*Spoilers ahead*

Never have I ever felt so content and so brokenhearted from a finale in a while. In the final episode for Season Two’s Penny Dreadful, “And There Were Enemies” the loose threads of our major characters’ story-lines were beautifully tied off in the most heart wrenching form, while providing us with the gore and ghoul that we love about the show. Penny Dreadful serves to be one of the most poetically driven pieces in television and the decision to deal with its major confrontation of the season within the first twenty minutes was interesting. Instead of building us up to the final showdown, the show spent time with the individual characters dealing with the aftermath and their eventual decisions to part one another.

The episode pairs our heroes with their demons and whether or not they choose to accept, deny or succumb to the darkness. Sir Malcolm and Frankenstein experience hallucinations of their own creations, where their sins are laid out in front of them. Ethan cannot bear the beast within him, so he surrenders and is deported back to America. I am a little bit disappointed that the Hound of God story arch never lived up to its full potential. After restraining himself in front of Vanessa, it would have been nice if he realised he could control this werewolf side and finally become the instrument of God as the protector of all evil. But alas, Ethan holds this curse with a heavy heart and chooses to remove himself to protect the people that he loves.

However, when it comes to Vanessa, she accepts the darkness within her and proves to be more powerful than we ever expected. Though she was enticed by a vision of hope for a normal life (which was utterly heartbreaking to watch, I may have shed a tear or two, or a river full), she has accepted that she is far from normal and her deepest desire is something she no longer seeks.

Using the Vanessa-doll as The Master’s mouthpiece was so cleverly portrayed, as it could have easily turned out to be borderline ridiculous. In any other circumstance, seeing a character go one-on-one with a doll would seem a tad silly, but it was not in this case. It was undoubtedly compelling to watch Vanessa be seduced by a version of herself. And it works in correlation with John Clare’s story about Pandora’s box in a previous episode, where he claims that the box filled with all the evils in the world was just a mirror of which you saw your own reflection (pretty cool stuff, eh?). Vanessa looks at her own evil, and instead of letting it consume her, she uses her inner darkness and overcomes Lucifer’s puppet manifestation in a duelling battle of guttural chants and tongues in a terrifyingly epic manner. It has been a while since I have seen creepy dolls used for horror, so I applaud Penny Dreadful for bringing it back and re-igniting my childhood fear for these inanimate objects.

We get some sickly satisfying moments of justice for the characters who were tortured by their evil counterparts throughout the season. Even though I would have liked to see more action with Evelyn, I liked that she gets a taste of her own mortality before being gorged by werewolf-Ethan. The Putney pair were taken out with equal ferocity and John Clare’s decision to let Lavinia live was such a bittersweet revenge, knowing quite well that she would not be able to support herself without having parents who cater to her disability.

Some monsters were left to rot, but some were rising in power. Victor, blinded by his own jealousy, did not anticipate his sweet Lily to understand her potential as an immortal being. Though I do pity his longing for love, it is great that Dr. Frankenstein got a big slap to the face and is starting to realise the consequences of meddling with the dead. The scene was rich in building tension, from the music to the bloodstained outfits and the taunting dialogue, which was fabulously executed by Billie Piper. I am most impressed with her intense character development throughout the show and I am excited to see what this power couple have in store for next season.

Though we get these moments of sheer terror, Penny Dreadful does well to balance its more unhinged instances with more poignant moments. The individual story progression of our main cast works hand-in-hand and become resolute with each other. One that resonates highest within the episode is the bond between Vanessa and John. I honestly thought they would never cross paths again, but I am so glad they did, because the beautiful dialogue between the two was such a gentle reminder of the purity of their relationship.

These two, who are unknowingly linked through their mutual connections, have created an unlikely friendship and share similarities of being victims of cruelness. Clare realises that it is pointless for him to be chasing the dream of being accepted by mankind and makes the decision to leave. Even though Clare invites Ms. Ives to flee with him, she denies with the saddest and loveliest parting message, “I think you are the most human man I have ever known.” That line alone was so painful and wonderful and really shows the depth of emotion that is emulated throughout the show.

We have come to realise that our humble heroes are just flawed human beings, and the support they had for each other became a guiding light throughout this decadent wasteland of suffering. The season worked well in building relationships, but “And There Were Enemies” stripped that intimacy and left each person alone to dwell in their own anguish, their own guilt and their own mortality. The final sequence where Vanessa throws her cross into the fire was so significantly bleak, as it highlighted the end of her walk with God, leaving her totally abandoned by both her friends and her faith.

The finale rounded off our characters walking their path alone, leaving us with melancholy and doom. It is wonderful to see literary characters come to life, boosted by an extraordinary cast and their beautiful delivery of dialogue. As each story-line has been left open ended, I am intrigued for what next season has in store, especially because creator, John Logan, has announced that a new literary character will be joining the Penny Dreadful world. Who will it be?