The mauled American hunting Ethan seems to have found him
and Vanessa in their getaway on the moors. In between threatening them at gun
point he also takes off his mask to show his terribly scarred face. She orders
Vanessa to chain Ethan then threatens to rape Vanessa. Because, y’know in TV
land it’s absolutely impossible for us to know a sinister bad guy is a sinister
bad guy if he isn’t a rapist.
Ethan and Vanessa attack him, though Ethan is chained up.
They get beaten up a bit and Ethan stabbed before Vanessa kills the man with
repeated stabbing. Lots of repeated stabbing. Stabby stabby stabby
They bury him while morbidly accepting that they’re both
murderers together – and Vanessa confronts Ethan about what he actually is. A
carriage arrives before he can answer – Victor has come to collect them since
Sir Malcolm got himself all kidnapped.
Malcolm is in the witches castle being tormented by the
zombie ghosts of his family who all taunt him quite revoltingly.
Evelyn isn’t super happy about all this (having truly
seemed to care for Malcolm) and Hecate continues to challenge her and mock her,
claiming again that Evelyn is far too old (which, she does point out, it
entirely because of the youth obsession that Evelyn has taught her). We also
learn that Hecate knows absolutely nothing about palaeontology.
Victor, Ethan and Vanessa return to the house to find
Inspector Rusk waiting for them. Ethan walks with him, carefully not letting
him speak to Victor and Vanessa while continuing to refuse to answer Rusk’s
questions. He rather poetically talks about something overworldly happening. Ya
think? And he’s going to be stalked by the police constantly because Rusk has
infinite resources. He also causes Ethan “Mr. Talbot” which strikes a nerve –
his real name; Rusk is getting Ethan’s war dossier.
Ethan returns to the house looking stressed and Sembene
offers to help him with that night’s full moon before the whole gang gathers
for Lyle’s confession about working with Evelyn. He is now turning against
Evelyn. Victor is quite judgy, but Vanessa is more forgiving, recognising their
need for allies and how no-one there is a saint – she also wants to ride to
Malcolm’s rescue. On the night of the full moon. She adamantly refuses to
listen to Ethan’s objections or Lyle’s warnings – calling it a battle of faith:
hers vs the witches
Sembene is the one who seems to settle it – they go in,
during the day (per Lyle’s warning) and all of them, to save Malcolm (a subtle
reminder, I think, that Vanessa isn’t the only one who cares for Malcolm) and
kill Evelyn. Something he dubs an “unholy slaughter”.
Vanessa catches up with Victor injecting himself with opium,
something he justifies scientifically in the face of Vanessa’s careful
understanding but quiet disapproval. He compares his addiction to her addiction
to god before the topic turns to how Lily broke his heart and how he isn’t
unlovable – Vanessa calls him a “beautiful monster” who can be loved.
Ethan and Sembene talk about his wolf and Sembene thinks
he should tell Vanessa, “she takes your pain and makes it hers” which is beautiful
following from her comfort of Victor. Ethan, of course, doesn’t want to add to
her worries but Sembene thinks Vanessa is limitless. Sembene also talks about
his own past – he was a slave trader and has found kindness (“among the unkind”)
in Malcolm’s house. Ethan makes a big deal of what a good friend Sembene is.
When Ethan goes to bed, Hecate appears to try and tempt
the Wolf of God to her. She wants him to join her in glorious devil worship –
which actually seems to tempt him, especially when she kisses him. He seems to
struggle with the whole idea of letting his wolf run free.
Of course them all telling Vanessa not to go rescue
Malcolm. Means she ignores them all and goes on her own – so the gang needs to
follow her. They really should have predicted that. And Lyle has to have a
ludicrous moment about the big gun Ethan gives him. Sembene also keeps trying
to stop Ethan from going since it’s full moon but Ethan won’t hear it.
Vanessa arrives at the witch house to confront Evelyn who
is done with Malcolm – because he’s now mad and has no dignity (I think this
was supposed to be a “yay women” moment but instead reeks of ableism). Vanessa
gives her the angry eyes. And no-one has angry eyes like Vanessa. Evelyn tries
to taunt Vanessa and Hecate plans to defend the house against Vanessa’s friends
– I don’t think Evelyn or Vanessa are impressed by her.
Vanessa is taken into her room of dolls – where the
Vanessa doll calls her a murderer.
The gang arrives – Victor and Lyle going to the front
while Ethan and Sembene take the back. Lyle pauses to pray in Hebrew, probably
realising Ethan has, for some reason, decided to put both the fighters in one
team and it’s not his. Lyle looks at Victor, expecting comment but he just says
“far be it from me” it’s the last thing Victor cares about. Of course Ethan has
taken Sembene to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else when he goes all wolfy.
