[For Penny Dreadful “The Day Tennyson Died” or any other recaps on Fetchland, assume the presence of possible spoilers.]
Showtime Summary:
The Day Tennyson Died. With her friends scattered around the world, a despondent Vanessa seeks help to battle a new evil.
Penny Dreadful brings unique storytelling to TV and surprises its audience every week. So, in that spirit, we’re bringing a new, non-traditional style to our recaps of Penny Dreadful and will surprise you with a different way of doing it each week. For the first episode of the season we’re kicking it way old school and bringing you Penny Dreadful season three, episode one as a pack of tarot cards. We’re still delivering spoilers galore. But for this week’s recap imagine yourself in a carnival tent with a snarky psychic know-it-all because we’re reading the cards… and see a fantastic cast of archetypal Penny Dreadful characters.
Vanessa Ives: Hermit, introspection, searching, guidance, solitude. Tarot cards sometimes work on a literal level, like here with Vanessa opening the episode in classic Hermit fashion. Vanessa has pulled the drapes closed and left piles of dirty dishes on every surface of her house, waking only to eat and ignore visitors. She’s the Rip Van Winkle of Penny Dreadful in “The Day Tennyson Died,” and deeply depressed too. Vanessa rises from a sleep of the ages to a state of semi-consciousness thank to Lyle at her front door. The Hermit card signifies solitude but also searching, which Vanessa begins anew in this episode. She seeks the guidance of Dr. Seward and, by the end of the episode, takes her advice. All this seems to point to the beginning of a new phase for Vanessa. She’s ready to come out from Hermit hiding now and into the sunlight.
Sir Malcolm Murray: Hanged Man, reversal, suspension, sacrifice. Malcolm just buried Sembene in his homeland of Africa and now contrite, just wants to disappear and never face a demon again. Who can blame him? But The Hanged Man card instructs to turn back and face that which we’d rather ignore. In Malcolm’s case this means facing his destiny as a demon-hunter. It’s clearly a sacrifice for him to resume his Allan Quatermain lifestyle now just when Malcolm most wants to Netflix and chill. But Murray is, above all else, a man with a mission no matter how much he wants to deny it. This is why The Hanged Man card is perfect for him at the this juncture because it’s about putting self interest aside and following one’s “calling” which Kaetenay, a new friend, reminds Malcolm.
Ethan Talbot: The Star, hope, inspiration, serenity (The Moon) illusion, imagination, shadows. Normally, Ethan would clearly be The Moon card. In fact, the actual card has wolves on it and is all about secret hidden selves, in other words – Ethan’s jam. But “The Day Tennyson Died” remarks on many new beginnings for characters and this is where Ethan finals begins to seem at peace. He’s accepted his situation and is finally ready to shine a light on his own personal truth. He’s finally facing his father and in the meantime everybody else is looking at him. This is The Star tarot card in a nutshell. He’s inspiring a whole new territory now, New Mexico and all the wonders of the American West. Ethan’s The Star of this show, with a group of hired bandits taking over an entire locomotive just to steal him away from Scotland Yard and return him to his father. Meanwhile Hecate isn’t letting Ethan out of her sight. So, he’s being watched from all sides. We’re certain he’ll be back to his hidden moon phase soon enough. The last words from him were wishing his captors luck at getting him “home” because though Ethan doesn’t know exactly what the wolf inside him will do, he knows it’s gonna be dangerous.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein: Devil, bondage, obsession, addiction, materialism. We knew Victor was becoming a drug addict because he ended season two with a needle in his arm. So, when “The Day Tennyson Died” reveals that he’s descended fully now into narcotic oblivion we’re unsurprised. Victor’s obsession remains the same, his creation, Lily, and the drugs that help him forget her. Frankenstein enlists his old pal from medical school, the notorious Dr. Jekyll, to help him tame Lily. Or, if that doesn’t work, help him destroy her. The Devil Card arises at just these times, when addictions compel one to act in complete disdain of reason. Victor can no longer be reasonable. He’s wrapped up in his addiction to Lily and the fact that she’s actually a monster drives him drugs and becoming a madman himself. Of course, because he’s Victor Frankenstein, he thinks he can “tamper with the formula” of his creation and perhaps fix her. Little does Victor realize that his only fixable problems are his own. Victor would be best off hitting a twelve step program at this point but instead he’s riding The Devil train to his own destruction. More fun for us to watch, at least.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: Temperance, balance, health, combining.
This is our first introduction to the Penny Dreadful version of Dr. Jekyll and we love what we see. Because he’s a chemist, Temperance is the perfect card for Hyde. It’s all about synthesis and equilibrium along with healing and moderation. These are exactly the forces Dr. Frankenstein needs in his life and here’s hottie, Dr. Henry Jekyll, an amalgam of just this particular mission in life. He’s a scientist in a constant battle to balance his inner monster and man, thus perfectly suited for the job of helping Dr. Frankenstein. Dr. Jekyll even suggests that perhaps his latest chemical concoction can tame Lily for Victor. It’s the very same antidote he currently uses on his own demon.
