‘Dracula’ Episode 3 recap: What happened in ‘The Dark Compass’?

The BBC’s new Dracula series concluded in the UK tonight.

Based on Bram Stoker’s classic Gothic novel, the three new feature-length TV movies have been written by Sherlock creators Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.

Danish actor Claes Bang (Borgen) leads the cast as Count Dracula, alongside Joanna Scanlan (No Offence), Dolly Wells (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and John Heffernan (The Crown).

Here’s a plot recap for the third episode, which aired at 9pm on Friday 3rd January 2020 on BBC One:

Lucy Westenra seems to have it all. A beautiful and popular girl with no shortage of young men in her thrall.

Yet Lucy seems to have an emptiness inside her, a longing for something else.

Something dark and… other. One might almost say, ‘be careful what you wish for.’ For out of the shadows steps another suitor – with a familiar face!

England is an unfamiliar world pulsing with fresh blood and fresh possibilities.

There are strange sights and sounds everywhere, and Dracula wastes no time in laying plans to spread his foul vampire contagion in this new larder.

After landfall in Whitby, where else to head but the gleaming lights of London? But why does Dracula set his sights on the seemingly ordinary Lucy Westenra?

The legacy of Jonathan Harker’s stay in that far off Transylvanian castle comes back to haunt the Count as he finds himself unexpectedly checked by an alliance of formidable foes – one a steely scientist, another a callow young doctor in love with Lucy and determined to thwart the Prince of Darkness in his plans to dominate the world.

As the adventure reaches its fevered climax, Dracula appears triumphant. Can anyone – living, dead or undead – stop him?

The complete Sherlock DVD box set is available on Amazon.