Penny Dreadful – “This World Is Our Hell” Review. Embrace Your Sins.

Season 3, Episode 5

Air Date: Sunday, May 29, 2016, 10PM E/P on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“I belong in hell.” – Ethan

As last week’s episode “A Blade of Grass,” kept us

Hecate manipulates her way closer to Ethan.

cooped up in a padded room, “The World Is Our Hell,” gives us reprieve in the form of the wide open space of the New Mexico Territory. With room to breathe, it’s safe to say New Mexico also has its drawbacks. Water is scarce and Ethan (Josh Hartnett) has a long way to go before he reaches his father’s ranch.

Other dangers lurk nearby as Inspector Rusk (Douglas Hodge) continues his relentless pursuit of Ethan but the real threat rides side-by-side with him. Hecate (Sarah Greene) desperately wants to be with Ethan and I fear she may have finally convinced him that the darkness holds peace, at least for the moment.

As Henry watches his old friend Victor slowly take over his experiment, it’s only a matter of time before Mr. Hyde makes an appearance.

This week’s “This World Is Our Hell” features a few of our main characters but only dips slightly into Victor (Harry Treadaway) and Henry’s (Latif Shazid) story. If you don’t like needles, there is a scene that will make your skin crawl while you wince in repulsion. Victor’s ideas about “purifying” Henry’s behavior serum using electricity are quite intriguing but we only get a glimpse of the antics these two will ultimately get into. When will Henry test the serum on himself thus unleashing his alter ego Mr. Hyde? This is a plot I’m ready to see come to fruition soon.

Jared does seem happy that his son Ethan is home but not in the parental sort of way.

I was so enthralled with the unveiled truths in “The World Is Our Hell.” Hartnett does an amazing job playing the conflicted and tortured soul that is Ethan. The confrontation between Ethan and Jared (guest star Brian Cox) is one of the most gut wrenching scenes. Cox does a masterful job of playing the concerned yet unforgiving father. His politeness, layered with disdain and a sense of superiority, make me question what kind of man Jared Talbot truly is.

What I’m most concerned about is Hecate and her schemes to bring Ethan to the dark side. I commend Greene for her acting because it takes a gifted performer to make me appreciate and loathe them at the same time. Hecate had an equally rough start in life, having been placed in servitude to Lucifer (not seen) by her own mother Evelyn (Helen McCrory). But her misguided belief that Ethan’s guilt will be assuaged by accepting his sins and giving himself to Lucifer is ludicrous.

This is not good.

Hecate does have some feelings for Ethan but I am holding onto hope that when Ethan and Vanessa (Eva Green) are reunited, he will remember his true purpose – to protect Vanessa against the forces of evil that seek to destroy her. I have a theory. If you put together all the pieces from seasons one and two regarding the Egyptian god and goddess Amun-Ra and Amunet, they point to how the two are to be “conjoined.” Could Ethan and Vanessa be the reincarnated versions of Amun-Ra and Amunet? Vanessa has been referred to as “the mother of evil,” and she showed both Lucifer and Dracula in last week’s “A Blade of Grass” what she’s capable of. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that these two guys are brothers, “fallen angels” actually. That was another shocker from “A Blade of Grass” I didn’t expect. I digress.

If Vanessa truly is the Mother of Evil, then she can stop Hecate just as she stopped Evelyn in the season two finale “And They Were Enemies.” But if Ethan has switched sides, he may defeat Vanessa. The plot thickens. I need to see Ethan and Vanessa together again – he loves her and she him; love conquers all, right? As an aside, if the showrunners get anyone to play Lucifer, I vote for Tom Ellis who plays Lucifer Morningstar on Fox’s Lucifer. Just saying.

Overall

Will Ethan be able to resist the darkness?

“This World Is Our Hell” catapults Ethan’s story arc but it also leaves me with many questions. Is Ethan truly joining Hecate on Team Lucifer? Will Ethan ever forgive himself for the follies of his youth? The acting throughout this episode is outstanding. The cinematography is phenomenal and the special effects in which the snakes were slithering just below the desert sand is top notch.

Let me know what you think of “This World Is Our Hell.” What did you think about Hecate and Ethan in the cave? Team Vanessa (Vanethan) or Team Hecate (Hethan)? Leave me a comment below or tweet me @judybopp. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Tune in to Penny Dreadful, Sundays at 10PM E/P, only on Showtime.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.