‘Penny Dreadful’ Spoilers: Is Vanessa Ives Doomed To Madness? [Video]

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Penny Dreadful.

Vanessa Ives, played to perfection by Eva Green, is probably the single most special character on Penny Dreadful as far as her unique abilities. In fact, recent episodes of Penny Dreadful have revealed that Green’s character has lived a lifetime trying to adapt to her rare nature, many times failing to comprehend herself in time to avoid certain consequences.

https://youtu.be/lR6JbZ3ySnc

The official synopsis for Penny Dreadful‘s latest episode only adds to the suspense, spelling out certain situations that have been keeping Penny Dreadful fans on pins and needles for weeks now.

“Hecate is going to return to her mother with a gift. Evelyn will work on a new totem. The mansion is going to get attacked. The Creature will grow impatient with Frankenstein. Rusk will interrogate Ethan. Vanessa and the Creature’s friendship is going to deepen. Angelique is going to get humiliated while out with Dorian.”

Meanwhile, Penny Dreadful‘s fifth episode of the season, “Above The Vaulted Sky,” points to the fact that the past has a way of coming back with a vengeance, attacking not just Miss Ives, but the other members of the Penny Dreadful team as well. The next episode of Penny Dreadful will have everyone dealing with the aftermath of the attack upon the mansion, while Hecate (Sarah Greene) is doing something nefarious with that pilfered lock of Vanessa’s hair. Voodoo dolls notwithstanding, Vanessa Ives will have much more pressing concerns as she continues to struggle with a paranoia that has been brought on by being unable to tell whether she’s truly alone or being watched. The new antagonists of Penny Dreadful, being led by Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory), will use that paranoia to their advantage, exploiting Vanessa’s weaknesses to the fullest extent, until Ms. Ives can no longer distinguish reality from the nightmarish fantasies of her own mind.

It seems obvious enough that Penny Dreadful is headed into a darker, more sublime realm, where every aspect of madness can be explored, though that is only a means to Evelyn Poole’s ultimate end. The goal in driving Penny Dreadful‘s Vanessa Ives beyond the brink of madness is to corrupt her enough that delivering her to the Dark Lord will present a minimal challenge to the conniving Evelyn Poole.

Elsewhere on Penny Dreadful, Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) continues to risk the wrath of John Clare (Rory Kinnear) as he falls deeper in love with Lily (formerly Brona, played by Billie Piper). It seems this love triangle is headed for an explosive climax by the end of Penny Dreadful‘s second season, particularly once Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) learns of Victor’s macabre deeds. Let’s face it, sooner or later Ethan and Lily are bound to run into one another.

Penny Dreadful airs Sunday, May 31, on Showtime.

[Featured image: Eva Green courtesy of Showtime/Penny Dreadful]