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S01.E10: Day of the Dead

paigow

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paigow

paigow

Season Finale

AIRING JUN 28/ 20

Sad news spreads through the Crimson Cat; Fly Rico tries to placate the volatile crowd while Rio argues for vengeance; Peter Craft, Elsa and the boys are trapped in their car during a riot as Tiago tries to help Mateo.

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CarpeFelis

CarpeFelis

Very appropriately titled episode, considering: RIP Fly Rico, Sister Molly, and Brian.

I figured all along that Molly would end up dead, one way or another—a happy ending for her and Tiago was just never gonna happen, not with Nazi Dearest still treating her like a prized possession (not to mention cash cow). She might as well have kept Molly in handcuffs 24/7. I could just hear the metaphorical violins playing as Adelaide poured on the guilt, but wow, saying she’d crush the previous four babies’ skulls if it meant she’d have Molly? Creeeeeeeeeeepy AF. That was so horrifying I hoped Molly would grab the nearest sharp nail file and stab her. Let’s face it, Miss Adelaide makes Joan Crawford look like June Freakin’ Cleaver. She’s not even a demon and she creeps me out worse than Frank.

It was incredibly dumb of Molly to warn her she was leaving. The smart move would have been to just go with no advance warning and get a head start. So was her suicide because of Hazlett (can’t say I was shocked about that revelation), or because she finally realized her mother was so ruthless that death was the only way to escape her? Probably both. Molly may even have been thinking that if she ran away with Tiago, Adelaide would have Tiago’s entire family murdered.

Brian’s fate was sealed the minute he started spouting off about inventing the atomic bomb. Too bad it would still be invented elsewhere.

I probably should have expected Rio to kill Fly Rico after he disagreed with her and tried to prevent a riot, but that one I did not see coming.

Peter: Du bist ein großer Idiot!

 

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Scarlett45

Scarlett45

4 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

I probably should have expected Rio to kill Fly Rico after he disagreed with her and tried to prevent a riot, but that one I did not see coming.

I knew Fly Rico wasn’t long for this world when he was not playing into Rio’s hand. 
 

Molly should’ve just left and not told her Mother she was going, but that woman was batshit and threatened Tiago’s entire family- poor poor Molly. 
 

Magda has her hooks into Mateo, he came for the Day of the Dead celebration, but he left and walked the opposite way of the family. Dr Craft isn’t 100% convinced but his boy was hurt and he’s scared (I did think the little one would die), and that councilman didn’t need any help being evil. 
 

If we do get a second season I would love to see characters from the Black and Chinese communities, also the Japanese community and how they react to rumblings of internment. 
 

The show was very meta. 
 

 

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Scarlett45

Scarlett45

13 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Molly may even have been thinking that if she ran away with Tiago, Adelaide would have Tiago’s entire family murdered.

Yes- Adelaide said as much. Hazlett was maybe talking about divorcing his wife and wanting to be with Molly, and she had him killed, his wife AND children and then framed it on the Chicano community! She is dangerous and if we get another season I see Tiago wanting payback for Molly’s suicide. 

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UnknownK

UnknownK

3 hours ago, paigow said:

Brian is smarter than Von Braun AND Oppenheimer????!!!! Lewis could have dropped Brian off at the DOD...Hitler could have been nuked by 1942...

Quite a few people knew a bomb was possible for a while. There is a big difference between doing some calculations saying the atomic bomb was possible and spending the billions of dollars and putting thousands of people (scientists, engineers, techs, workers) to make it happen.

 

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iMonrey

iMonrey

That would have been a somewhat satisfying series finale if this doesn't get renewed. I do hope it does though, as I enjoyed it far more than I expected to. 

When Magda reached out and touched the back of Tiago's neck, did her hand look skeletal or monstrous or something? Or was it just that she was wearing a leather glove?

Quote

It was incredibly dumb of Molly to warn her she was leaving. The smart move would have been to just go with no advance warning and get a head start.

Yes! I thought the same thing. You don't tell Carrie's mother you're going to the prom. She'll just stab you. 

Quote

The show was very meta. 

The ending was a little too meta for my tastes. The dialogue about building a wall was just a little too on the nose. 

RIP Fly Rico. You were such a good dancer, too.

