Premier SteamGoth/horror series Penny Dreadful is back.
Season 3 takes place a few months after the events of the season 2 finale. If you haven’t seen season 1, it’s not the biggest issue in the world (although it does help to have seen every episode), but you really should watch season 2 before starting season 3 or else you’ll have very little clue about the background leading up to events in this season.
This latest season is the strongest so far. Vanessa takes on an old foe (or does she?), Ethan Chandler faces his curse (or does he?), Victor loses the plot some more (but in new and spectacular ways), Malcolm is still the sanest of the bunch, Lilly is out to plot world domination with Dorian at her as long as he’s not bored and Calliban/John Clare finally finds something that looks like happiness (or does he?).
Throw a bunch of new characters into that particular Victorian melting pot of (supernatural) disasters and you get another thrilling (even with the slow pace) season of what is the best, and quintessential, SteamGoth series out there.
The locations are another fantastic thing this season, from the different neighborhoods of Victorian London to the Weird West of Ethan Chandler’s youth.
We also explore new settings, such as the Natural History Museum of days past and the early days of psychotherapy to delving into the depths of Bedlam — literally. (Mad) science has never been so delightful as in this show.
The costumes are, as always, exquisite.
If you love SteamGoth, horror and/or the Victorian era with all its sordid dark sides, then Penny Dreadful is the series for you.
