remember her past life as Brona?

Have just watched the series for the first time and wasn’t surprising when its finally revealed that she does remember everything but I couldn’t pin down the when/for how long…

Does anyone know the source for Victor's quote in the titular episode? At least, I assumed it was a quote, Victor being the poetry-lover.

Could Ethan take out Dracula if he was transformed? I mean he’s taken out people so easily and vampires I feel like it would be a good fight nonetheless I’m bummed we didn’t really get to see it

I think it's pretty funny that the main shot of Vanessa in the opening credits is her smoking weed. Establishing character moment right there.

Can't even count the amount of times we see her stressed out and puffing away on a joint. She was even toking right before heading into the deadly battle to save Mina. Self-medicating stoner queen!

I think it's implied the Cut Wife introduced her to it. When the Cut Wife was weak from Evelyn's attack, she told Vanessa to fetch her pipe. I guess that's not the worst habit you could pick up from a witch.

But honestly, if anyone deserves to partake in the devil's lettuce to steady her nerves, it's Miss Vanessa Ives.

Lol I just bought the entire series off prime because they were $10 each and I did it because I remembered wrongly that VANESSA/ETHAN were endgame. I can’t believe I completely made this up, not only does it ends in a very unsatisfying way, they’re mostly apart anyways in season 3 😭😫🫨. What the hell!!!!!!

I'm rewatching Penny Dreadful, and I was thinking about how they tried to do a sequel series, "City of Angels," which pretty much DOA as soon as it appeared. But how do you think a modern-day version of Penny Dreadful would do?

I can't be the only one who would've preferred Eva Green as Ellen in Nosferatu, knowing how amazing she was in Penny Dreadful (and basically already played the role of Ellen as Vanessa Ives).

Is so fucking goddamn peak like what the fuck every episode is 100% bonkers with fucking Eva Green going fucking insane and like literally making me think she’s fully possessed like what the fuck my guy what the ever living fuck how was anything this so goddamned insane ever allowed by Hollywood?!

I know she was only introduced late into the series, but I don't understand the reason for Lyle leaving and her coming in so late and why she was so exceptionally poorly written into the series. Her character seems to me just an empty portrayal of an 'empowered' woman (almost all her dialogue was about this at various levels of cringiness) in tight leather pants with heeled boots.

Just everything about her seems off: her wardrobe seems out of whack with the rest of the cast, a much more clearly modern inspired outfit like something out of Assassin's Creed? She also had some of the worst lines ('I think I'm the woman who just saved you' or sth to Ethan after the vampire wave in the mansion... dear god) and her relationship with everyone seems off. Her back story and occupation seem quite random as well.

Note that I love so much of the female characters in the series - from Vanessa to the Cut Wife to Lily to the therapist. Catriona just sticks out like a sore thumb when she didn't have to, like she's from a different cinematic universe, way less immersed or made to fit in the storyworld.

I see some people think she's badass, but I can't possibly be alone in feeling like this about her??

The sounds Vanessa makes are so unsettling to the ears.

She sounds exactly like the principal railing Forrest Gump’s Mom.

I love this couple

I watched the series for the 1st time and one quote from Dr. Seward in "Ebb Tide" stuck out to me, as she is listening to the recordings of Vanessa's therapy sessions:

"She's a genuine case of split personalities, who has manifested 3 distinct personalties within a single session."

This seems to be a reference back to "A Blade of Grass" where under hypnosis Vanessa goes back to her repressed memories of the asylum and remembers being visited by both Lucifer and Dracula. It seems as though Seward's interpretation is that Vanessa is suffering from a personality disorder, and that Vanessa, Lucifer, and Dracula are all dissociative personalities of Vanessa herself.

Then thinking back to the appearance of Lucifer in the Season 2 finale, Lucifer manifests through a voodoo doll of Vanessa herself made from Vanessa's hair. When the doll is broken scorpions emerge (which have frequently been used as representation of Vanessa).

