'V Wars' Season 1: Has the Netflix show downplayed a significant female Asian character from the comics?
Spoiler Alert for 'V Wars' (comics and show)!
With only a few hours to go for the release of Ian Somerhalder's 'V Wars' on Netflix, fans would be scrambling for details about the story, and will, therefore, read up on the comics of the same name by Jonathan Maberry.
Those who have read the comics might realize that there are some significant changes from the graphic novel. While in the comics Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes) and Dr. Luther Swann (Somerhalder) don't meet when the story starts, the show depicts them to be best friends. Another significant change that fans might notice is the absence of a character from the comics named Yuki Nitobe on the show.
Yuki played a significant role in the comics in that she was a television reporter who was at the forefront of the news during the human-vampire wars and is quite close to Luther, calling him up to talk when she needs to. Yuki -- being the only one who interviewed the vampires who weren't violent -- was even threatened by many extremists.
She is even kidnapped by some underground vampires so she could see the truth about the politics behind the war on vampires. However, later on, we find out that Yuki -- major spoiler coming -- is, in fact, the leader of the underground vampire faction.
In the show, however, the casting list does not feature the name "Yuki Nitobe", but instead, we see Kaylee Vo, who is played by Jacky Lai whose heritage is Vietnamese. And so, to fit the actress cast for the role, the producers of the show decide to rename Yuki to be Kaylee, so fans can rest easy that Yuki will be present in the show, albeit with a different name.
Another issue that does arise, however, considering that on the show, Michael Fayne is touted to be the leader of the underground vampire faction. While Michael is Patient Zero right from the beginning of the comics, he is not significantly featured until later issues.
So what does that mean for Kaylee? We know that Kaylee is a young online journalist who uses her own sources to uncover the biggest story -- not just in her life, but ever in the show's universe.
She will be quite as formidable as Yuki, as she is determined to get the public to see the truth about the disease and how the government -- which is willing to go to any lengths to protect the humans -- might not be the good guys. After a tragic incident that affects her personally, she is more determined to make sure the public knows whatever truths she can uncover.
Since the show has not come out yet, we don't know whether the same twist from the comics will be followed on the show, but it seems quite unlikely as all the promotional materials and trailers have centered the story around Luther and Michael and their friendship in danger as Michael is the one who is leading the vampire faction.
To know more about Kaylee and how much has changed from the comics, we will have to wait for the first season of 'V Wars' which will be released on Netflix on December 5th.