Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 1, 2016

Penny Dreadful's first season established a fascinating world of horror and legend, constructed around a hodgepodge of famous fictional, literary characters and creatures, following their individual growth and collective light and dark influences on one another and the Victorian world around them. Indeed, the show was not simply a random union but rather a carefully constructed, smartly executed, and finely honed roster that was molded with deliberate consideration, thoughtful individual and collective exploration, and unexpected happenings. It didn't always work perfectly, but when it did, it yielded something special. Season two builds on all of that in a darkly fascinating ten-episode arc, two more than the somewhat more constrained eight-episode first season. The show, and season two in particular, finely balances the familiarity of its faces with cutting-edge construction that never repurposes but serves the amalgamation very well. It's well thought out and smartly executed in tone and story alike.

Official synopsis: A new evil steps from the shadows to haunt Victorian London in all 10 episodes of the terrifying second season of 'Penny Dreadful.' As Vanessa Ives's (Eva Green) strange powers grow, she struggles to control her personal demons while devious forces cast spells on those closest to her - African explorer Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), troubled American Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), the reckless Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), loyal Sembene (Danny Sapani), the anguished Creature (Rory Kinnear), tender-hearted Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway), and the beautiful Lily (Billie Piper). And in this unnerving world where literature's most iconic and terrifying characters roam the streets, unlikely alliances form to battle unimaginable temptations.

Penny Dreadful's greatest strength, established in season one and more fully realized in season two, is its willingness, and ability, to take established characters, leave them alone at their most fundamental level, but expand on them, individually and collectively, within the series' own unique confines. It's in both their individual personalities and their collectively joined (or opposed) forces that make the show unique, familiar as it's filled with all of these Victorian characters of classic literature but brought together in a manner befitting something greater than the one but never betraying what's made them remain this appealing for this long. The show never shies away from going down dark paths, exploring gruesome realities, and dabbling in powers well beyond any established in any of the individual tales from whence the characters have come. The show never falters in that inherent quality of familiarity meets novelty, with season two managing to press the issue while always remaining true to its diverse roots.

Season two's villainess is played by a scene-devouring Helen McCrory, elevated to chief baddie and gleefully, yet seriously and darkly, working towards her goal of grabbing Vanessa for nefarious purpose. The cast is terrific throughout, with the primaries clearly more at ease in the roles and in the world Creator John Logan has cobbled together for them. Richly atmospheric, though admittedly a bit generically so, and brimming with fascinating production design, season two proves bigger and better while staying true to the course set in season one. The show isn't always up to par, stumbling just a bit out of the gate and occasionally taking too long to get its affairs in order, even in the relative constraints of ten episodes, a bit short for a TV season but ultimately enough to lead towards a strong finale in "And They Were Enemies" that's arguably the best hour of Penny Dreadful yet.

The following episodes comprise season two. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging.

Disc One:

• Fresh Hell: As a new evil emerges from the shadows to haunt Vanessa, Victor struggles to bring his latest creation to life, Sir Malcolm confronts his life, and Ethan faces his darkest secret.
• Verbis Diablo: Solace is in short supply when Vanessa turns to Sir Malcolm for comfort, Dorian encounters a woman with a shocking secret, and Malcolm falls under Evelyn's spell.
• The Nightcomers: Vanessa confides in Ethan how she learned to harness her powers with help from the mysterious Cut-Wife and was warned that there is an evil hell-bent on her capture.
• Evil Spirits In Heavenly Places: Deception lurks in every corner as Hecate tries to get closer to Ethan, Dorian's feelings deepen, and Inspector Rusk interviews the sole survivor of the Mariner's Inn massacre.

Disc Two:

• Above the Vaulted Sky: Sensing an impending attack, Vanessa, Ethan, Sir Malcolm, Sembene, and Lyle prepare the mansion, while Dorian and Victor struggle with powerful emotions.
• Glorious Horrors: Dorian hosts a lavish ball for his lover, but tensions run high as Vanessa, Sir Malcolm, Evelyn, Victor, Lilly, Lyle, and Hecate all gather together for the opulent event.
• Little Scorpion: The stakes are higher than ever as Vanessa and Ethan flee to the Cut-Wife's cottage together, and Lilly reveals a dark side of her new personality.
• Memento Mori: Love triangles are in full play as the Creature and Victor clash over Lilly, and Sir Malcolm confronts Evelyn and her deadly enchantments.

