Penny Dreadful “Little Scorpion” 

Apparently, to know Vanessa Ives is to want to protect her from harm and evil. She’s got her cadre of protectors — although Sir Malcolm isn’t doing the best job right now, because he’s under the influence of Evelyn Poole. Lyle, while still technically beholden to Ms. Poole as well, is doing what he can to protect the little scorpion. I wonder if he’ll be punished for it. We know that Evelyn has no qualms about being discovered for who she really is, but if Lyle hastens that discovery I can’t imagine she’ll be pleased.

Victor and Lyle discover that the Devil, the Hound and the Scorpion seem to be in some sort of battle. The Hound is a recurring motif in the objects, so they deduce that the Devil is scared of the Hound. Well, finally, a bit of good news. Now if we can just figure out how the Hound can be used to scare the Devil off permanently, maybe Vanessa’s never-ending torment will end.

In the meantime, Vanessa and Ethan have traveled to the Cut-Wife’s cottage. After fainting at Dorian’s ball, Vanessa knew she was no longer safe in London. Because she can only sense the danger — not see or hear or smell it — it’s best to go somewhere where she’s got a little built-in protection. Ethan won’t let her go alone and Sir Malcolm doesn’t want her to go at all. It’s Lyle who suggests that she keep her destination a secret. But Vanessa decides to tell the doctor, just in case. What if she’s needed? She trusts Victor will use the information wisely if the time comes.

Back in London, Dorian and Lily are getting better acquainted (or reaquainted, although neither of them realizes it). Her continual sense of wonderment and discovery intrigues Dorian and he promises to call on her again, but not before The Creature observes their date. And Lily’s curiosity prevents her from making it home. She asks the driver to pull over and finds herself at a bar. Because she’s the only woman there, the man she sits next to makes some assumptions. But she willingly leaves with him, but it’s during sex that things don’t quite go as planned. I assumed Lily would be as strong as The Creature and we get a glimpse of that power when we watch her choke the man to death.

Random Thoughts and Questions

Lily seems to be different from The Creature in that her curiosity leads her to kill a man. It wasn’t self-defense or anything like that. Did she do it because she wanted to see what it would feel like? Did she do it because she could?

Vanessa and Ethan’s evolving relationship continues to intrigue me. It’s interesting that he said she’d make someone a good little wifey. So, he doesn’t see himself settling down with her, which is just smart at this point because of what he is. But I wonder if they’ll still try to be together if they make any progress in vanquishing the devil. I hope so.

Speaking of which, I wonder what type of damage the Hound can do to Lucifer and why he fears him so much. It’s great when a much-feared creature is scared of something. Now they just have to figure out how to exploit that weakness.

Will there be consequences for Dorian or Lily stemming from their date? We know Victor’s jealous and I would assume Angelique isn’t too happy about her beau stepping out on her. And obviously, The Creature assumed Lily was for him. This is all getting very complicated and I like it.

Has Vanessa truly turned away from God? She wasn’t supposed to open the book unless she did, but I view her act as revenge for her friend, not as her abandoning God. And even though Ethan was planning to kill Hawkes, I think it was more satisfying that Vanessa did. Even if killing Hawkes will leave a stain on Vanessa’s soul, she did what she had to do.

Also, if Ethan never calls Vanessa “little girl” again it’ll be too soon. I get it, but I’m also creeped out by it.

Penny Dreadful airs Sundays at 10/9c on Showtime.