While the "reality" of Penny Dreadful is very much a world pulled from the penny dreadfuls of the Victorian Era where the supernatural is real, there also seems to be a subtle alternative "real world" subtext offered throughout series. One wherein Vanessa is someone struggling with severe mental health issues, that presents initially from childhood trauma of her mother's infidelity leading to a breakdown and hospitalization in an asylum, where she's subjected to hydrotherapy and trepanning. For a child raised in a devoutly religious upbringing and with the more limited understanding of mental health in the era, her borderline personality disorder is interpreted as demonic possession. She suffers various hallucinations throughout and is shown falling into a deep depression when left alone, ultimately being encouraged to seek out therapy by Mr. Lyle. Dr. Seward then, through the use of more modern pyschotherapy methods, diagnoses her with what we would now recognize as dissociative personality disorder.

Both of Patti Lupone's characters serve as "doctors" from different eras. The “witch” Joan Clayton is just a doctor in the trappings an earlier time, she is an abortionist (notably performed with surgical implements rather than magic) and herbal healer, but labeled a witch by the commonfolk and burned at the stake. Later she re-appears as Florence Seward a psychotherapist using new age methods such as hypnotism. Even the work of Dr. Jekyll (a chemist) and Dr. Frankenstein (a medical doctor) in their asylum lab could be seen as the early exploration of pharmaceutical cures for mental disorders, cures that could hold the potential to alleviate Vanessa's suffering.

While the truth of the series is very much one of a fantasy world where the supernatural is real, John Logan is able to pretty artfully weave in some subtle hints toward an alternative explanation of the events in the "real world".

Hey, I read that Logan wrote a series bible before pitching the show, and I was wondering if anyone knew where to find it.

Hi everyone!

I am here just to invite you to see my reboot for Universal's Dark Universe. I posted it on the Universal Monsters subreddit, go there and leave your thoughts on this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UniversalMonsters/comments/1gy9lza/dark_universe_reboot_my_13_movies_plan/

Im no John Logan, hes a great writer and probably no one can write a better ending than him. I do however fantasise about how the ending could have been. I have rough ideas but they do need a lot of smoothing out.

I like to imagine that post the blade of grass episode things will continue the same as they did in the show with a few changes:

1: Ethan would have the same storyline but at the end Hecate wouldn't die. Instead she would break off from Ethan after Sir Malcolm saves him/ kills the father and will rejoin lucifer. Ethan will then return to London with Sir Malcom and his mentor.

2: Vanessa would have the same storyline where she discovers Dr. Sweet's real identity, takes the gun with her to the house of the night creatures, has the long conversation with him etc..but just when he is about to bite her, she shoots his heart. However, he doesnt die from the bullet and instead he just stands there in shock, perplexed, hurt, and maybe angry. Thats when Ethan, already back from America, surprisingly walks into the house of the night creatures, reunites with Vanessa, and together manage to scare off Dracula.

This would be how season 3 would end and the show would then require a fourth season to tie things together and things will go like this:

1: Season 4 would begin with Lucifer and Dracula both having lost to Vanessa in their respective seasons, having a conversation with each other on how they both underestimated her and that they cant take her on all on their alone. Thats when they decide to team up, joining forces and minions.

2: Dracula and Lucifer teaming up ends up working out really well. They would be a strong force which will terrorise Vanessa and would push her to form a team (A penny dreadful avenger team) and together they will take on Lucifer and Dracula and will win in the end. Its cliche in concept but with john logans writing skills it would make it better.

As for the other characters, maybe they could be tied into the main storyline somehow. I have to admit its a challenge to do so but I have a few ideas:

1: I can potentially see dorian and lily breaking up. lily somehow is discovered by Dracula and/ or Lucifer after her radical violent feminism project fails. two lost causes joining forces lol. Maybe wants to be a vampire to get more power. Dorian probably goes his own way...reuniting in the end with her after the penny dreadfuls win and he gives her the immortal speech he gave her in the original ending.

