We open with wolfy Ethan – and dead Sembene and my
eternal disgust.
Vanessa is being taunted by a ventriloquist dummy,
possessed by the Fallen Angel, about being a murderer (and calling her
Amaunet). But Vanessa must give her soul willingly. With Evelyn they both
accuse her about the darkness she embraced and the black magic she’s used. They
try to tempt her and challenge her to a staring contest (well knowing herself,
but I’m amused that anyone thinks they could win a staring contest with
Vanessa). They tempt her with her ultimate wish – to be normal which leads to a
vision of life, married to Ethan and with two kids. Vanessa calls the vision cruel
while they described what a wonderful peaceful life she would have (and, in classic
Victorian gothic, that includes a beautiful death) with her friends free
Vanessa pulls back. She knows what she is – and a normal
life isn’t in her dreams any more. And she growls and it is perhaps the most
terrifying thing this show has ever had. She has a Verbis Diablo duel with her
possessed puppet, the whole building shaking from it and Evelyn cowering from
the noise. The puppet is destroyed and a wave of scorpions (Vanessa’s symbol) crawl
from within.
“Beloved know your master”, the puppet shatters. Along
with the epic scale. Evelyn, her master defeated, ages rapidly – and Hecate
releases Ethan who runs free and slices out her throat with his claws
He then confronts Vanessa and calms. He runs from her.
Sensible man. Vanessa absorbs a scorpion into her hand – where it leaves its
image as a scar in the palm before fading because she clearly hasn’t maximised
the creepy yet
Victor is confronted by his ghostly “kids”, all his
creations – they all accuse him of the terrible ways he’s treated them
(including Lily outright calling his touching her abuse). Malcolm is confronted
by his ghostly dead kids. With all the guilt they push them to “atone” –
suicide.
As Evelyn dies, the visions tormenting Victor and Malcolm
fade. Leaving them both a little shaken in the aftermath.
And Lyle manages to shoot the witch holding him. His parting lines are: “never underestimate the power of a queen with lovely hair, my dear.” Oh… Lyle.
They reunite and Malcolm shoots and kills another naked
witch. They unite with Vanessa and find Sembene’s dead body.
Hecate is left along among the destruction, singing merrily
and leaving it to burn behind her.
Victor and Lyle drive home in the carriage and Lyle asks
Victor to keep it a secret that he is Jewish. He also offers to listen should
Victor need it. Victor returns to his home and gloomy lab to find it completely
empty – no sign of Lily. Only flowers (left by Dorian, I think). He storms out
again.
He goes to Dorian’s and finds them both dancing in his
spectacular ball room. They laugh at him and he pulls a gun, they laugh again,
neither all that worried by firearms. Victor begs her to return that he loves
her – which she mocks him for his sexual ineptitude. He shoots her and she hits
back “please, Creator, you made me too well for that.” More awesomely evil
mockery about how “malleable” (she even says she has always known she was created -implying that whole innocent ingenue act was just that- an act) Victor is and Victor shoots Dorian. Yup, that doesn’t
work either. They then have a gloriously evil and cruel speech about their superiority,
ascendency even, cruelty and conquest. Lily chooses not to murder him because
he might be useful – and besides it will be good to let him live and know he
has created a master race of immortals.
Victor leaves, looking quite broken. Dorian and Lily return
to dancing, leaving a trail of blood behind them.
At home, Victor takes more opium, struggling because his
veins have collapsed.
Malcolm and Vanessa discuss Sembene’s funeral plans
(Malcolm plans to go back to Africa with his body). After which Vanessa goes to
Ethan to talk about their mutual darkness and her wanting to run off with him,
for him to stay with her. He says he needs time to think and they’re all
beautifully tragic about it.
The next day she wakes to a letter written to her – while
Ethan goes to see Inspector Rusk to confess to all the killings. But he wants a
rapid execution – except he’s not being hanged, he’s been extradited to the US.
Over to Putney’s waxworks where John is still imprisoned.
Mr Putney has an offer as he describes his success how he intends to exploit
more unfortunates – and he has an offer for John. He will get part of the
profits if he plays along and performs for the crowd rather than moping as well
as helping new inmates, being “king of the Freaks.” John considers it – then easily
bursts open his cage and kills both Putneys.
Then Lavinia comes down to the basement, mocking and
insulting John, not realising he is free. John leaves without hurting her. As
he reaches the streets we hear her scream.
