News & Interviews for Penny Dreadful: Season 3

Critic Reviews for Penny Dreadful Season 3

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (1)

A lush, florid atmosphere that feels fresh, provocative and organically adorned with enough sex and violence to fit right in on pay cable.

May 5, 2016 | Full Review…

Brian Lowry

CNN.com

Top Critic

Sumptuous and atmospheric - the superb production values, impressive cast and gorgeous framing make Penny Dreadful extremely beautiful to look at, with the language -- particularly Russell Beale's -- an absolute treat.

May 4, 2016 | Full Review…

Rosy Barnes

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Top Critic

Throats will be slit. Bodices will indeed be ripped. The dead will rise again. And assuming the payoff for all these tantalizing but occasionally frustrating early separations arrives in time, Penny Dreadful should remain bloody good fun.

May 2, 2016 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Alex McLevy

AV Club

Top Critic

Writer John Logan and director Damon Thomas have vastly expanded the show's scope, and what was already a lavish production is taken to new heights.

May 2, 2016 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Scott Von Doviak

AV Club

Top Critic

At the start of its third season, the series, guided by creator John Logan, remains as passionate as ever about its characters and their unique circumstances.

May 2, 2016 | Full Review…

Kevin Yeoman

ScreenRant

Dreadful's Season 3 premiere, was a hell of a ride. Doing what this show does best which is exploring the beauty and poetry behind gothic horror with dialogue that both renders plot and reveals heart.

May 2, 2016 | Rating: 8.6/10 | Full Review…

Matt Fowler

IGN Movies

Too many characters were brought in only to be wasted.

Jun 27, 2018 | Full Review…

Valerie Complex

Black Girl Nerds

Penny Dreadful ended when it should and we are glad it did so well. [Full Review in Spanish]

Jul 11, 2018 | Full Review…

Natalia Marcos

El Pais (Spain)

Penny Dreadful's set work is unparalleled, and this season the bright oranges and yellows of the Old West make for a welcome contrast to the washed-out blues and grays of Old London.

May 2, 2016 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Mark A. Perigard

Boston Herald

"Penny Dreadful" isn't just good. It's scary good, maintaining its place at the top of the horror heap.

Feb 27, 2018 | Full Review…

Mark Dawidziak

Cleveland Plain Dealer

The show's sheer density of characters isn't in service of anything except its own story. Instead, it updates and combines its characters as it sees fit.

Aug 14, 2017 | Full Review…

Alison Herman

The Ringer

The drama potently blooms to reveal its "gorgeous secrets," especially in its depiction of how women were reinventing themselves in this heady era.

May 2, 2016 | Full Review…

Inkoo Kang

MTV

View All Critic Reviews (15)

Audience Reviews for Penny Dreadful: Season 3

• Nov 10, 2019

  What a heart breaking ending. One of the most intriguing television series I have ever seen. It has extreme thought provoking scenes and dialogues, and man the ending is still haunting me. The final episode on the whole is the ending. Don't forget to watch it start to end the full 60 min. Perfect but tragic ending.
  

  Vijay K
• Apr 25, 2019

  Heartbreaking! I'm still waiting for a miracle.
  alex r
• Jan 28, 2019

  Quality production that shines to the last, fantastic cast, clever plots, great characterisations. It provides not only the thrills you would hope for but also some powerful emotional moments, Eva Green in particular gives a mesmerising performance.
  bill c
• Nov 13, 2018

  It's a scam, the story is a waste of time, nothing remotely close to scary, Imagine vampires have no special powers
  Sami%20 J
• Jun 03, 2018

  insultingly bad ending. avoid.
  Jake R
• Feb 27, 2018

  Completely horrible. Filler boring romance, motives changing but make no sense. The whole thing has turned to shite.
  H S
• Oct 19, 2017

  I wish Josh Hartnett and Timothy Dalton's characters spent more of the season with Eva Green, as there was such great chemistry between the three, especially Hartnett and Green. I feel as though they got the news that Penny Dreadful was to be cancelled halfway through the season and then they had to wrap it up quickly. I think it could have had at least a couple more seasons, but with that being said, they handled it sufficiently. I still felt wanting more by the end of it, though. Eva Green's performance was masterful throughout, and the episode where it was just her and Rory Kinnear in the mental hospital was absolutely phenomenal. It was just those two characters in a room the entire episode and I didn't find myself getting bored or distracted at all. Gonna really miss this show.
  Kyle A
• May 08, 2017

