Penny Dreadful: The Final Season

The third and final season of the Showtime series that re-imagines characters of 19th-century British horror fiction (sharing the same London underworld) brings the story of the tormented Vanessa Ives (Eva Green)—who is haunted by demons and hunted by witches and vampires—to a satisfying conclusion. It opens with Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), father of Dracula's victim Mina, in Africa; American sharpshooter and werewolf Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) transported through the American West to stand trial; and Vanessa alone and isolated in London. As Vanessa is slowly drawn back into the world and romanced by a charming zoologist with dark secrets, Malcolm and Native American warrior Kaetenay (Wes Studi) rescue Ethan and return to defend Vanessa from the dark powers. This season also brings Dr. Henry Jekyll, Dracula, and Renfield into the universe, introduces a swashbuckling woman adventurer (Perdita Weeks), and has actress Patti LuPone returning as a psychiatrist who joins the team to help save Vanessa. One harrowing episode features a hypnosis-induced flashback to Vanessa's time at an asylum where she endures barbaric treatments to "cure" her of "delusions" and is comforted by the man who will become Dr. Frankenstein's monster. Creator John Logan excels at imagining new stories for iconic characters and weaving their lives together in dramatically resonant ways. For a story with lots of brutality on the part of both fictional monsters and human characters, the series is grounded in loyalty, sacrifice, and love. Compiling all nine episodes from the 2016 final season, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes and character profiles. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)