Penny Dreadful: City of Angels – Santa Muerte Review
With the Penny Dreadful: City of Angels series premiere in the rearview now, it’s time to have a more detailed look at the first episode in our Santa Muerte Review. If you are yet to see the episode you can check out our Spoiler Free Preview.
Synopsis
Santa Muerte. Los Angeles, 1938. Detectives Tiago Vega (Daniel Zovatto) and Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane) investigate a murder. Tiago’s brother Raul (Adam Rodriguez) battles Councilman Charlton Townsend (Michael Gladis) over California’s first freeway. Tiago’s mother Maria (Adriana Barraza) pleads with Santa Muerte (Lorenza Izzo).
The episode opens with sisters Santa Muerte – the angel of Holy Death – and Magda (Natalie Dormer) – a corrupting demon – discussing a prophecy that nicely sets up the events to follow. We also meet a young boy who grows up to be one of the central players of the story, Santiago ‘Tiago’ Vega, the first Chicano Detective of the LAPD.
In my spoiler free preview I mentioned that Magda’s black gown reminded me of an evil oil slick, and that’s never more true than in the opening scene as she sweeps through the fields, burning them and killing the workers. She brings souls to her sister, and the first we see her take is Tiago’s father. In what is one of the most visually striking scenes of the episode young Tiago races towards his father as the fields burn. Santa Muerte cradles his body and as Tiago approaches she raises a hand to ward the boy off. He is flung backwards. Later we see him as an adult with a handprint on his chest. He was marked by Santa Muerte’s touch, and I have a feeling that is going to be very important indeed as the series progresses.
Take our heart
One of my favourite things about the episode was seeing the lives, homes and workplaces of Tiago and his family. Los Angeles is so often portrayed as a cold, unfriendly city, but the Mexican neighbourhoods were so warm and full of life and a sense of community. To me they are the heart of the show. This is brought home when we find out that the Vega’s neighbourhood is due to be demolished to make way for the first freeway. At the grisly multiple murder scene that Tiago and Michener are called to at the beginning of the episode there is an inscription;
TE LLAVAS NUESTRO CORAZON – TOMANOS EL TUYO
Take our heart – we take yours
As their investigation into the murders continues they find a model of the proposed freeway at the victims’ home and Tiago repeats the inscription from the muder scene, realising that the “heart” is the centre of his community which is about to be bulldozed.
Rising Tensions
It’s not just tensions between the Mexican and American communities that are on the rise.
Across town Tiago’s mother Maria arrives at work. She’s a domestic servant for the family of Doctor Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear, the only cast member from the original PD to appear in City of Angels). We see him with his family, two young boys and a seemingly alcoholic wife, before he leaves for work.
There we are introduced to another of Magda’s incarnations, a young German mother called Elsa. As she leaves his office with her son we get one of the creepiest moments of the episode, as she absorbs the boy into her body and we begin to realise that she is trying to get close and influence the doctor, but why? That’s quickly explained as back in his office Dr Craft opens a closet door and inside we see a Nazi uniform. This calls back to Magda’s prophecy at the beginning of the episode when she mentioned a war was coming that would pit race against race.
Political Ambition
Councilman Townsend and his freeway plans form the third strand woven through this premiere. He chairs a meeting which is attended by Tiago’s brother Raul and other members of their community. It ends in chaos as tensions rise between the two parties. Townsend’s “go back where you came from” attitude is being encouraged by his assistant Alex, another of Magda’s many faces. She arranges a meeting between him and a German businessman, Richard Goss (Thomas Kretschmann), who has a proposition. He wants to make Townsend Mayor of LA, with the backing of Hitler, to facilitate an expansion on the West Coast. After a moment’s hesitation, and a heavy threat from Goss involving his Gestapo bodyguard (Dominic Sherwood) Townsend accepts.
Santa Muerte
Two of my absolute favourite scenes of the episode involved Tiago’s mother Maria. The first was outside the music store when she danced with Tiago. It was a scene filled with such pure sweetness and joy that as it ended I realised I’d been grinning the entire time.
The second scene comes shortly after that, when Maria invokes Santa Muerte herself. It might not be the scariest scene – I leave it to you to decide which human evil gets that honour – but it is certainly the most overtly gothic, and was the moment when I accepted this show as a successor to the Penny Dreadful name. It’s also the moment where we see that there is a strength in goodness too, as Maria confronts Santa Muerte despite her fear and reverence of the Angel of Holy Death.
Brother against Brother
The episode climaxes with an impressive set piece. The police face off against the inhabitants of Belvedere heights as the bulldozers are ready to move. Tiago stands with his colleagues in the police force against his relatives, neighbours and friends. He implores them to disperse peacefully but the situation is a powder keg waiting for a spark. That spark is Magda. Once more we see her that evil oil slick, tainting all she touches. Whispering in the ear of policeman and protestor alike until finally things explode. In a shocking moment Tiago is forced to shoot his own brother, who has succumbed to Magda’s vile influence. We come full circle once more as Magda faces down Santa Muerte, the same song from the start of the episode plays as they frame Tiago.
Weaving a tangled web
The various threads that are set to run through this series have been well established in this first episode. I’m fascinated by they way these strands are all connected. I highly doubt though – if the original Penny Dreadful is anything to go by – that they will play out in an obvious way and that has me eager for more episodes. I also love how different the various faces of Magda are, and how she seems to be influencing each of the plotlines.
The final shot, with Tiago framed between Angel and Demon, implies that he will struggle in the show, torn between good and evil. He seemed almost entirely good in this episode, if tempered with a little hesitation and doubt. It’s definitely going to be an interesting journey for him.
The cinematography in this episode is absolutely gobsmacking. The original PD had a chilling gothic sensibility which meshed so well with the literary monsters that were integral to its story. This new incarnation deals with more human monsters, those hidden beneath an often warm and welcoming exterior. We get glimpses of that here, but there isn’t quite the same sense of dread lurking beneath the surface. That said, it was in the second episode of Penny Dreadful that that show really took off (the séance). Let’s see what the next episode brings.
Santa Muerte Review
The stand-out performances in this episode were definitely from Daniel Zovatto and Lorena Izzo. Daniel makes Tiago shine in every scene he is in with humanity. Lorena Izzo has a chilling, almost scary beauty in her portrayal. There’s something in her performance that sets her apart. There’s an inhuman quality to it, a contrast to Tiago in every way.
I’m also intrigued to find out more about some of the characters introduced. For the most part, in this show’s predecessor, there were no small parts. As far as I recall, everyone who got a name in that show played an important part. Will that be true here? If the synopses of some of the upcoming episodes are anything to go by it seems possible. Again, we shall have to wait and see. But on the evidence of this first episode I think Penny Dreadful: City of Angels could be a worthy successor.
So that’s my Santa Muerte Review. What did you think of the episode FANdemaniacs? Are you burning to see more or did it fail to set you alight? Let us know in the comments or on social media. We will be back with another review next week.
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels airs Sundays at 10/9c on SHOWTIME.
