The dirty half dozen deal Dracula a new dawn.
ThisPenny Dreadfulreview contains spoilers.
Its so hard to be the new boyfriend when your lover is part of a tight clique.
This is especially true when her ex-boyfriend is still part of the crowd.
They look at every little thing.
Scrutinize the smallest of shortcomings.
You have to walk through the landmines of their magnifying glass.
They look for problems.
They are actively rooting for you to fail so your new girlfriend will go back to her old boyfriend.
God forbid you have a little bit of a temper.
They will make you seem like a monster.
They will mock the friends you hang out with because your crowd is never as good as theirs.
Oh and just forget about it if every now and then you take a little drink … of blood.
It is a tortured existence.
And what about that old boyfriend?
Is he really all that hes cracked up to be?
Of course, thats also his saving grace.
As Epiphany Proudfoot says inAngel Heart, its the bad ass that makes the heart beat faster.
The only one who seems to get it is Renfield.
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Sam Barnett has made quite the actors trip this season.
All characters grow as a series progresses, but this guy had a comets arc right under our noses.
I love how Renfield twitches and jerks as he vacillates between desires.
Creatures of the night make some beautiful music.
Renfield loves the master.
He finds him beautiful, accepting and perfect.
Listen to Barnett lightly plead for Dr. Seward to just let them be happy.
It is emotionally articulate and quite moving.
Not as moving as Frankensteins creature, of course.
Monsters should have their happiness and the biggest monsters of the show all had theirs wrenched from them.
The scene between John Clare and his wife is heart-wrenching.
Roy Kinnear bares the scars he keeps inside to match the ones on his forehead.
His own son never gets a proper burial, but finally gets to go swimming.
Such is one of the many tragedies, in the classical theatrical sense, ofPenny Dreadful.
The ending episodes feel a little rushed.
Catriona Hartdegen (Perdita Weeks) seems like Mrs. Peel dropping in off a canteen break fromThe Avengers.
But the only characters who reveal themselves in the fray are Drs.
Seward (Patti Lupone) and Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway).
Dr. Seward comes heavy.
Shes from New York and not just any New York.
The fight scene shows Dr. Frankenstein go from a tentative gunman to an enthusiastic head basher.
Once he gets a taste for it, the physician is positively exuberant in his pummeling.
But thats a pretty nasty dig that Dracula gets in on Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton).
Its bad enough she meant nothing to him.
The first episode ends with a perfectly timed full moon.
Doesnt he know when its going to be a full moon?
Thats was probably one of the first features of the calendar, the phases of the moon.
Jekyll and Frankensteins lab, and right in the heart of Bedlam, an extra nice touch.
Bronas creator-healer would be happier ending his days shooting himself into Palookaville.
Dr. Jekyll (Shazad Latif) didnt quite fulfill his promise this season, did he?
That can be pretty frightening.
Penny Dreadful is very good at circumventing expectations.
The best of the expectations the series circumvented was what appeared to be the inevitable death of Dracula.
I am very happy to see the bloodsucker live on in his Dead Place.
He and Chandler were well matched.
Dracula has a strong respect for his adversary.
He also has empathy.
Ethan is fighting for the love of a good woman.
Dracula is doing it for love, but good has nothing to do with it.
Vanessa Ives is sorely lacking in the final two episodes of the series she led.
Many people died so Vanessa could live.
Rating:
4 out of 5