Disc Three:

• And Hell Itself My Only Foe: With Sir Malcolm's life in danger, Vanessa heads to Evelyn's mansion alone to battle the witch, while Ethan, Victor, Sembene, and Lyle confront their own horrors.
• And They Were Enemies: In the stunning season finale, Ethan leaves a trail of blood in his wake, Sir Malcolm and Victor confront ghosts from their pasts, and Vanessa comes face-to-face with the Demon.

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season's 1080p transfer satisfies, but doesn't particularly excite. Perhaps by series design, it takes on a fairly flat texturing that presents with impressive clarity, but not often the sort of sharp, raw, realistic detailing one might expect. Indeed, faces often appear a bit pasty and flat, with only cruder and very obvious pores, bumps, and lines revealed. Clothing textures are a bit stilted and flat overall, disappointing considering the period's rather ornate and materially dense stylings. Environments, whether natural or manmade, manage enough tangible, tactile texture to please -- particularly out on city streets -- but rarely is the image thoroughly dynamic. Colors are deliberately muted to give the show a fairly gray and bleak look. Warmer interiors don't produce much in the way of abundant color, either, but red blood often does manage to stand apart nicely enough. Skin tones are often ghastly pale, The Creature in particular -- and understandably so -- but humans, too, sometimes lack the warmth of a more obvious lifeblood. Black levels tend towards crush, though certainly some scenes lean in the opposite direction, appearing a bit too pale and washed out. Noise spikes in lower light, but the transfer doesn't suffer from any other serious issues with any regularity. Overall, this isn't a bad image, but it's not the most visually robust thing ever to grace Blu-ray, either.

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season features a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The audio presentation, much like its video counterpart, doesn't set the world on fire, but it's more than adequate. Opening title music is appropriately wide and features a positive surround envelopment. It's not as rich and transparently delivered as are the best, and clarity isn't particularly striking, but all things considered a good foundational effort. Throughout the show, ambient effects produce good results, particularly out on city streets where chatter, footfalls, and carriages create a pleasing atmospheric din. Lighter support pieces flutter through with nice stage placement and efficiency of delivery. Action scenes are usually aggressive enough. Bass kicks in as needed, surrounds pick up as they must, and heavier elements like gunfire pop with suitable authority. Dialogue is nicely clear, irregularly lightly scratchy and wanting for a hair more refined prioritization, but there's usually little room for complaint.

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season contains its supplemental content on disc three. It's rather slim pickings, with the production blogs the highlight and the fan roundtable fun but too brief.

• Video Production Blogs (1080p): Six brief pieces that take a closer look at a particular aspect of the production.
• "Welcome Back" (2:57): Cast and crew return and the studio springs to life with activity for season two. The piece also offers a glimpse at some new set pieces for the season, a look at storyboard importance, and stunt work preparation.
• "Choreography" (2:43): A look at one of season two's biggest challenges: dance choreography and training the cast to perform properly.
• "The Blood Ball" (2:27): A closer look at making one of the key moments from the season: a regal ball which ends with a drenching of blood.
• "Brona Becomes Lily" (2:32): Actress Billie Piper, Make-Up Artist Clare Lambe, Hair Stylist Sevlene Roddy, and Costume Designer Gabriella Pescucci discuss the process of transforming Piper's character from last season to this.
• "Waxwork Museum" (2:40): The Creature finds employment at a wax museum. The piece offers a brief tour of the set and looks at some of the figures that populate it.
• "Werewolf Prosthetics" (1:52): Ethan's werewolf look is explored in some detail.
• Dreadfuls Roundtable with Reeve Carney (1080p, 7:47): A collection of super fans gather to discuss the show with Actor Reeve Carney.
• History of the Occult (1080p, 2:06): A piece that shares a brief history through graphics and text, overlaid with music.
• Character Profiles (1080p): Brief looks at characters, including where they have been in season one and where they're headed for season two. Included are Vanessa Ives (2:07), Dorian Gray (1:32), Sir Malcolm Murray (1:22), Evelyn Poole (1:47), Victor Frankenstein (1:42), Sembene (1:27), The Creature (1:32), and Lily (1:42).

Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Penny Dreadful manages to bring together a host of classic Victorian literary characters and creatures in a way that's respectful of their origins but unique in their collection and doings in the show. Dark, brooding, violent, unafraid, and very smart, the show, and season two in particular, stands as one of the more fascinating, well constructed, nicely acted, and addicting of the past few years. Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season's Blu-ray release delivers fair video and audio alongside a decent allotment of bonus content. Recommended.