Penny Dreadful 1.06
Jun. 16th, 2014 05:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakSembene speaks! Not much, alas, but that was an actual conversation.
Back from flashback country, if there is a morning after conversation between Dorian Gray and Ethan Chandler we don't get to see it, but on the other hand Ethan and Brona make up. I must admit when she gave him her St. Jude's medal (patron saint of lost causes), I was wondering whether it was of silver and thus a problem if he's a werewolf, but apparantly not, or he's not that kind of werewolf. May have come in handly later with the vampires, I suppose, though none of our three heroes getting seriously injured in that raid defies belief a bit.
But to go back to earlier: Van Helsing finally says the world "vampire" on this show and gives Victor Frankenstein some expositionary pep talk while Victor comes close to revealing his own problem to him but doesn't quite manage. This episode, btw, showcases how well the scriptwriters have read Dracula the novel, because while Van Helsing's unceremonious demise at Caliban's hands is of course strict AU territory, there are a lot of lovely nods towards Stoker's book - the Bürger quote - in German, no less, like in the book ("Denn die Toten reisen schnell") -, and a supposed "plague ship" as the carrier of let's-call-him-Nosferatu-until-we're-told-otherwise. That this ship comes from Egypt not only ties in with the Egyptian plot thread in this show but also is a neat nod to history, because there were still plagues in Egypt pretty frequently throughout the 19th century. All the vampires except for Nosferatu being female is a reminder of what Jonathan Harker finds at Dracula's castle, but as opposed to the book you don't get a late Victorian's sex fantasy via the brides - they're all clothed and distinctly feral. Also apparantly albinos.
Speaking of brides: Caliban, since he plays also the Phantom, meets his Christine who has her very own Raoul but is far less naive and also not looking for an Angel of Music, err, the theatre but knows who Caliban is (well, minus the creation story). She's kind, but just not interested romantically, which lowers her life expectancy though I hope the show won't go there. Not that Caliban killing first poor Proteus and now Van Helsing as payback/blackmail material to Victor isn't a crime, but killing someone so you can possess their resurrected self is still worse. (I mean, we will inevitably get a Bride sooner or later, but I hope that whether it's Brona or Hannah, she won't be deliberately killed to become one.)
I'm not sure I'm keen on sex being literally what allows Vanessa to get taken over by the devil/demonic entity/ultimate bad guy, but otoh this meant all the flirting with Dorian through the episode wasn't just there so we could get Eva Green in another sex scene. Also the three scenes between Malcolm and Vanessa, the two early ones and the final one when she returns home from the aborted Dorian escapade and ends up levitating, were great. And invite so much speculating. Starting with why he doesn't tell her he used her clue about a ship and tracked the ship down (btw, neat detective work, that, Sir Malcolm). Regret for using her as bait the last time in the zoo? Distrust (what Ethan thinks)? Concern? (Why he doesn't take Victor along, either, presumably, as opposed to Ethan.) Or, you know, maybe a part of him did think she deserved just having fun for a day and a night in between all the gruesomeness. His reaction to her dressing up was the most affectionate we've seen him with adult Vanessa when she's awake. (Was also v.v. amused at Dorian Gray trying to sound him out, probably still in the dark as to what the hell their relationship is, and Malcolm just stating that Vanessa is always her own.)
Re: Vanessa's day of fun - I wonder whether the photograph will play a role later when we get to the now inevitable exorcism. However: with Van Helsing dead, there's no obvious candidate to play the Exorcist. It would be a good modern gender twist and help the potential skeeviness of the possessed-by-demons/the-devil trope if Vanessa somehow (with support, sure, but with her as the main force) managed to exorcise herself.
Sidenote: Dorian spends the night with Ethan, and Ethan rushes to Brona's side. Dorian spends part of the night with Vanessa, and Vanessa stops mid sex because she can feel the threat of possession rising and rushes to Malcolm. A good thing that Dorian has a big ego, or he'd develop a complex unrelated to having a portrait in the attic.
And lastly: Sembene speaks! Unfortunately, not much more than what the trailer of this episode already showed it, but those two or three additional sentences still managed to convey some useful new info. Of which the fact he had some bad experiences with supernatural stuff in his past is the least of it. He also addresses Malcolm as "Malcolm", not by any title or other hierarchic mode, and the way they talk sounds like between confidantes or friends. That Sembene reached the same conclusion as Vanessa did (and Van Helsing states before his demise) - that Mina can't be restored to her human self and live, if they find her, and Malcolm while insisting that she will live doesn't lash out at Sembene and in fact takes him along to the ship makes me wonder, too.
I won't be able to watch next week's episode until Friday, due to travelling. It will be a loooong wait.
