PENNY DREADFUL season 2 picks up right from season one ends as a new evil menace in the form of the Nightcomers lead by Evelyn Poole (aka Mistress Kali) with the goal of delivering Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) to the Master Lucifer   Vanessa grows closer to Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) in her most vulnerable state as a determined Scotland Yard inspector is looking to get Ethan for all of the bodies at the Inn where he was staying.   Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) is seduced by Evelyn while Victor Frankenstein falls for the resurrected Brona now known as Lily (Billie Piper).  The original creature named John Clare takes a job at the Waxworks Museum with all intention in due time to take Lily with him, but his plans will go awry.  Meanwhile, the immortal Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) gets involved with a transsexual/ transvestite named Angelique.

 

Season 2 explores the world of PENNY DREADFUL further while playing homage to the classic Universal monsters/ literary characters and giving a look into Vanessa Ives past (and a reveal of Ethan Chandler’s real name you don’t want to miss).   Dorian Gray continues to descend into darker places as he looks for new desires and loves.   The Nightcomers fracture the relationships between the main characters while Victor Frankenstein gives into his own desires despite what his creature (John Clare) might do.  I think this season holds up with the first season despite they missed out on a moment viewers would expect to happen when Brona is resurrected as Lily, but John Logan always come sup with something in the plot to make sure it doesn’t happen.  Timothy Dalton is strong as Sir Malcolm, but Eva Green still steals the show as the fragile Vanessa Ives who fights against her own demons.   Josh Hartnett pulls out his best acting of his career and I think it has to do with the maturing of his acting ability.  I eagerly wait to see where they take season 3 with how they ended the second season and the introduction of new characters like Dr. Jekyll. 

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

All extras are on DISC 3-

 

VIDEO PRDOUCTION BLOGS:

WELCOME BACK- a brief behind-the-scenes look at the making of season 2

CHOREOGRAPHY- a behind-the-scenes look at the dance choreography

THE BLOOD BALL- how they filmed the blood ball sequence with using the actual set, filming against green screen and raining blood on the actors to combine the two in post production

BRONA BECOMES LILY- a behind-the-scenes look at preparing actress Billie Piper to be Lily at the beginning of the day from make-up to hair to costume

WAXWORKS MUSEUM- a look at the Waxworks sets and the creation of the waxworks wax dummies (including one set using real actors sitting incredibly still)

WEREWOLF PROSTHETICS- a behind-the-scenes look at the werewolf make-up for Josh Hartnett’s character Ethan Chandler

 

DREADFULS ROUNDTABLE WITH REEVE CARNEY- Reeve Carney (the actor who plays Dorian Gray) discusses the show with six PENNY DREADFUL fans

HISTORY OF THE OCCULT- a brief two minute history of the occult

 

CHARACTER PROFILES where actors talk briefly about their respective characters:

VANESSA IVES, DORIAN GRAY, SIR MALCOLM MURRAY, EVELYN POOLE, VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, SEMBENE, THE CREATURE, LILY

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  Season 2 of PENNY DREADFUL is as addictive as the first season and I can’t wait to see where season 3 will take the viewers as new characters like Dr. Jekyll are introduced.  This show is an emotionally charged drama where the characters are always at the mercy of their emotions and the seduction by their down desires and the temptation of evil.

 

This review is ©10-24-2015 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

Like Enterline Media on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/enterlinemediaweb and follow on tumblr at http://enterlinemedia.tumblr.com