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

Poor Sister Molly, I was worried about her throughout the episode, and I didn't think that she and Tiego would get a happy ending, but I was still so sad to see her die like that. Mommy Dearest is a next level psycho, I guess Molly figured the only way to escape her mother (and keep her from killing anyone else "for" her) was to die. Although, I wish she had at least told someone her mother was a murderer. Even if they cant prove anything, they could at least look in her direction. 

We also lost Fly Rico and his even more fly dance moves when he wouldn't go along with Madgas plans to start a riot, and Brian when he started going all I Am Brian Destroyer of Worlds. Just look at the flowers Brian, look at the flowers*. 

Damn it, they were so close to having a peaceful demonstration, and then Magda and her demon spawn ruined it all. Now it looks like she is going after Tiego at a vulnerable time, but what does that mean for him? He already has his mark from childhood, which you know will come back into play, so will all of this come down to his choice? She also seems to have gotten her claws deep into Mateo, who is even willing to overlook Rio murdering Fly Rico, Peter, who is leaning towards the Nazis out of fear for his kids, and Townsend, who has pretty much been looking for an excuse to go full evil. 

Peter might be looking towards the Nazi party, but he doesn't seem fully committed yet, so hopefully he can still pull back before he gets fully corrupted. 

I wonder if some of the riot was inspired by the real life Zoot Suit riots from the early 40s that started in LA before spreading out to other parts of the country? Long story short, in 1943 LA, there was a ton of tension between servicemen who were in the area waiting to be deployed and young men who wore zoot suits as a form of cultural identity. Most of the zoot suites were Mexican, although it was also popular among other groups like African Americans, Italian Americans, and Filipino Americans, and while a lot of issues was supposedly based around the zoot suits being against WWII rations, a lot of it was really about racism, and that finally boiled over into a massive riot where thousands of servicemen and mostly white LA residents stormed the city attacking anyone in a Zoot Suit they could find, beating the hell out of them, even pulling them out of cars and buses, and busting into homes and businesses and dragging people out onto the street. to attack them The cops arrested basically none of the servicemen but arrested hundreds of Mexicans, the Navy had to ban the city from any servicemen just to try and calm things down, it was just a huge massive mess. Considering we saw a bunch of sailors jumping into the fight to beat up any Mexican they saw (and almost beat Tiego to death) I have to think that this was a reference. 

This episode really went heavy handed, especially all the talk about building walls, in a way that the show mostly hasn't. Like, yeah we get it show, we have gotten it from pretty much episode one, you dont need to hold our hands and explain it to us, we get the parallels. But other than that, I thought this was a really good season finale, and if we dont get another season, its a pretty solid series finale as well. I had my reservations about this season (mostly because it had nothing to do with the rest of Penny Dreadful) but I really liked how it all turned out. I thought this was a great season, and I really hope for more, I think a season two could go in a lot of really interesting directions. 

*I didn't expect a Walking Dead reference, but here we are*

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paigow

paigow

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This era is used up...Magda gets her world war, blah blah

Time jump to 1950 and Captain Tiago Vega...Mama is working for Benny...Raul works in an airplane factory

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Dowel Jones

Dowel Jones

I didn't think I would ever say this, but I'm almost on Team Jewish Mobster (sorry, forgot his name).  That guy seemed like the most level headed one of all the people in the mix.  I know that gangsters are all too often presented as semi-honorable, occasionally glamorous people while glossing over the methods they used to gain their position, but he did seem unflappable.

Side note to Peter - If your kid's head wound is still bleeding through layers of bandage, you better do more than give him a hug.

I agree the episode ended a bit too heavy-handed.  While it is true that freeways have essentially split poorer communities, I think it's due much more to economics than racism.  It's easier to condemn property by eminent domain when the property isn't worth as much. 

I had to laugh when Townsend made his 'fat' comment.  You do know what happened to Huey Long, right?  And look into your crystal ball to see Mussolini's fate, too.  But when he dissed Hitler, his secretary gave him a withering "You ain't all that, kid" look.  And he isn't.  Unfortunately, he's likely to see the writing on the wall when the US goes to war, and, like the cockroach he is, will declare his allegiance to mother and apple pie, and try to get in on defense work scams.  And speaking of the approaching war, the German-American Bund won't be long for society, either.  Those guys will get rounded up in a hurry.  Except for Elsa, of course.