Back from flashback country, if there is a morning after conversation between Dorian Gray and Ethan Chandler we don't get to see it, but on the other hand Ethan and Brona make up. I must admit when she gave him her St. Jude's medal (patron saint of lost causes), I was wondering whether it was of silver and thus a problem if he's a werewolf, but apparantly not, or he's not that kind of werewolf. May have come in handly later with the vampires, I suppose, though none of our three heroes getting seriously injured in that raid defies belief a bit.
But to go back to earlier: Van Helsing finally says the world "vampire" on this show and gives Victor Frankenstein some expositionary pep talk while Victor comes close to revealing his own problem to him but doesn't quite manage. This episode, btw, showcases how well the scriptwriters have read Dracula the novel, because while Van Helsing's unceremonious demise at Caliban's hands is of course strict AU territory, there are a lot of lovely nods towards Stoker's book - the Bürger quote - in German, no less, like in the book ("Denn die Toten reisen schnell") -, and a supposed "plague ship" as the carrier of let's-call-him-Nosferatu-until-we're-told-otherwise. That this ship comes from Egypt not only ties in with the Egyptian plot thread in this show but also is a neat nod to history, because there were still plagues in Egypt pretty frequently throughout the 19th century. All the vampires except for Nosferatu being female is a reminder of what Jonathan Harker finds at Dracula's castle, but as opposed to the book you don't get a late Victorian's sex fantasy via the brides - they're all clothed and distinctly feral. Also apparantly albinos.
Speaking of brides: Caliban, since he plays also the Phantom, meets his Christine who has her very own Raoul but is far less naive and also not looking for an Angel of Music, err, the theatre but knows who Caliban is (well, minus the creation story). She's kind, but just not interested romantically, which lowers her life expectancy though I hope the show won't go there. Not that Caliban killing first poor Proteus and now Van Helsing as payback/blackmail material to Victor isn't a crime, but killing someone so you can possess their resurrected self is still worse. (I mean, we will inevitably get a Bride sooner or later, but I hope that whether it's Brona or Hannah, she won't be deliberately killed to become one.)
I'm not sure I'm keen on sex being literally what allows Vanessa to get taken over by the devil/demonic entity/ultimate bad guy, but otoh this meant all the flirting with Dorian through the episode wasn't just there so we could get Eva Green in another sex scene. Also the three scenes between Malcolm and Vanessa, the two early ones and the final one when she returns home from the aborted Dorian escapade and ends up levitating, were great. And invite so much speculating. Starting with why he doesn't tell her he used her clue about a ship and tracked the ship down (btw, neat detective work, that, Sir Malcolm). Regret for using her as bait the last time in the zoo? Distrust (what Ethan thinks)? Concern? (Why he doesn't take Victor along, either, presumably, as opposed to Ethan.) Or, you know, maybe a part of him did think she deserved just having fun for a day and a night in between all the gruesomeness. His reaction to her dressing up was the most affectionate we've seen him with adult Vanessa when she's awake. (Was also v.v. amused at Dorian Gray trying to sound him out, probably still in the dark as to what the hell their relationship is, and Malcolm just stating that Vanessa is always her own.)
Re: Vanessa's day of fun - I wonder whether the photograph will play a role later when we get to the now inevitable exorcism. However: with Van Helsing dead, there's no obvious candidate to play the Exorcist. It would be a good modern gender twist and help the potential skeeviness of the possessed-by-demons/the-devil trope if Vanessa somehow (with support, sure, but with her as the main force) managed to exorcise herself.
Sidenote: Dorian spends the night with Ethan, and Ethan rushes to Brona's side. Dorian spends part of the night with Vanessa, and Vanessa stops mid sex because she can feel the threat of possession rising and rushes to Malcolm. A good thing that Dorian has a big ego, or he'd develop a complex unrelated to having a portrait in the attic.
And lastly: Sembene speaks! Unfortunately, not much more than what the trailer of this episode already showed it, but those two or three additional sentences still managed to convey some useful new info. Of which the fact he had some bad experiences with supernatural stuff in his past is the least of it. He also addresses Malcolm as "Malcolm", not by any title or other hierarchic mode, and the way they talk sounds like between confidantes or friends. That Sembene reached the same conclusion as Vanessa did (and Van Helsing states before his demise) - that Mina can't be restored to her human self and live, if they find her, and Malcolm while insisting that she will live doesn't lash out at Sembene and in fact takes him along to the ship makes me wonder, too.
I won't be able to watch next week's episode until Friday, due to travelling. It will be a loooong wait.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-16 04:33 pm (UTC)(I mean, we will inevitably get a Bride sooner or later, but I hope that whether it's Brona or Hannah, she won't be deliberately killed to become one.)
Yeah, either way you slice it, it's going to be skeevy. The entire storyline is skeevy, reducing women to their parts/suitability to be a mate for Caliban, but I like Brona too much as a human to see her as the Bride. I'm actually rooting for it to be Maude/Hannah Tointon, because it'd give her something to do besides be Christine Daae and playact.
