Penny Dreadful Season 3; You Can Either Watch it or Pay to Have Your Teeth Fixed [spoilers]

[JGP]

48 minutes ago, Astromech said:

I enjoyed Ethan's scenes this week and his arc overall. Kaetenay and Hecate basically battling for Ethan's soul, even if it reminds me of Vanessa's struggles, is interesting.

Certainly. What I'm finding as really intriguing is how Ethan's assumption of the werewolf/wolf of god will come into play with all this familial tragedy. Cursed for it, or a path to redemption, what and when? Like, how long does anyone figure it's been from these events in his past until we met him England? No mention of similar massacres in the Americas prior to, no nothing really, or have I missed something? 

[Cas Stark]

Rusk is such a great, genteel, disabled, non gun carrying until now badass.  He just went on my 'please live through the end of the show" list.

 

[SpaceChampion]

I jumped when I saw Brian Cox.  "Hey!  That's that guy!"  I didn't know he was going to be in this, ramped up my expectations for the next episode a lot.

[Ramsay B.]

39 minutes ago, SpaceChampion said:

I jumped when I saw Brian Cox.  "Hey!  That's that guy!"  I didn't know he was going to be in this, ramped up my expectations for the next episode a lot.

Yeah, I had no clue who the father was gonna be either and Cox was a pleasant surprise. It was a decent episode and I liked getting insight into Ethan's fucked up past but I do miss everyone being together. Also, Hecate being taken at 5 y/o by the devil too(don't remember if we ever heard how young she was before?)!  

One minor complaint would be that Rusk and the marshall escaped all harm from the snake attacks. I know they were, conveniently, away from all harm after the inital attack but they were just standing there while the snakes started to go away.

I think we all just want Mr. Hyde to make an appearence at this point.

[Martini Sigil]

I think if Hecate asked me, I'd work for the devil too.

Having no Eva Green is kind of weird.

No Dorian and Lilly..... again.

[The Anti-Targ]

I feel like Ethan's turn to the dark side was a bit quick. But other than that, I enjoyed the episode.

I understand for story purposes why it went down the way it did, but if I was Sir Malcolm I woulda reminded Ethan what Hecate tried to do to Vanessa and then shot her in the head and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe Hecate is no longer a threat to Vanessa, but since she's a servant of Lucifer and Lucifer still has a major boner for Vanessa's soul she's still got to be regarded as a threat.

[HexMachina]

Enjoyable episode, for all it was missing Eva Green. I say missing...but I actually didn't find myself looking for her because I was interested enough in Ethan's story. That said, I did notice during the credits that John Logan did not write this episode, and IMO that was apparent when comparing this to the episodes he has written. 

Spoiler tageed for length, as usual.

 

I'll start with Jekyll and Frankenstein. I actually really like this storyline, and think Harry Treadaway and Shazad Latif (especially Shazad Latif!) have been marvellous this season. Also a shout out to Balfour and whoever the actor portraying him is, great job there. Jekyll's lab continues to be one of my favourite sets to date (even bearing Evelyn's doll room). 

Victor here was insufferably smug and selfish in this episode, and I feel this hardens back to season one where we see him talking about his science with Sir Malcom. His work brings out the worst in him. I also find his obsession over Lily as disturbing as I did last season. And his superior attitude towards Jekyll is repulsive...Kind of hoping one of those two kills him...

As for the serum, I'm not sure how permanent it will be. And aside from that, I don't think Lily's blood even flows anymore. I'm sceptical that it will work for someone who is not strictly alive.

Speaking of Lily, I feel they should have checked in with her and Dorian, because that plot is kind of fizzling with its slow/haphazard advancement.

Now on to Ethan. First off, stunning visuals throughout this episode, shooting this in Spain was well worth it. Finally unraveled Ethan's backstory, which is as brutal and tragic as I've come to expect from this show. Although we still don't know much about his being a Wolfman. Was that from birth? Apache magic? Something else?

His embracing the darkness was a little quick, but I guess that was unavoidable in a season with only 9 episodes. His chemistry with Hecate helped there though, and I found the relationship between the two pretty believable. She played on all of his insecurities and self-loathing, and revealed enough about herself to endear herself to him. Her killing her Mother is more understandable at this point, now we know she was given to Lucifer at 5 years old. 

Pits probably wrong of me to find the two apocalyptic relationships (Ethan/Hecate, Vanessa/Sweet) so endearing and to actively root for them to happen.

i loved Rusk in this episode. The man is a certified badass and I will be so sad when he inevitably confronts Ethan and dies.