Vanessa goes to the now empty cholera camp and finds John
who tells her he also intends to leave – to be away from mankind. He no longer
wishes to pretend to be among humanity as they both reflect on having seen what
they’re part of. Vanessa discusses throwing her soul away – and John has
comfort for her even as she protests his atheism. Her faith is gone. He asks
her to come with him, both so very tragic, but she won’t inflict her darkness
on him. She calls him “the most human man she’s ever known” and kisses him
before she leaves.
Boats leave – Malcolm to Africa
John to Winterfell, apparently (or, maybe Canada)
Ethan, caged, to the US.
Vanessa is alone with Ethan reading aloud his goodbye
letter as she turns down all the gas lamps. She goes to her room and pulls down
her cross, burning it in the fire.
And in classic gothic tragedy EVERYONE IS BROKEN AND SAD
AND TRAGIC! Well, almost. But it certainly hit hard with grief and pain, every
actor really selling it.
The temptation scene with Victor and Malcolm was truly
awesome. In fact all the temptations scenes were just excellent – and really
sold with some epic acting. Penny
Dreadful has mastered the gothic in a way that few shows can
In fact, I’m going to take a moment here just to praise
the sheer excellence of the backdrops – from the bleak moor to the terrifying
room of dolls, every setting is so perfectly developed and placed. The whole
imagery of this show is amazing – look at Dorian and Lily in their beautiful,
white, blood stained clothes in that amazing room – it could not have been a
better scene. The music, the acting, the settings – the whole series has always
been incredible in its presentation.
Vanessa’s showdown… it was quick and if it hadn’t been so
epic it would have been anticlimactic. But it was Vanessa, out devilling the
devil and being so incredibly awesome and tragic and beautiful. I wouldn’t have
it any other way. Vanessa this season has been truly excellent – whether it’s
on the moor
I have loved Lily’s storyline. Yes she’s evil now – but it
is an evil based on desperate power and agency. Even when she uses her
sexuality as a tool, it is all her weapon, her power. This works so well because
of Brona’s history and makes it far more than her being a terrible, evil woman.
She was abused, used, bought and sold and ultimately dying. She was hurt over
and over, had no safety and faced endless contempt. Even Victor and John clearly
brought her back to be a glorified sex toy, a pretty doll to dress as they
pleased and smile and dance to their tune without a thought to what she
actually wanted. As her image said, it was abuse, pure and simple – and pretty
much what she has known from men and in her life. From this position of
weakness she finds herself now with unimaginable power – immortal, a master,
ascendant (which also does a lot to parse her scene with John - refusing. Through
this lens and in the wake of her past I can’t help but cheer her even if she
does leave a trail of bodies in her wake
While I’ve generally loved this season there are some
issues
Sembene is glaring. He has been constantly sidelined
every season. He is a servant, he has had minimal backstory (and that backstory
was a classic Marginalised
Swan Song) and that backstory alone was utterly appalling and needed a lot
more development than the brief coverage we had. Ethan calls him a friend but
we see no evidence of that at all, no friendship – it’s just a convenient word
thrown in so Sembene can be in on the big secret. He was wallpaper, set
decoration reduced to an extra – and in the big scene it’s no surprise that he is
the only one who dies. Sembene, ignored, lacking in any characterisation and then
thrown away
Angelique was an interesting character – in that she was
brave and determined, she lived her own life her way, challenged Dorian about
who she was and how he treated her and clearly lived a life facing a great deal
of prejudice but kept going and kept fighting despite that. She wasn’t a bad
character – but the way she was treated was appalling. Dorian treated her as
another adventure – a fetish. She was a novelty for him to explore (which
is also part of how Dorian’s bisexuality has been referred to –only sex between
cis, straight people is authentic and actually due to attraction – otherwise it’s
adventure and fetishism and trying something new and even a form of self-harm
and self-destruction). He paraded her about (which would put her at risk)
revelling in the notoriety – and then she was discarded when he was getting
bored of her and found a new novelty – an undead woman. For extra insult he
kills her – the writers conveniently having her find his painting just when it
would be convenient to dispose of her.
I could wish for a lot more form Lyle – but he is dripping
in stereotypes. It would help if there were more to him than that – and it
would certainly help if we weren’t looking at, yet again, a
gay comic relief (if he were more than that I would have been able to find
his line to the witch he killed much more amusing – as it was it was all part
of his clown character). Because gay men are just so damn hilarious to straight
people – and he can be simultaneously blackmailed due to homophobia while at
the same time he’s happy to banter sexual innuendo and quip about being “a
queen with perfect hair.” Because don’t even let the clumsy homophobia thrown
at him be a barrier for another comic relief moment.
I loved this series and badly wanted to just embrace it
uncritically – alas, it’s not what we do at Fangs.
