In honor of Halloween and all the spookiness that comes with it, I wanted to write about one of my favorite TV shows, Penny Dreadful. Last summer I watched the show for the first time, and I immediately fell in love with the tone and the cinematography. It had so many of my favorite elements like historical and literary references, action, and supernatural elements.
The series finale remains my favorite of the episodes for how it wrapped the previous three seasons together, not to mention how it was beautifully shot. So many of the shots are stunning, and communicate so much subtext to the scenes. Here are five of the most striking images from the finale what they’re saying to viewers.
Vanessa and Dracula on the upper walkway/ balcony
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The first moments we see Vanessa (Eva Green) as Dracula’s (Christian Camargo) queen was amazing. She looked exactly like one would expect his queen to enter a room. Green was striking, in control, and completely regal.
She was dressed in all black, with the dress trailing behind the cobblestone and over the dead leaves. The camera pans up as she ascends the stairs. We only can see the sheer bell sleeves, and they looked as if they were dripping in dark magic.
One aspect of this sequence I picked up on is how Vanessa stands completely independent of Dracula. It’s almost as if she is overpowering him. At his side, Vanessa looks like she has so completely embraced her new status, so much so it’s as if she surpassed him in power and rank.
What’s tragic is how Vanessa looks at peace with her choice. This path was easier than fighting. For the last three seasons, she had been fighting her “destiny” and the dark forces that were after her. Now, she’s at peace because she’s not continuously fighting herself and the supernatural world anymore.
The entire moment was perfectly creepy, regal, and tragic.
Dr. Frankenstein & Dr. Jekell’s argument
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In their spat about the futures of each of their work, the scene isn’t so special. But having said that, I absolutely loved the idea of Victor (Harry Treadaway) staring at the edge of his addiction and Dr. Jekell (Shazad Latif) calling him back to who he is: a doctor, a scientist.
“And for you?”
“There is no road ahead for me”
“There will always be a place for you here, Victor, in the heart of science”
The moment of seeing these two reunited friends, colleagues, become torn apart through Victor’s self-destruction was hard to watch. I chose that image to represent this moment of storytelling, not because it was particularly striking and impactful, but because it really drives home that idea of being on the edge of collapse. Jekell’s blurred out, in the background of the shot.
The look on both Treadaway’s and Latif’s faces tell us so much as well. Jekell’s look of concern, overshadowed by Victor’s. Treadaway shows Victor’s utter resignation of himself. He shows how sick of himself Victor is, yet how he can’t seem to fight it at all.
Dorian Grey and Lily Frankenstein in the empty ballroom
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In this sequence, Dorian’s (Reeve Carney) and Lily’s (Billie Piper) discussion about immortality was fascinating. The juxtaposition of Lily’s desperation for passion and Dorian’s insistence that none of it matters was so interesting to listen to, and Piper and Carney made it so compelling to watch.
The cinematography in this scene is what made this moment stick out to me. Dorian is surrounded emptiness, all alone and left in the ruins of Lily’s superhuman army. It’s so visual in how it shows where the characters are in that moment. Dorian, believing he is above Lily in morals and rational, is physically standing over Lily and Justine’s body. Meanwhile, Lily is not only mourning Justine; she’s mourning all she has worked for. The world Lily and Dorian hoped to build all started with Justine.
I thought it was incredibly poetic how all the work and the ideals became symbolized in Justine. And because Dorian couldn’t go through with the plans, because he didn’t see any actual plans, he destroyed the symbol of their army. She was the one Lily and Dorian took first, and the one who was the most passionate for the cause of them all. And all they were left with in the end was the vast isolation around them — of time and of everyone else.
Vanessa & Ethan’s reunion
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The next scene I wanted to talk about is Vanessa and Ethan (Josh Hartnett)’s reunion. It’s a beautiful sequence and is full of striking cinematography.
Ethan walks into the room breathlessly — there are candles all around the all-white chapel-esque room, which is filled with a glow. In the center of the rotunda corner is Vanessa, a heaven-like figure in white. It’s not only the antithesis of who she was at the beginning of the finale, but also of how Ethan is dressed. He’s in all black.
It’s clear their meeting in the middle is more than the literal moment. They’re meeting in the middle of life and death. The in-between space of this world and the next. Ethan comes out of the darkness and into the light around her. One of them a figure from god, the other a figure of hell.
In their conversation, Vanessa laments the loss of herself and what she has become out of apathy. Ethan, distraught, asks her, “Where’s Vanessa? When did we lose her?”
It’s a truly beautifully tragic moment when Vanessa finds God again in the end, and ultimately leaves in peace.
Sir Malcolm and Ethan at the very end in the empty room
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This final shot of the series, of Sir Malcolm and Ethan sitting in Vanessa’s empty room stood out to me because of what it wasn’t saying. There was so much unsaid in this shot, so many unanswered questions for the characters. It’s a very reflective shot for the characters.
Where do we go from here?
What comes next?
Who are we?
We’re family.
And in the empty room, both Malcolm and Ethan realize while they have been on their own for awhile, at least now they have each other to move forward with.