Recap/Review: Penny Dreadful's 1x06: What Death Can Join Together

It might have been four days ago when Father's Day happened but when one show wasn't having a character murder their father on the latrine, this show had something else in mind during an episode where some crazy stuff went down.

Written by John Logan
Directed by Coky Giedroyc

Roleplay Time: This must be a thing with Dorian Gray - appear in an even episode and cop off with a main cast member. He did this with Brona in Seance, Ethan in Demimonde and now Vanessa in this episode with some interesting results. The results being that the demon inhabiting her body took over and gave Dorian quite a memorable night before scarpering into the night. This episode tapped into Dorian's unique abilities and certainly gave him a tiny bit more scope as a character but the lack of continuity between him and Ethan was something of a disappointment though. As for Vanessa - Malcolm really did pick the wrong time to finally come out and be honest with, didn't he?

A Long Uneasy Life: This episode so much as didn't have Van Helsing blurt this sentiment out to Victor but actually delivered on it too when Caliban decided to make good on his warning. I have to admit I'm a bit miffed that Van Helsing was taken out so quickly and not just because he was being a better mentor and father figure to Victor than Malcolm has been but because I thought he would've been instrumental when the Master eventually made himself known. Still, he did give Victor the heads up on vampires and we did learn the true circumstances behind Hannah's death but I can't help feeling that Van Helsing should've been at least spared until the finale though.

At Death's Door: Keeping with the theme of death here, Brona really does seem to be on her last legs here and while Billie Piper's Northern Irish accent hasn't greatly improved since her introduction in the second episode, I do at least still care about Brona as a character. I even kind of like her and Ethan together, with the latter vowing to stick by her side and lamenting over condition to Malcolm as well. With only two episodes left to go, either Brona will wind up being our first main casualty or she'll end up becoming Caliban's bride. The latter does seem the more likely at this rate.

Not A Rival: Bit of a dividing episode for Caliban. On the downside, his petulant and homicidal demands for Victor to make him a bride are not doing him any favours (did he really need to attack Van Helsing?) but on the other hand, I did enjoy his scene with Maude (Hannah Tointon) and it seemed like she had some genuine sympathy for his plight, even if she later dismissed the idea of having any romantic feelings for him to her soon to be husband though. Right now, I get the impression that either Maude or Brona will end up becoming Caliban's bride in the next two episodes and not by choice either.

Oh Look There's Mina: This episode should've been one to have caused multiple shocks for Malcolm. Let's see - we had the end scene with a possessed Vanessa making herself known to the game hunter, we had Ethan standing up to him in a manner that was impressive for his character, Sembene managed to utter more than two words (mostly giving him a dire warning about Mina's fate) and then during a fairly impressive fight with vampires, we actually saw Mina. I thought they would've left that one for the last episode but I was pleasantly surprised they didn't though. Now it's time to see this Master and be done with. And sort out Vanessa's current possessed state too.

Next week a possessed Vanessa creeps everyone out and perhaps Sembene might get to say more. One can hope, right?