Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Season 1, Episode 7 “Maria and the Beast”
Air Date: Sunday, June 7, 2020 at 10PM E/P
Reviewer Rating: 4 Stars
***WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD***
“All families have their secrets; that’s the reason windows have curtains.” – Maria Vega
In the opening scene of “Maria and the Beast,” Maria Vega (Adriana Barraza) is taking the bus to work. As the bus passes a cemetery, Maria senses something. In the distance, we can see Magda (Natalie Dormer), the Woman in Black, staring straight at Maria. This season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels is certainly not lacking in the drama department.
“Maria and the Beast” mostly centers around things happening in Maria’s world. Her home life has been deeply impacted by the civil unrest happening in Los Angeles, but now her work life comes under fire after her employer, Dr. Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear), ships his wife Linda (Piper Perabo) off to a sanitarium then immediately brings in his new girlfriend Elsa (Natlie Dormer) and her terrifyingly creepy son Frank (Santino Barnard) in to live with him and his two sons.
Elsa and Frank Move In
Let’s just talk about the small creepy monster in the room, shall we? I loathe saying horrible things about child actors, but I don’t ever want to be in a room alone with Barnard. His acting is truly bone chilling. It’s significantly noteworthy for awards season. The way he embodies Frank, who may or may not be a real boy, who knows, terrifies me. When Frank feigns being scared and wants to crawl into bed with Tom (Julian Hilliard), I could feel the fear emanating from Tom.
When Frank says, “Tell me you love me; it’ll make me feel safe,” I pulled the covers a little closer to me as Tom shakily whispers, “I love you, Frank.” As the hamster wheel turns, dread filled my heart. I knew one poor soul wouldn’t see the light of day. R.I.P. Friar Tuck. I’m sure you were a good little hamster. (I’m not in the fetal position, rocking back and forth; you are.)
Elsa also spins her poisonous web around Peter’s heart, whispering sweet things laced with acidic suggestions about Maria being a bad influence on the boys. “She cooks her people’s food for them…they know Spanish words…if they are to learn another language, should it not be German?” Elsa has already moved Maria to the small room by the garage so that Peter’s eldest son Trevor (Hudson West) could have his own room and for Frank to share a room with Tom.
So, I’m confused. We’ve seen the house from the outside, it’s huge. It looks like there are many rooms available because it’s a mansion. Are there not enough rooms for all the boys to have their own rooms? Tom needs a room with a lock!
A Meeting in the Ladies Room
There are quite a few interesting plot points in “Maria and the Beast.” When Alex’s unexpected encounter with Councilwoman Beck (Christine Estabrook) reveals plans for Townsend (Michael Gladis) to ascend to presidency, it’s quite shocking; however, Beck’s jib about Alex needing to wear some “rouge” seems to have truly irked her the most. Someone’s vanity has been insulted.
What’s Wrong with Raul?
Maria’s eldest son, Raul (Adam Rodriguez), seems to have taken a break from living life. Yes, he’s still recovering from being shot in the head, but did he lose his voice? When his mother and younger sister Josefina (Jessica Garza) argue about religion, he sits there like a bump on a log. To Josefina’s point, her time with Sister Molly (Kerry Bishé) at the Joyful Voices temple may seem like she’s betraying her Catholic faith, but Maria’s shrine and devotion to Santa Muerte (Lorenza Izzo) could also be viewed the same.
I’m still waiting to learn the reason Raul’s life was spared after he was shot. Why did Santa Muerte save him?
Lewis and Tiago
If you recall from last week’s episode, “How It Is With Brothers,” Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane) kept Detective Santiago “Tiago” Vega’s (Daniel Zovatto) secret about his younger brother Mateo (Jonathan Nieves) being the fourth guy that got away. Now, poor Diego (Adan Rocha) takes the wrap for not only Officer Reilly’s (Rod McLachlan) murder, but also the deaths of the Hazlett Family from the series premiere “Santa Muerte.”
Lewis cashes in on the favor he did for Tiago, enlisting him in his personal war against the Nazis. One Nazi in particular, Richard Goss (Thomas Kretschmann), has his seedy hands in many facets of business in Los Angeles. From encouraging a young Cal-Tech rocket scientist Brian (Kyle McArthur), and now courting a Councilman and the leader of the biggest “radio church” in the city, Goss has in sights on taking over America starting with Los Angeles.
Lewis and Tiago are taken by surprise when Townsend shows up for dinner, but when Adelaide (Amy Madigan) shows up, Lewis implies that her daughter Molly may also be involved. This puts doubt in Tiago’s mind, even after Molly telling him she loves him. Is Molly aware of her mother’s involvement with Goss and are they aware of his affiliations with the Third Reich?
Maria and the Beast Meet Face to Face
The biggest confrontation, and most profound, happens in the final act of “Maria and the Beast,” giving the episode’s is apt title. As Maria summons Santa Muerte to ask why she’s letting her “bitch of a sister” run unchecked. “My children are being taken from me one by one, and all at once. And I smell her, the Beast, in the air. I feel her on my neck; the Old Coyote knows.”
During the conversation, an unexpected guest shows up – Magda herself. Two sisters face off – Magda and Santa Muerte – ending when the latter walks away in tears. Then Magda and Maria square off. The conversation is heated.
Magda: “Why does she call you Coyote?”
Maria: “It is my spirt guide.”
Magda: “A hunter of the night. I can give you a better one. Why not Raven or bat or tigress? Why that sad little dog?”
Maria: “I am a dog. That is my strength. You’re not welcome in this home. This is the Lord’s house.”
Magda: [laughing] “Oh, Mamacita; spare me the invocations of a dusty faither in which you no longer believe. [flipping the necklaces on the shrine of Santa Muerte] What is all this but wicked idolatry? And you worship her? She is the icy finger of death and yet you embrace her. I give mankind whatever it wants, and you hate me. Now, where’s the sense in that one?” [knocks a statue of her sister to the floor]
Maria: “Why do you only break what others have built?”
Magda: “All life comes from death.”
Maria: “What do you know of life? You should choke on the word. I’ve created life; I’ve nurtured here, inside me. What have you done? You hunt; you kill; that is no life.”
Magda: “You do know I can end your suffering, yes? Bring your family back to you, all around the table, just like it was.”
Maria: “I will not be tempted by your lies. You are a hateful old cunt.”
Magda: “Hollow words from a broken heart. My sister has no ear for it, but I do. I hear you cry out for a savior; I can be that savior, Maria. If you love your family; if you would protect them, you will embrace me with open arms. I can bring you peace. My dear Maria, you’ve clawed your way through the mud; you’ve climbed hills with a broken back; all to give your family a better life. Now, you need to rest.”
Maria: “Yes, my time for rest is coming…but now yet. My family may be at the center of this chess game of yours, but we are not pawns; we are kings and queens. And the blood of the Aztecs runs through us. The soldiers of the revolution walk beside us; and as long as I draw breath from my lungs, I will claw through the mud, I will climb hills, and I will fight you to the end of days. In the name of my children whom God knit together in my womb, I banish you from this place!”
The gauntlet has been thrown…
Tune into Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Sundays at 10PM E/P on Showtime.
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Judy Manning
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