Vanessa returns to Ballentree Moor along with Ethan after trying to get away from the demons that plague them..while seeking a bit of solace together and someone from Vanessa’s past returns that sets in motion something that Vanessa might never come back from.
It’s the morning after the full moon and Ethan (Josh Hartnett) and Sembene (Danny Sapani) are discussing what happened…Sembene tells him that in his country the shamans said that some could turn into one skin to the other. He tells Ethan that he doesn’t know if this is a sickness or blessing…and Ethan tells him he wants to know exactly what he saw when Ethan changed during the full moon.
The gang is discussing what happened at Dorian’s ball with Vanessa (Eva Green) passing out…Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) blames it on female hysteria, but she tells him not to insult her (thank you). Vanessa tells the gang that she felt like she was being surrounded by someone and mentions that she needs to leave and get away from London. Sir Malcolm doesn’t want her to leave, but Mr. Lyle (Simon Russell Beale) agrees with her and mentions that she needs to go far away and to stay away and Victor (Harry Treadaway) agrees. Ethan says he will go with Vanessa, while she needs to speak to Victor and they head upstairs and lets him know the location of where she will be going because she completely trusts him.
Vanessa and Ethan arrive back to Ballentree Moor to the house of her friend the Cut-Wife, where Vanessa spots the tree where Cut-Wife was murdered. She starts telling Ethan that maybe this is where she belongs and tells him how Cut-Wife used to call her Little Scorpion…Vanessa spots the book with the glyph the “Forbidden Poetry of Death”. Both are outside and Vanessa mentions that her and Sir Malcolm’s relationship has always been private and how now with Evelyn their relationship has been threatened that he has lost that anger he once had and how their unique bond is now changing. Inside the house both are having a grand time, Ethan is telling Vanessa stories of his childhood…he asks if she was ever afraid of anything when she was young and Vanessa tells him no but he sees right through her. Vanessa mentions she was scared of dolls because she was always waiting for them to come to life. Ethan mentions how one can never escape the demons that haunt them and then realizes that he needs to go outside…he tells Vanessa to bolt the door and that he will be back by morning. He turns again into a werewolf…grabs a sheep and there’s this great shot of Ethan and the full moon.
The next morning Vanessa wakes up to seeing Ethan chopping down the tree where Cut-Wife was killed. Ethan mentions to Vanessa that she needs to learn how to protect herself and that he’s going to teach her how to shoot. He mentions to her a couple of simple rules: To never look at your opponents eyes, to stop being human and become the animal that needs to survive that it is all about survival. Vanessa tells Ethan that she needs to pay him back from helping her do this and he mentions if she can teach him how to dance (seriously these two are just great together…I am really enjoying their scenes). I love how Vanessa retorts to Ethan that there are also some rules: To do the opposite and always look at your opponent’s eyes, proceed gently, to take the waist and sway. We get a montage of a couple of days passing where Ethan is still cutting the tree and finally knocks it down, more dancing and them planning a garden in place of the tree. Both are inside the house when a storm brews and lightning hits the house, which causes a fire and of course everything has to go into chaos because it wouldn’t be Penny Dreadful without it. Ethan and Vanessa put out the fire and stare at each other and Ethan kisses her and she kisses him back, but stops the kiss and tells him no that together they are dangerous…angry he walks out.
Mr. Lyle and Victor are talking and both mention that they need to help Vanessa with everything is she going through. Mr. Lyle mentions that “The Hound of God” keeps being repeated in all these relics again and again. Vanessa and Ethan are walking through the forest and he mentions to her that he will not let the Devil hurt her, Vanessa tells him that there are times where she wants the Devil to take her so it can put an end to everything and know why she lives with this endless torment. Ethan tells her that she will not die while he is still here and that she cannot surrender that they aren’t like the others…they have claws for a reason. Someone is arriving and it’s someone from Vanessa’s past it’s Sir Geoffrey…where he tells her that he knew she would return one day and if he should visit her and start another fire. He leaves and Vanessa angered tells Ethan she will avenge the murder of Cut-Wife and tells her that she isn’t a murderer. Both argue and Ethan leaves telling Vanessa to do whatever she wants.
Lily (Billie Piper) knows that Victor is upset after what happened at Dorian’s ball and asks him if he doesn’t want her to have friends…and that she can’t stay inside forever. It seems Dorian has invited her out for the evening and Victor tells her to go because she’s a distraction and he has a lot of work to do. Lily is with Dorian (Reeve Carney) and they head to Putney’s Waxworks…he tells Lily that he finds her mysterious because she is cool to the touch and that her eyes are so familiar. Lily gets upset at seeing one of the waxworks with two people giving a grave for experimentation for a doctor and as they leave Caliban (Rory Kinnear) is lurking in the shadows and sees them. Dorian tells Lily that he would like to see her again and she agrees they cheer to new adventures.
Vanessa gets the Forbidden Poetry of Death book and opens it…while Ethan is walking through the woods and heads to Sir Geoffrey’s home. Vanessa starts speaking the demonic language and we flash back to Ethan pointing a gun at Sir Geoffrey from a distance while he is about to feed his dogs…they suddenly turn against him and attack him…Ethan looking at bit horrified at what he is seeing, but also knows that this happening because of Vanessa.
Lily is heading back when she tells the driver of the carriage to stop, she goes inside to this gentleman’s club where she sits down in the bar area and a man next to her sees her and smiles…she goes with him and has sex him with and wants to be in control she suddenly grabs the man neck and starts choking him and kills him and takes great pleasure in doing it…it seems like old memories of her past are resurfacing…oh Victor you’ve created another monster.
Ethan heads back and Vanessa is waiting for him…she knows that he had left to kill Sir Geoffrey…Ethan tells her that he never got the chance to do it because he knows what she did and if that makes her feel better now that she is a murderess. Angry at her he tells Vanessa that she can never come back from this and will never get her soul back and tells her “Welcome to the night, Vanessa” and he looks so disappointed in her and that’s it only three more episodes left this season.