10 Years Ago, This 3-Part Gothic Horror Masterpiece Surprised Fans With an Unexpected Series Finale

With the seeming exception of The Simpsons, no TV series lasts forever. Some end unexpectedly, being cancelled due to low viewership or for no sense whatsoever, often ending on cliffhangers that go forever unresolved, like Mork & Mindy and Quantum Leap. Others are able to end on their own terms, with viewers aware of the series’ finale well ahead of airing, either sticking the landing (M*A*S*H), botching it royally (How I Met Your Mother), or wrapping up divisively (Seinfeld). Rarely do you see a series that ends on its own terms, with viewers being completely unaware that what they’re watching is, in fact, not a season finale but a series finale. In that rarefied air is the three-season horror masterpiece Penny Dreadful, which came to an end at the hands of its creator in 2016.

What Is ‘Penny Dreadful’ About?

Penny Dreadful aired for three seasons on Showtime, first premiering on May 11, 2014. The name is derived from “penny dreadfuls,” cheap 19th-century magazines with stories and illustrations both sensational and gruesome. The lurid magazines were popular in England, and the series borrows heavily from the Gothic fiction of the time. Penny Dreadful could be likened to Once Upon a Time, except instead of beloved fairy tale characters like Snow White and Prince Charming, the show features a who’s-who of characters from 19th century Gothic horror fiction, the likes of which include Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Shelley’s iconic duo of Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and his Creature (Rory Kinnear). There’s also Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), a werewolf, whose real name, Ethan Lawrence Talbot, is a nod to the tortured protagonist of 1941’s The Wolf Man. An entire cast of classic characters, each given new life – sometimes literally – with engaging stories that both honored and challenged their rich history.

But the series lives and dies by lead character Vanessa Ives, whose tragic arc, played out through a consistently powerful, scene-stealing portrayal from Eva Green, serves as the anchor for Penny Dreadful as a whole. Vanessa is introduced as an enigmatic medium, a woman of deep faith at odds with her own evil nature. Over the course of Penny Dreadful, Vanessa is possessed by the Devil himself, hunted by the evil Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) and her coven, and forced to embrace her own past as a witch.

Vanessa finds herself desired by both Lucifer and Dracula, each of whom seeks to use the powerful darkness within her, which she’s been fighting to suppress in spite of the prophecy that heralds her as the “Mother of Evil.” Finally, in Season 3’s “Ebb Tide,” exhausted from the constant battle within and without, Vanessa is coerced by Dracula into embracing who she really is, becoming the very being she was prophesied to be and sending the world into the darkness on the edge of the apocalypse.

‘Penny Dreadful’ Season 3 Ended on a Shocking Note for Fans

However, being the “Mother of Evil” isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be, and it all comes to a head in the Season 3 finale, “The Blessed Dark.” As a battle rages between Dracula and his “children” and Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) and his allies, Ethan slips away to find Vanessa in Dracula’s lair. It’s a truly heartrending moment for the two star-crossed lovers, as Vanessa, who has come to accept that she will only ever find peace and redemption, and stop the impending end of the world, implores Ethan to kill her; Ethan does so, freeing her to find peace and the faith she once held so strongly, as a final act of love.

The blackness is lifted, and Dracula, sensing her death, flees. Following her funeral, the Creature (Rory Kinnear) kneels, alone, at her grave, reciting a poem. Then a title card that simply reads “The End” comes on screen, bringing completion to the season — and, as it turns out, a completion to the series as a whole. Penny Dreadful, which for three seasons held a consistency of quality with a healthy balance of horror and drama, truly did live and die by Vanessa Ives, as creator/showrunner John Logan explained in a statement that was sent out after the series ending:

“I created Penny Dreadful to tell the story of a woman grappling with her faith, and with the demons inside her. For me, the character of Vanessa Ives is the heart of this series. From the beginning, I imagined her story would unfold over a three-season arc, ending with Vanessa finally – and triumphantly – finding peace as she returns to her faith.”

Despite a number of storylines left unresolved – Dracula’s fate, the abrupt ending of Dr. Jekyll’s (Shazad Latif) arc before ever exploring his alter-ego Lord Hyde, and the underutilization of Catriona Hartdegen (Perdita Weeks) – it’s hard to argue with Logan’s rationale. Many series, including the aforementioned Once Upon a Time, have tried, and failed, to carry on for another season or two after key characters have left, and a season without Vanessa would have been empty, existing only to sate the wishes of those who wanted closure. Masterpieces only remain masterpieces if they conclude before tarnishing their reputation, and Logan did what he needed to do to keep the legacy of Penny Dreadful untarnished, even if it came as a surprise to literally everyone.