![]() ![]() Penny Dreadful’s version of Dr Jekyll is far and away my favourite adaptation of the character, even despite the poor way his narrative arc (such as it was) concluded. Following that logic, season 4’s big bad should have been Dr Jekyll/ Mr Hyde, and season 5 it should be Dracula again (I’ll get to that in a little bit). The big bad in season 1 was Dracula, in season 2 it was Madame Kali, and season 3 it was Dracula again. They could team up with Dracula, or bring his brother Lucifer to earth (more on them later)? So many options… The show never went anywhere with their dynamic, despite their huge potential as ‘Big Bads’ perhaps they could have even shared their creator’s penchant for resurrecting the dead and bring back some of our dearly-departed characters: including (and I’m just spitballing here), Sembene, Proteus, Angelique, Mina, Madame Kali, Van Helsing – or create new beings who would end up being even more characters from classic lit. Where was the much-heralded Creature Coup? Where was Lily’s vengeance on Victor and humankind? Where was Caliban’s realisation to be careful what you wish for? The potential was so squandered it HURTS. Cut to the next episode, and Lily/ Caliban NEVER SPOKE TO OR EVEN MENTIONED EACH OTHER AGAIN. The Dorian/ Ethan romance was one the other, equally egregious, was the Lily/ Caliban connection that was beautifully, brutally teased in Billie Piper’s exceptionally powerful speech to a cowering Caliban in season 2, preaching promises of revolution and revenge on humanity (and fulfilling book!Victor’s fears about the dangers of copulating creations). Penny Dreadful had somewhat of a bad habit in introducing amazing plot threads before dropping them like a hot poker, sometimes in the very next episode. And I know not everything needs a backstory, but it would have been interesting to see how the Orderly came to be Victor’s first creature – did Victor off him like he did Brona, or was there something else to his death? Perhaps Caliban would have been the only one to interact with Victor thereafter, adding more complexity to their relationship, and finally building a kind of familial bond between them, the sort that Caliban has always craved. It would lead to a chilling parallel between Victor and his creature, with Victor finally being as ostracised and condemned as Caliban was. Had the main group found out about Victor’s crimes, most of them probably would have shunned him – or at least indefinitely suspended him from the Scooby Gang. ![]() Would Ethan despise Victor, or forgive him? Would he be angry, or vengeful? Or would he feel sympathy, especially given that he killed someone he loved (albeit at her request) at the end of season 3? What would Ethan think of Victor for killing Brona? Their romance was such a sweet, innocent thing in a world riddled with darkness and sin, and not to have them reunite as their ‘new’ selves was such a waste of good build-up. The fact that the core group never found out about Victor’s dodgy dealings with dead bodies was one of series’ cardinal sins. The whole Frankenstein plot was intriguing, and mostly handled well, but often wasn’t. *SPOILERS FOR PENNY DREADFUL SEASONS 1-3 BELOW*įirst and foremost, we have to talk about Victor. ![]() Penny Dreadful was a five series show that only got three, and here’s how I would have handled the two seasons it was tragically denied. I still highly recommend the show, especially to anyone with even the vaguest interest in the Gothic, or anyone who wants to see a better version of the League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Secrets that should have been revealed, weren’t, and characters who should have met, didn’t. For one, I was always annoyed that the main cast didn’t ever fully ‘assemble’. I love Penny Dreadful very much, but it had many faults and missed opportunities that still plague me. ![]() One of the very first posts I ever uploaded to my blog was a review of Penny Dreadful, in which I enthused over the Gothic decadence and intriguing introspection of this singular series. ![]()
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