Brian Cox as Jared Talbot was great, although I already knew this was coming (spoiler addict!). He and Timmothy Dalton were wonderful together. And the conversation between Malcom and Jared was a great way to show just how much Malcom has grown since season one. I've said this already this season, but he has grown so much since then as a character. Can't wait to see more of him next week.

Wes Studi as Kaetenay was also brilliant, and I don't for a second expect him to have died.

Oh, I really loved the snake attack too, especially after the connection between Lucifer and serpents last week.

I've watched the promo stuff for next week already and I'm already excited. Conclusion to the Ethan in America stuff, Vanessa back,Sweet back, new character introduced...and the return of the fabulously flamboyant Mr Lyle  

[Cas Stark]

10 hours ago, The Anti-Targ said:

I feel like Ethan's turn to the dark side was a bit quick. But other than that, I enjoyed the episode.

I understand for story purposes why it went down the way it did, but if I was Sir Malcolm I woulda reminded Ethan what Hecate tried to do to Vanessa and then shot her in the head and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe Hecate is no longer a threat to Vanessa, but since she's a servant of Lucifer and Lucifer still has a major boner for Vanessa's soul she's still got to be regarded as a threat.

I agree, and I thought he was going to do just that for a minute.

Rusk must not die.  No.

I don't really want Lily to kill Victor, I'd prefer either Clare or Jekyll do it.

[Slurktan]

So I thought that was a great episode, well played by the Count, and of course the dinner was awesome.

Also has the show been renewed yet or definitively cancelled?  I have to feel they were namedropping a new villain with Lyle saying he was going to the opening of the tomb of Imhotep. EDIT:  Particularly as.. as far as I know the tomb of the 'real' Imhotep hasn't been found.

[HexMachina]

No word on renewal yet.

not that I check almost compulsively most days, oh no!  

[Astromech]

Hardigan is a great addition to the show.  Her conversation with Vanessa was excellent. My favorite part of this show are those one-on-ones. The dialogue is always excellent. It was nice to see Lyle again, even if it was only briefly.

Not enough Clare this episode, but his scene was great.

I'm kind of over the Lily/Dorian arc. I had hopes for it being entertaining, but it isn't rising above simply man-hating. Luckily, from next week's preview looks like the Lily/Dorian dynamic will finally get interesting.

Victor is still a moron. He deserved the ridicule from Lily and her minions. Still waiting for Hyde.

Ok, so what is Ethan's arc now that Hecate is gone? Did he really embrace the darkness or was he just telling Hecate what she wanted to here? I would prefer his struggle between light and dark to last the season with Vanessa saving him. I hope that struggle didn't end with Hecate's "death". Loved the shootout and Malcolm, ahem. pulling the trigger. Now hopefully they'll all return to London.

 

[GallowKnight]

I'm always up for good wild west shoot-out so that bit was fun. I'm sad that Rusk and the Marshall guy died, I'm glad Hecate and her terrible witch form are dead and I'm glad Kaetenay is still alive. Not let's just go back to England.

I would have liked to see Brian Cox a bit more but he certainly did the best with the relatively limited screen time he had.

Vanessa's one-on-ones where great, I really liked the fencing-lady and I hope to see more of her. Too bad Lyle is leaving but I hope he'll be back for a potential season 4.

The whole Lily-Victor-Dorian-Jekyll bit is pretty boring though. I don't think Mr.Hyde is actually going to play a part in this season, unless it happens in the finale as a set up for future conflicts. The man-hating murder-ladies are pretty boring and feel a bit unimaginative. I do like the changing dynamics between Dorian and Lily though. I always pegged Dorian as the more dangerous of those two, but now I'm not quite so sure.

[Ramsay B.]

I was actually sad that Hecate died, the demon hell spawn grew on me. I didn't really care for Rusk and the marshall but they were good characters.

I also agree with everyone about the Lily/Dorian storyline. I was expecting to see them get real dark and I guess just get into some crazier shit(not counting the blood orgy), but it's just been pretty damn slow. Victor is beyond pathetic at this point and it's pretty funny seeing him still obsessed but I just hope shit starts happening, as it looks like it does for the next episode.

[Slurktan]

3 hours ago, GallowKnight said:

 I always pegged Dorian as the more dangerous of those two, but now I'm not quite so sure.

I can't imagine why you would think Lily is more dangerous than Dorian.  She is utterly predictable in everything she does.  He is not.

