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Penny Dreadful 1.07
Which I finally got to watch. Why do I not have an Eva Green icon?
This was what we used to call a bottle show in Star Trek, i.e. no guest stars (the brief cameo by the priest near the end aside) and only the standard film set used - or rather, only a part of it, as the action remained firmly confined to Malcolm's town house, and while both Victor and Ethan were summoned, we only saw them upon arrival. It heightened the sense of claustrophobia, which is a good thing for possession/exorcism stories.
Eva Green was stunning throughout, though I remain uneasy about this particular trope. I think my favourite twist on the Exorcist was the one Angel came up with, in a season 1 episode called I've got you under my skin, where it turned out that while there was a demon possessing the child, it was actually the demon trapped inside the child and the child the one who was truly evil, with the demon trying in vain to escape. Also, it was just one demon, not good old Lucifer of Satan and fallen angel fame, as which the guy in question in this episode identified himself to Vanessa. I still say this is a mistake for any horror series, and not just because Being Human couldn't pull it off. There's also the question of why if this is the devil himself, he's going through the trouble of possessing one particular individual in the most obvious way possible, causing no greater havoc than scaring her (or his) immediate social circle and damaging her body. I mean: if you want to cause damage in the late Victorian age and want to wipe out humanity, there are a bunch of politicians in all nations preparing the ground for World War I that come to mind as far more efficient tools. At least he gave a motive this time, i.e. wanting Vanessa as his consort, though old Egyptian prophecies not withstanding, I don't see how this would produce the apocalypse.
Aaaaaanyway. The Prince of Darkness aside, everyone else got their good character scenes in this episode. Ethan being the moral voice and the conscience of the group and developing his bond with Vanessa further - when she talked about having a beast scratching inside, it was impossible not to recall that Ethan is most likely a werewolf (and I think at one point we saw the wolf in the mirror when he was keeping watch) - makes me suddenly suspicious of his survival chances. Also the fact that Vanessa tried to make him promise he'd kill her (though unfortunately for her, she wasn't talking to Ethan at that point), and that he didn't and managed the exorcism instead. Now I hadn't been afraid Vanessa would actually die - the character is far too central for that -, but it's the second time the show points out that in Vanessa's pov, the promise to kill someone if they're beyond hope the the sign of true love/friendship. And Ethan is so resolutely a good guy that SOMETHING is bound to happen to endanger that. So, speculation: the next full moon we'll finally get to see Ethan transform, and as a werewolf he'll threaten someone human Ethan would never want to harm (Brona comes to mind); it will be a situation where the only way Vanessa will be able to stop him is by shooting the wolf (though hopefully not with a silver bullet).
...or I could be wrong. But that's my current guess.
Incidentally, as I mentioned in my last review, St. Jude is the patron saint for lost causes, so Ethan using the medaillion Brona gave him to perform the exorcism at the end is very apropos. That the priest earlier refuses to perform an exorcism because he'd need permission first is a nice nod to historical reality. Victor's hostile attitude and the fact that Ethan knowns the words to an exorcism points to Vanessa not being the only (former) Catholic with issues. (In fact, Malcolm might be the only (former) Protestant, defying the percentages.) Lucifer-in-Vanessa brings up the legend of Matthew being nailed to a cross upside down, and all of this makes me wonder whether scriptwriter John Logan has that same background.
Practically the only non-dark scene was Victor showing the unexpected survival sense of asking Ethan for shooting lessons after spotting Caliban through the window, and it was almost a breath of air. Though Victor's unexpected survival sense (and newfound friendship with Ethan) doesn't extend to actually telling anyone he's stalked by his creature, who has threatened to kill anyone he's close to, which is something Victor has in common with his novel original. Mind you, this made me less worried for Ethan (whom I'm worried about for other reasons, see above) than wondering how a werewolf versus Creature fight would go down - surely it must have happened in one of the later Universal movies?
