S02.E01: Fresh Hell

[ApathyMonger]

Episode Synopsis:

 

Season Two begins with Vanessa Ives barraged by an onslaught of disturbing occult images brought on by the mysterious Evelyn Poole. Because of the massacre he committed in the Mariner’s Inn, Ethan Chandler decides to leave London. Under pressure from The Creature, Dr. Frankenstein works to bring Brona back to life. After Mina’s funeral, Sir Malcolm returns to London to discover that a whole new evil is hunting Vanessa.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Available online now:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8LdbYbhnTI

[dr pepper]

I'm guessing that in the "editted version", no nipples were shown, but they kept the part about Frankenstein groping his unactivated creation.

[FurryFury]

The episode was kinda meh for me. Way too much of Frankenstein's creature(s) - although I did like the wax museum bit, appropriately creepy. I remember watching a horror movie about this stuff in my childhood, so I always find wax figures unsettling.

 

Not really feeling the witches stuff. I hoped for a more unexpected reveal. Creepy incest vibes between Madam Kali and her daughter, though I should not be surprised.

 

Victor groping Brona and Creature (I somehow forgot his name since last season, this is how much I don't care about him) meeting a blind girl elicited a big "No!" from me & my husband. Please, no love triangle/quadrangle/etc. that includes 2 zombies.

[Bort]

Not really feeling the witches stuff. I hoped for a more unexpected reveal. Creepy incest vibes between Madam Kali and her daughter, though I should not be surprised.

I wasn't really going for the witch thing either but for me, it was because it was REALLY similar to what the show Salem has been doing, down to the creepy incest.

[FurryFury]

I've dropped Salem after the pilot (I really loved Mary, the lead, but her love interest was played by the wooden dude who has already ruined Nikita for me, so no thanks).

 

I really hope they'll focus more on Vanessa and Ethan this season (it's nice he's told her about his condition so soon) and not on Frankenstein's creations.

[LittleIggy]

Why did Vanessa draw a scorpion with her blood? BTW, I know she is lovely and intelligent, but does every unholy being have to want Vanessa to be his bride? ;-)

[joelene]

I forget everything that happened to Vanessa last season. Is this a new demon haunting her? I thought it was still the devil? Or wasn't it the devil last season?

So far I'm loving the witches. Madame Kali and her underlings gave me Sailor Moon and The Dark Kingdom/Queen Beryl vibes for some reason. One after another they will fail and if they're not killed by our heroes the queen herself will punish them with death.

I liked the premiere overall but I agree that the stuff with Creature is still mostly dull. Those are the scenes were your eyes and fingers gravitate toward your phone. But all of the Ives and dead satanic languages and witches and even the werewolf stuff is pretty much gold in my book. Now, if we could only get some Dorian Gray/Ethan macking again too...

[FurryFury]

but does every unholy being have to want Vanessa to be his bride? ;-)

 

I think it's the same being. Devil/Satan/Lucifer, you know.

 

One after another they will fail and if they're not killed by our heroes the queen herself will punish them with death.

 

I kinda hate this "You have outlived your usefulness" trope. Such a waste of personnel.

 

Now, if we could only get some Dorian Gray/Ethan macking again too...

 

I wouldn't object to Dorian macking on any other character in the cast too. Well, except for zombies.

[joelene]

I kinda hate this "You have outlived your usefulness" trope. Such a waste of personnel.

So true! It's not like they can call a temp agency. Normally I dislike this trope too, so maybe I didn't mind it and was instead practically endeared by it instead (if you can be endeared by murder...) because of what I was instantly reminded of in this instance. I also like watching great, mature actresses acting mad and evil so I instantly took the Helen McCrorys portrayal in this episode no matter what she did.

Edited April 22, 2015 by joelene

[LittleIggy]

I think it's the same being. Devil/Satan/Lucifer, you know.

 

.

I was thinking about the Master vampire wanting her for his bride in Season 1.

[FurryFury]

Ah, we haven't learned about him enough, I guess. I've also had a thought about him, but then, hasn't the Devil been shown to want to fully possess Vanessa in s1 as well? I distinctly remember a rather creepy vision of hers when he took Malcolm's shape and tried to kiss or fuck her. So he's been established to want her already. Maybe the master vampire (Dracula?) wants her as well, or maybe he serves the Devil, I dunno.

 

That said, I've realized I've forgotten a lot of season one. Man, the hiatus was way too long.

