“Who wants to remember their shame, or sin, or foolishness?” – Vanessa Ives
“The angel seeks the light. The beast seeks the dark.” – Dr. Frankenstein
The bells have stopped tolling for Tennyson in London as the dashing Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) makes his return to Penny Dreadful this week, alongside immortal partner-in-crime, Lily (Billie Piper).
Vanessa (Eva Green) returns to Dr. Seward (Patti LuPone) for her next session, outwardly displeased at having to recollect the sins of her past. Watching Green and LuPone interact across the desk is fascinating, and both women will allow their usually controlled composures to crumble as they begin to forge a bond. Vanessa will also take a chance on the hard to resist Dr. Sweet (Christian Camargo) for a long overdue night on the town, but not all is what it seems with the charismatic zoologist.
Shazad Latif returns as Dr. Jekyll and is utterly mesmerising as he speaks of the duality buried deep within everyone – an ominous sign of things to come. Jekyll also gets the chance to show Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) what he’s been up to in his lab.
The powerful and mystical Kaetenay (Wes Studi) is back, fusing smoke and stones to connect with someone an ocean away. The use of Native American language and chanting here is deeply rousing, and followed by a standout scene between Kaetenay and Ethan (Josh Hartnett) on a cliff-top in America’s vast west.
The thrills also continue courtesy of daring jumps between scenes that will keep you on your toes and leave you breathless, as clouds shift to reveal a full moon, and blood is suckled hungrily to the tunes of a vampiric violin.
Episode two of Penny Dreadful is entitled “Predators Far And Near” and airs on the Showcase channel on Foxtel Wednesday 8.30pm. You can check out the official synopsis and teaser here.
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