The priest (Oliver Cotton) arrives and immediately gets off on the wrong foot with everyone by refusing an exorcism and generally being a jerk. “Give her the last rites and then get the fuck out of this house, you ridiculous man,” Victor says to him. Once the priest sees Vanessa, chained spread-eagle to her bed, disheveled and covered in blood, he tries to backpedal, only to find Ethan in the way. “Do what you’re here for,” Malcolm growls.
So, more than a little disturbed, the priest leans over Vanessa to give last rites and identifies himself as Father Matthew. “I knew a Matthew once,” Vanessa says, a hint of malice in her voice. “Doctor Christopher Matthew Banning – he tortured me with water too.” The priest’s jaw drops, but she’s not done, telling them about a different Matthew she knew, back in “the ancient days.” “I nailed him to the sticks upside down so he would come to me faster, so he would see it,” she hisses. Before the priest can react, she jerks her head forward and tears into his cheek, ripping a large part of it away. Then, she rips at the restraints and snaps them, jumping up from the bed.
All hell breaks loose as she actually leaps up onto the ceiling – and stays there, crawling in a corner before she swoops down to grab Malcolm. Just as she gets through his shirt and begins to claw at his chest, Ethan pulls her off and tosses her back, yelling for Sembene to “get him out!” The priest rushes out with them, and Victor is hurtled out the door by an unseen force. That leaves just Vanessa and Ethan, circling one other cautiously. Ethan holds his gun on her and appears ready to use it. “Vanessa, I know you’re still there. I’m not gonna leave you,” he promises. But Vanessa is advancing toward him, an evil smile playing about her lips. Desperate, he grabs her head, spins her around, slams her into the wall and screams, “Vanessa, please!” A look of anguish falls over her face – the real Vanessa has succeeded in wresting control away again, but she knows she only has a matter of seconds. “I beg you, do it, do it now,” she croaks to him, sobbing.
Then Ethan surprises everyone. Though he presses the gun to her neck, he instead brings out Brona’s medallion – the Saint Jude medallion, for “causes long since lost.” Pressing it to her forehead, he begins to furiously chant in Latin, performing his own off-the-books exorcism. Vanessa’s eyes dart around frantically, and she begins to scream. Somehow, it’s working. A demonic roar is heard as she shakes uncontrollably, but Ethan never slows down his prayers. After a few seconds, the fight goes out of her, and Vanessa drops to the floor, unconscious. And based on just how much the demon disliked that trick, I’d say Ethan has succeeded in either driving it from her completely or weakening it so severely that it has no chance of gaining control again.
Out of all the strange character developments we’ve seen for Ethan so far, I’d say this one takes the cake (yes, even above his hook-up with Dorian). Series creator/writer John Logan has some major explaining to do next week. Was this Ethan’s first exorcism? He certainly seemed like he knew what he was doing. Whether he’s planning on sharing just what he did with the rest of the group is left unclear in this episode – his work done, Ethan blows past the others, dons his coat and walks out into the snowy day, a broad smile on his face.
Penny Dreadful has one last card to play for this week, however. As Vanessa lies in bed, recovering from whatever Ethan did, she gets glimpses of the Master and Mina. “There cannot be a happy end,” she hears. “The claw will slash and tooth will rend.” It’s a line from The Transformed Beast, currently on offer at the Grand Guignol – in fact, the first time she hears the snippet, Caliban’s mentor Vincent Brand is saying it. Then, however, she hears Mina say it as well, and sees images of the Grand Guignol. Staggering out to find Malcolm in the study, Vanessa says, her eyes weary but still wide, “I know where Mina is.”
Cue curtains for “Possession.” What did you think? I was consistently impressed by this episode – in how it passed very quickly despite being set entirely inside the Malcolm house with an unflinching focus on Vanessa, in how the writing balances intriguing character developments all around while still providing a small segue into next week’s finale, and in how the episode provides an incredible showcase for every actor – not just Green. The performances in this episode were absolutely stellar, so much so that it didn’t even suffer from the conspicuous absence of Dorian, Brona and (mostly) Caliban.
Does Vanessa being cured mean that Amun-Ra no longer has the ability to claim her as his eternal bride? I somehow doubt it -so what exactly has Ethan done, and what effects will it have? Next week’s episode will undoubtedly wrap up the Mina storyline, so maybe we’re done focusing on Vanessa for this season. I’m most excited, though, to find out what’s making Ethan tick. He started out as the series’ weakest character, and this week alone entirely changed my mind about him. That line – “Claw will slash and tooth will rend” – sounds a lot like foreshadowing for some werewolf action in “Grand Guignol.” At long last, we might get to see what Ethan’s hiding beneath that cool-as-a-cucumber demeanor.
Logan has really created something special with Penny Dreadful. It’s a genre show, to be sure, but it’s filled with such deliciously dramatic writing and fine performances that it seems to hold just as much mass appeal as, say, Masters of Sex, also on Showtime. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he has planned for next week’s grand finale. There will be blood – that much is for sure. Beyond that, however, Logan could take this story absolutely anywhere he wants – that’s precisely what makes Penny Dreadful so much fun to watch.
