Almost Dead Guy: The Judge is stabbed by Sala and manages to live long enough to tell Sypha and Trevor about his grisly dealings and requesting that they burn down his house, which has the evidence of his crimes.
The Bad Guy Wins: The only story arc to end with the main protagonist satisfied is Isaac's. Carmilla and her sisters also gain all the benefits of Hector's power with none of the downsides now that he's their slave.
Batman Gambit: The Judge, while mortally wounded, tricks a panicked Sala into fleeing right into the Judge's trap by expressing false admiration for the man's cunning and ability to wound the Judge. It works and the panicked Sala runs right onto the false ground and falls into a pit of spikes.
Bittersweet Ending: While the season as a whole concludes on a Downer Ending, at least Saint-Germain is implied to get something of an uplifting closure: he apparently succeeds in reuniting with his lost loved one in the Infinity Corridor, but is now trapped alongside them. However, it's heavily implied this is a temporary situation and they will escape together soon enough. Season 4 however reveals that no, he did not find his lost love, and his attempts to do so make him a tool for Death and his plans.
Broken Pedestal: Trevor and Sypha considered the Judge an ally and a good man, until they learn of his dark secret.
Downer Ending: The season closes each story line in a very bleak and depressing tone.
While Dracula's resurrection is prevented and the Visitor is destroyed, Trevor and Sypha have failed to save the town of Lindenfeld, whose residents were completely sacrificed by Sala's cultists, and their ally Saint Germain had to jump into the portal to close it from the other side. To make matters worse, the Judge is mortally wounded by Sala and reveals with his last breaths that he is a Serial Killer who arranged his death as well as many others. They abandon the now deserted town completely bitter over the whole ordeal.
Sypha: This could not have gone more wrong. How did this happen? Trevor: We spent a couple of months living your life: adventures and victories. Now, we're living my life.
Hector is magically enslaved by Lenore and compelled to make Carmilla and her sisters the army they want, whether he likes it or not. To make matters worse, Lenore arranges for him to live as her Sex Slave.
Isaac is triumphant over the Wizard and shows no signs of stopping his mad conquest despite the previous interactions with strangers trying to convince him that mankind isn't all that bad.
Dual Wielding: When fighting the main Night Creature, Trevor wields the Morningstar Whip and his regular whip simultaneously.
"Eureka!" Moment: Saint Germain realizes that the Visitor wasn't simply opening a portal to Hell, but a portal to Dracula specifically, which means that it can control the precise location where the portal goes. He then takes control of the Visitor just long enough to redirect the portal to his missing loved one.
Exact Words: After using his sword to kill the twins, Alucard tells the now dead Sumi and Taka that while his father didn't prefer to use magical weapons, Alucard made no comment of his own preferences.
Gilded Cage: Lenore intends to keep Hector in one of these after she successfully places the ring on his finger and enslaves him, along with freedom to roam the castle.
Heroic Willpower: While on the villainous side, Isaac shows this by resisting the mind magic the magician is casting on him long enough to break the binding and then kill the man.
Immune to Fire: One of the demons that attack the Lindensfeld priory is a hollow lizard-like creature full of fire that effortlessly absorbs Sypha's fire magic.note Which makes sense, given that it's a Fire Demon from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Fan Disservice: In contrast to the Shoulders-Up Nudity and Scenery Censor of the previous episode's threesome scene, Taka and Suki are both shown fully nude without anything hiding their bodies... right after Alucard slashes their throats.
Mutual Kill: In a sense, Sala and The Judge's deaths could be this. Sala fatally stabs The Judge, who with his final breaths manages to successfully trick Sala into going into his spiketrap.
Mythology Gag: The episode title "Abandon All Hope" refers to a Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 quote, when Alucard and Dracula meet after Dracula defeated the Brotherhood of Light.
Once More, with Clarity: Several of the Judge's interactions with Trevor take on a new meaning after The Reveal that the Judge was intentionally killing people after luring them to his apple tree.
Out with a Bang: Sumi and Taka reveal they only seduced and slept with Alucard in an attempt to leave him a vulnerable position so they could stake him. It fails to work when he uses his mental connection with his sword to kill them both instead.
Room Full of Crazy: A well-organized one, but still insane as the Judge takes the shoes of his victims as trophies and sets each of them them nicely on a white cloth and pedestal.
Shout-Out Theme Naming: To Dante's Inferno, as Dante walks into Hell and passes through a gate with the inscription "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," in reference to the hellgate that takes prominence in Trevor and Sypha's story. One versed enough to the old Epic Poem could even recognize a few locations, such as the suicide woods in the second ring of the Seventh Circle (with a blood river that might be a runoff from the first ring or murderers) and the frozen river of Cocytus from the Ninth Circle.
Slashed Throat: The restrained Alucard manages to kill the twins by using his levitating sword to slash the twin's necks in a single swing.
Title Drop: "Abandon all hope" is one of the things that Alucard mutters to himself about what kind of "stay away" warnings he should put near his castle for any trespassers.
Too Much Information: Carmilla, Morana, and Striga's reaction to Lenore saying that Hector is good at sex and she wants to train him.
We Will Meet Again: Saint Germain says this to Trevor and Sypha as the Infinite Corridor closes.
Would Hurt a Child: Many of the Judge's victims are rule-breaking children to his orderly town.
recognize a few locations, such as the suicide woods in the second ring of the Seventh Circle (with a blood river that might be a runoff from the first ring or murderers) and the frozen river of Cocytus from the Ninth Circle.