Penny Dreadful - S01E04 Demimonde (2014)

Sex :
Violence :
Director Dearbhla Walsh
Writers John Logan
Starring : Eva Green, Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Harry Treadaway, Reeve Carney, Billie Piper, Simon Russell Beale, Danny Sapani
Genre Vampire
Tagline There is some thing within us all
Country
Penny Dreadful Review

Review

"Nothing is quite what it seems" - Vanessa Ives

Sir Malcolm has enlisted the aid of noted haematologist Abraham Van Helsing to help Frankenstein analysis the blood taken from Fenton, the vampire they have chained in the basement of Sir Malcolm's London town house. Van Helsing, who seems to have run across it before, points out the blood doesn't coagulate, which allows the donor to "eat blood". Unfortunately for Sir Malcom and Frankenstein Fenton unleashes his end game that evening which involves his "master" breaking into Vanessa's room, Fenton refers to Vanessa as "mother" for no apparent reason. We later learn Vanessa has betrayed Mina, and Sir Malcolm is seeking a cure for his daughter's suspected vampirism.

Meanwhile it's a night at the Grand Guignol for Vanessa, Dorian Gray, Chandler and Brona. Vanessa had meet Dorian at the London gardens previously in the day and has her sights set on the enigmatic party animal. Chandler took Brona as she had always wanted to visit the Guignol, but it doesn't end well with Dorian recognising Brona and Brona storming off. We also have huge hints that Chandler might just howl at the moon, the Grand Guignol play is about a werewolf, Chandler reacts badly to blood and death in a dog pit, and he refuses to roll up his sleeves to aid in giving a blood transfer to Fenton, he claims Frankenstein really doesn't want to see his forearms. Finally some narrative arcs coming together, but we're still as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

Speaking of topless bars the episode kicks off with Dorian having what amounts to an orgy underway in his crib, we're talking lots of naked chicks, dudes, and a room full of standard English portraits on the walls. We also learn Dorian is a bit decadent and swings both ways. Anyways for the pervs reading we're talking full frontals, girl on girl action, and heck rooting going down. Guess the opening scene is just to underline how bored Dorian has become with the world, and the fact he has another portrait behind a hidden panel, no prices for guessing what that involves. When Vanessa pretty much stalks Dorian through the botanical gardens we learn more about what makes the dude tick, all about experience and fatal beauty, which almost has Vanessa panting.

There is one hell of a hint that a lupine might join our list of creatures of the night, yay!

Back at Sir Malcolm's pad the torture of Fenton continues as the Scooby gang attempt to discover where his master is hanging, Fenton isn't telling and to be honest seems to have a few Roos bouncing around the top paddock. An attempt is made to change Fenton's blood as Sir Malcolm seeks to find a cure, unfortunately it doesn't work though Fenton does get to enjoy a cat and demonstrates later how to get out of chains in fairly gnarly fashion. The vamper is obsessed with Vanessa, which may have to do with Vanessa having apparently betrayed Sir Malcom's daughter Nina previously.

While Dorian takes center stage, and shows undue interest in Chandler the good Doctor Frankenstein has issues of his own with the monster he created, it's apparently immortal and wants Victor to knock up a mate for it. Victor of course points out that lady parts don't grow on trees and it might take him a while to get the necessary body parts in order to knock up creation number three. The monster proving it's an icy day in the Antarctic, okay that literary reference fell a bit flat, isn't in the mood or a prolonged engagement and demands some movement at the station. Either the murder rate is about to go up again in London, or Victor is going to have to come up with a plan to divest his monster portfolio. Anyone who has read the book or seen one of the million film adaptations knows this is all going to end in tears.

Anyone else noticing Penny Dreadful has about a zillion and one subplots with about every character having some groovy supernatural link? It's like the old Yank show Dark Shadows, just how outrageous can things go before the Producers decide it's time to pull the handbrake on additional characters with something hidden in the closet. I'm waiting to discover that Brona has escaped from a coven of witches or something, anything is possible. There's a couple of elements in the first half of the season that seem padding, but given the otherwise excellent production are probably going to get real important as the clock ticks down to the end of the season. The whole Brona Croft thing seems unnecessary to the story besides motivating Ethan Chandler to join Sir Malcolm in some paid night work. With Frankenstein needing some meat for the grindstone we may discover Billie Piper will be reading the employment adds sooner rather than later, just a hunch there. Equally the whole Sir Malcolm expedition to find the source of the Nile, introduced this episode, seems a little too convenient considering the big bad may well be evil Egyptian deities! Notably Sir Malcolm is planning to take Chandler with him while he doesn't want to put Frankenstein in harm's way by including him. Vanessa is rather bitchy in declaring it all a pipe dream with Sir Malcolm having no real intention of making the journey, intriguing to say the least.

Demimonde introduces yet another character from Bram Stoker's seminal classic Dracula in the form of Van Helsing, who reverts to more of an academic role than the recent portrayal of the character as all action. Van Helsing clearly knows a lot more about vampirism than Sir Malcolm's Scooby gang but is surprisingly reluctant in coming forward with the arcane knowledge the team may need in the near future. Part of this could be the general disbelief in vampires, Penny Dreadful is definitely subtle in certain areas, but equally it could be he is still learning about the undead and is not ready to make firm statements. Either way it's going to be well past intriguing to see how the character fits into the increasingly convoluted matrix that is being woven into an all engrossing story line.

Episode four is less about action and moving the plot forward and more about exposing more details on certain characters. I was engrossed for the entire hour running time but can imagine the attention deficit brigade getting slightly perturbed as a few shocks were sent our way and a whole bunch of hints dropped onto our laps. For sure I'll be rocking out to the next episode, not quite sure where this one is headed to be honest, and once again am going to underline "recommended" to readers. This is serious horror for adults, thus far loving every single frame sent my way in the first half of the season, fingers crossed the production values are kept up during the second half. Bets are going down in the Sminds' bunker as to which literary character will be thrown our way next, for mine Jonathan Harker needs to make the scene.

ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ...

Just how complex can the plot get before things start to be deciphered?