To be honest, I had forgotten all about the Hazlett murders.  Not because Diego had falsely confessed to them, but because the plotline had been dropped since the confession. Adelaide's revelation was well done, too.  No soundtrack, just a rant.  I wonder if she got the Nazis to kill them.  It would explain how she's tied in with them, and, hopefully, her eventual fate. 

Perhaps not coincidentally, the real life Aimee Semple MacPherson's Angelus Temple is located in Echo Park, Los Angeles, just a stone's throw from the Arroyo Seco freeway.

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DoctorAtomic

DoctorAtomic

(edited)

Did we know that Magda could exist as the other personas at the same time? 

I was surprised Fly Rico was the voice of reason. Until Rio shanked him! I guess that's why she was keeping Mateo around to do nothing all this time. Nice of him to come to Tiago's help though. 

Did they have gerrymandering back then? Townsend was rambling on about realigning the voting districts like it was something he just thought of. 

I'm again not so clear on what Elsa's purpose was with the doctor. I was impressed with him putting his foot down to her about not teaching the children to hate. Even if he ended up all nazi, it took a lot more work.

I got a huge kick out of everyone ending up at the Vega's to hide out. 

 

Edited by DoctorAtomic
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DoctorAtomic

DoctorAtomic

22 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

The show was very meta. 

Especially Townsend's happy monologue. It seems like a lot of the period pieces are. I certainly don't mind. 

On 6/28/2020 at 4:18 PM, CarpeFelis said:

It was incredibly dumb of Molly to warn her she was leaving. The smart move would have been to just go with no advance warning and get a head start. So was her suicide because of Hazlett (can’t say I was shocked about that revelation), or because she finally realized her mother was so ruthless that death was the only way to escape her? Probably both. Molly may even have been thinking that if she ran away with Tiago, Adelaide would have Tiago’s entire family murdered.

That's typical drama queen though so I can't say she's being ooc. The smart move is to just act on whatever you have to do and not give the advanced warning. I think it was the latter though - the Vegas were all at serious risk if Molly took off. While I was a little shocked about the revelation, the entire batshit delivery was something else. 

I did enjoy the banter in the car about inventing nuclear weapons. That's a bit of a stretch that he had the idea already. I don't really have a problem with them getting rid of him. They were being followed. If the Germans got him that would have not been particularly good. In hindsight, I'm not sure what purpose this plot thread served. Lewis in the end didn't really need the mafia connection for anything. 

9 hours ago, UnknownK said:

There is a big difference between doing some calculations saying the atomic bomb was possible and spending the billions of dollars and putting thousands of people (scientists, engineers, techs, workers) to make it happen.

 

There's the making of the material, the actual bomb, firing mechanism, etc. It's a little hard to believe a kid would be taken seriously over actual scientists. 

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

RIP Fly Rico. You were such a good dancer, too.

I will certainly miss the dancing!

I liked the scene of the shops being destroyed because it was so sad. 

I'd be interested in a second season.

 

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Broderbits

Broderbits

18 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

There's the making of the material, the actual bomb, firing mechanism, etc. It's a little hard to believe a kid would be taken seriously over actual scientists. 

I believe the character of Brian was partly modeled on Richard Feynman, who was about 23 when he started working on what would become the Manhattan Project. He was definitely an "actual scientist".

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Dowel Jones

Dowel Jones

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Did they have gerrymandering back then? Townsend was rambling on about realigning the voting districts like it was something he just thought of. 

The term gerrymander came into use around 1812, according to Wikipedia.  Given Townsend's outsize ego, he probably did give himself credit for the idea.

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DoctorAtomic

DoctorAtomic

1 minute ago, Broderbits said:

I believe the character of Brian was partly modeled on Richard Feynman, who was about 23 when he started working on what would become the Manhattan Project. He was definitely an "actual scientist".

No, I know who he is. I meant the whole project apparatus. There was way more going on than just some kid who was drinking yo-hoo. The plot on the show itself was what I was questioning as it was presented. Plus, wouldn't the mafia want to get a taste of that bomb dollars?

 

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ichbin

ichbin

2 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm again not so clear on what Elsa's purpose was with the doctor

I’m not clear on that either. Was the whole purpose to ultimately be sitting in the car and have Franck start the ball rolling to agitate the marchers? Just to show what Magda is capable of doing? It seems like their story otherwise was kind of a waste in terms of the main stories. Maybe that situation is just a place holder for part of a second season plot line. 


