‘Penny Dreadful’ season 3, episode 1 review: Dracula, Dr. Jekyll, and the return of Patti LuPone
It has been a while since we’ve had new episodes of “Penny Dreadful”, but the series is back today with a brand new season. What has been happening with Vanessa, Ethan, and Victor? Also, are you ready to meet some more infamous fictitious characters like Dr. Jekyll, Dracula and Renfield? Let’s dive in and see what season 3 has in store for us.
Vanessa: She hasn’t been doing well since Malcolm has left the house for a new expedition. Ferdinand has been trying to get in touch with her, but with no response he heads to her house to find her living in piles of dirty dishes, clothes and trash. He implores her to see the same shrink (Dr. Seward) that helped him through his own dark times and she seems thankful that he cares for her at a time when she feels the most alone.
She decides to see Dr. Seward and the moment that Vanessa sees her she is immediately drawn to her. Dr. Seward is a distant relative of Joan Clayton (played by the same actress Patti LuPone) and has pretty much the same no nonsense attitude as Joan as well. The way that Dr. Seward dissected what is wrong with Vanessa was mesmerizing and is another reminder of why this show is one of the best series on television. After spending time with Dr. Seward, Vanessa is inspired to make a change and goes home, cleans the house and finally responds to Malcolm’s numerous letters. Seems that Dr. Seward is helping! What Vanessa doesn’t know is that Dr. Seward’s receptionist is Renfield and that he has been conscripted by Dracula, to provide him with any and all information about Vanessa.
Victor: He hasn’t been holding up very well either (he is lovesick and using drugs more frequently) and has asked his close friend Dr. Jekyll to come over for help. Victor tells him everything that has happened with his experiments, his monsters and the mess that he has created for his life. Jekyll asks why he has called him over after all of these years and Victor tells him that he needs his help to kill Lily, but Jekyll tells him that he is a different man now and that the angry student he used to know has been tamed. Jekyll instead offers to help Victor “tame” Lily as his medical focus has been on helping people curb their inner anger and Victor accepts – anything to make Lily to love him again, but if they fail Victor wants Lily dead.
Ethan: He has been brought back to America by the police and is being transported on a train to face his crimes… a train that also has one of the witches daughters on it. What the police weren’t expecting was that there are train robbers aboard that kill almost everyone on the train in order to kidnap Ethan and bring him to his father.
This was a wonderful premiere! Not only did we get to catch up on what everyone was up to in their lives (except Dorian and Lily), but we had the return of Patti LuPone who we absolutely love. We also had some new characters show up like Jekyll, Renfield and Dracula! We have alway sloved Dracula and it’s been a while since we’ve seen the group battle vampires. If the whole season is like the premiere, then we may be in for the best season of “Penny Dreadful” yet. Episode grade: A
What did you think of the season 3 premiere of “Penny Dreadful”? Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts on what you want to see happen this season.