Things are really gearing up towards what will surely be a showdown in the final two episodes. Magda is not wasting any time in rounding her troops together and even forming new alliances with some of our characters. Where will this all end? From the looks of it, the soul of Los Angeles. There’s a lot of components to Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, but they all seem to be coming together finally. The big fight is against the Nazis, but the bigger fight is against Magda herself. Who will win out?
Spoilers
In episode eight, the story continues with Elsa (Magda) trying to still get Maria fired. While we’ve Peter bend at the knee for Elsa for essentially the entire season, he seems to be resistant against getting rid of Maria. I’ve felt that Peter has been, for a lack of better words; a wuss this entire time. From the moment he met Elsa, he’s done anything to appease her. Kick his wife out and get his wife institutionalized. Move Elsa and her “child” in. Even help bury her “husband’s” body. When it comes to Maria, though; he’s putting his foot down. Which, good for him. Also, we find out the secret that Peter’s been holding in this whole time. Which, to me, was a tad anti-climatic. But, certainly a good turn in storytelling between him and Elsa.
Speaking of secrets being revealed; Tiago finally finds out that his sister Josefina is a member of Sister Molly’s Temple. As I’ve been saying in previous reviews, I still don’t know where Molly fits in here. I adore Molly and Tiago’s relationship, but I really cannot tell if Molly is truly blind to her mother’s ties to the Nazis, or is great at hiding the truth. Either way, it’s one of those relationships where we know will end at some point and that does make me a bit sad. I will say, though; Molly’s mother is so good at pretending she doesn’t know what’s really going on and frankly, being a grade-A b*tch.
Being Gay in the 1930s
One last thing I would like to point out: while certainly Townsend and Kurt are not the sort of LGBT representation that necessarily should be celebrated, because they’re literal Nazis – there is a scene in this episode I quite liked. It’s a scene where Kurt and Townsend go to a secret club in LA, in which people in same-sex relationships can go to. I think that Penny Dreadful: City of Angels serves as a reminder that there was a time in this country where gay clubs would be raided. That people could not walk down the street holding their partner’s hand if they were the same gender. There was even a “false alarm” in the club. This gave you a real sense of what it was like trying to be gay in the 1930s. I think the lines that hit the most were when Kurt asked Townsend if “it was safe” to which Townsend almost ruefully responded “no”. Because even somewhere deemed a safe place was never going to truly be safe for them.
Rating: 4/5
There are two more episodes after this. It seems like not only are tensions higher, but the supernatural element to the show is heightening. I’m really looking forward to how everything finally plays out and who is going to come out the victor in the end.
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A girl with too many fandoms to count.
