Fresh Hell Plot Summary:
On the second season premiere of Penny Dreadful, titled “Fresh Hell,” Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) comes back to some new evil haunting Vanessa (Eva Green), while Ethan (Josh Hartnett) tries to battle the beast within.
Looks like Penny Dreadful may be offering some “fresh hell” to its viewers.
While Season One was an interesting take on some of the more dark, and gothic tales that we have heard throughout our entire lives, something about this season premiere didn’t sit right with me.
The action and mystery that surrounded the first season was enthralling and the take on the show itself was fresh, original, and extremely underrated (in regards to viewership). Each week was better than the last. We were captivated by both the mystery behind what all the characters were, and the hunt for Sir Malcolm’s daughter raged on. Simply put, the show was filled with great stories, and it set things for season to come. However, now it appears as if a sophomore slump has hit this fresh and tantalizing show.
Sex, action, and dark twisted tales made the show what it was during the first season, but this episode seemed to focus way too much on the melodramatic side of things. There were way too many confusing elements to the plot. I felt as if I had to keep a notepad handy to keep up with all the different stories this episode was trying to tell, and it was disappointing to say the least.
The stories weren’t nearly as exciting as they were last season, even when you know the show is trying very hard to make them so. The soap opera feel of the episode was so strong I had to check and make sure I was watching Showtime and not a telenovela.
However, with the bad comes some good. The acting from the usual suspects, Eva Green and Timothy Dalton, was off the charts. A special mention goes to Rory Kinnear as Caliban aka Frankenstein’s monster for his particularly moving performance during this episode.
Green adds something special to this show, which isn’t surprising due to how many times she has stolen the show throughout her career. Her talent is beyond any words I could write, and watching her on the small screen is a delight. However, it would be greatly appreciated if they gave her more scenes with less crying and being scared, and more scenes with the powerful attitude she held early last season.
These performances were part of the reason of that made Penny such an amazing show, but sadly now they may be the only thing keeping the show going.
The writing this episode was too loud to ignore, especially with all the drama and confusing/unnecessary plotlines it was throwing at us. Jumping from vampires, to demons, to the devil, to a new villain in town, to just more and more plotlines that are unnecessary to begin with. The mystery surrounding Green’s Vanessa was one of the driving points of the first season, keeping the show fresh and on its toes. This season it seems a bit overdone and very dramatic…way too dramatic. Green does an amazing job at really making you feel for her character and she adds a certain realness to Vanessa that you didn’t know could be achieved in a show all about the supernatural. Yet, this season it seems like the writers are trying too hard to up the dramatic level of her story. You aren’t sure who to feel worse for, Vanessa or the viewers who have to watch more and more confusing plotlines thrown at them.
Most scenes, including the ones with Vanessa, just got more and more confusing — and it’s only the first episode. I know that the show has to set up some sort of story to get the audience ready for more to come, but this was just too much to chew even for the vampires in the show.
However, one scene in the episode caught my eye, and saved me from a huge headache I was already getting with trying to keep up with the new monsters in town and trying to deal with the drama that would put high school gossip to shame.
The scene involving Kinnear’s Caliban roaming the streets looking for work, ashamed of what he is and how he looks was a particularly moving, and sympathetic scene. The look he had in his eyes, the way he positioned his body to hide his face from the public, and the way he talked just added to the character and made for a completely perfect performance. His story is something I am extremely excited for, and is the one to watch this season.
All in all, I would say this episode was a huge let down from what the show presented to audiences last season. The writing was too dramatic for my taste, and the show just felt like some sort of puzzle I would get frustrated with within ten minutes and throw in the trash. It felt like I was watching a later season episode of True Blood, and that isn’t a compliment in any shape or form. However, the acting in the episode is something worth watching, especially the scene with Caliban, who is already destined to be a fan favorite for his likeable/unlikeable qualities. Hopefully the writers will remember what made Penny so special to begin with, the action and interesting plotlines involving popular dark lore. But as for now, it appears we are only left with some stale hell instead of the fresh one we were promised.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Penny Dreadful airs Sundays on Showtime.
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Laura Dengrove is the one of youngest members of the Pop-Break staff and is a critic for television/movies of all types on Pop-Break. She’s in her first year at college where she will be studying to obtain her bachelors degree at Rutgers University for Journalism/Public Relations. She was the editor for the Arts and Entertainment section of her school newspaper, runs her own blog (Pop Culture Darling), and interns for Design New Jersey. She also has an in-depth knowledge about all things True Blood and an avid Eric and Sookie shipper =============================================================================================================
