Penny Dreadful - SPOILERS

[Gov Kodos]

The show doesn't flinch from the gruesome much like its namesake genre. This season isn't any less twisted in its horror but the story and actors are still banging. Patti Lupone is back as a recurring character, Dr Sewerd, but I guess you missed her as the Cutwife from last season?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

God, I really want to get into this show again. My girlfriend and I struggled with the second episode of season 2, for personal reasons. We haven't watched since. With the new episodes coming now, perhaps we should try.

Season 2 was very much about knowing one's own self and acknowledging and accepting the monster within. So far, Season 3 seems to be about dealing with the aftermath and trying to make some kind of peace with it. If you accept that obviously you've missed some things I think you could watch Season 3 without it, Season 2 closed a lot of threads and Season 3 is starting many anew.

 

[Mage]

Season 2 was very much about knowing one's own self and acknowledging and accepting the monster within. So far, Season 3 seems to be about dealing with the aftermath and trying to make some kind of peace with it. If you accept that obviously you've missed some things I think you could watch Season 3 without it, Season 2 closed a lot of threads and Season 3 is starting many anew.

I'll think about. I would like to watch season 2. The moment I'm talking about is the sacrifice of the baby. At the time, my family was still very much feeling the loss of my brother's daughter, who was only 7 weeks old. That hit home, very hard. And since that moment, we just didn't feel like watching this show anymore

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I wasn't going to pry but I figured that was what triggered it.

Spoiler

The baby's heart is used in small porcelain dolls that resemble their targets and our used like voodoo dolls. The dolls and their hearts are shown quite a bit but not their procurement. You might want to skip that episode in particular and possibly more if what I described would be too disturbing.

 

[Mage]

Thanks for the heads-up. I guess knowing what's coming helps. I'll talk to my gf, see if she's up for it

 

[Forbin]

I can certainly understand not wanting to see that again, but otherwise you shouldn't skip any eps. it's all part of the whole, and holy mackerel, they're all good.

 

[Xerxes82]

The casting in this program is just astounding. All three (or four, if we're counting the returning Lupone's new character) major players they've added so far this season are magnificent. Every seen draws you in, and they rarely seem to waste any seen without something meaty to explore.

I look forward to seeing where this third season goes moving forward. Ethan's backstory looms, and I, for one, can't wait to see what's up between him and his daddy.

 

[Gov Kodos]

And that twist at the end of the last episode was a surprise. I wonder if Vanessa was the cause of his fate?

 

[Vandervecken]

How can Seward be a reincarnation of Joan Clayton? Joan Clayton, several hundred years old, died just only last year PD time! In front of Vanessa.

 

[Gov Kodos]

How can Seward be a reincarnation of Joan Clayton? Joan Clayton, several hundred years old, died just only last year PD time! In front of Vanessa.

She's related to her. Her family name is Clayton and came from the same area as the Cutwife. I think that's just Vanessa being witchy about things. Besides, no reason souls can't be reborn earlier being fictional and all.

 

[Forbin]

Wait, she's a Clayton? Can Tarzan be far behind? Everybody ELSE shows up in this at some point!

 

[Vandervecken]

She's related to her. Her family name is Clayton and came from the same area as the Cutwife. I think that's just Vanessa being witchy about things. Besides, no reason souls can't be reborn earlier being fictional and all.

I think there's a reason in this case: Seward is not 1 year old. But I agree that it has to be Vanessa getting a little carried away.

I'm wondering if next season we get all Egypty and mummyish. The 5th Earl of Carnarvon didn't make his first expedition to Egypt until 1907, but hey no reason a show like this can't play a little loose with dates. Also, they could make it Sir Malcolm and not Carnarvon.

I'd thought the outlaw leader of the gang that took Ethan from the train was going to turn out to be someone known, like maybe Butch Cassidy and his wild bunch, but nope. So dead. I wonder, though, if they will introduce Quincey Morris. Kind of hope so. I don't want Ethan to be a Morris stand-in, I want the real deal.

What a bloodbath at Dorian's.

