Hide and Seek – Review
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels
We are back for our Penny Dreadful: City of Angels – Hide and Seek Review. The eighth episode of the season foregrounds the supernatural war being waged by Magda with the Vega family as the battlefield. If you’ve not yet seen the episode and would prefer a spoiler free tease, click HERE.
Synopsis
Lewis confronts Townsend (Michael Gladis) in his office and Tiago questions Adelaide (Amy Madigan), where he discovers Josefina (Jessica Garza) is now a member of the Sister Molly’s congregation. Rio implores Mateo (Johnathan Nieves) to forget his old family and embrace her and the Pachucos. Peter (Rory Kinnear) visits Linda (Piper Perabo) at the asylum, only to find her ready for war. Townsend and Kurt (Dominic Sherwood) go on a dangerous outing, while Peter Craft argues with members of the German-American Bund. In the Craft home, Frank (Santino Barnard) terrorizes Tom (Julian Hilliard) and Trevor (Hudson West) as Maria (Adriana Barraza) fights to protect them from the demonic child. Starring Natalie Dormer, Daniel Zovatto, and Nathan Lane.
We begin to see that things aren’t entirely going Magda’s way in this episode. Most notably when Peter Craft finds his own backbone and stands up to Elsa when she tries to oust Maria from their home. Meanwhile Maria gifts her Coyote totem to Tom to protect him from the demonic Frank but in doing so has she left herself vulnerable? Alex also switches tack as she turns her attention to Lewis. The Hide and Seek of the title could be a reference to the various secrets that are being revealed or more literally to the scene close to the end of the series where Maria searches the Craft house.
City Hall
During a confrontation in her office Councilwoman Beck threatens to out Townsend if he goes against her. When he returns to his office he finds Lewis waiting for him, studying the map of the proposed motorway. The detective is in no mood to trifle. He comes straight out with accusations of Townsend associating with Goss. When Townsend stonewalls Lewis leaves. This was a huge surprise for me given that Townsend is usually such a hothead, as we saw just moments before in Beck’s office. Faced with the detective he is calm and collected, and doesn’t even take it out on Alex after Lewis leaves.
Townsend instructs Alex to call Miss Adelaide and warn her but instead Alex talks to Lewis. She confides that she is actually Jewish and agrees to provide him with details of Townsend’s dealings with Goss. This is an interesting play on her part, given her Magda’s association with Goss and the German-American Bund via her Elsa incarnation, which is pouring fuel on the fire of Lewis’s quest to get rid of the Nazis.
Hell Hath No Fury….
Speaking of Elsa, she is doing her utmost to break Maria. After another clash with Josefina, where her daughter tells her she’s going to live at Sister Molly’s temple, Maria is scolded for talking to other Mexicans and bringing disrepute to the Craft house.
Peter visits with his wife Linda at the sanitarium in what was possibly my favourite scene of the episode. Piper Perabo’s Linda was acerbic before when drunk. Now that she’s sober she is downright acidic (and maybe a little crazy) as she tells her husband exactly what she plans to do. She threatens to reveal who he really is, which leaves an interesting dangling thread. It’s clear that her time in the sanitarium has given her a new, sharper focus.
My King
Out at the shanty where Mateo has been holed up he’s had enough. He wants to turn himself in but Rio convinces him to stay. She tells him he is meant to lead the Pachuco, not Rico. I truly feel for Mateo. He is so conflicted but Rio’s speeches are so empassioned that they seem to blind him, leaving him willing to do what she says. Which in this case seems to be to lead the Pachuco to war. We saw it back in Children of the Royal Sun and now again here. I hope someone is able to get through to the boy, to turn him away from the seductions of Rio and Fly Rico. Perhaps Raul?
