She could not come back to herself and could only be redeemed by a merciful death.
#EVA GREEN PENNY DREADFUL SEANCE SERIES#
This conversation is even relevant in terms of Vanessa’s death in the series finale, because in the end, she, like Mina, was too far gone to be saved. She is unwilling to let go of her connection to the demonic side of the divine, which is essentially what propels the series into the following two seasons. But after the conversation with the priest, we learn a dark truth about Vanessa: she does not really want to change. On first viewing her story, Vanessa is a deeply private, haunted, conflicted, and tortured figure. The episode ends here, and with the continuation of the series, we can assume that, regardless of what Vanessa said, she was not ready to let go of her glorious suffering or her sacred connection with the “back hand of God.” After watching this scene a few times, I realized that this moment recontextualizes Vanessa’s entire narrative in the first season. She parts her lips as if to speak, but freezes again then, almost imperceptibly, she exhales. She looks down, away from him she looks up and takes a shallow breath. His question is met with complete silence.
Makes you sacred in a way, doesn’t it? Makes you unique, with a kind of glory. If you have been touched by the demon, it’s like being touched by the backhand of God. But before we say another word, you must look into your heart and you must answer me a question. It could take months, or years, or always, or never. Even if it can be verified, this is a long, grueling, and dangerous thing you ask. Before we continue our conversation, my dear, there is one thing you must understand. It was, uh, well, a community event, you might say. The parish decided upon the rite of exorcism. Priest: You know, back in Wales, where I’m from, there was a boy who was ill. He cannot maintain his priestly posture and says, Priest: I believe more in sickness that can be treated. Priest: I believe in the devil, if that’s what you mean. Vanessa: Do you believe a soul can be taken over by another? That you can lose yourself to something dark?
Vanessa: Those things of which I am capable. She asks to speak with him in private and they walk to his office, which is where the scene begins.Īfter briefly exchanging a few pleasantries, their conversation takes a dark turn. A group of choir children sings “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as Vanessa approaches a priest (Henry Goodman), who is never named. In the final minutes of the episode, the story turns to Vanessa, who enters a church. The scene takes place immediately after a brief montage depicting individual members of the main cast as they grapple with the aftermath of the previous night’s events. The first portion of this episode is dramatic, exciting, and thoroughly entertaining, but the end of this episode catches me by surprise every time I watch it. Ultimately, they realize Mina cannot be saved-she has become a full-fledged vampire, and Sir Malcolm is forced to kill her. After the main cast ventures to the theater, they slaughter (and are almost slaughtered by) many vampires, including the one who captured Mina. In a dream, Vanessa discovers that Mina is being held captive in the Grand Guignol theater. It takes place at the end of the Season 1 finale, in the episode “Grand Guignol.”Īt this point in the story, Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton), Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), and Sembene (Danny Sapani) have been working with Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) and Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) to discern the whereabouts of Sir Malcom’s daughter, Mina (Olivia Llewellyn), who was captured by a vampire. That being said, there is one conversation in the first season that is my favorite in the entire series. Although I have mixed feelings about the subsequent seasons, I have watched the first season numerous times. Before I watched Penny Dreadful, I hadn’t enjoyed a dramatic series, supernatural or otherwise, in quite a long time , and after I finished the pilot episode I was immediately hooked. It’s well-paced, the characters are well-developed and intriguing (as are their relationships), and the world of Victorian London is stark, cold, mysterious, and charming. But I did mention that, for me, the first season is nearly perfect from start to finish. The first time I wrote about Penny Dreadful, I discussed my mixed of feelings about the series finale and my overall disappointment in third season. This week, Daniel Siuba looks at a scene from the end of the first season of Penny Dreadful, focusing on the character of Vanessa Ives.
In this article series, we’ll be looking at such scenes, how they are crafted to inform the show around them, and what makes them indelible. Beyond the great seasons and episodes of TV, sometimes a single scene sticks in the mind.
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