A single field which I have look’d upon,
Both of them speak of something that is gone:
The pansy at my feet
Doth the same tale repeat:
Whither is fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now, the glory and the dream?”
-William Wordsworth, Ode: Intimations of Immortality, lines 52-57
Before I begin, it’s been great to review Penny Dreadful, even if I am a bit late to the game. I’ll give one final shout-out to this show’s entire ensemble: Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Josh Hartnett, Rory Kinnear, Harry Treadaway, Billie Piper, Reeve Carney, Wes Studi, Patti LuPone, Danny Sapani, Simon Russell-Beale, Helen McCrory, Christian Camargo, Olivia Llewellyn, Shazad Latif, Douglas Hodge, Sarah Greene, Perdita Weeks, Samuel Barnett, Jessica Barden, and David Warner; executive producer Sam Mendes, co-writers Andrew Hinderaker and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, and of course creator and writer John Logan.
“The Blessed Dark” definitely feels like a series finale. It goes to lengths to impart a tone of resolution, and pulls out all the stops of an ending to a great story, from emotional departures, to a hard-fought battle, to a series of post-climactic scenes of wrap-up, cut together over grand music and sentimental narration. But as much as it appears a proper end to the series, and is rightfully worthy as such in a number of places, it’s not very tightly put together, and leaves some noticeable threads loose or unfulfilling.
Firstly, I loved the opening title sequence: really subdued and moody over that song being sung by a homeless woman. It’s atmospheric, highlighting the past season in its clips, and really set the tone for this being the end of the series.
Chandler and Kaetenay apparently massacred Dracula’s forces and he’s none too happy about this, because apparently there’s a prophecy he’ll be defeated by a wolf-man, his singular enemy. And yes, to my recollection this is the first we’re hearing of it. He’s nervous, but Vanessa who appears to be fairly firmly on his side (and intimidates his followers, I suppose she really is the “mother of darkness”), tells him not to worry, and to let Chandler come and try to steal her. It’s setting up that she’s going to trap him. Chandler meanwhile didn’t know that Kaetenay was a werewolf nor the fact that Kaetenay was the one who turned him into a werewolf. He’d seen his condition as a power he was given and received a vision about a son who could save them all …so he bit Ethan Chandler. This is a really big revelation to occur early in the final episode and have no repercussions. Aside from Chandler briefly turning on Kaetenay, only to quickly turn back in the knowledge he can save Vanessa in this form, it’s never brought up and is really pointless. The whole fact that Kaetenay is a werewolf is actually incredibly pointless, as it factors almost in no way into the resolution of this episode.
We then catch up on the gang at Bedlam where Seward seems to have Jeckyll’s serum, or one just like it for no clear reason, and uses it on Renfield to find Vanessa. She hypnotizes him as well, and like with Vanessa previously, inserts herself into his mind and memory. Walking with the former Renfield in the Chinese alley, she is able to talk frankly with him and discovers the location of Vanessa in the den of the vampires.
Not too far away, Jeckyll confronts Frankenstein for what he did, calling out his weakness. Abandoning his allegiance with Frankenstein, Jeckyll still intends to the use the serum on the inmates. Frankenstein accuses him of just being motivated out of a desire to be accepted, and that the serum won’t give him that. This racism motivator behind Jeckyll isn’t a bad idea per se, but his character never seemed to earn the drama inherent in that theme. And Jeckyll’s not as bad off as he makes seem, because as he tells Frankenstein, his father just died and he’s at last inherited the family title: Lord Hyde. And that’s as far as they go. To call this a wasted opportunity seems like an understatement, as in the grand scheme of the plot this character could’ve been anyone. Jeckyll is just the familiar name to entice viewers. But Shazad Latif has played him well, and the implication that he’ll continue to use the serum, as well as the way the Mr. Hyde reveal is handled, it feels like their deliberately trying to set up a spin-off. Which I’d be curious about, but there’s no way its going to happen given the ratings of this show. So it just winds up being an annoying wasted character. Frankenstein’s arc for the season is also up and is very underwhelming. I mean it doesn’t add a lot to his character, and in the end, just played out as you’d predict. It’s a shame because Harry Treadaway has always played this character great, and it really comes off that the writers didn’t know what to do with him this season.
It’s similarly disappointing how this episode wraps up Lily in a single scene, but for Dorian is actually quite good. She returns to Dorian’s home to find all the women gone and Justine dead on the floor. She bemoans the end of her enterprise with “one more dead child” proving her story to Frankenstein was true. Dorian it seems, has added a portrait of Justine to his wall and proceeds to tell Lily that he’s learnt to live without caring. He relates to her his reality of living immortally; how he’s seen ages pass and how she’ll outlive everyone she cares about. It’s a life alone and she’ll soon lose all compassion. It’s a very well-performed speech by Reeve Carney, and puts me in mind of Elrond’s message to Arwen in Lord of the Rings. He characterizes the person you become as a “perfect unchanging portrait of yourself”, and though we don’t actually see his picture again, the imagery is clear. Lily takes her leave of him and as she does, we get a tracking shot out of his ballroom as he says he’ll always be here. It’s definitely a fitting end for Dorian, leaving you with the knowledge he’s doomed to spend eternity there in his palace, but alone. The problem is this scene is also supposed to act as the final scene for Lily. I suppose there’s the implication she’s like Dorian now and will continue to endure, but he’s more in focus and we have a much clearer idea of what’s going to become of him. Lily just leaves, with her arc this season petering out with a whimper. Her revolution led exactly nowhere, the themes behind it with womens’ suffrage indecisive, and her character is just kind of left behind lost. If there was at least an attempt to tie some of these threads into the central plot, this season would feel more worth each storyline. But as is, with both this and the Frankenstein story ending quite poorly, it comes off more that they were excuses to keep the characters on the show. Though at least in Lily’s neck of the woods, they expanded character a little bit.
