The Showtime series starring former Bond girl Eva Green and former Bond Timothy Dalton has turned into something of a pop culture sensation since its release last year, and the second season proved even creepier than the first with the addition of the nightcrawlers (witches), who Vanessa Ives (Green) finally takes on during the "Penny Dreadful" season finale.
During the "Penny Dreadful" season finale, the major plotline of the season was resolved within the first few minutes, as the scene of Vanessa facing her fetish (an incredibly creepy and Devil-possessed voodoo doll that speaks in her voice) continued from the previous episode, as Evelyn (Helen McCrory) witnessed the scene.
As AV Club reports, the "Penny Dreadful" season finale starts with Vanessa's confrontation of the Devil in what seems like a variation from Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ," as the Devil shows Vanessa the life she could have, with Mina (Olivia Llewellyn) still alive and married to Ethan (Josh Harnett) with two children.
However, the "Penny Dreadful" season finale proves that Vanessa knows she can't have a normal life now, and she attacks the Devil in her own tongue with the Verbis Diablo, effectively bringing him back to where he came, as Evelyn loses her youth - then being killed by Ethan in werewolf form, who recognizes Vanessa and then walks away.
This also frees Sir Malcolm (Dalton) and Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) from a curse that was about to have them take their own lives.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the "Penny Dreadful" season finale also confirms that Sembene (Danny Sapani) was indeed killed during Ethan's werewolf rampage, and he hasn't turned into a werewolf.
In fact, eaten away by guilt, Ethan goes up to Scotland Yard to turn himself in begging to be hanged quickly, surely before the next full moon ... only to discover that he's been extradited to the United States, where he'll be charged.
Before that, Vanessa, who now knows Ethan's a werewolf, asked him to go away with her, but he refused, leaving her a letter explaining he'd be turning himself in.
Variety reports that other chilling moments in the last episode of the second season included Dr. Frankenstein's discovery that he had been duped by creation-turned-lover Lily, formerly Brona (played by Billie Piper), who turned into the creepiest character in a show focused on the creepy, as she not only rejected Victor but also told him she'd known all along, as she danced with Dorian Grey (Reeve Carney) - Victor then attempted to kill both of them, though they're immortal.
Lily decided to spare Victor to live with his guilt over the monsters he had created, dancing the night away with Dorian and leaving a trail of blood - while the scarred doctor went back home to continue slowly killing himself through his own drug addiction.
As far as Frankenstein's other creation, John Clare (Rory Kinnear), who had been kept captive in the previous episode after being cheated into entering a cage, he set himself free during the "Penny Dreadful" season finale, killing two of his captors with extraordinary strength, while leaving their young blind daughter to fend for himself alone.
Then, Clare went back to the shelter to take his few possessions, where he met Vanessa for one last talk, as they both discussed being "monsters" in one way or another - and she told him he was the most human man she'd ever met.
By the end of the "Penny Dreadful" season finale, Vanessa was left alone, as Frankenstein dealt with his own demons, Ethan was led to America and sir Malcolm sailed off to Africa to bury Sembene's body; and during the ordeal, Vanessa lost her faith to the point of setting fire to the cross in her room.
The cross wasn't the only thing burning during the "Penny Dreadful" season finale, however, as Hecate (Sarah Greene), the more forward of Evelyn's witch daughters, burned down the house while singing "The Unquiet Grave," as the future looks uncertain for the characters of the show.