Fortunately, the trend of giving Sembene actual dialogue continues, this time with Ethan questioning him about his background. Sembene rejects everoyne's favourite guess that Malcolm saved his life in order to bring up everyone's other favourite guess - that he saved Malcolm's life ("and now I feel responsible for him") as a "maybe", which probably translates in this having happened but other things he's not deigning to tell Ethan as well. What he makes very much clear is that him being in London is his choice. Also, as opposed to the rest of the men who when asked whether they believe in God reply with variations of "no", he says "I believe in everything".
More nods to history: Victor is addition to being an early follower of psychoanalytical theories uses drugs both on himself and on patients. He mentions being given drugs as a child which reminded me that I've thought more than once the entire 19th century must have passed in a purple haze, because there were opiates in everything, including medicine for children, with laudanum only the most famous variation for adults. Speaking of, to further the drug theme, we find out (via possessed Vanessa) that Malcolm's wife took laudanum. And Victor when asked by Malcolm for something to keep awake gives him a cocaine variation. Victorian literature's most famous cocaine user says hello, I suppose.
Malcolm tells two (not mutually exclusive) versions of Peter's fate to Ethan and to Victor respectively, the darker one to Victor with an added "so no, Doctor, I have no shred of decency". He also goes from being horrified by Vanessa's possession to coming up with an idea of how to use it for the Mina quest, because he's that kind of ruthless bastard. I note, though, that when Ethan ends his furious speech "you want your daughter, well, here she is", he does not say anything, including a denial of Vanessa being his daughter. Which doesn't have to mean she is (biologically speaking), because it's part of what the emotional reality is (which trumps biology in any case). However it's not the only thing she is to him, and therein, as Ethan notes to Victor elsewehre, lies the rub.
Vanessa's vision/dream of where Mina is ncludes the theatre, which makes me eye the chandelier again. That thing is going DOWN, I tell you.
Possessed!Vanessa bring up the Ethan/Dorian sex and nobody batting an eyelid (about that part, anyway, they're too busy with feelings re: Vanessa's possession): speaks of them having their priorities straight (no pun intended), i.e. Vanessa's state is a concern, Ethan's sex life is not, and/or openess of mind re: bisexuality?
Vanessa and Malcolm doing their exchange of looks with too many things to say again: in the very last scene. How many episodes do we have left?
This was what we used to call a bottle show in Star Trek, i.e. no guest stars (the brief cameo by the priest near the end aside) and only the standard film set used - or rather, only a part of it, as the action remained firmly confined to Malcolm's town house, and while both Victor and Ethan were summoned, we only saw them upon arrival. It heightened the sense of claustrophobia, which is a good thing for possession/exorcism stories.
Eva Green was stunning throughout, though I remain uneasy about this particular trope. I think my favourite twist on the Exorcist was the one Angel came up with, in a season 1 episode called I've got you under my skin, where it turned out that while there was a demon possessing the child, it was actually the demon trapped inside the child and the child the one who was truly evil, with the demon trying in vain to escape. Also, it was just one demon, not good old Lucifer of Satan and fallen angel fame, as which the guy in question in this episode identified himself to Vanessa. I still say this is a mistake for any horror series, and not just because Being Human couldn't pull it off. There's also the question of why if this is the devil himself, he's going through the trouble of possessing one particular individual in the most obvious way possible, causing no greater havoc than scaring her (or his) immediate social circle and damaging her body. I mean: if you want to cause damage in the late Victorian age and want to wipe out humanity, there are a bunch of politicians in all nations preparing the ground for World War I that come to mind as far more efficient tools. At least he gave a motive this time, i.e. wanting Vanessa as his consort, though old Egyptian prophecies not withstanding, I don't see how this would produce the apocalypse.
Aaaaaanyway. The Prince of Darkness aside, everyone else got their good character scenes in this episode. Ethan being the moral voice and the conscience of the group and developing his bond with Vanessa further - when she talked about having a beast scratching inside, it was impossible not to recall that Ethan is most likely a werewolf (and I think at one point we saw the wolf in the mirror when he was keeping watch) - makes me suddenly suspicious of his survival chances. Also the fact that Vanessa tried to make him promise he'd kill her (though unfortunately for her, she wasn't talking to Ethan at that point), and that he didn't and managed the exorcism instead. Now I hadn't been afraid Vanessa would actually die - the character is far too central for that -, but it's the second time the show points out that in Vanessa's pov, the promise to kill someone if they're beyond hope the the sign of true love/friendship. And Ethan is so resolutely a good guy that SOMETHING is bound to happen to endanger that. So, speculation: the next full moon we'll finally get to see Ethan transform, and as a werewolf he'll threaten someone human Ethan would never want to harm (Brona comes to mind); it will be a situation where the only way Vanessa will be able to stop him is by shooting the wolf (though hopefully not with a silver bullet).
