Thursday, June 04, 2015

Recap/Review: Penny Dreadful's 2x05: Above The Vaulted Sky

Something of a sexy and intimate episode with a little glimmer into the past of a certain character, I really liked this one.

Written by John Logan
Directed by Damon Thomas


Closing In: The great thing about this episode was that we seemed to learn a lot more about Ethan without anything being totally confirmed. During the scene where they dealt with the aftermath of Hecate's night visit (and figuring out why Vanessa's hair was needed), Ethan seemed to reveal that he had a less than savory history with Native Americans and the episode also had him and Detective Rusk meet up with some interesting cat and mouse moments between the two. Rusk clearly knows that Ethan's behind the massacre but doesn't know how to prove it though. As for Ethan and Vanessa, well this episode seemed to draw them closer to each other, especially during the end scenes.


Three Is & Isn't A Crowd: A difference in three way scenes this week. On one hand, you had more hostility between Caliban and Victor and then Lily barely containing her unease with the former and then there was the delightful afternoon tea scene with Vanessa, Victor and Lily, which seemed so light and fun for all of them. Even though it was slightly frustrating that Vanessa didn't recognise Lily as Brona from last season, I did like her later scene with Caliban where they discussed poetry, love and shared a dance. Away from Victor, Caliban is a far more enjoyable character. As for Victor - well, the end of this episode drew him and Lily a lot closer together than before.


Spell On Him: While this episode didn't see Evelyn continue with her torture of Vanessa, there were other interesting avenues in which it did explore. First of all, there does seem to be something of a power struggle brewing between her and daughter Hecate, which I guess will lead further trouble in the latter half of the season. Also when Evelyn wasn't terrorising Malcolm's estranged wife (more on that shortly), she also enchanted him to having sex with her during the end of the episode itself. Fun as all of Evelyn's scheming is, I think we're due another face to face with her and Vanessa now.


Seeing The Dead: I've got to be honest, I didn't greatly care for Malcolm's estranged wife during her previous appearance this season but in this episode, I did feel a tad sorry for her. Evelyn took her usual torment of Vanessa and then upped it big time with Malcolm's estranged wife by having see both Peter and Mina prior to the woman killing herself. As a subplot, it was certainly effective and clearly important in order for Evelyn to further sink her claws into Malcolm.


Intimacy: This was probably the most sexual episode we've had in the show so far. While Ethan and Vanessa didn't actually get it on, their scene on the staircase had a certain sizzle to it and this episode alone had Victor and Lily have sex as well as Malcolm and Evelyn (though that was coercion). Then there was Dorian and Angelique. The latter was publicly humiliated by a former client and in this episode, Dorian could've rejected Angelique but instead, the two of them became closer than before. I really loved the scenes with both characters this week and while this story is still too seperated from the main action, it's still a wonderful one to watch regardless.

Next week Dorian hosts a ball, Evelyn and Vanessa cross paths and Ethan's secrets look like they're about to come out.

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