Penny Dreadful - Season Finale Review

The season two finale of Penny Dreadful, 'And They Were Enemies,' ended in glorious, riveting, and through it all, rather dismal fashion. At the end of the penultimate episode, each of our protagonists were left in, well, dreadful situations - locked up to confront their own demons or, in the case of Vanessa Ives, the devil himself. Starting in media res, this last episode of the season indeed got crazy right off the bat.

The main conflict is that of Vanessa Ives confronted by her Lucifer possessed effigy in Evelyn Poole's doll room. Watching a character in a verbal battle with a talking doll would come across, in most instances, as quite silly. However, Eva Green's powerful performance as she growled and recited Verbis Diablo in that guttural voice of hers elevated this scene to something that was much more riveting and intense than it should have been. The dialogue before it with Lucifer tempting Vanessa to give it her soul gave that much more weight to the situation.

The downside of the whole sequence is Mrs. Poole, an antagonist built up all season as an almost equal to Vanessa, whose role is reduced in this final conflict to that of an onlooker. To see the witch age rapidly after Vanessa gains the upper hand against Lucifer and then, adding insult to injury, getting her throat slashed open by Ethan, was a gruesome write off and a bit of a whimper. Not to mention, with Evelyn Poole weakened, werewolf-Ethan did not really protect Vanessa, as prophesized. Having the battle between Vanessa Ives and a possessed Evelyn Poole, with the former eventually gaining the upper hand, and maybe werewolf-Ethan protecting Vanessa from one of the other evil witches could have made as satisfying of a conclusion. Nonetheless, not much complaint shall be made for a scene that strangely, but surely worked both visually and narratively.

Elsewhere, Frankenstein and Sir Malcolm find themselves trapped and confronted with the manifestations of their inner demons - Sir Malcolm's dead family and Frankenstein's creations, respectively. This was a sequence that kind of dragged a bit with both protagonists pushed closer and closer and closer and closer to the edge, their manifestations telling them to end their misery. While Vanessa was able to overcome the temptations Lucifer set in front of her, there was no moment of win for Sir Malcolm and Frankenstein. No moment of either of them overcoming their guilt. Both seemed like they were indeed about to end their own lives, if it were not for the death of Evelyn Poole, which of course made the manifestations disappear. Sir Malcolm especially has come across as a strong willed character, so to see him almost give in was a bit of a surprise.

Outside the room of temptations was Lyle who, by the way, has been one of the highlights of this season. It seemed like for minutes on end he was being held against the wall by the witch as everyone else had their conversations. Finally, though, Lyle pulls out his gun to shoot his nemesis, humorously telling her to "never underestimate a queen with nice hair." It was great to see Lyle getting in on the action. His humour and vibrancy has really helped keep the tone of the show from getting too melancholic. The addition of his character to the cast has been a stroke of genius.

The character that really stole the show in this finale was John Clare. We find out that the monster, with his superior strength, could easily rip open the door that caged him, he was just waiting for the right moment, in a sense, the most poetic moment. After being called the king of all freaks by Mrs. Putney and asked to go along with the Putney's plan, he would free himself in rage and find his retribution, albeit a violent and glorious one. The fact he let the daughter live was brilliant - a blind, orphaned young lady will surely find nothing but pain and suffering in life.

However, it wasn't John Clare's retribution that was the highlight of this episode. Arguably, one of the best moments of season two was Clare's interaction with Ms. Ives and the growing of their unlikely friendship. They are two lost souls - one attractive, the other, grotesque - yet they are able to find resemblance in each other through the inescapable disparity and hopelessness in their lives. Though someone who has murdered others and has been treated like a freak, John Clare is still the most human of all the protagonists, and Vanessa Ives brings this to light in their final interaction of the season. In turn, we begin to see a man, as he weeps, who just may be on the path of redemption, starting with his solitary escape to a place far away from humanity. How John Clare is brought back into the fold will make for a very interesting arc next season.

Another great arc set up for season three is that of Lily and Dorian. Frankenstein confronts Lily at Gray's house in an attempt to take back his third creation. He soon finds out after shooting both of them that Lily cannot be killed by a mere bullet, and neither can the immortal Dorian. Instead of retaliating and murdering him, they decide to let him live in his suffering. This leads to the most gorgeous visual moment of the episode, where Lily and Dorian paint the floor red with their blood soaked clothing as they dance around Gray's ballroom. The two characters have been the low point of the first half of this season, the show dragging in many of their respective scenes. However, they have since grown to become one of the more intriguing characters now that they have fully embraced the freak within them and have taken their turn into what may be the big bad of season three.

Another future big bad is Hectate who sets her mother's mansion ablaze before setting off on her own. Hectate has always been an intriguing character, who did not get much time to grow. She is a powerful witch subdued by her mother. Now that she has no one to hold her back, it will be interesting to see where her character goes.

In terms of the protagonists, the season ends with how the episode began, with everyone dispersed, but much further apart. Though Vanessa seems to be the only one that can quiet werewolf-Ethan and, in turn, he being her protector, both end up separated. Wrought with the guilt of murdering his dear friend, Sembene, Ethan turns down any such romance with Ms. Ives and confesses to the Mariner Inn Massacre to Inspector Rusk. However, he is not to be sent to the gallows, but back to America caged and with shorter hair. Elsewhere, mourning the loss of Sembene, Sir Malcolm travels to Africa to bury his loyal servant, and we also see John Clare on a ship in the artic. Still in London is Vanessa Ives tied to Sir Malcolm's abode like a sorrowful ghost stuck in limbo, and Frankenstein who we last see giving himself a shot of heroine.

We are now left at a very interesting point in the series. What will happen that will get the team back together again next season? Where does the tortured soul John Clare fit into all of this? Will Dorian Gray and Lily be the big bad next season or is there even a bigger villain, ala Hectate, waiting in the darkness?

In many ways season two has been an improvement over last season. Characters were much more fleshed out and there was this greater sense of family among Team Dreadful. Eva Green especially was given more to work with this season. Last year it was all about Ms. Ives and Dorian Gray, and there was very little chemistry felt between them. This year we got to see a stronger friendship develop between Ms. Ives and Frankenstein, as well as an even stronger bond with John Clare, which provided for some heartwarming and thought provoking character moments. In addition, we also got to see some progress in the relationship between Vanessa and Ethan. Moreover, new member to Team Dreadful, Ferdinand Lyle, injected some much needed humor into this often times too grim of a show. Lastly, Evelyn Poole and Hectate gave us some menacing villains and the mythology of the series as a whole was made so much more intriguing with the revealing of Lucifer and the vampire as brothers.

What are your thoughts on this episode and the season as a whole!? Leave your comments below!

About the Author - Kollin Lore

Kollin is an entertainment writer and a film and television, in particular genre TV, freak having grown up during the 90s and early 2000s a dedicated fan of Buffy and Angel. Current shows like Person of Interest, Supernatural, Ripper Street, Penny Dreadful, Grimm, The Blacklist, Game of Thrones, and dozens of other shows are currently occupying Kollin’s nightly hours. His reviews for Into the Badlands and The Expanse will be coming this fall!

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