Victor and Lyle are split up – Victor trapped in the room
with Malcolm who is wailing and cowering and broken by madness. Just as Victor
is confronted by his own demons – Proteus, John Clare and Lily.
They move through the house – and Ethan and Sembene are
trapped in a tower. Unable to get out, Ethan tries to shoot himself rather than
change – and Sembene stops him. He refuses, calling Ethan chosen by god while
he is just a man. Ethan turns wolfy and attacks Semebene – and kills him?
Over to John Clare at the waxworks where the owner, Oscar,
asks him his opinion on his monsters. John has a big speech on how evil isn’t
ugly – it’s beautiful and seductive (which sounds like a not-at-all subtle
reference to Brona). He debates losing his soul and being damned – but not
being alone with extra pathos of him describing that he would depict Pandora’s
box containing a mirror. Nothing but a mirror.
Lavinia, Oscar’s daughter, asks John what he knows of her
father’s new attractions since he’s had workmen hammering away but has asked
her to make no new waxworks. She wants to nosy – and needs his help to do it
since she’s blind. There they discover a range of empty cells with heavy iron
doors and a book – when he goes to see the book, Lavinia locks the door behind
him.
She then gets to mock him for being led in – especially since
she’s had to endure his repeated ramblings about poetry. The rest of the Putney’s
arrive to tell him he’s imprisoned for a freak show – and no-one will care
about his plight anyway.
Brona/Lily herself visits Dorian who tries to poke her
memories with (photography sessions). She’s very good at fencing with him – and
he calls her Brona to which she says “or is it Lily now? Or is it some divine
admixture of both?”. She wants all his secrets – um, he does tend to kill
people for that. She also orders him to kneel – and he does; and offers her own
secrets in exchange for his own.
This includes sex, strangling and her asking questions –
how old are you? (Ancient) and can you die (find out). She decides not to –
because this world is “outs” and then bites a chunk of his ear off and demands
he heal himself so she can see it.
He goes, alone, to his picture and comes back uninjured.
Sembene – no. No, we’re going to need a hell of a lot
more information on his background before we accept this as his backstory – the
only POC character is a slave trader?
You want to make everyone in this show have dark pasts? This
is clear – Vanessa is fighting her darkness and betrayal of Mina, Malcolm left
his family a ruin and was an imperialist explorer rampaging his way across the
planet, Ethan has his history in the war slaughtering Native Americans as well
as the whole werewolf thing and Victor’s darkness is obvious. So, Sembene
having a dark and terrible history? I expected that – I was more than ready for
that. But they’ve deliberately chosen a crime that is racially charged and made
a Black man the perpetrator which clashes clumsily with Ethan and Malcolm’s
histories whose dark pasts are related to the privileges they have and the
prejudices of the time they engaged in. Sembene could have had a hundred
different dark pasts – this is just about the worst one they could have chosen.
We also really need Ethan to stop saying what a great
friend Sembene is when we have seen none of that. On a show that has presented
us with epic, impressive, awesome relationships constantly telling this one
instead of showing it is lacking.
All of this becomes 8 times more unacceptable and more racist
when Sembene willingly sacrifices himself for Ethan. For a friendship we have
never seen, in the name of a god we’re not even sure Sembene follows, after a
belated backstory that adds nothing and a long presence that has had minimal
portrayal. It’s an insulting end to a terrible character – and only making him
live next episode will do anything to pull this back. This one moment, frankly,
dragged the rating of an otherwise excellent episode down considerably
I am really liking Brona/Lily – as I thought from last
week she isn’t either of her personalities but both together and something
more. She uses her sexuality as a weapon but it’s more than corruption as John
puts it – it’s power and a quest for power, especially over men who are
particularly unique and powerful (like John and Dorian) which follows from her
epic rant in the last episode. Her memories are of a woman constantly abused,
used and controlled by men – her quest for power and dominion have to be seen
in that context – someone to whom power means not just strength and even
vengeance but also control and freedom. The same applies to her sexuality, she
was abused, raped, and was a reluctant sex worker – who is now in charge of her
sexuality and uses it as another expression of her power both with John and
Dorian.
While Lyle is a general collection of stereotypes for
comic relief, the show has had a couple of subtle moments of his wariness of
antisemitism. When he first prayed in the house to protect it, he was careful
to do so where no-one else could see which contrasts sharply with Vanessa’s
very overt religiosity. And this episode he prays – but clearly expects a
remark or objection from Victor.