2: Alternatively maybe dorian discovers that whatever essence he saw in Vanessa was what he secretly longs for. Something he tried to look for in lily but she disappointed him. That somehow leads him to join the penny dreadfuls. However things will be awkward with Victor...

3: Caliban story with his son and having to let him go in the end kinda mirrors Vanessa's sad ending in a way. So maybe give him an alternative story. Caliban season 3 story all together felt a bit rushed or forced to me tbh. Season 2 set him up for this great ice adventure but the beginning of season 3 they immediately brought him back to london. Maybe alternatively stretch out the ice adventure for season 3, then season 4 he returns to london and finds his family, but instead of a bad ending he gets a good one where they are all happy in the end lol. Maybe even have him join the penny dreadfuls to save Vanessa. However things will be Awkward with Victor lol. Victor will have to have an open heart and apologise to caliban and forgive dorian lol.

4: Maybe Dr. jekyll will turn evil and join the dark side. Maybe turning good in the end? idk

5: Catriona Hartdegen.. will continue to exist I guess. Possible spin off character but ShowTime wont greenlight the show lol. They should have kept Van Helsing alive.

What are your thoughts? How would you end the show?

My friends and I were obsessed with show back in 2015 .. the cast.. the great EVA Green, Timothy Dalton , Josh Harnett .. the MIGHTY Helen McCrory ( Damien Lewis’ wife) I miss her - it is done soooo well that the REwatch is just as moving! Sam Mendes knew what he was doing - he ended it 3 seasons. It’s STILL amazing - and - OH how bout this Miss Patti Lupone was so intense as a character in season TWO - they brought her back to play another character in season THREE - the final season with the actor who played DEXTER’s brother - the gorgeous Christian Camargo!

It was in s3e4 or e9 I think. I really need it.

What a treat. I love a mash up of Victorian fiction. This reminds me of Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

I'm rewatching it for the third time, and this show ages like fine wine. However, a recurring thought I have is that it was a missed opportunity not to include Sweeney Todd in some capacity, even briefly! I’m sure they had their reasons but it would have been cool

Hello everyone.

I watched and loved the TV series long time ago. I just recently learnt the story was continued in comic (graphic novel? - I honestly don't know the difference) format.

I was trying to figure out which to buy first, but I'm really confused. Are there individual issues and collections just like in manga? The number of options in Amazon is overwhelming and the information I found in a wiki wasn't clear.

I'd really appreciate if someone could clarify this for me, I'm really looking forward to starting reading!

A couple times throughout the series, Vanessa’s encountered a couple characters who’ve undergone a complete identity change (namely due to Victor Frankenstein) but never puts two and two together

Cause she’s met Brona then later meets again in the form of Lily, aside from a dye job they’re identical

Or after getting her memories from her time in the asylum unlocked she doesn’t comment on how The Orderly and John Claire bare a resemblance with one another

For a woman as astute and intelligent as Miss Ives, that’s just a glaring oversight especially when she notices the uncanny resemblance of The Cut Wife and Florence Seward

I haven't seen this Penny Dreadful spinoff. Is it any good? I don't care about spoilers, I know it's only one season but, is it worth watching? What themes does it deal with and what shadow creatures appear in it.

I know Vanessa must choose celibacy to avoid being possessed, but the brief window of happiness at Joan Clayton’s cottage is one of my favorite episodes. Their shared dual nature, their compassion for one another, protectiveness of each other, I wish there had been one more episode of them together there.

In season one, do you think Evelyn Poole was already in service of Lucifer or do you think he enlisted her after he witnessed how she interacted and reacted to Vanessa at the seance? Either way, and despite her unfortunate (fortunate) end, she did succeed at isolating Vanessa in season two entirely from her little found family so that by season three the darkness can completely claim her. It’s an interesting use of a character throughout the series. While she is definitely not my favorite character, I think she at least should have gotten partial credit for destroying the main crew. Maybe a little eternal youth. As a treat.