Caliban’s works a little better though. As was forecast from his first appearance, Jack finally succumbs in this episode. As Caliban laments how life can be so cruel to someone so young, Marjorie is not all that hurt. She tells Caliban to take his body to Frankenstein so Jack can be reanimated. Caliban of course, is horrified by this suggestion and refuses to put his son through it. But she, not sharing Caliban’s self-loathing, sees his resurrection as a wholly good thing and wants it for Jack. This really is the double-edged sword for Caliban reuniting with his family. Though Marjorie is happy to have him back, his presence has convinced her she has a sure-fire way of cheating death. And she’s become so convinced that this is right, because Caliban seems close enough to the man she loved, that she’s resolute. She tells him to take Jack’s body and come back with him alive or not come back at all. Caliban has no other choice. And so his life continues to be a tragedy, as just when he’s found love and acceptance, it’s ruined. But it does feel like a resolve for him, as he’s definitely learned from these experiences that he’ll never quite find the acceptance he sought, but maybe that’s okay as he at least for a time, got to experience it again.
Though Caliban misses out on the big action piece of the episode, Frankenstein joins it just in time. It’s rather clumsy and way too convenient when Frankenstein exits Jeckyll’s lab the same time Sir Malcolm and company leave Renfield. After a whole season apart, Sir Malcolm just expresses surprise and tells Frankenstein Vanessa needs their help. Despite having no contact with her in a while, Frankenstein joins them on a whim. It’s almost laughable. But it does lead to some real awesomeness. Sir Malcolm, Chandler, Kaetenay, Frankenstein, Seward, and Catriona get that cool group walk towards a place that looks a lot like the Grand Guignol. In fact, this climax really mirrors that of “Grand Guignol”. Chandler and Kaetenay go off to do their own thing, while the others prepare to confront Dracula head-on. While Seward and Catriona are prepared, Frankenstein as is noted, has no idea what to expect. Soon after, they pass through a slaughterhouse of naked bodies and into the great lair, they find Dracula who declares Vanessa is no longer theirs. Sir Malcolm asks for confirmation that Dracula was the one who took Mina, which Dracula affirms -and just to enrage him, says she meant no more to him than as a gateway to Vanessa. Sir Malcolm in an apparent change of plan, tells the others to leave, but Seward’s response of “fuck him” is great. Moments later, he tries to shoot Dracula and the night creatures swarm on them. The action here is great to watch as each character somehow gets through these hordes unscathed. Chandler and Kaetenay come in from underground meanwhile. And Chandler soon makes his way to a secret room full of lit candles and at the end of a long hall, Vanessa.
There’s been build-up to this point that Vanessa now belongs to Dracula, but here we see that it’s untrue. She doesn’t even seem to be a vampire despite his biting her two episodes ago. She’s very melancholy as she blames herself for the darkness inside her and despite Chandler’s insistence, there’s no one who can protect her. The way she sees it, her only option is to die and in her sacrifice, defeat the forces of evil. With hesitation, he lets her put his gun in his hand, they kiss, and say the Lord’s Prayer. Then he shoots her. As Vanessa Ives dies she says, “oh my god Ethan, I see our Lord”. This ending I can at least say I did not see coming. I expected a great three-way battle between Vanessa, Chandler, and Dracula and in comparison, this is definitely less climactic. And though I like the way with which this scene is shot and scored and acted (even from Josh Hartnett), the religious aspect feels a bit heavy-handed. Vanessa has been a character who’s struggled with faith, but for her to die chanting the Lords’ Prayer and comment on seeing Heaven, doesn’t feel like the best end for her character -it’s not what I thought this show was. The death of Vanessa is something I expected going into the finale, but not like this, and though its’ played well, I can’t help feel a little disappointed it wasn’t any more fitting. Chandler comes out with her body just as Dracula is strangling Sir Malcolm. The vampires upon seeing this flee, and the darkness lifts over London. Dracula presumably dies but it’s not entirely clear.
“The Blessed Dark”, let’s not kid ourselves, is a disjointed finale. The resolutions to two major story arcs are disappointing and just about prove themselves irrelevant. The main story is also problematic, as despite some good action, a decently-paced climax, and some good cinematography, its’ big character arc though better ended, leaves something to be desired. Characters like Seward and especially Catriona Hartdegan don’t amount to a ton of significance (Seward’s connection to the Cut-Wife is incidental at most; and Catriona, for such an interesting, built-up character had no more importance overall than just as a means for Vanessa to learn Dracula’s true identity). This was an episode that proved this season gave itself too much to balance in terms of stories, characters, and themes, and the result is a bit of a mess. But not an unredeemable one. The performances from Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, and Rory Kinnear are great. I was even surprised by Christian Camargo, Reeve Carney, and Josh Hartnett. Also Wes Studi and Patti LuPone of course. A few character arcs end very well, there are a number of great moments, and the ending is absolutely brilliant.
Still, “The Blessed Dark” didn’t quite do justice to a series like Penny Dreadful, which is a let-down. This episode is okay at best, but the series overall was pretty good. Not great, by any stretch of the imagination, it still had gaping flaws and some poor choices, but an interesting series that gave us a unique take on literary figures and Victorian horror. It’s not, as it may have appeared initially, merely a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen rip-off. It’s more like a collection of Gothic poetry brought to life by Hammer Horror; a medley of gratuitous tales strung together in a mimicking of high art; a Penny Dreadful written in the 21st century for the screen. And though it’s had some missteps, it’s been worth much more than the penny along the way.
Do take a sober colouring from an eye
That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality;
Another race hath been, and other palms are won.
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.”
-William Wordsworth, Ode: Intimations of Immortality, lines 201-208
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