[LittleIggy]

The hiatus length for so many of these shows are too long! When Game of Thrones came back, I kept thinking "Now who is that?" :-)

[Fredward]

I got some weird stilted/wooden vibes from this ep, a weird self-consciousness in some of the delivery. Also seems to be going hard after the shock value, Frankenstein being all weird and necrophilia like was in character(ish) so that was fine but the major incestuous vibes between Madame Kali and her daughter seemed unnecessary.

 

Random observations:

 

Ethan didn't break a single chair or desk during his rampage.

I really like the way this show focuses on the people's eyes because they all have such pretty eyes.

 

Dorian is floating weirdly. He doesn't seem to fit in the story like the rest of the cast do. I'm curious to see how he's gonna fit from here on in, I'm assuming he will since he featured prominently enough on the promotional posters. And yes, terribly sinful Ethan/Dorian macking needs to be a thing. Maybe with some Ms Ives thrown in for variety. Threesomes! Bow chicka bow wow.

[Ravenya003]

A good start, though it's most interesting scene was the exchange between Vanessa and the ill-fated witch (that got her throat slashed by Helen McCrory). Afterwards neither one of them seemed to have any idea what was actually said. Why the confusion, I wonder?

[justjoan]

 

Dorian is floating weirdly. He doesn't seem to fit in the story like the rest of the cast do.

 

I agree. Honestly, I've never known what the point of him was. His sort of... rotting decadence fits thematically, I suppose, but did he do anything all last season that was actually important to the plot? The only thing I could think of was that sex with him sent Vanessa off on her final spiral into possession fun-times, but it's not like that was the only way it could have been triggered. Maybe I'm forgetting something, but it feels like if you lifted him out of the show, nothing would have really changed. Which is not to say I didn't like the idea of him and Ethan, but all we actually saw was the kiss (unlike Vanessa's various adventures). Pretty meh.

 

Anyway, Dorian mostly seems like atmospheric-but-boring wallpaper to me, so I hope they have better plans for him this season.

[FurryFury]

Which is not to say I didn't like the idea of him and Ethan, but all we actually saw was the kiss (unlike Vanessa's various adventures). Pretty meh.

 

Em, I'm pretty sure they've had sex. Unless you mean on screen, but I don't really care about what was shown vs what was written/implied.

[justjoan]

They did have sex; possessed!Vanessa said as much. But unlike the lots and lots of naked Eva Green romping around with a variety of fellows in a variety of poses, all PD showed of the sole gay pairing was a kiss. The double standard is dated and cowardly.

 

Still, that's less annoying to me than the pointlessness of Dorian Grey in general.

[Lokiberry]

A good start, though it's most interesting scene was the exchange between Vanessa and the ill-fated witch (that got her throat slashed by Helen McCrory). Afterwards neither one of them seemed to have any idea what was actually said. Why the confusion, I wonder?

I believe the witch was speaking a demonic language, which was a perversion of an angelic language. I suspect the reason she didn't understand what Vanessa said was because it was the pure angelic language.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Lokiberry

[sjohnson]

Liked Helen McCrory, although a villain who wastes their own minions are surely doomed. Don't like the naked mole rat appearance or the hissing. The witches line seems to be very confused about whether it's witches, Satanists, demon-possessed, occultists, spiritualists. Or for that matter pagan, as in Egyptian mythology. They're not really all the same. 

 

Pretty much loved everything else, though with a couple of quibbles. How Frankenstein fit all that work into the hiatus is impressive. Good thing the police only exist when they're on screen or they might be interfering with Ethan's plans to rescue Miss Ives. Which would be a terrible shock, since Ethan was vague enough to be quite misleading...although I suppose for him this was a shocking lapse into candor. Fortunately none of the Victorian Avengers pay any attention to Chandler, so the odd coincidence of a massacre at Ethan's address will go unnoticed. 

 

I too don't see how Dorian can fit into the plot, except for his acquaintance with Sir Ferdinand Lyles. Ives rejected him, end of that entree into the plot! 

[teddysmom]

I think from the interview with John Logan, they're witches who work for/worship Satan.

 

It's still Satan who's been after Vanessa.  Last season it was the vampires trying to get her for him, now it's Madame Cali and her minions.  

 

It was always Satan, he was trying to possess her after she saw her mother with Sir Malcolm, before and after her transgression with Mina's fiance,  at the asylum she told the doctor "she" watched hundreds of men drown on a slave ship. Even after she came home, when Sir Malcolm appeared to her in her bedroom, he all but admitted, he was her old friend, still hanging around and she called him out as the Devil. 