So Many Secrets
Tiago meets with Miss Adelaide at the temple to ask her about Goss. She reveals that they plan to open another temple out in Pasadena (where the motorway goes – coincidence?) and that Goss is helping to fund their expansion. Tiago notes the map of the motorway in her office, the same one Lewis looked at in Townsend’s office, and you can almost see the cogs whirring as he starts connecting dots.
She shows him around the temple, explaining what they do for the community, but also warns him about his relationship with Molly. She tells him Molly likes a thrill, that Tiago isn’t her first. Molly likes to keep her secrets, of which she has so many. All this as they watch over a baptism – which just happens to be Josefina’s.
Underground
Townsend takes Kurt to an underground club and Kurt is astonished to see all the patrons are same sex couples. Townsend asks him to dance and after a kiss they take to the floor. It truly does look like Kurt’s icy heart is melting until Townsend asks him to kill Beck. Suddenly an alarm sounds and Townsend passes Kurt off to a woman nearby while he dances with her partner. After another male couple enters the singer (Penny Dreadful alum and award winning Broadway star) Patti LuPone) announces a false alarm they return to each other. Kurt refuses Townsend’s request, saying that to do this would make him not the man Kurt loves.
I can’t help but feel like this ship is doomed to sink. I still can’t tell if Kurt is truly falling for Townsend or if he is merely playing the part he’s been ordered to. Either way it doesn’t seem like this relationship can possibly last.
Sunset
Molly and Josefina are much closer than Molly seems to be with the rest of her congregation. They talk about Josefina’s family as Molly dyes Josefina’s hair red. Molly implores Josefina to remain at home but the girl is insistent. Molly later visits Tiago and they argue over Josefina. He tells her to leave but he doesn’t mean it. They end up in bed together once more as they try to forget who they are to everyone else.
Proud
At the meeting of the German-American Bund Peter clashes with Hermann (Ethan Peck). Peter wants peace but the younger man agrees with the policies of the Führer. When it looks like Hermann is getting the upper hand Elsa speaks up. On the way home Elsa tells Peter that he is wrong, that Hermann was right and she was embarrased by the way Hermann spoke to him. She says she needs a new life, where she is safe, but she will not be treated badly again. He defies her, says that being German is not about marching with Hitler. She accuses him of having no pride and he snaps.
He tells her who he truly is, not just Doctor Peter Craft. He is Peter Krupp, heir to the armour factories that have equipped the German armies for 400 years. After seeing the destruction caused by his family’s products during the war he decided he would not be part of it.
Hide and Seek
Maria is making dinner for the boys when Frank startles her. He starts talking, saying things about her past he shouldn’t possibly know right before he unhinges his jaw in a silent scream. He goes to join the boys and leaves Maria standing scared. Later she is doing the dishes when Tom screams for her. Frank demands to know what Tom is holding and when he reveals the coyote amulet Frank plunges the house into darkness. My heart was in my mouth as Maria searched the house for the boys and instead found an apparition of her dead husband. They talk and she realises he’s another trick from Magda to try and break her.
She snaps out of the terrifying vision and is back in the kitchen. Peter and Elsa return as Frank knocks the boiling kettle off the stove and plunges his hand into the flames. Elsa accuses Maria of neglecting the children and demands that Peter fire her. Peter finds his Krupp backbone and, in defiance of Elsa, he gives Maria a payrise instead.
Pinned Down
Lewis arrives in the middle of the night, barges in and sees Molly in Tiago’s bed. He demands the younger man meet him downstairs. Out on the street they discuss their respective meetings. Lewis has been tracking the company behind the motorway and it links back to Goss. Lewis asks how long Tiago and Molly have been seeing each other and asks if Molly knows about her mother and the Nazis. Tiago says no but he’s not certain. Just as the pieces start to fall into place and they make a plan, someone opens fire on the pair from across the street. They are pinned down as the figure fires from the shadows before speeding away in a car. Who can it be?
And thus ends our Hide and Seek Review. What did you think of the episode? With two episodes to go how do you think things are going to play out? We’d love to hear from you.
