Stop, Hammer TimeWarhammer+, the streaming service dedicated to everything Warhammer, continues chugging along with its original programming that dives into the rich and incredibly dense lore of the Warhammer 40K universe. This time, we’re covering “Kill Lupercal”, which is apparently the first of these series to take place during the famous “Horus Heresy”, a legendary wide ranging conflict in the game’s backstory wherein one of the Emperor of Mankind’s closest allies, Horus Lupercal, broke rank and created his own contingent that fought a long and bloody war against the Emperor’s forces. Or at least, that’s what I could gather from doing the most bare bones surface level search of what the background for this is, since as this is a series made for an audience already very well versed in the 40K lore, we don’t get anything in the way of a narration or opening crawl to get our bearings for what time period this is set in or what context that provides. What we DO know from just these three episodes alone is that there are soldiers that mentally control giant war mechs called Titans and that things are going really poorly for the side of “Princeps” Orla Gemmon and her “Moderati” Nynex. But when a fellow soldier says they have found the location of the Imperium’s greatest traitor, Orla ignores their current mission and steers her forces towards one goal: Kill Lupercal.First off, I should let you all know that I am not exactly a Warhammer fan. To be specific, I think pieces of the lore are interesting and like its morally dark gray to pitch black tone, but I don’t often seek out pieces of its media and don’t see myself playing the tabletop game in the near future. So, I have little to know reference point for this show and, just like the last time I covered a show for this streaming service, the utter lack of accessibility for newcomers is a mark down for me. I am thus forced to use the closest franchise to this that I do know, which is probably Gundam. If I think about this three episode, 50-ish minute runtime series like one of those other miniserieses covering the lesser known pockets of Gundam’s One Year War, I can definitely see some of the appeal for those who may have wanted to see animated stories set in this eventful part of the timeline, especially when this is apparently the first to do that in this medium. Unfortunately, that interest is then rather undercut by the fact that these episodes are short, the visuals are very drab, not very much happens, and things end very inconclusively.On the other hand, despite its short runtime (so short that it really should’ve just been released as a short film instead of split up in threes like this), it does a lot to efficiently characterize Orla, her role, her feelings, and her shifting priorities as she balances following orders and taking a chance to strike at her faction’s highest priority target. Likewise, her talking to her fellow pilots and “Princeps” gives them quick but effective personalities to flavor the story and how the gears turn both around Oral and within her. But then we get to the ending which is…not really an ending at all. Despite the title, they do not end up actually killing Lupercal, at least by the end of the third and final episode. Again, I don’t know if this group is in fact the ones that do kill Horus at the end of this battle, but even if they were all doomed to die, I would have at least liked to see the end of that! Basically this all needed to be longer or do more, because what I’m left with kind of just makes me feel empty. And probably not in the intentional empty that a story about the horrors of fanaticism and journeys of vengeance tend to aim for. Warhammer fans may enjoy this for what little there is, but it seems reception is just as mixed among fans as it is within me. Still, it is an example of what Warhammer animated projects can aim for and hopefully surpass one day. Or at the very least, they can keep making stuff only for fans on their streaming service for as long as they can until that too runs out of steam.