[Pogojoco]

Re. the Dorian/Ethan sex- yeah, it happened. Possessed Vanessa basically asked Ethan if he was a bottom or a top. 

 

The creature, is named Caliban (I was a theatre major, so that's how I remember. Shakespeare/The Tempest, not because I feel attached.) I did very much enjoy the wax work owner- he'll probably turn out creepy or something, but he reminded me of any weird shop owner with obsessions. 

 

Eva Green is a freaking goddess. Gorgeous, gives everything to this part and endlessly watchable. 

[sjohnson]

It seems to me that no one should believe what a demon-possessed person should say. So if possessed Ives decides Dorian screwed Ethan, it means that was calculated to be most hurtful, not most truthful. Incidentally, that is true too for the seance scene, especially when the demon was pretending to voice his son. 

 

Dorian/Ethan can be either an absinthe hallucination or for real, as the viewer chooses. Plausible deniability for the really icky stuff. I don't believe the producer is the Voice of God whose pronouncements can substitute for what's on screen. What's on screen is only maybe real.

[FurryFury]

I don't think there was any implication that scene never happened. 

Edited May 2, 2015 by FurryFury

[JayKay]

And we've seen much ickier things to choose to believe didn't happen while characters were under various influences, if that's how we're denying what's shown on-screen and portrayed as narrative.

I loved the confrontation between Sir Malcolm and his wife. That was just what I needed to hear all last season, and it'll be easier to root for Malcolm now that he's been slapped down by someone with the moral authority to do so.

I see Frankenstein & Son, Creepers Incorporated is back in business and going strong. Yech. That plotline's only gonna get nastier from here, I'd bet.

Madame Cali is I guess supposed to remind me of Elizabeth Bathory? I like the actress, and it does appear that Vanessa has met her match. The "no one can help me!" routine won't go over well when those witches starting picking off the people trying to help her.

I still want to own the soundtrack or score to this show.

[GenieinTX]

I still want to own the soundtrack or score to this show.

 

I'm fairly certain all the music in the witch scenes was from the Dracula soundtrack (the one with Winona Rider).  If not, it sounds really close.

 

Damn Frankenstein is creepy.  Touching Dead Prostitute Billie like that was so disgusting.  Of course there will be a triangle between him and his creature for her.  Eww.

Edited May 2, 2015 by GenieinTX

[Pogojoco]

I think Ethan (who otherwise seems pretty heterosexual) having sex with Dorian was meant to illustrate that Dorian is supernaturally attractive-seductive. And I don't have any doubt it happened.  Also, apparently she said it to him in what sounded like Arabic to everybody else, so no one else in that group knows. 

 

Possessed Vanessa also quoted the Shelley to Frankenstein, which happened earlier (I think he said it to Van Helsing) and I don't doubt he's a virgin (at least with living things.) 

 

As for Frankenstein feeling up dead Bronn and the possibility of a love triangle- I'd throw in Wolf Man, cause I don't think he's going to be thrilled his dead love has been reanimated as a companion for Caliban. 

[Primetimer]

Penny Dreadful, Showtime's gothic horror-fest (with sex), is back. Should you embrace it?

Read the story

[Silly Angel]

Did we see Dorian in this episode? I watched the censored version, so maybe I missed it. I also played a little Candy Crush Soda Saga in the down parts. Love the show, but I had a level to beat and could not for the life of me remember what happened in the previous season.

[teddysmom]

I still want to own the soundtrack or score to this show.

 

It's on iTunes. I listen to it all the time. It is amazing. 

[FurryFury]

Possessed Vanessa also quoted the Shelley to Frankenstein, which happened earlier

 

I've never read Shelley's poetry (I don't really like poetry in general, even if in English it sounds better than in my native language), but that's an awesome easter egg. Thanks!

Edited May 4, 2015 by FurryFury

[teddysmom]

I've never read Shelley's poetry (I don't really like poetry in general, even if in English it sounds better than in my native language), but that's an awesome easter egg. Thanks!

 

I caught that during my re-watch this weekend.  There is so much going on in "Possession", it takes a few viewings to catch everything possessed Vanessa is saying. 

 

Eva better get some Emmy love this year.  

[FurryFury]

I agree that Eva's been doing some exemplary work on this show, but Emmy has no love for genre shows, everyone knows that. I'm just rewatching Fringe now and I still can't get over them never acknowledging John Noble. It's a crime.