I don't get Lily's plan. So they recruit a bunch of poor, outcast, mistreated women to do what? Slit a lot of rich and well-connected throats in a night perhaps? And then what? She thinks they can just take over the government that way? I'd imagine the very well-armed, well-staffed, actual army obeying the Queen's orders might have a thing or two to say about that. Now if they could suborn Queen Victoria herself, and also the Marquee of Salisbury (the PM at this time)THAT would be something.

Can Tarzan be far behind? Everybody ELSE shows up in this at some point!

That would be exceedingly cool. He should be more dark (as in evilish) too, I'd hope.

Gods I love this show. Best thing on tv, period. GoT looks like Disney compared to this.

 

[Gov Kodos]

She's related to her. Her family name is Clayton and came from the same area as the Cutwife. I think that's just Vanessa being witchy about things. Besides, no reason souls can't be reborn earlier being fictional and all.

I think there's a reason in this case: Seward is not 1 year old. But I agree that it has to be Vanessa getting a little carried away.

One soul in two bodies is an idea that goes back as far as Aristotle at least. That's how he characterized love, which might be why Vanessa said Sewerd was the same as the Cutwife without the love.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Eva Green is such a fearless actress, I think she's amazing and can hold your interest for a bottle episode. Rory Kinnear was as good as well in this (almost) two-man play.

 

[Gov Kodos]

It was an amazing job by both Kinnear and Green. They play of each other so well and Eva does loony like no ones business. When she's scratching the walls and looks at Rory when he comes in- pure gone, nobody home crazy. That was good.

 

[Forbin]

Eva must be totally dehydrated from crying at the end of a work day.

That scene of her scratching the wall - that's exactly how I feel sitting in my windowless cubicle on a slow work day.

 

[Forbin]

Oh I was SO hoping Ethan would wolf out on his father at the end.

 

[Xerxes82]

Hmmm... this last episode was interesting in a lot of ways, but it's one of the rare episodes where I felt things were rushed or halfheartedly done. Maybe some payoff later will change my mind on the latter point, we'll see.

It was genuinely painful watching good people give Vanessa good advice that couldn't possibly be any worse for her, or the world. The Dragon is playing the long game, and winning. As an aside, the new character (Hardtigan? I'll have to check the spelling on that later) is quite interesting. About time Vanessa had a female friend or two she could go to. Though, like Sweet before here, anybody this nice and rosy upon debut has me immediately wondering just how evil she'll turn out to be.

Watching Dorian completely lose control of the situation with Lily will never get old. Poor hedonistic Dorian, so blind to the long term that he's lost his home to the anti-brothel brigade. You can almost see the moment when he realizes he wants to side with Victor. I expect Lily will not be pleased. Just how badly is this going to blow up in the face of Frankenstein, Jekyll and Co.?

Mr. Clare/Caliban suffers so much, but the acting is so well done. The sudden shift of his scene from tender to horrific as the little boy opens his eyes made me want to weep. And none of this is by his choice (that we know of). I'm really curious where he goes from here. I'd love to see him interact with Ethan. They both have violent sides and anger management issues.

Speaking of Ethan, his story is where I felt the episode suffered a bit. Which is a shame, because there's some awesome stuff in there. The family dinner scene was amazing. Watching Malcolm squirm as Ethan is pushed further and further down the wrong path by his father, knowing what might be at stake. Brian Cox does a fantastic turn as a bitter, angry old fool who probably would have been the death of his family anyway. All that rage at Ethan. I wondered for a minute if they might have it turn out that the elder Talbot actually slaughtered his own family, perhaps on the full moon, and only blamed Kaetenay for it out of convenience. Doesn't look like it. I think I prefer it this way. Ethan and his three dads make for a dysfunctional bunch.

But they rushed through the confrontation so quickly. It all kind of ended tritely, at least until the final moment when Ethan chose to be a better man. Which wasn't shocking, of course. As quickly as Hecate Poole made inroads with Ethan, fueling his rage, I was never really worried that Ethan would fall. I feel like they could have played with the possibilities here, and really driven a wedge between Malcolm and Ethan that would raise the stakes. Still, if it reunites our cast in London, it's a small price to pay. And even a weaker episode of Penny Dreadful is still the best thing on TV today.

