After the Vanessa Ives centric episode two weeks ago, Penny Dreadful spent last Sunday to explore Ethan and, to a lesser degree, Hectate. What had made this season so interesting is the contrast in settings in our two main stories alternating from the dark and weary, gothic streets of Victorian England to the unforgiving and barren wasteland of the west. It is like watching two different shows week to week, scene to scene, and yet both versions maintain that provocative, introspective, and character driven writing we have come to expect from Penny Dreadful
It had been a long time coming, but finally we understand Ethan's backstory. The fact he took part in the massacres of two families - his birth family and his adoptive Apache family - and the guilt that had been haunting him ever since was truly an emotional reveal. Sarah Greene portrayed Hectate masterfully in this episode as a kind of devil on the shoulder type of character goading Ethan to embrace his sins.
'The World is Our Hell' was as much of a journey of a characters emotions than the physical toll Hectate and Ethan endured traversing through the desert. We see Ethan at the beginning of the episode not paying much heed to Hectate, but then gradually he begins to open up and finally admits that he is done being good in a very powerful scene that culminates in them getting it on. However, upon arriving at the estate and talking with his father, the episode ends with him overwhelmed with that guilt again. Josh Harnett did a wonderful job in this episode expressing that rollercoaster of emotions his character endured and the chemistry between him and Greene has been spot on. The latter has been devilishly great as Hectate over these past episodes and it will be interesting to see how her character evolves over the course of the season.
There were other scenes involving other characters that helped deepen this episode. Sir Malcolm had a discussion with Mr. Talbot about fatherhood and the depths they would go to save their child. Ethan's dad insisted to Sir Malcolm that they are alike and the only difference is that his child, Ethan, is still alive. What made this scene so interesting is that in fact Ethan's dad spoke truth. When Sir Malcom's daughter was still alive and held captive he would do anything to save her, he was a ruthless father consumed by revenge just like the situation Talbot is in currently.
In this episode we really see this interweaving of good and evil. Certain circumstances bring out one or the other, but at the end of the day is any one character definitively good or definitely evil? Narratively, they all have their roles to play, Sir Malcolm for example is one of our main protagonists, but introspectively all these characters have a darkness in them and what makes one individual different than the next is their willingness to embrace it. Right now, Sir Malcolm is "good," but what will happen when someone else he loves gets taken away from him? That's the question this episode asks for all these characters and in a very subtle and profound way.
Dr. Jekyll is the perfect character to bring into this season because he is the definitive good/evil guy. In 'The World is Our Hell' we see him watch as Frankenstein injects the patient with his electrified serum seemingly with success. Their scenes felt out of place in an episode that should have focused strictly out west; however, their characters and this experiment they've embarked on has been intriguing enough to add to an episode than heed it.
Penny Dreadful continues to flesh out these character with such intrigue. After two seasons and a half we finally get Ethan's backstory and the reveal was not a disappointment. Hectate has been an unexpected bright spot and hopefully her character continues past this Ethan storyline out West.
8/10
