Amph [wtf am I watching] Penny Dreadful

Season 2 starts tonight. Showtime is of course running a marathon right now.

 

I want you to be the mother of evil.
I want you to rule the darkness with me.
At my side.
Looking over a black, scorched, dead world.
Where there is no more pain, because there are no more hearts to feel.
We have eaten them all, thee and me.
And together we will conquer God.
Topple him from his bloody throne, and rule in his stead.

 

Both, actually.

 

I could pull a one line review and say the season opener was "******* awesome" and leave it. But I feel the need to type.

The opening shot is Vanessa, dark hair, eyes, dress, walking through a field of white though a few pretty flowers blossom on a limb colored gray. This contrast is done again later though through a window of white framing, and she sits in darkness looking out. There is a prettiness in the macabre, where even evil can be beautiful, like fallen angels. Despite being surrounded in white she walks in her own dark. later they describe the language "Verbis Diablo" created by Lucifer as an opposite of God's language.

The villain named Evelyn is unseen by Vanessa but she chants and it has an effect. It is the Verbis Diablo and the word "Lucifer" is quite clear. Later when attacked by the coven a witch uses the same words and "Lucifer" is again quite clear. Vanessa makes it quite clear that she is a badass waiting to happen as she reacts and sends them running.

The priest in the last season questioned Vanessa about being normal, or accepting this darkness and being interesting. Ethan makes a similar line here, we cannot change what we are, talking about his own monster which he does not describe to Vanessa. Later, Caliban asks the Dr, what is Frankenstein without his monster?

SO, Franky was one less interruption away from necrophilia. Of all these "good guys" he is the most detestable.

I was not sure after the first season how well a coven of witches would do, if they would top the evil of last season or measure up. Well ****. We have seen the blood filled bathtub preview but now the full effect is given. Evelyn is essentially Lady Bathory with super powers and if her quality as a character continues she is gonna be a well remembered villain. The next to last scene is Evelyn and her coven. At the moment she is the Devil's Darth Vader.

Great stuff. Best show on tv.

 

If infanticide, full frontal dude dude looks like a lady nudity, and dolls bother you, you may wish to avoid this episode.

So in looking up other reviews on the episode I find this bit of history about Maria de Legowska whom had her very own coven that worshipped the Devil via sex magic. David Carradine might have been a fan as she either invented or took autoerotic asphyxiation to new heights. When the male was at his as asphyxiated heights, one of the coven mounts him and then they release him.



That's her. So, possibly Evelyn is based upon her. The end of this episode is a chiller. The adventurers bring back Ferdinand to find out about the Verbis Diablo and it turns out Evelyn is blackmailing him with photos of his life as a sodomite. Earlier one of her coven kills a family, and takes their child. Evelyn is all in bunches and takes the Infant to her special doll room where she removes its organs and places them in a doll of Vanessa who away in her home takes in a sharp breath.

Vanessa meets The Creature, calling himself John and they have themselves a nice chat about religion. She leaves mentioning his beautiful eyes. I don't think this is a throw away line; he may have a soul despite being a remade creature.

Dr Franky is a very bad man. He is telling Brona that they grew up together and are cousins. He is very obviously planning to seduce her.

The preview indicates another trip into Vanessa's past.

 

Vanessa's episode was nasty but engrosing. Didn't miss the other characters. Eva Green is fascinating to watch.

 

I'll try and catch up tomorrow. Her dark side origin? Looking forward to it.

 

Ok, could Evelyn take Fiona Goode? I love them both <3

 

Well that was a Star Wars episode if there ever was one.

Vanessa goes to learn witchcraft(the Force) from an old master (Yoda) in a bog(Dagobah). Said witch tells Vanessa to leave what she was and bring what she is, just as Luke takes what he has with him into the Darkside tree/cave. There is even an old bent tree in the yard by the witch's house. In the EU there is an idea that the Darkside tree on Dagobah is there because 3 dark force users attacked Yoda and died there. Sure enough, 3 witches show up and stand right next to that tree.

Once again Vanessa is shown walking in darkness, and when light comes she is the blackness in the middle of all that light. In the witch's house she draws a tarot and of course it is The Devil. Two things this means. 1. Well, the damned show is about the Devil chasing her. 2. She is there to learn what she is, seeking enlightenment; Lucifer meaning that in the vein of Prometheus.