Is anyone else hoping Rusk is still alive? I really want him to learn that after swearing to destroy Ethan last week, his arrival this week not only saved Ethan's life (ending the first confrontation in the chapel), but his shooting of Hecate Poole probably saved Ethan's soul. What a juicy karmic slap to the face.

Very much looking forward to the last few episodes of the season. I feel like we're setting up for an Empire Strikes Back kind of ending, where the bad guys have mostly won. Either way, I'll be glued to my television.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Great episode, Dr Seward reminiscing about the meat cleaver was hilarious. Good advice gone bad? I guess we'll see how much help Miss Hardegan will be. Ethan's story got wrapped up fast but that's OK by me. The whole episode was dysfunctional families trying to resolve their problems Penny Dreadful style and it's time Vanessa's got back home.

I hope we'll see Mr Lyle again, though. Going off to Egypt and Imhotep's tomb? Maybe, we'll get some more of the Mummy and those Egyptian vampires in s4? The way Dracula was described and with what we saw in the asylum, he may be a disembodied spirit like Lucifer just inhabiting bodies that he uses? Maybe, Lyle will find something to connect the mythology from s1's Egyptian stuff, s2's Lucifer, and now Dracula? Right now, it seems like 3 separate mythologies with these seasons in a lot of ways.

 

[Xerxes82]

Great episode, Dr Seward reminiscing about the meat cleaver was hilarious. Good advice gone bad? I guess we'll see how much help Miss Hardegan will be. Ethan's story got wrapped up fast but that's OK by me. The whole episode was dysfunctional families trying to resolve their problems Penny Dreadful style and it's time Vanessa's got back home.

I hope we'll see Mr Lyle again, though. Going off to Egypt and Imhotep's tomb? Maybe, we'll get some more of the Mummy and those Egyptian vampires in s4? The way Dracula was described and with what we saw in the asylum, he may be a disembodied spirit like Lucifer just inhabiting bodies that he uses? Maybe, Lyle will find something to connect the mythology from s1's Egyptian stuff, s2's Lucifer, and now Dracula? Right now, it seems like 3 separate mythologies with these seasons in a lot of ways.

The more I think about the resolution to Ethan's plot this week, the more I like it. I wrote my previous post this afternoon, just after finishing up the episode. But I've been thinking on it, and I've had some thoughts that really solidify it in my mind. Mostly that the resolution, pretty much everything since they arrived at Talbot Ranch last week, isn't actually about Ethan so much anymore as it is about Malcolm. So much of the resolution hinges on Malcolm looking across that table at dinner and seeing himself, the man he used to be. And then stepping up to save Ethan from that kind of father. Interesting parallels as well to Malcolm shooting Mina back in season 1 to save Vanessa. Ethan's rage, his hate, which Hecate was using to manipulate him towards evil, is focused on his father. Effectively, killing his father is the point of no return for him, from the narrative's standpoint. When Ethan chooses to let his father live, he saves his soul, but didn't remove the potential threat. Malcolm's murder of the elder Talbot is a noble act, in it's way. Saving Ethan from an inevitable round 2.

I also hope the bit with Mr. Lyle is setup for future stories. Not only would it be a shame to lose him, he's delightful, but as you note we have the Egyptian tie to the vampires from the first season. Also, this show could totally use a mummy. Why not throw Imhotep into the mix?

As for the mythology, I too look forward to seeing how they tie in the creatures from season 1. Dracula, being Lucifer's Earthbound brother, seems more likely to have a physical form, but the reveal of his first contact with Vanessa also suggests a more spiritual form? He changes shape, according to our new expert. Glamour? Body swapping? The creatures we've seen before could just be some kind of muscle. Vampire thugs. Mina certainly appeared to be the brains of their operation.

And I was hoping we'd get some more definite answers on Ethan's Lycanthropy. The show has repeatedly hinted that he's been cursed, probably by Kaetenay or someone similar, for his murderous deeds in the Indian Wars. I'm just really curious about the mechanism. Was he bitten? Cursed? Can he pass it to others? The guy who survived the Mariner's Inn didn't show any signs of Lycanthropy, but I don't think we ever saw him on a full moon, either. I spend way more time on Mondays thinking about Penny Dreadful than I probably should, lol.