m happy for y’all, it’s fun to see representation and characters that are similar to your own experience.

I'm less than a minute and a half into this video, and I already want to watch this show. You've convinced me.

: I can't be the only one having noticed all the little easter eggs in that series. Like the Heartstopper lipstick ? Cal's dad's "baby girl" ? "Ha ha, ho ho the DA's got to go ? Also the "You ate my mother" scene is hilarious lmao

NGL, I'm going to binge this in the next 2 days just so Amanda can get her season 2