The scorpion as Vanessa's symbol/totem I find this:

Scorpio is the 8th sign of the zodiac, a fixed water sign. People born under this sign are the most intense and passionate of the signs. Though they appear calm and quite but their anger can burst anytime like a volcano. This ferocious anger often ends up making lifelong enemies. Scorpions are loyal as friend but a fanatic foe.They possess very strong intuitive power that helps them judge people. Scorpions also have immense degree of willpower and are highly tenacious, but are equally sensitive and therefore get easily moved by emotions of others.

Sounds Like Vanessa to me. Also it is a symbol of Death. Calm cool Death.

Evelyn said "Like adders in the sands of Egypt". Again Egyptian symbology, serpents as deceivers.

More Star Wars: In Dark Empire Luke decides to join the Darkside, he joins Palpatine to try and defeat the Darkside from within. I think maybe Vanessa will try this.

There has been no such thing as a bad episode in this show.

 

This was adding up to be a bit of a filler episode. Dorian goes on a date to a ping pong parlor with his "girl" friend, Dr Frankenstein goes shopping for a dress with Vanessa for his new creation, and for the most part it is a lighter episode, in fact the lightest episode.

Mr Lyle, the Egyptian expert, finds out Malcolm is seeing Evelyn and he does a good job of poker face though he does try to caution him.

With a Predator-like spell the 3 witches infiltrate Vanessa's house to generally mess things up and get a bit of Vanessa's hair I assume is for the Vanessa doll in Evelyn's mega creepy doll room.

The Verbis Diablo is apparently a memoir from the mind of the Devil Himself; some portion of which Vanessa uses to ward off her attacker.

 

Just because of the name "Angelique" I think perhaps he wanting to be she is going to be a very horrid problem. It is a name for Angel in a variety of lingo, and from a name meaning it has a rebellious nature, a gola oriented nature, and do not like authority. Coupled with the translation of Verbis Diablo so far concerning angels being cast down and I think Angelique is another evil player.

 

"Kind eyes can look on anything and find it beautiful."

I don't know much about Billie Piper beyond that she was on Doctor Who which I did not watch. But her dinner scene with Frankenstein and Vanessa is well acted. Vanessa sees through Frankenstein's actions though she does not know the truth of the matter. But she sees Frankenstein is in love with her and tells the Monster this, though neither knows how the threads connect. Vanessa dances with Frankenstein's Monster, and it is rather cute.

Against the witches they take measures to stop from being infiltrated, though the Egyptologist has already done so.

This was a everybody screws episode. Dorian and Angelique is a graphic dude/dude scene, Malcolm falls further under Evelyn's spells while his wife is driven to throat slitting insanity. I guess it doesn't count as necrophilia since Franky's creation is indeed alive though formerly dead...killed by him in fact. Vanessa and Mr Chandler? Gosh, they want to.

It occurred to me that the preacher at the end of season 1 might be another minion of the Devil. Why else would here steer Vanessa to remain in the world of darkness?

 

So the clues so far for Angelique being the Devil or at least a major minion of: 1. The name means 'angel'. 2. Angels are sexless or have both genders. 2. the Verbis Diablo states that the Devil did not fall alone. 3. And in this latest (Awesome) episode I go way back to season 1 where the Devil reveals himself via a mirror to Vanessa. The first shot of Angelique in this episode is he/she looking into a mirror and being startled when Dorian speaks up.

Evelyn makes an interesting evil villain statement. She does not say the reward is to live forever. The reward is living forever while the world suffers.

I want a behind the scenes look at what happens with all the actors when someone says "cut!" and they are all dressed and dripping blood.

 

So before when Vanessa was with her witch teacher it was a very Yoda sort of thing. Vanessa returns to the house and another SW like theme comes to play; once you start down the dark path dominate your destiny it will. Ms Ives took it upon herself to get revenge in a very eye for an eye sort of way.

I wonder, if the book she used was more Verbis Diablo or something else.

The Bride Of Frankenstein, just showed why she is the Bride Of Frankenstein.

The theme of monster within was the major item through the episode; Vanessa and Ms Croft being the examples, all the while an actual monster tries to warn away one as in Mr Chandler to Ms Ives while another monster, Franky, let's another one roam free. One has a choice, one seems to have no choice.