[teddysmom]

Isn't Game of Thrones a genre show?   I know it's much better known than PD, but I put Eva up against anyone the Emmys nominate in the drama category.  The Possession episode has Emmy written all over it.  The way she contorts herself, one minute it's Vanessa, and then just with a slight smile she is Satan. 

[TiffanyNichelle]

I forgotten how slow and drawn out some of the episodes could be. Especially when you're watching late at night and already really sleepy. I'm going to have to rewatch because I feel like I missed some things.

 

I'd forgotten that season ended with Ethan going on a rampage at the pub. I remember him confirming the speculation that he was a werewolf but I'd forgotten where that happened. Too bad they have the one detective that pays attention to everything. Now we have to worry about this guy catching up to him.

 

For some reason I thought Mina's mother was dead so seeing her at the cemetery was a surprise. I loved her snarking about how Malcolm was always happy back in the day. How he thought she was happy with him running off to Africa all the time and indulging in all kinds of affairs. I'm surprised she didn't bring up Vanessa living with him.

 

Frankenstein feeling up dead Brona was gross. So I guess they are going in that direction? Good, I don't want Caliban to have anything.

[FurryFury]

Isn't Game of Thrones a genre show?   I know it's much better known than PD, but I put Eva up against anyone the Emmys nominate in the drama category.  The Possession episode has Emmy written all over it.  The way she contorts herself, one minute it's Vanessa, and then just with a slight smile she is Satan.

Game of Thrones, like Lost before it, has the benefit of being a watercooler show (very popular), and Emmies sometimes nominate them just to get more buzz. Kinda like Oscars with Lord of the Rings.

[teddysmom]

Game of Thrones, like Lost before it, has the benefit of being a watercooler show (very popular), and Emmies sometimes nominate them just to get more buzz. Kinda like Oscars with Lord of the Rings

 

.That's true.  Penny D did get some craft awards at the BAFTAs, I don't know if they were up for the acting awards back in February. 

[islandgal140]

Re. the Dorian/Ethan sex- yeah, it happened. Possessed Vanessa basically asked Ethan if he was a bottom or a top. 

 

 

Did he answer? I just want to know for uh.... um.....uh......storyline continuity. Yeah, that's it, storyline continuity. 

 

I hope Brona left that struggle Irish accent in hell where it belongs. 

 

You know I didn't think of Madame Kali and incest until I read it here. It didn't even cross my mind that they could be her actual blood daughters. I just thought she was the mother of the coven and these young 'uns were under her tutelage and she just called them daughter. 

 

I hope something pops off between Ethan and Vanessa. That scene with him going into his bedroom and seeing her in her nightie and they look eyes was super sexy to me. 

[FurryFury]

I think only one of them was called her daughter, the others were just her apprentices.

[Pogojoco]

 

 

I hope something pops off between Ethan and Vanessa. That scene with him going into his bedroom and seeing her in her nightie and they look eyes was super sexy to me. 

Ever since he pulled the Lovers Tarot card after she told him to look at her and then pick one, it's been telegraphed. Also, when they first met over 'night work' and he says he'll do it if she smiles. 

 

It is sexy. It reminded me of why, when I was a teenager, some of my friends called him "Josh Hotnett" . 

 

And officially, I think Ethan was a bottom. 

Edited May 4, 2015 by Pogojoco

[rozen]

I wonder if there are two opposing forces duking it out for Vanessa, Dracula and the Devil? Otherwise, why is Vanessa spewing verbos diablo (sp?) to protect herself when the minions come for her? They shouldn't have cared and snatched her up anyway. The witches also said something about 'Lucifer" and it didn't sound very nice. Maybe she's a vessel or tool of Lucifer that they are hoping to acquire. It would be funny if the Vanessa's speaking a version of verbos diablo so ancient that even dark creatures don't entirely understand it.

 

I don't necessarily think murderizing incompetent minions is a bad idea in this case. There's not like there is a lack of impoverished individuals willing to sacrifice anything for power in this version of London. Poor people's options are A) starve to death B) steal and then be hanged C) be sent to debtor's prison to be worked to death or D) become an immortal creature of almost limitless power. If they advertised properly, there'd probably be lines round the block to be part of Evil Henchmen, Inc. 

 

Now that Mrs. Harker doesn't have to put on a joyful face for the sake of her children, she is straight up Not Having It. Interesting that two such iron-willed people (in their own way) ended up with such weak children (physically and mentally). 