 

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DoctorAtomic

DoctorAtomic

I can get he was a target because he was the head of the organization. He was very easily manipulated to get her in the house, but after that when push came to shove, he put his foot down. He even yelled at her here. 

Even when he put on the cross at the end, it was very reluctant, and he never released the statement she wanted. 

If it was just so he could be sitting in the car, that seems like a very long walk. 

I don't think he is as malleable as she thinks, and I'm wondering if he'll snap at some point on her. 

Magda got her riot and will get her world war, but it's not interesting if she's getting a win every time. 

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paigow

paigow

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19 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

The term gerrymander came into use around 1812, according to Wikipedia.  Given Townsend's outsize ego, he probably did give himself credit for the idea.

Charlymandering

When Goss sees the Russians capture Berlin, he will order Kurt to kill Townsend before leaving for South America...

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TexasGal

TexasGal

I realize that Halloween hasn’t always been a big holiday, but it seemed odd to me that there was no mention of it at all and then there was Day of the Dead.

“Who doesn’t like mole?”  Raises hand.  I’m a poor excuse for a Mexican. No one tell my dad.

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Scarlett45

Scarlett45

On 6/29/2020 at 11:15 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

I can get he was a target because he was the head of the organization. He was very easily manipulated to get her in the house, but after that when push came to shove, he put his foot down. He even yelled at her here. 

Even when he put on the cross at the end, it was very reluctant, and he never released the statement she wanted. 

If it was just so he could be sitting in the car, that seems like a very long walk. 

I don't think he is as malleable as she thinks, and I'm wondering if he'll snap at some point on her. 

Magda got her riot and will get her world war, but it's not interesting if she's getting a win every time.

(Bolded mine)

Yup this is a very good point. Magda is a demon that can manipulate the dark emotions in human beings but she can’t destroy/remove all of the GOOD emotions/motivations. The duality of humans is what makes us so dangerous and powerful. 
 

If we get a season 2 I see Peter Craft being an unexpected force to bring Magda down. 

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cameron

cameron

11 hours ago, TexasGal said:

I realize that Halloween hasn’t always been a big holiday, but it seemed odd to me that there was no mention of it at all and then there was Day of the Dead.

“Who doesn’t like molE?”  Raises hand.  I’m a poor excuse for a Mexican. No one tell my dad.

Day of the Dead covers November 1 - all Saints day, & November 2 - all souls day.  November 1st is a holy day of obligation for catholic church.

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BigDfromLA

BigDfromLA

On 6/29/2020 at 9:04 PM, ichbin said:

I'm again not so clear on what Elsa's purpose was with the doctor

I think Elsa's purpose was to transform Dr. Craft from a gentle, loving peaceful man to one who embraces the evil of Nazism. It was a long process that really wasn't complete until that final scene with his Hitler salute. He will likely be very different next season, a true Peter Krupp. 

What happened at the end between Magda and Tiago? Was she trying to put a "spell" on him to make him a force of evil? I don't think it will work.  

What will happen with Mateo? Will he embrace his family or go fully to the dark side? It looks like Josefina is back in the family and is done with her temple excursion. 

Sad to see Molly go. It was nice to see her and Tiago together when they were away from their perspective worlds and just with each other. 

The police department was a force of evil the whole season. They were horrible and responsible for 99% of the turmoil that happened in the story. 

Townsend was a sleazy fraud. A rotten, racist pig. Hopefully he will meet his demise.

I really hope to see a Season 2. Hopefully the Santa Muerte character will gain prominence next season. 

 

 

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iMonrey

iMonrey

No renewal notice as of yet, but so many shows (and films) are in limbo because of the pandemic. Even if it gets a second season we're not likely to see it earlier than 2022.

Reviews weren't great, a lot of people compared in unfavorably to the original series. Maybe if they hadn't tried to tie it to the Penny Dreadful franchise there would be less criticism. I think it was good enough to stand on its own without Penny Dreadful tacked onto its name.

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J-Man

J-Man

On 6/29/2020 at 6:03 PM, Dowel Jones said:

I wonder if she got the Nazis to kill them. 

Since there was a reference to "my right hand," I assumed she meant that Randolph did it (or at least was in charge of it.)

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