  This is the show American Horror Story was trying to be, but failed horribly. Top notch acting by ALL the actors, top notch writing, top notch direction, scenery and costumes; the only bad thing about this series is that it's over after season 3!
  J. Scott E
• Feb 18, 2017

  excelente y muy recomendable.
  Dante C
• Feb 04, 2017

  To be deeply terrifying on a psychological level story has to be able to be relatable to the audience. While some completely fictitious creatures such as Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers can provide a frightening experience is impossible for the audience to completely suppress the fact that they are impossible in real life. In contrast, a subset of horror stories based on the murky boundaries that separate reality from fiction frequently produce some of the most horrific characters and situations possible. The last three seasons the premium cable network, Showtime, has presented a series that excelled in doing just that, ‘Penny Dreadful.' This series has been able to transport characters some of the greatest works of fiction and present them in such a manner that the viewer is immediately captivated by the intensity of the story and how well it was able to lure terrors that lurk in the deepest recesses of the most primitive areas of the brain. Set in London during the Victorian era, stories can juxtapose the class discrepancies that help define the period. Evils that founded in ancient superstitions appearing with those created by the newly embraced technological leaps preceding the start of the 20th century. Some extremely terrifying figures found in fiction provided the basis for the characters depicted here. The cast of the macabre individuals included such infamous examples of literature’s greatest works such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray. There been many incarnations the characters that originated in the works but you have come up to the frighteningly realistic depiction found here. In many instances, the characters are more accurately presented here then how Hollywood has depicted them over the years. This third season will be the last of this excellent example of Gothic horror ever produced. There are many advantages to the new paradigm that governs television. We have moved away from the three major broadcast networks was content was strictly controlled by the FCC to cable networks and video services can fully explore mature themes. Frequently these series of afforded the respect of ending while still at the peak of the excellence. While Penny Dreadful critic continued for several seasons, the decision of the network and showrunner was to conclude the series while it is still at the peak of creativity. One of the most powerful requisite elements of Gothic horror is the inclusion of romantic themes. Relationships in this context often extend beyond the normal star-crossed lovers to relationships that are doomed either by inevitably tragic circumstances manifestations of violence inherent to the individuals. The example presented here demonstrated by two of the more attractive leading characters? Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) is an exceptionally powerful practitioner of Spiritism, a powerful medium, and clairvoyant. The source of abilities wise and true nature, a Daywalker. They are powerful witches, adept in casting wards, spells to prevent attacks by the forces of evil including the most powerful enemies including the evil witches, The Nightcomers. The whole relationship with the American sharpshooter, Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) who waste natural speed and accuracy who had been wasting his preternatural natural talents touring with an American Wild West show, the name Ethan is merely a nom du voyage. Chandler is Ethan Lawrence Talbot, son of a very wealthy man. Ethan is on the run dark secret bears; Ethan is a werewolf. Although strongly attracted to each other a relationship between two such powerful manifestations of magic never truly worked out. This final season witnesses the most significant changes to date. After the death of a man often regarded as the "last of the great poets," Alfred Tennyson, numerous circumstances intersect to fling the principle cast of characters across the globe. Vanessa has spiraled deeper into depression causing her to seek out the professional help of an alienist, what would now fall under the category of a psychiatrist or psychologist. Vanessa, warned by Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) that her melancholia would necessitate such treatment. In due course, she seeks the professional assistance of a Dr. Florence Seward (Patti LuPone), an American practitioner of alienism. A substantial portion of her preferred methodology is to help her patients connect with their emotions, no matter how intense. Ms. LuPone has the distinction of having been featured in a previous season as the Cut-Wife who helped Vanessa discover how to access and control her supernatural abilities. Ironical both of the characters portrayed by Ms. LuPone provided a crucial influence at an emotionally venerable point in Vanessa’s life. Dr. Frankenstein would also heel help coping with the events in his life and redemption for challenging the Creator by constructing his Creature (Rory Kinnear). In this season Victor teams up with another scientist conducting unorthodox research, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Shazad Latif), a biochemist and old friend of Victor. Together they hope to not only create life but ensure it manifests only its positive nature. The series is well known for its penchant for creating unusual associations. Drs. Frankenstein Jekyll didn’t satiate your desire for strange bedfellows than perhaps this pairing will work. Former prostitute with consumption, Brona Croft (Billie Piper). Originally she had an affair with the immortal Dorian Gray, (Reeve Carney) since he was immune to tuberculosis thanks to an infamous portrait. As the series moves towards its conclusion Grey, reunite with Brona now brought back from death as Lily by Victor. Intended for his creature Lily became accustomed to the fineries of high society. Grey embraced the hedonistic lifestyle that rebelled against the Victorian conservatism. Lycanthrope Ethan is on the run with former adversary Hecate Poole (Sarah Greene), a powerful Nightcomer commonly known as a witch. Among her numerous abilities was shapeshifting and like Vanessa is fluent in Vorbis Diablo, the word of the devil. The use of this ancient language greatly enhances the impact of an incantation. Victorian London is an incredibly rich setting for a gothic horror story. The contrasting textures between the opulence of the rich and the squalor of the poor allowed for an incredible range of environments and ancillary characters. Examination of the societal hierarchy crafted an intricate tapestry of a period in history when the disparity between wealthy and indigent was a chasm yet there was common ground, the monsters that roamed the shadows feed with fervor on both societal extremes. The particular methodology utilized was not universally appreciated. The best thing about gothic horror is that unlike the regrettably popular variation of the genre colloquial known as torture porn. Time and patience are required to properly develop a psychologically elaborate tale of terror such as this. I have heard friends express a negative reaction to this series by the relatively sparse bloodshed. That is precisely the reason that aficionados of traditional horrors including myself considered Penny Dreadful as one of the best horror series possible.
  Douglas M

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