Penny Dreadful - 'Predators Far and Near'

"I was going to avenge my people, but I got high."

Lily and Dorian return this week to open the show with a burst of egregious violence. Attending a live torture porn show, they bust out, murder the 'butcher' and his wealthy patrons and rescue the 'star turn'. The scene is interesting in large part for the characters' very different styles of murder, Dorian of course being an immaculate headshot ninja, while Lily is all about the knife. I suspect that the fact that only one of them is touched by what they do in any way will start to strain the relationship eventually.

Kaetenay contacts Ethan through dream magic, and Ethan dream-tries to dream-strangle his ersatz father. He threatens to scalp him, which the older man dismisses as a cheap Comanche scare tactic not worthy of an apache. We learn that Ethan came to Kaetenay covered in the blood of his family, and that he also killed a senator's son. Kaetenay explains to Sir Malcolm that he hated Ethan too much to let him die, and Malcolm compares this to his relationship with Vanessa.

Time of the month again.

Ethan is being taken to his father and waiting until the moon waxes. One of Kaetenay's people recognises him and he warns her to leave the room, then kills everyone else. One of his captors almost gets a shot of, but Heckaty-poo witches out of the wall and kills him. This makes two curb-stomp massacres in the space of a single episode.

Ethan is also being pursued by Inspector Rusk, who refuses to hand responsibility over to the US Marshals, apparently because he's a dick. Seriously, he's all 'Imperial matter' and putting the boot in on national sovereignty.

Jekyll introduces Frankenstein to his work in calming violent insanity at Bedlam, demonstrating on a man named Balfour. It's clear that he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about being dissed for his race after his dad abandoned his mother, and I suspect some fools are going to die over that one. Frankenstein sneaks off to see Lily and is all pathetic at her, which oddly doesn't win her back. Meanwhile Lily and Dorian are recruiting their foundling into their crusade of revenge and dancing in circles around the ballroom. Again.

Honestly, it's a bit early for this reveal to have much punch.

Vanessa unburdens herself to Dr Seward, who amazingly doesn't freak the fuck out and call on Dr Jekyll at once. She instead advises Vanessa to for the love of God do something fun. Vanessa calls on Dr Sweet once more and invites him to a show after learning of his love for Jules Verne (I'm slightly disappointed that Nemo appears to be fictional.) He refuses coffee and goes off to listen to the wax cylinders of her talking to Seward, for he is Dracula!

Now, we don't know yet if he's, like, proper Dracula, or if Dracula is using him as some sort of puppet or meatsuit and when he meets Vanessa he really is, well, Sweet. I suspect the latter, especially since otherwise putting the reveal this early lets the tension down too soon.

But Lily and Dorian are back, still dancing in circles, but I don't want to set their house on fire just to watch them burn, and that's not nothing.