[Milady de Winterfell]

I knew there was a Penny Dreadful topic here somewhere... Now, to watch the latest episode before I spoil everything! 

[Cas Stark]

I'm sad Rusk died, and not a very epic death.

This episode didn't do much for me, really.  The show feels kind of mired in it's own complexity at this point and is sort of spinning it's wheels.

Dorian:  Please, I beg you, find a way to kill Lily ASAP.  I suspect it will be the other way around though.

Clare still can't get a break.

Vanessa has very, very bad skills in choosing her lovers.

[JGP]

I'm not sure how I felt about that last episode. It had some great moments, but the pacing was decidedly off. Kind of sad to see Lyle's send off, and while Ethan is clearly confused-- I'm hoping that getting back the other side of the pond will sort him out. If he does yet another about face on but this time in how he feels about Kaetenay, I'd hope at the very that least that Ethan will put some hurt on him.

Malcolm Mercy, at your service.

Is anyone else struggling with digging up a whiff of empathy for Victor? Like, I've got nothing for this guy. 

 

 

[Cas Stark]

5 minutes ago, JEORDHl said:

I'm not sure how I felt about that last episode. It had some great moments, but the pacing was decidedly off. Kind of sad to see Lyle's send off, and while Ethan is clearly confused-- I'm hoping that getting back the other side of the pond will sort him out. If he does yet another about face on but this time in how he feels about Kaetenay, I'd hope at the very that least that Ethan will put some hurt on him.

Malcolm Mercy, at your service.

Is anyone else struggling with digging up a whiff of empathy for Victor? Like, I've got nothing for this guy. 

 

 

I find him, next to Sir Malcom, as the least sympathetic character.  The self pity, Jesus, get a fucking grip, dude.  You are the creator of all your own tragedy.   I keep waiting for Hyde to fucking throttle him.... Once in a while I get a twinge of pity, since he is so unhappy, but now that he's out of his junkie funk and back to same old selfish jerk, who hasn't learned a thing with his scientific follies, not so much.  

[HexMachina]

Well, in a contrary opinion to the last couple of posts this one was probably my favourite episode of the season, barring the wonderful episode 4 of course. I doubt anything will top that one for me. As per usual, spoiler tagging for length:

 

Vanessa and Lyle's farewell had me a little choked up. "I shall have to dance more often." Indeed you will Vanessa  I don't think, assuming we get a fourth season, that this is the last we see of Lyle. But as I've said before, he needed a reason not to be utilised this season because of schedule conflicts. 

Catriona is a great addition, loved her fencing scene (and if what I saw in the stunts video is accurate, Perdita Weeks did that herself, not a stunt double). Her and Eva Green were great together and I'm looking forward to seeing more of them. Spoilers from the promo for stunts video

It looks as though Catriona helps Vanessa out when she is attacked in Sir Malcom's by a vampire

. Never seen Perdita Weeks in anything before but think she is a great actress.

I quite liked the Dorian Lily stuff, if only because once again my prediction was accurate as it was last season (that Dorian is out of his depth and doesn't realise what he has gotten into, and will seek out Victor's help). Also glad to see Justine call him on his bullshit. Help the poor oppressed women! Oops, except that one I killed last season for seeing my portrait...

i don't believe we are supposed to feel any sympathy for Victor at this point. It's clear he is a rather vile sexist man and we are supposed to be grossed out by his possessive attitude.

Vanessa and Seward continue to be great together. Patti LuPone is sublime.

I really liked Christian Camarango this episode too. There was a lot less Sweet and a lot more Dracula going on with him here.

Poor John Clare. I'm feeling terrible for him. But from the trailers we know

He gets to have sex this season

so hopefully he has a somewhat happy ending. I wonder if he will get the medicine for his son from his Creator?

i thought the America stuff was the weakest part of the episode. I loved it up to the Marshall being killed so non-chalantly (by which I mean I also loved that scene, but after that it got a bit weak). Hecate and Rusk both got rather inglorious and hasty deaths which was a shame. I enjoyed both characters. Rusk especially deserved better. Malcom has definitely grown the most since season 1, loved his speech about how he treated his son like shit and regretted it now. And yay that he killed Jared. I'm glad Dalton got a bit more to work with this season than last.

So, now we are hurtling towards the end, only three episodes left. And no word on renewal...

[Castel]

I think one underestimates Dorian at his own peril. What has happened is that a favored diversion of his is not paying off. Where we go from there? Who knows. 

But someone like Justine especially has no idea what she's dealing with and should be careful.