Penny Dreadful Season 2 Review

Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)
Season 2 - 10 Episodes (2015)

Penny Dreadful Season 2

Watch Penny Dreadful on Netflix
Created by: John Logan
Starring:  Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Eva Green, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper
Rating: TV-MA 

Plot: 
Supernatural myths and legends converge in Victorian, London, with vampires, Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and more.
In season two it's the devil, not a vampire, that wants Vanessa Ives. We also get a wax museum, Frankenstein's bride, and a werewolf added to the mythology.

Verdict
It's hard not to compare season two to the first because it's basically the same story with more episodes. Instead of vampires after Vanessa Ives, it's Satan. With all of the story lines that could have been told, this is disappointing. This show still relies heavily on setting, premise, and mythology which are still excellent. It's an enjoyable season, but stretches patience. This season is just too long and intentionally delays the plot to pad the episode count. It at least could have expanded the mythology and given us more monsters.
It depends.

Review
Why is the main plot the same one from season one that focuses on Vanessa (Eva Green)? It's the same plot stretched to ten episodes. Season one felt stretched at eight episodes, and season two is even worse. It would at least be easier to accept if it was a side story. I assumed Ethan's (Josh Hartnett)  story would play a larger part this season. Though, it seems strange that his predicament only manifests now. The Mariner's Massacre could have been a good plot line. Caliban's arc this season was well done and the right length.

How Vanessa became a witch.

This season reworks the initial season for more punch. Vanessa is up against Satan's minions or witches, and the demons are particularly unsettling. They can change their appearance and even blend with their surroundings. They're naked, scarred, bald women with crazy eyes.
Half of this series seems to be adding makeup to make Eva Green look terrible. What's the fascination? This season, like the first, adds a flashback episode. At least that episode wasn't Vanessa chained to a bed the whole time.

Based on the first season, I thought Mina disappearing and Vanessa joining Murray (Timothy Dalton) happened much quicker. Episode three makes it look like Vanessa apprenticed for a few years under a witch before joining him.

The side stories include Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) creating a bride, Caliban (Rory Kinnear) getting a job at a wax museum, and Murray falling in love with Satan's head minion. The wax museum is entirely fitting for this series and Caliban's arc is one of the better ones. His betrayal was surprising and saddening, though that's not quite the end of his arc.

Vanessa and Ethan yet again.

This season has a lot of plot symmetry. Dialog between characters is even mirrored. Everyone falling in love is a big one. There's a love quadrilateral between Lily, Frankenstein, Caliban, and Dorian. It was easy to see that pileup was going to lead to animosity.
Dorian didn't seem to have much of a role this season other than being a mirror for Caliban. We do finally see Dorian's painting. I was afraid it would be lackluster, but it was good. Dorian is certainly more malevolent than expected. He and Lily end up forming the premiere power couple much to Frankenstein's chagrin.

Look at all the voo doo dolls.

No one is ever in a hurry in this show. It takes them forever to figure out the puzzle. The main witch is in no hurry with her voodoo dolls. I will give the show credit, I didn't expect to see voodoo dolls.

This main story worked in the shorter season one, but this season needs some smaller milestones, something to generate momentum. Maybe it's that this show isn't made for streaming. Waiting a week in between episodes would increase my anticipation to where I'd appreciate just getting to see the show. This show loses focus on the goal. The second half has a stretch of filler before getting back on track with episode nine.

Ready for the big fight.

Episode nine opens with a crazy fight between Ethan, Vanessa, and the bounty hunter. This is one of the better episodes as it begins tying up the plots for the big battle in episode ten. Ethan and Vanessa return to London and prepare for the final face off. I didn't like Sambene's arc though.

This could have been a really good seven or eight episode season, and I would have liked it even more if the plot this season didn't feel like a remake of season one.  The setting and premise are still awesome, but the stories don't match in quality. Just shortening the season would have alleviated most of my complaints.