Review – Dead People Lie Down – Penny Dreadful: City of Angels
Welcome to our review of Dead People Lie Down, the second episode of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. The episode picks up in the wake of the confrontation in Belvedere Heights in the premiere. This review will contain spoilers so read on at your own risk if you have not yet seen the episode.
Synopsis
Raul Vega (Adam Rodriguez) lies on the brink of death as his brother Mateo (Johnathan Nieves) meets the charismatic Pachuco Fly Rico (Sebastian Chacon). Tiago and Lewis’s investigation leads them to the temple of the radio evangelist, Sister Molly Finnister (Kerry Bishé) and her formidable mother, Miss Adelaide (Amy Madigan). Councilman Townsend (Michael Gladis) and his cunning assistant Alex capitalize on the discord in the city to further their political goals. Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear) has a chance encounter with Elsa at the beach and his sons meet her unnerving boy, Frank (Santino Barnard). Lewis and his old friends investigate clandestine Third Reich activities.
Joyous Voices
After the shoot-out at the end of the premiere Tiago escorts his partner to the hospital where both police officers and Mexicans are being treated. Including Tiago’s brother Raul who is on a respirator close to death. Tensions are high and Vanderhoff (Brent Spinner) wants closure on the murder from the previous episode. He doesn’t care if Tiago and Lewis actually solve the case, he just wants it concluded. That order sends the detectives to the Joyous Voices ministry the victims were members of and the charismatic Sister Molly. There’s definitely something shady going on at this church, and an awful lot of money being handled. Hazlitt, one of the victims, was a Deacon and a Bursar of the ministry.
After being refused a meeting with Sister Molly the detectives meet with her mother, the stern Miss Adelaide. Lewis manages to procure some of the ledgers from his office to look over and I have a feeling that this is the first step down a rabbit hole that’s going to lead far deeper than the detectives realise.
Later Tiago manages to finagle his way in to see Sister Molly and spends some time talking with her. Kerry Bishé is wonderfully engaging as the evangelical preacher, and she and Tiago seem to build a rapport quickly. I’m interested to see how this plays out now. Tiago has an obvious connection to Santa Muerte (Lorenza Izzo) but there was definitely a spark between him and Molly.
I love how already the show is playing on the dichotomy of Tiago. At the end of the premiere we saw him framed between Santa Muerte and Magda, implying he will be torn between the light and dark. There’s also the obvious split between Detective Vega and Tiago from Belvedere Heights.
Pachuco
In the hospital, Tiago’s family are all at Raul’s bedside. Maria (Adriana Barraza) prays for her son and Josefina (Jessica Garza) sits with him. Mateo goes to get a drink for his sister and is accosted by a group of police officers. They are ready to take an eye in return for the one one of their number lost during the confrontation. They are only stopped by the arrival of a young man who calls himself Fly Rico. He challenges the cops and then speaks to Mateo, praising him for his bravery and telling him he is a Pachuco. Pachucos were a Mexican-American gang who were noted for their flamboyant dress and behaviour, which accounts for the seriously sharp threads Rico is wearing!
Making Hay
In the wake of the shootings, Councilman Townsend worries that the motorway plan is finished. The man who was going to build it is dead and after the shootings there is unrest. His assistant Alex pours honeyed words in his ear. You can almost see the dollar signs and Mayoral chain glinting in the venal man’s eyes.
At a press conference he uses the bloodstained uniform of a slain police officer as a rallying flag, parades his young widow in front of the cameras, and announces that the motorway will be built and will be renamed for the dead man. It’s a genius move, no doubt orchestrated by Alex and Goss (Thomas Kretschmann).
Beach Day
Dr Craft is at the beach with his two sons for the day when who should he spot but the beautiful Elsa and her creepy boy. He invites the child to play with his boys while he and Elsa talk. Elsa’s ‘son’ might just be the creepiest thing in the show so far, especially the smile he gives after he says “Dead people lie down. All dead”. And at least one of Dr Craft’s sons notices that something is off. Tom (Julian Hilliard – The Haunting of Hill House) is definitely keeping an eye on the boy, even when they leave he looks back again.
Later that night, in bed with his wife (Piper Perabo) Dr Craft sees Elsa instead and becomes rather more, uh, aggressive. His wife chastises him afterwards, but it’s clear his thoughts are elsewhere. I don’t know whether that was just vivid imagination on Dr Craft’s part, or if Magda/Elsa was actually influencing him. It’s still unclear just how far her insidious influence spreads and by what means.
Secret meetings
The cast of this show is outstanding, and this week’s episode was no different. One of the later scenes saw a cameo from the amazing Richard Kind as one of Michener’s Jewish friends, Sam Bloom. Michener and his friends are watching the Nazi Goss and see him meeting with a young man. Michener sends Bloom and another friend after Goss. The neurotic tailor gets too close, alerting Goss’s driver (Dominic Sherwood) who leads them up into the hills and coldly executes them. Lewis and Dottie follow the young man to CalTech where he seems to be a student. Lewis watches him enter a room which just happens to be a Physics Research Lab with a warning above the door regarding explosives. And another plot thread is picked up to be woven in.
Dead People Lie Down
This episode was just as jaw droppingly beautiful as the previous. There was one moment towards the end of the episode where Goss exhales smoke from a cigarette and it cuts to the candles on the floor where Maria is praying being blown out as Santa Muerte arrives. The end of the episode ups the creep factor as Raul goes missing from his bed. Maria follows a trail of blood, with Santa Muerte following her from the shadows.
That’s it for this review of Dead People Lie Down. Both episodes are steaming now on SHOWTIME’s website or via the app. Penny Dreadful: City of Angels returns May 10th at 10/9c.
