Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Season 1 of Vampire Academy.
Peacock’s Vampire Academy adaptation from co-creators Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre finds the heroines of the similarly-titled books by Richelle Mead — Rose Hathaway (Sisi Stringer) and Vasilisa “Lissa” Dragomir (Daniela Nieves) — come to life in a much different world than that of the source material. While the basics are the same, such as what it means to be Moroi versus Dhampir, there have been major changes that have equated to the characters on-screen being quite different from the ones we met on the page. And, for the most part, these changes have been well-received by viewers, differentiating the series from the books enough that the writers are able to keep fans on their toes.
Above all, the show has more or less left the high school elements behind to turn St. Vladimir’s into one of the major provinces in the Moroi Dominion. Instead of biding their time at school, Rose and Lissa are immediately thrust into the world of politics, backstabbing, and inequality. All of this puts Rose and Lissa through the wringer, as they are repeatedly dealt terrible hands by the universe. By the end of the first season, the many changes to the world and what these young women are dealing with have culminated in an ultimately larger change to the formula of the series, which is the character of Lissa as a whole in comparison to who she is in the books.
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Lissa in the Books
As Rose is the protagonist of the Vampire Academy books, and everything we see is from her perspective (including her trips into Lissa’s mind and feelings), Lissa is a much less central figure to the story than in the TV adaptation. Yes, most of what Rose does is to protect Lissa or become her Guardian, but Lissa doesn’t play as big of a role in what’s going on until the later books — and even then, it’s nothing in comparison to what Rose achieves. This ultimately hurts Lissa as a character, but more so hurts the friendship between Rose and Lissa in the books, never quite painting Lissa in a fair light or allowing her to prove herself fully as a character in her own right as there’s so much going on that’s distracting Rose or involuntarily shifting her perspective.
Initially, Rose goes above and beyond to help and protect Lissa, abandoning her life and training to take Lissa away from St. Vladimir’s Academy. Once they return, Rose is the primary person digging into Lissa’s spirit abilities, finding out the history about St. Vladimir and his shadow-kissed companion Anna which ultimately teaches them all about what really happened on the night of the car accident two years prior that killed Lissa’s family and Rose. Meanwhile, Lissa isn’t really doing much at all. She’s not going out of her way to dig through old records to discover where her powers are coming from. She’s just continuing on with her life and using the magic that negatively impacts both her and Rose, who receives all the darkness that spirit unleashes in Lissa through the bond. There are moments, like Lissa taking antidepressants that stifle her spirit magic, where Lissa’s concern and affection are showcased, but these are few and far between and filled with other more selfish moments in the interim.
In many ways, the main cost of what Guardians are forced to sacrifice for Moroi is shown through Rose and Lissa, which is horribly detrimental to their friendship and the believability of that relationship in the books. Lissa is more of a passive player, for the most part, stepping up in the later books — for example, when (spoiler alert) she becomes determined to save Strigoi Dimitri with her spirit magic or is named Queen of the Moroi. However, even by the end, it’s nearly impossible to like Lissa as much as we could have if she had asserted herself from the beginning to work alongside Rose in her goals.
Lissa in the TV Show
Thankfully, the Peacock show makes all of these needed adjustments and then some. Lissa is a main player in the story alongside Rose, increasing her involvement in everything going on — even taking things that Rose did primarily by herself in the books, like digging through history to learn more about spirit magic. Unlike her counterpart on the page, Lissa is motivated to step up and figure out what’s going on for herself, showcasing her ability to adapt and her complete sense of determination that actually rivals Rose’s thus far.
From the beginning of the series, Lissa is standing up for herself, stepping into the limelight that she so despises, and facing off against people who outrank her because it’s what she believes is right. As a royal Moroi, Lissa has the power to effect change, and we’re actually seeing her begin to do so in the TV series. In the penultimate episode, Lissa's plan to be the Queen’s heir once again so neither the villainous Tatiana (Anita-Joy Uwajeh) nor flawed Victor (J. August Richards) can be crowned is a grand showing of her wielding her political standing and power to take action. While the books left off with Lissa in the position to make life better for Moroi and Dhampirs alike, we never see the result of this, not even in the spinoff series Bloodlines. However, the Peacock show has Lissa be an active participant in creating change from the beginning, and it’s wonderful to actually see her incredible potential capitalized on. As Rose is fighting alongside Dimitri (Kieron Moore) and the other Guardians against the Strigoi that threaten the Dominion, Lissa is involved with and fighting — verbally, of course — other Moroi who view Dhampirs as lesser than themselves and don’t care how many die in the name of protection, often with Christian (André Dae Kim) by her side. Making Lissa the co-protagonist of the series has also rendered her a much more enjoyable and improved character all around.
These changes have only made her friendship with Rose even more special, surpassing the books exponentially in just 10 episodes. They may not be on equal footing in the Dominion, but they are with each other, finally. Lissa’s love and urge to protect Rose are just as present as Rose’s for Lissa, allowing the two to co-exist as true best friends, even with the Guardian/Moroi dynamic hanging over them. Now, as the two run away together in the season finale, with Lissa framed as a person of interest in the Queen’s murder by the actual murderer and newly-elected queen Tatiana, it feels like two friends escaping together rather than a Guardian and her charge. They can look out for each other, protect each other, and continue to develop their awe-worthy friendship should the series be renewed for another season.
Every episode of Vampire Academy is now streaming on Peacock.