 

Is it bad that I was surprised that Frankenstein hadn't been banging corpses this whole time? I guess I put his creep rating too high, but he's catching up to it rapidly. Funny that he regularly reanimates dead people, but monsters speaking perverted angel speak is over the top. Or maybe he thinks there can't be a God because otherwise he'd have been smote already?

 

Caliban is still an annoying baby to me and I wish Frankenstein had killed him when Caliban was feeling all mopey and probably wouldn't have stopped him. For all his travels, you'd think he would have figured out by now that there are plenty of living men with way worse deformities than him. You're able-bodied, incredibly strong, and have luscious (though greasy) hair. Stfu bish and make it work.

 

I never understand why evil beings that require blood for some vital purpose always leave bodies bleeding out all over the place. There's not an endless supply of beautiful virgins at the corner pub, at least put the girl in a bucket or something so you can use the rest later!

Edited May 5, 2015 by rozen

[teddysmom]

I wonder if there are two opposing forces duking it out for Vanessa, Dracula and the Devil? Otherwise, why is Vanessa spewing verbos diablo (sp?)

 

 

To respond to the witch? 

 

It's always been the Devil that was after Vanessa. He used the vampires, with Mina as bait, and now he's using Madame Cali, who was probably on the sidelines, waiting to see how the vampire battles worked out. 

[rozen]

I guess I'm confused why Vanessa's using possession to protect herself, then, if the one possessing her is the same as the one sending witches to capture her? It's not like she knows verbos diablo, it's whatever resides in her that scared them and drove them off.

 

Or is she supposed to have some evil alternative self? Like a reincarnation of Lillith, or something?

[diebartdie]

Vanessa is using possession to protect herself? I dont get that at all. Sir Malcom used her last possession in order to get the information he needed to track down Mina but other than that, the possessions of Vanessa have been brutal and each time every nearly killed her. I think Vanessa would be extremely glad to have the demon permanently gone from her.

[iMonrey]

I sort of soured on this show towards the end of the first season but with the network shows winding down for the season maybe Penny Dreadful will fill a void. I did forget a lot of what happened in the first season though. Specifically: what happened to Caliban's job at the theater? Did he kill everyone there? I remember he was in love with one of the actresses who was dating one of the actors and that's about it.

[Pogojoco]

I sort of soured on this show towards the end of the first season but with the network shows winding down for the season maybe Penny Dreadful will fill a void. I did forget a lot of what happened in the first season though. Specifically: what happened to Caliban's job at the theater? Did he kill everyone there? I remember he was in love with one of the actresses who was dating one of the actors and that's about it.

She was nice to him, and then he went to visit her. And was his weird, annoying self with the added bonus that he tried to attack her when he wasn't quite getting his way. And frightened her. So it was him or the theatre's leading lady. So he got fired. 

[darkestboy]

Really brilliant opening episode. Can I just say the snowy backdrop just added to the gothic beauty of this episode overall?

Lucifer's still determined to make Vanessa his bride it seems. Like Madame Kali and her band of witches/devil worshippers a bit more than the vampires of sorts from last season.

Caliban seems like he's going to be in a bad situation with his new employment status as well though I did like his connection with Lavinia in this one.

Brona is going to do what exactly as a bride of Frankenstein this season. Is it too much to hope that her and Vanessa get more scenes together this season? Victor is gonna have some explaining to do.

This episode focused more on Ethan wanting to play protector than dealing with the fallout of his transformation but I guess we'll delve into that later.

Malcolm and Sembene didn't really do much here and no Dorian either. Still a great opening episode though, 8/10

[Dobian]

Just catching up with this today, which only makes me realize I need to go back through all the season one episode synopses to make sense of things in this confusing show.  So Billie Piper gets to be the Bride of Frankenstein.  I'm on board with that, beats losing her to consumption.  The whole devil/witch plot, I wonder where they're going with all that.  The one thing this show doesn't do very well is set up a context, so you don't really know what the plot is building on.  Hopefully they'll flesh things out this season.  I really liked the wax museum, and Caliban as a character.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Dobian

[ganesh]

Here's something the director is never going to say: Eva, could you be more intense? You're just too toned down.

 

This show is so stylistic. The whole bath filled with blood and the pray off were off the chain. 

 

I don't have much more to add. It seems that the cops are on to Ethan, so I'm interested in seeing where that goes. 

[Maum]

Pray off! I like that.

I agree it was a very visceral scene- Eva Green is just so compelling in this role.

I'm also in love with Frankenstein's diction. He speaks wonderfully.

[ganesh]

Frankenstein and his dainty man pain. Will you ever leave me alone, Caliban? NOOOO!