Penny Dreadful: City of Angels — Series 1 Episode 2 — Dead People Lie Down — A Review

3rd May, 2020.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of vegetables, must be in want of a pot.

Or something to cook them in.

Frankly?

I’m a single bloke who is just getting the hang of cutlery … 

Cutlery and cooking pots.

Yeah … 

You possibly don’t want to imagine how taken me to get the hang of boiling carrots … 

~≈⇪≈~

At any rate … ?

This is not a cookery blog.

If it was, I’d doubt I’d get much in the way of traction.

Not with my limited cookery skills.

No … 

This … isn’t coo … 

No, wait, I’m burbling!

It’s Sunday night.

And … ?

And I’ve just caught the second episode of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels first series … 

~≈⇪≈~

Episode 2 — Dead People Lie Down — opens with a potted summary of last week’s episode.

Then moves on.   Showing us Maria Vega (Adriana Barraza) praying at the hospital bed of her eldest son, Raul (Adam Rodriguez): seriously ill after being shot by his younger brother, Detective Tiago Vega (Daniel Zovatto).

Who has also visited Raul … and his police partner Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane) who’s also been injured at the same demo.

Once out of hospital … ?   Detectives Michener and Vega get their orders confirmed by Captain Ned Vanderhoff (Brent Spiner): they need to keep investigating the death of the Hazlett family.

As far as the Captain’s concerned?   That means arresting the nearest convenient Mexicans.

From where Lewis is siting?   That means starting with the Church the Hazletts belonged to: and its charismatic apparent leader, Sister Molly (Kerry Bishé).

Meanwhile … ?

Meanwhile, Councilman Townsend (Michael Gladis) seems to keen to make sure LA’s Mexican American community gets blamed for the deaths of four policemen: with help from his PA.

Whilst Dr Craft (Rory Kinnear) mets a familiar face on the beach … 

Things … ?

Could be getting nasty … 

~≈⇪≈~

Now … have I enjoyed this episode … ?

Is it a good one?   Is it a good pice of story telling?   Or something that shows us the depths of human depravity, locked into an orgy of diseased imaginings, overwhelming us with the fetid stench of furious hatred poring from orifices blocked with the worst things an abnormal brain can conceive … ? 

Ye gods, it’s late!

Let me try and get to a few pertinent couple of points, here, shall we?

Yes: this is a good episode … !

Equally as good, but quite distinct from episode one.

But one that shows us a little more of the show’s characters.

Have you read Terry Pratchett’s Nightwatch?   The central character has to go back in time, to catch an especially nasty criminal: and, along the way, teach his younger self how to be a good copper.

Actually, Michener’s line, “Cops never fit in: that’s why we’re cops”?   Struck me as very Commander Vimes.

That’s what the relationship between Michener and Vega reminded me of, the relationship between the younger and older Sam Vimes: between a wise but troubled, older cop, and an inexperienced but bright younger one.

That relationship’s going to prove central, I think, and looms over the story so far.

There’s others: the rest of the Vega family don’t get as much coverage as they did in episode 1, although we do get to get to see Maria’s determined refusal of a priest for her son, and what she does as a result.

Something I suspect will backfire.

Which brings me on to the actual acting: you can write an episode as well as possible, but unless you have a good cast, a show’s going to fall flat on it’s face.

The original series of Penny Dreadful had possibly one of the best casts I’d seen in a TV show for a long time: with the possibly exception fo Reeve Carney*.

And, even then?

He did a competent job.

Frankly?

This iteration of the Penny Dreadful franchise has a better, overall cast!

This second episode?

Shows it off!

And shows off what Magda told us in the first episode.

That the real monsters are people: all she and her alter-egos need to do … ?

In the case of Dr Craft (Rory Kinnear) and Councilman Townsend (Michael Gladis)?

Is give them permission.

~≈⇪≈~

Right now, with all that said?

I am going to hit the sack.

But with all this said … ?

I’m also going to watching next week’s episode of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.

I hope you’ll be joining me.

*        Carney’s got a reputation as a competent singer-songwriter, and rock musician.   Casting a good looking rocker† — with all the partying that implies — as the beautiful, hard partying, and seemingly incorruptible Dorian Gray?   Was one very clever bit of casting.

†        Possibly the only better looking musician?   Was/is David Sylvian of Japan.   From what I recall, he was often referred to as the World’s Most Beautiful Man.