Penny Dreadful Season 1 (2014)
…………………………………………………
Penny Dreadful Season 1 Review
Penny Dreadful is a horror drama series which focuses on many famous Victorian literature characters. Season 1 came out in 2014 and it is overall solid, but not great.
………………………………………………….
“You have made my visit truly memorable.
I shall never forget you“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
This series has a lot of potential for future seasons, but for now it’s just solid and not particularly great. I do like its overarching storyline quite a bit, but the execution is simply too long and slow to capture my proper, full interest.
I am of course talking about its episodes which are over fifty minutes long and literally not much happens in any one of the episodes which is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it’s great as it’s thus more character-focused and dialogue-heavy, but on the other hand, its lack of action or bigger plot developments really hurt it in the long run.
Let’s talk about the characters. Dorian Gray himself is good. The second half of the season did not focus on him much, but the first half did and I really like the decision to portray him as bisexual as that’s only fitting having in mind the character’s origins and it’s fittingly modernized for the 21st century. I liked all of his interactions with the other characters.
Malcolm is pretty good and I liked his personal quest and his researched backstory, Frankenstein and his creature are both pretty good, but they needed more episodes for themselves as I really liked their characters and actors. Brona Croft is so forgettable whereas Chandler is a pretty memorable protagonist of sorts.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
But the standout has to be Eva Green’s Vanessa Ives. The character’s great and powerfully portrayed. I liked her personal dilemmas quite a bit and how kick-ass she can be. But Eva Green’s performance is so amazing and downright admirable that she makes the entire season worth a watch on the strength of her performance alone. She’s such an underrated talent.
The story is fine, but it needed more momentum, though I did like its revelations. I did like the creatures and the effects, but again we need more of those. The cinematography, costumes and the score all are great and go hand in hand in creating a great Victorian and literary atmosphere which imbues this series in every frame.
Overall, the first season of Penny Dreadful is excellent in its character development, dialogue and technical aspects, but it’s way too slow more often than not, lacking plot momentum and moving things way too little or too slowly.
Worst Episodes: Resurrection and Closer Than Sisters.
Best Episodes: Night Work and Grand Guignol.
