Inspired by the Swedish novel and film of the same name, Showtime's Let the Right One In may deliver all the bloody thrills of a vampire drama, but at its heart, the 10-episode series is about a father desperately trying to protect his daughter by any means necessary.
The series follows Mark (Demián Bichir) and his young daughter Eleanor (Madison Taylor Baez), who are on the run to hide a horrifying secret—after contracting a "crazy virus," Eleanor has become a vampire, needing blood to live and never physically aging past 12 years old.
While trying to keep Eleanor's secret under wraps from everyone they come in contact with, Mark desperately tries to keep his daughter's humanity intact until they can find a cure.
And holding on to her humanity is the "main challenge" for Mark, Bichir told Collider in a recent interview.
When asked if it was hard for his character to watch his daughter potentially become immortal and lose what makes her human, the actor said:
"Absolutely. That is the main challenge for my character. As parents, we are ready and willing to do anything for our family. For our kids, we're ready to cross any line, as dark as it can be. It's about the health of your children. Once you get infected with a crazy virus, everything goes upside down. We, as humanity, know that very, very well, nowadays. We know what that is like. There are many things that go through my character's mind, and one of them is fear."
"It's the fear of leaving her alone in this world. If she continues to be a vampire, she will live forever, and I will die eventually, and then she will be on her own, which is never cool. The human aspect is crucial. That is something that Mark tries to avoid, at all costs. He's like, 'I have to keep you human. You are not a monster, and you will not become a monster. Not on my watch.' There are some lines that he will cross, in order for her not to do that. That's how you keep your children safe, or at least that's how we think we keep them safe."
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From the beginning of the series, it's evident how fiercely Mark is devoted to keeping Eleanor safe. In the trailer, he mentions that he's had to kill several times to keep her alive; in the first episode, Mark kills someone who is closer to him than he realizes.
Bichir says that that killing, along with almost every other element viewers see on screen, has ties to later events in the series.
"I don't want to spoil anything, but yes, everything you see will be a key element that will evolve in the series, later on, whether it's in the next scene, or the next episode, or in the next 17 seasons. That's why I admire what [showrunner Andrew Hinderaker] did with designing the root of this series and the path that we're taking. It's just genius, how he [has] created all these subplots, multi-layers, and different characters," he said.
"Every time a new character shows up, it's a key element to tell the rest of the story. There isn't anything there for free. Nothing is just a green light. There isn't anything like that. Every time there's a green light, it's for a reason. If you see a yellow light, it's there for a reason."
And when you see a red light? Bichir says "buckle up."
Let the Right One In airs Sunday nights on Showtime.