The Creature: The Fool, beginnings, faith, folly. The Creature ended last season in “The Bell Jar” so, we imagine it’s all uphill from here. Yes, he starts season three in a starvation snow storm situation… but soon leaves it behind to start a new adventure. He’s The Fool because finally, after a veritable lifetime of anguish, The Creature has a twinkling of hope. A vision of himself in his former life, before he became The Creature, gives him a glimpse of the man he once was. He had a son and a home life, apparently. It’s a brief vision but enough for The Creature to shift into gear and ready himself for a new beginning. He declares that he’s going “home” to the ravenous men left behind on an the abandoned ship in the middle of an arctic nowhere-land. The Creature starts on the journey of The Fool the “zero” card because it signifies the fresh start of the whole archetypal story. He has no idea what lies ahead but still, he can’t wait to get there and find out. That is The Fool in a nutshell.
Dr. Seward: The Magician, action, concentration, conscious awareness. Patti Lupone brought one of the most powerful characters to season two with the Cut Wife/Joan Clayton and she’s set up to be no less a master in season three. Dr. Seward personifies the Magician in her conscious awareness of how to help Vanessa. She jumps in and gets Vanessa focused on a small achievable goal for the day, “do something new,” and it has magical results. This is how the Magician works. It’s a card about creating change through conscious intervention. Dr. Seward energizes the bereft Vanessa into action when she least wants to do anything. Therapists really can help people this way but it’s gonna take a true Magician to face down Vanessa’s demons.
Dr. Sweet: The Sun, vitality, enlightenment, greatness, assurance. Vanessa meets Dr. Sweet for the first time right after her first therapy session. He quickly wins her (and us) over with his sunny disposition in only one tiny scene. Like The Sun, Dr. Sweet is all about vitality and joy. He’s intrigued by the world of animals and can’t help but share his enthusiasm as he bubbles over with amazing facts from the animal kingdom. Dr. Sweet is delightful and inspiring, just the burst of charming sunshine Vanessa needs in her life right now.
Dorian & Lily: The Lovers, sex, love, passion. Admittedly, we don’t see Dorian and Lily in “The Day Tennyson Died” but we all know what’s going on with them offscreen. They’re doin’ it and doin’ it and doin’ it well.
Renfield: Death, ending, transition, inexorable forces. The first time we meet Renfield in Penny Dreadful he’s a cheerful secretary in Dr. Seward’s office. But this disposition doesn’t last long. A sense of dread surrounds this character, just as it does with the Death tarot card. Though not an indicator of actual, physical death, this card signifies the end of an old way of life. It’s about an enormous, inevitable change much like the one Renfield goes through in this episode. After a momentary encounter with a woman in an alley Renfield encounters Dracula, the demon himself. Of course, all Dracula wants to talk about is Vanessa. Typical demon. But still, Renfield’s life is forever altered by the encounter and he’ll never be the same. Not only did Dracula bite him, he enlisted Renfield as his Vanessa connection… and we know what happens to them.
Hecate: Justice, responsibility, cause and effect, consequences. Speaking of Satan’s minions, this brings us to Hecate AKA hottie-from-the-coven. She’s the only character on the same mission this season as in season two. The girl is out to get Ethan no matter what it takes. The Justice card speaks to facing consequences and taking responsibility which Hecate wants Ethan to do for her. She sees him as the “Wolf of God” calling him “Lupus Dei” and thus, the key to getting Vanessa for her master. Hecate believes she’s a servant of Justice and seeks only to fulfill her servitude. She’ll keep her eye on Ethan and watch him like a cop sitting in wait at a roadside speed trap. The moment he’s vulnerable, she’ll strike with her sexy, naked Hecate brand of Justice and wrath.
Lyle: Strength, patience, compassion, resilience, persuasion. We’ve always seen Lyle as the sort of Oscar Wilde of Egyptogolists but now, with season three, we also get to see his softer side. The Strength card does this as well, it shows a lion to signify inner strength but there’s also an angel on the card because it’s really a card about compassion and composure. Much like Lyle, the Strength card cares deeply. He wants to help Vanessa out of her funk and so he tells her how Dr. Seward guided him out of his own similar depression years before. This persuades Vanessa to get help. Lyle’s inner fortitude, his resilience, enable him to be such an incredible friend that he’s like Vanessa’s guardian angel. The Strength card has the lion beside the angel to remind us that one has to be strong as a lion inside to behave like an angel in this world.
Our favorite part of the season three opening episode was a bit Dr. Sweet said, “If only we would stop and look, wonder and wonder…” as he spoke with effervescence about the natural world. He easily fits into the cast of Penny Dreadful characters; where it’s commonplace for people to serve an ultimate purpose on the scale of finally balancing out the laws of heaven and hell, for instance. It’s a place of destiny and callings. A place where, just when Vanessa is most in the dark, a glorious light appears. That light is The Sun shining through Dr. Sweet and his deep love and enthusiasm for the natural world. It’s just the refreshment Vanessa needs after losing herself in the darkness of the supernatural world. She’s grounding herself in the natural world now before the next, seemingly inevitable, supernatural battle.
–Katherine Recap