Starting with why he doesn't tell her he used her clue about a ship and tracked the ship down. Regret for using her as bait the last time in the zoo? Distrust? Concern? (Why he doesn't take Victor along, either, presumably, as opposed to Ethan.) Or, you know, maybe a part of him did think she deserved just having fun for a day and a night in between all the gruesomeness.
I got the sense it was "all of the above". Somewhere deep in his twisted little heart, he knows he shouldn't have used her as bait. If he brings her along, that's going to come up. Then add in that they've been arguing recently (her being upset about being used as bait, the angry conversation they have in the beginning of this episode) - she's of very little use to him if she's angry/less than biddable/refusing to use her powers to help. And again, deep in that black heart of his, she's still his Vanessa. She still deserves something of a human life, to go out walking with a gentleman and not always be bogged down in this darkness. So he doesn't tell her about this expedition; if it goes well, he'll apologize for leaving her out, if it doesn't go well, she'll never need to know.
And as for leaving Victor, I read that as Malcolm realizing where Victor's strengths and weaknesses lie. He's never taken Victor on a hunt before, and the last Malcolm saw, Victor was very little use in fighting Fenton and the master vampire. In contrast, he's *very* good as a doctor and scientist, and if he's hurt, they won't have anyone working on a cure for Mina. Poor Victor thinks this is proof Malcolm doesn't trust him and likes Ethan better (Victor, honey, your daddy issues, they are seen from SPACE), but I really think it's Malcolm minimizing his potential losses.
However: with Van Helsing dead, there's no obvious candidate to play the Exorcist.
If Vanessa cannot exorcise herself, or needs assistance, I have my fingers crossed for Helen McCrory. She pops up in the finale promo shots, and she clearly has some affinity with spirits (even if she's using it for monetary gain). She could potentially have experience with exorcisms or the like.
He also addresses Malcolm as "Malcolm", not by any title or other hierarchic mode, and the way they talk sounds like between confidantes or friends.
I did appreciate this a lot. It definitely made them feel more like friends/equals, and that Sembene chooses to stay with Malcolm not out of obligation.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-17 05:28 am (UTC)re: Sembene: he also says "the blood that we share", so presumably something like (mutual?) life saving and ensuing blood brotherhood has gone on between the two. (A darker option would be that he means "the blood that we shed together" since Malcolm told Vanessa he killed a lot of people in Africa.) Either way, Sembene evidently is used to speaking his mind with Malcolm if necessary, and Malcolm doesn't behave as if this is extraordinary, so their status in each other's eyes seems to be that of equals.
re: Malcolm's reasons for not taking Victor along, I agree. It's very sensible and pragmatic strategy, but Victor, like you said, has daddy issues which can be seen from space. Ethan, btw, doesn't seem to have any. He's sworn himself to Vanessa in the first place, but giving Malcolm the "you need to trust someone and share intel already" speech near the end of the episode doesn't come from negative daddy issues, just from common sense.
Also agreed to "all of the above" re: his reasons for not telling Vanessa. Not to mention it was very evident she really wanted to go, and he must remember how exuberant she was as a girl. Whatever life he'd imagined then she'd have then, it wasn't this. Not that she isn't really good at it. (And as the conversation with Peter last week made clear, there was always the irony that the three kids knew Vanessa was far more suited to go off adventuring than either Peter or Mina.) But for all that they're arguing and good at throwing zingers at each other, there's still that affection there.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-17 04:53 pm (UTC)so presumably something like (mutual?) life saving and ensuing blood brotherhood has gone on between the two. (A darker option would be that he means "the blood that we shed together" since Malcolm told Vanessa he killed a lot of people in Africa.)
I want to say "all of the above" again. Because Sembene is clearly used to using those kukri knives in defense of Malcolm, and knows instantly that despite the fire erupting around them, Malcolm's going to try to get to Mina. So mutual life-saving and blood brotherhood *while* killing people in Africa. And dammit, let's get some of THOSE flashbacks for season two.
but giving Malcolm the "you need to trust someone and share intel already" speech near the end of the episode doesn't come from negative daddy issues, just from common sense.
YES. I loved that aspect of Ethan - that he clearly has troubles with his father (the watch, the telegram ordering him home, the way he speaks about him to Malcolm in that scene), but that he isn't allowing the similarities between his father and Malcolm to blind him. Ethan is one of the very few characters that shows THAT much common sense, and it makes me like him even more than I already did (Brona is REALLY good for him).
(And as the conversation with Peter last week made clear, there was always the irony that the three kids knew Vanessa was far more suited to go off adventuring than either Peter or Mina.)
Stupid Victorian rules. Because really, if he'd just been able to take Vanessa exploring and not put so much pressure on Peter to be his model son and Mina to be the sweet society daughter (is it just me, or don't you wonder how much Mina really wanted to marry Captain Branson and go to India?), things would have worked out so much better for everyone.