There is something very Ishtar symbolized here with Vanessa and her stinging scorpion blood gylph.

this show has been renewed for a 3rd season.

 

This is turning into a VLM blog.

Vanessa and Mr Chandler are missing from this one, but that's ok because Dalton and Piper make this episode awesome.

Mirrors mirrors everywhere and bad things happen when they do. Malcom has a long scene with Franky, and explains essentially looking into a mirror and the abyss.

The Bride Of Franky is on a rampage. Ms Piper owns this, and the character intends to own everyone. "Thee and me".

Long ago as I first heard of Dracula he was called the Prince Of Darkness. Later on I would learn this was the Devil's nickname as well. The Verbis Diablo makes them brothers so they both get the title it appears.

Dorian Gray fans? THE PAINTING.

2 episodes to go.

And apparently I am wrong about Angelique the symbols were cool.

 

Ok so am I allowed to keep updating this if I am the only one posting? It gets viewed I guess.

So the show essentially explains itself. Mr Clare, the Monster, is asked about Pandora's Box in the wax works. All the evils of the world lie within. And he says he knows what is in it, a mirror. The whole damned show is diseased with mirrors and every character is damned in some way.

I'm sitting there watching this last episode wishing it would hurry along and just when i want it to go on it ends. Season finale next week.

Evelyn seems to have sort of faded in her aggression with Hecate, and Hecate is on a warpath.

• “True evil is above all things seductive. When the devil knocks at your door, he doesn’t have cloven hooves. He is beautiful and offers you your heart’s desire in whispered airs like a siren, beckoning you to her ruinous shore.”

 

And welcome back to VLM's Penny Dreadful blog.

Despite the awesomeness of Vanessa the line of the night is, "Never underestimate the power of a queen with lovely hair,"--Mr Lyle.

And again this show shows how it twists all these old stories and Dorian Gray dances a dance of blood with the Bride Of Frankenstein.

At the end of season one a preacher tells Vanessa that perhaps he can get the demon out of her, but then she would be normal. Does she want that? As she faces off with the Devil Himself, she makes her statement that she does not. "Beloved, know you master."

In her temptation dream the coloring is normal and bright rather than the usual cloaked in darkness appearance that surrounds Vanessa. Later int he real world she and Ethan are bathed in light though still surrouned by darkness into which he walks away from her.

All the men leave the country except Franky, and Vanessa stays home, burns her cross, and puts out all the lights.

 

Showrunner John Logan talks the end of season 2 and season 3

Next season, some of them are alone, and they don’t have their friends to turn to — they don’t have that support. And how they’re going to function out there in the world without each other is interesting. What will be the event that will draw them back together?

The whole central act of season 2 is Vanessa burning her cross, which is the very last thing that happens after 10 hours of television, and indeed you could say after 18 hours. This has always been a story about Vanessa Ives. She’s a woman who very strongly believes her Catholic faith and gets great strength and comfort from it, but the events of this season are so traumatic for her that she feels she has crossed a line and is irredeemable, and not even God will be her savior anymore. So that is a very desolate and nihilistic act for her, and I believe she thinks she is cursed and is destined to walk a very dark road.

Will we see Hecate again?
We absolutely will. I think Hecate is such a delicious character because she has her mother’s sort of flamboyant sense of evil and flamboyant sense of language, but she’s a contemporary young woman who’s not as bound as her mother to the old tropes of Satanism. She’s a lot of fun. She will absolutely be back in season 3.
Is there anyone else we should expect in season 3?
I can tell you this—and this is such a tease, and I am sorry for it — but after two years I am finally adding another famous literary character. It’s been fun going into another writer’s brain and bringing one of those great characters back into our world.

 

I've started my catching up on Penny Dreadful (no spoilers, please, I skimmed over this page). I didn't watch any of S2 as it was coming out, but it's all sitting on my DVR.

I've watched three episodes so far, and the third one was a good one. Very good.

Didn't appreciate the dissection of the live baby in that one episode, though. It was a bit much.

 

Black girl nerds recap the final episode.

 

Me too, but we are both wrong.

And interview with Dorian Gray

 

During Vanessa's possession in season one the Devil took the form of Mr Chandler to try and seduce her to "Be the mother of Evil". It is my favorite moment when she smiles ever so sweetly and rests her head on his chest as if she truly would love to give in.

It's all about the Devil and his plans for Vanessa.