Penny Dreadful
Season 3, Episode 2
Episode Title: Predators Far and Near
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar
Penny Dreadful contains: Sex & Nudity, Violence & Gore, Profanity, Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking, Frightening/Intense Scenes.
The second episode “Predators Far and Near”, starts with Dorian and Lily arriving to a store at night in the busy streets of London. After paying the entrance fee, they enter a room with other men sitting down in a circle. While a masked man is waiting next to the group of men and the new arrivals, another man walks pulling a naked girl by his side. It seems that the purpose of the place is BDSM and to see the girl being tortured by the masked man, for the pleasure of those who paid for the show. Before the masked man can start, Dorian pulls a gun and shoots him dead and Lily starts to stab the men that paid. After everyone is dead, she tells the girl that she is now hers.
In the New Mexico Territory, inspector Rusk and the junior inspector arrive at the sheriff’s office where they were supposed to take Ethan. Inspector Rusk insists on staying until he sees Ethan hang and the case is close. When the sheriff asks how he is going to find him, the inspector replies that he knows that Ethan’s going home, to Talbot Ranch. Without knowing, Hecate is sitting on a bench outside the sheriff’s office and overhears the conversation.
Vanessa arrives for her next appointment with Dr. Seward, at first she had to wait as there is another patient with the doctor, and Renfield asks her to fill a sheet with her information. For their session, Dr. Seward recorders their conversation, and this seems to upset Vanessa. Dr. Seward asks Vanessa about feelings and starting with her sins. Vanessa tells the doctor about her sins regarding Mina and the events of the last two seasons. When she finished, Vanessa looks shaken and like she cried the whole time. For her next homework, Dr. Seward tells her to do something that will make her happy. After Vanessa leaves, Dr. Seward has to control herself as she is also shaking because of what Vanessa told her.
After having a meal, Dr. Jekyll takes Victor to the mental institute where he works and shows him his lab. There he proposes to tame Lily with the experiments that he has been working in with the patients. Using a cocktail of serums and drugs that he uses to calm the manic patients.
In boat heading to America, Sir Malcolm watches as Kaetenay uses herbs and magic to enter a dreamlike state to communicate with Ethan. Kaetenay explains to Sir Malcolm how he met Ethan and the circumstances that led to their meeting. In the dream, he learns that Ethan is being taken to his family ranch and intends to finally confront his father. Ethan warns him to stay away from him, and that if he sees him he will kill him.
Back in London, Vanessa goes again to the museum and stay for a lecture that Dr. Sweets is presenting. He notices her and asks questions to the group that he knows she will now about animals. After the lecture ends, they talk about things they like and historical people they admire. For Vanessa if Joan of Arc and for Dr. Sweets is Captain Nemo. Once she gets home, Vanessa reads the newspaper and finds something that makes her smile.
In Dorian’s apartment, the girl that they rescue wakes up and finds them dancing in the balloon room. We learn that her name is Justine and that from a young age, she was sold and forced to prostitute. Lily talks with her about her life when she was Brona and tells her that she can be more and that one she will get her revenge against those that hurt her.
Victor and Dr. Jekyll experiment with a patient that has manic outburst and made comments against killing the Queen. Dr. Jekyll injects the patients with a serum that causes him to pass out and to later wake up as a different person without memory of his episodes.
In the Museum, Dr. Sweets receives an invitation from Vanessa to attend a viewing of Captain Nemo’s adventures with a projector. They have a fun time, and walk down the street for a while. Once they part ways, Vanessa feels that somebody is following her. She doesn’t notice that the young man from the other day is still following her.
Victor sits in front of Dorian’s apartment until Lily sees him and goes out to talk with him. She tells him that he shouldn’t be there. Victor tells her that he is trying to save her, but she replies that he cannot anymore, and not to come back again, as he might not like what she is becoming.
Back in the New Mexico Territory, the group of bandits stop at an inn for the night and supplies. An American woman talks with Ethan as she was part of Kaetenay, and he ask about his whereabouts because it’s a full moon, Ethan tells her to leave the room and transforms. He kills most of the bandits, but one it going to shot him in the back and Hecate transform as a Nightcomers appears from a walk and kills him and other. Once everyone is dead, she says hello to Ethan.
That night Renfield hears the recording of Vanessa’s sessions with Dr. Seward. Once Vanessa gets home, she writes a letter to Sir Malcolm and tells him about her day. While she narrates the letter, Renfield goes back to the warehouse and to tell Dracula what he learned. The boy and young man that stalk Vanessa are there, and Dracula appears. The episode ends with Renfield feeding blood from Dracula and the viewers learning that Dracula is Dr. Alexander Sweets.
In Predators Far and Near, we learn who really is Dracula and that once again Vanessa is being lied to get to her. It was interesting to also learn that Lily has memories of her past life as Brona, I wonder if she sometimes wants to see Ethan. In this season we are seeing more and more of Ethan’s werewolf transformation and I have started to notice that he seems to have more control over it, and keep his memories. I liked how the writers combined the native American mythology with Ethan’s story, and his family. I still wonder how he was bitten or convert into a werewolf, or was he simply born with that. Justine is a character that I still don’t know what purpose she is going to have, for some reason I feel that she would try to kill Dorian so she can stay only with Lily. Poor Vanessa, she just wants to be happy and everyone she met is a dark entity in disguise. What did you think of the second episode of Penny Dreadful? Did you have your suspicions about Dr. Sweets? Tells us in the comments.
