S01.E05: Closer Than Sisters

[Meredith Quill]

One thing I wish had happened, when Malcolm shut the gate in Vanessa's face and made her feel like such a monster, I wish she would have thrown in something like - "Yeah, that's how I felt when I saw you fucking my mother.  I bet my father and your wife had a problem with it".  He was such a self-righteous asshole.

 

This, I thought the exact same thing.

[paramitch]

sjohnson, great analysis of the original Jonathan Harker from the original Dracula. I highly recommend reading the original novel to anyone who is only familiar from the show. The novel is pretty much a textbook example of a great "penny dreadful," it's all high gothic horror and sexual repression and it's awesome. 

 

Like many have mentioned here, I was unhappy with Sir Malcolm as well for his harsh treatment and judgment of Vanessa, but I liked the fact that we saw him come around pretty fast. I thought the addition of a sexual subtext to their relationship here was also pretty amazing -- it's one of those things where once you see it, you can't unsee it. So now their relationship is if possible even more messed up to me because he's the fatherly sex object (of her repressed longings) and she's the daughterly being who is also the most openly sexual person on the show.

 

One thing I thought about after this episode was that, in a way, Vanessa's harsh self-judgment is almost innocent in its over-the-topness. She's shown to be a free-spirited and brave kid, but it's like when she's exposed to the sexual world (in witnessing Malcolm's liaison with her mother), she both revels in her own curiosity about sex (and her eventual sexuality as an adult) while completely damning herself for it. It's very Victorian.

 

I'm interested in what the demon actually is and what it wants. The sad thing is, I found the scene of Malcolm's seduction of Vanessa rather beautiful -- he wasn't treating her like a damaged child, acknowledged her beauty, intellect and sexuality, and they had that amazing exchange about Keats's poetry.

 

It's interesting because the Malcolm-demon kind of reminded me of Dracula from a scene in the novel

, in which he is pretty convincingly presented as being a far less repressed husband figure for Mina than poor Jonathan.

[sjohnson]

Thanks paramitch. Of course it's not particularly unique to me.

 

You're right that Vanessa Ives buys into standard Victorian morality in many ways. I suppose that for her Dorian Gray is as deliciously shocking as some people seem to have found Oscar Wilde. I've never read A Rebours, the Huysman novel, Lord Wotton's yellow book that corrupts Dorian in the novel, so I don't know if Vanessa Ives is taking off on some of that or not.

Edited June 15, 2014 by sjohnson

[BollywoodLover]

Sir Malcolm is kinda a douche. I love the theory that he might have brought some bad mojo back with him from Africa. Another theory is that hedge maze is evil and if I were Sir Malcolm would cut that shit down.  

 

I know Mina is supposed to be a perfect snowflake, but her perfection/innocents is kinda annoying to hear  every episode. At least Vanessa would probably be interesting to talk to. 

[Jeebus Cripes]

I'm interested in what the demon actually is and what it wants. The sad thing is, I found the scene of Malcolm's seduction of Vanessa rather beautiful -- he wasn't treating her like a damaged child, acknowledged her beauty, intellect and sexuality, and they had that amazing exchange about Keats's poetry.

 

Just got around to watching this episode, and that scene with DemonMalcom reciting Keats was insanely hot! Timothy Dalton can still bring it. I now fully ship Sir Malcolm and Vanessa. I'm really hoping he doesn't turn out to be her father.

[ganesh]

I love the theory that he might have brought some bad mojo back with him from Africa.

 

 

We don't know really why the son died. Malcolm could have done something bad and got his kids cursed. Maybe he killed someone's kids over there.