...or I could be wrong. But that's my current guess.
Incidentally, as I mentioned in my last review, St. Jude is the patron saint for lost causes, so Ethan using the medaillion Brona gave him to perform the exorcism at the end is very apropos. That the priest earlier refuses to perform an exorcism because he'd need permission first is a nice nod to historical reality. Victor's hostile attitude and the fact that Ethan knowns the words to an exorcism points to Vanessa not being the only (former) Catholic with issues. (In fact, Malcolm might be the only (former) Protestant, defying the percentages.) Lucifer-in-Vanessa brings up the legend of Matthew being nailed to a cross upside down, and all of this makes me wonder whether scriptwriter John Logan has that same background.
Practically the only non-dark scene was Victor showing the unexpected survival sense of asking Ethan for shooting lessons after spotting Caliban through the window, and it was almost a breath of air. Though Victor's unexpected survival sense (and newfound friendship with Ethan) doesn't extend to actually telling anyone he's stalked by his creature, who has threatened to kill anyone he's close to, which is something Victor has in common with his novel original. Mind you, this made me less worried for Ethan (whom I'm worried about for other reasons, see above) than wondering how a werewolf versus Creature fight would go down - surely it must have happened in one of the later Universal movies?
Fortunately, the trend of giving Sembene actual dialogue continues, this time with Ethan questioning him about his background. Sembene rejects everoyne's favourite guess that Malcolm saved his life in order to bring up everyone's other favourite guess - that he saved Malcolm's life ("and now I feel responsible for him") as a "maybe", which probably translates in this having happened but other things he's not deigning to tell Ethan as well. What he makes very much clear is that him being in London is his choice. Also, as opposed to the rest of the men who when asked whether they believe in God reply with variations of "no", he says "I believe in everything".
More nods to history: Victor is addition to being an early follower of psychoanalytical theories uses drugs both on himself and on patients. He mentions being given drugs as a child which reminded me that I've thought more than once the entire 19th century must have passed in a purple haze, because there were opiates in everything, including medicine for children, with laudanum only the most famous variation for adults. Speaking of, to further the drug theme, we find out (via possessed Vanessa) that Malcolm's wife took laudanum. And Victor when asked by Malcolm for something to keep awake gives him a cocaine variation. Victorian literature's most famous cocaine user says hello, I suppose.
Malcolm tells two (not mutually exclusive) versions of Peter's fate to Ethan and to Victor respectively, the darker one to Victor with an added "so no, Doctor, I have no shred of decency". He also goes from being horrified by Vanessa's possession to coming up with an idea of how to use it for the Mina quest, because he's that kind of ruthless bastard. I note, though, that when Ethan ends his furious speech "you want your daughter, well, here she is", he does not say anything, including a denial of Vanessa being his daughter. Which doesn't have to mean she is (biologically speaking), because it's part of what the emotional reality is (which trumps biology in any case). However it's not the only thing she is to him, and therein, as Ethan notes to Victor elsewehre, lies the rub.
Vanessa's vision/dream of where Mina is ncludes the theatre, which makes me eye the chandelier again. That thing is going DOWN, I tell you.
Possessed!Vanessa bring up the Ethan/Dorian sex and nobody batting an eyelid (about that part, anyway, they're too busy with feelings re: Vanessa's possession): speaks of them having their priorities straight (no pun intended), i.e. Vanessa's state is a concern, Ethan's sex life is not, and/or openess of mind re: bisexuality?
Vanessa and Malcolm doing their exchange of looks with too many things to say again: in the very last scene. How many episodes do we have left?
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I'm awaiting season 2 with bated breath!