“WHAT EVERYONE WANTS SALVATION?“ PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS, EPISODE 8
Chris Buse (RIP)
This review contains spoilers.
Very appropriately titled “Hide and Seek”“, the eighth episode of “City of Angels”“, set to close the second act of the season, must prepare the stage for a satisfying high point and conclusion which will hopefully play out in the final two installments. As the title of this week“s episode suggests, the ongoing storylines we visit this time around are about what is hidden obliquely or in plain sight, and what will be searched for, and in some cases, revealed to the characters and the audience alike. First, there“re other pressing matters. There“s a bit of house cleaning going on, some catching up, with this many, well-nigh too many, threads loosely dangling in the air after a handful of episodes into the season and fewer still remaining. Also, the overarching theme of the season, love and the many forms in which it expresses itself, in life, on this show and with these characters we“ve been introduced to, needs to be moved to its resolution, though it remains unclear if there“ll be any closure at all or if the season will rather fall shut open ended. Written by Tatiana Suarez-Pico, the pacing is one again deliberate, maybe courtesy of returning helmer Sheree Folkson, only that we“re missing a powerful coda that made the conclusions of the previous two installments such standouts. Instead, each of the lead characters of the sprawling ensemble cast gets a moment or even moments to shine. And with some very potent reveals coming at the viewers, this may suffice. It mostly does, though on the flip side, the tapestry of such an unwieldy narrative feels a bit too torn in some places. Clearly, we miss a central character to take us through the proceedings like we had in Nathan Lane“s Detective Michener and Adriana Barraza“s Maria in episode six and seven respectively. However, the opening of “Hide and Seek”“ brings us back to the perspective of the character with whom we parted last in the previous episode. But after the bang of Maria Vega finding out that true strength does not rest with her deity Santa Muerta, protecting her and even getting involved in the affairs of the living, but in herself, with the matriarch of the Vega family able to banish Santa Muerta“s sister Magda from her family“s home, we find Maria at a place of vulnerability again. The woman is not on her home turf and near to her icons of religious worship to her gods of folklore and myth. She“s back at her place of work, the wealthy estate of the white German-American Craft family, head by pediatrician Dr. Peter Craft whom Maria has served as a maid for many years. Maria is someone he relies on, not only to keep the house in order, but more and more as a guardian for his two boys and his alcoholic wife Linda. With Dr. Craft falling in love with the mother of one of his patients, the mild-manned, middle-aged physician discovered a reason and the initiative to escape his troubled home life. Instead of filing for a divorce to make a clean break from a marriage in which each spouse had become miserable, and then to move on with his life and a new partner, Peter had Linda committed to a rehab facility, which on closer inspection pretty much feels as if it doubles for a psychiatric ward of a hospital. Even for this time period, the late 1930s, it seems unnecessary cruel to send someone like Linda, who obviously is used to a certain wealth and clearly comes from money herself, to such a depressing place and not to some ritzy health resort, something that was not unheard of in the Los Angeles of that period. The Craft residence hasn“t been a joyous place for a while, but with Linda gone and Peter wasting no time to move his mistress Elsa and her weird son Frank into the house, it is quickly becoming a toxic environment. Though both of Peter“s sons are still quite shaken by their mother“s sudden departure, the younger, sensitive Tom senses that something else is amiss. Maria it would seem, is even weaker than Tom when it comes to these drastic changes. She is only the hired help and not a family member, and since Mrs. Vega hails from across the border, her status is weak to begin with. This leaves her most susceptible to the whims of the new lady of the house, Elsa Branson (Natalie Dormer). Maria can tell that Elsa is not a good person, but she“s still completely unaware that Elsa is one of the many human disguises worn by the demon Magda. However, it“s not without irony and poetic justice that after Magda (as Elsa) made Maria move from her room in the house to a dingy, much smaller room next to the garage with Peter“s blessing, that Maria turns the table on Elsa when she appears to Maria in her attractive demon form. Not unlike as with many sudden outbursts of strength, it seems that Maria “s victory over Magda is short lived. Like with a sexual climax that will inevitably be followed by a well-nigh soul crushing petite mort, with Maria Vega herself serving as connective tissue between the conclusion of the previous installment and the beginning of the latest episode, in consequence, the opening is a very somber affair. While Maria has become a target for Elsa, her son Frank (Santino Barnard) is mentally torturing Tom (Julian Hilliard), the younger brother among Peter“s children. Frank has already frightened the sensitive Tom and other kids with a vivid horror tale about a girl who was mutilated and murdered by her abductor. But now this creepy boy has introduced murder itself into the room he now shares with Tom at Elsa“s behest. Though Frank doesn“t really exist, he springs forth pound for pound from Elsa“s flesh, he still acts independently from his mother. And like she, or like the demon Elsa truly is, he wields dark magic. When Frank killed Tom“s hamster during the night in the previous episode just by looking at the small creature with intent and cold focus after he“d asked Tom if he could lie next to him in the same bed, it became apparent that a rabid bête noire had been let loose on this premise, a beast that wouldn“t solely be content with stalking this delicate kid for long, but whose haunting presence was liable to quickly spread through the entire house like pestilence. Thus, when we come into the episode, we see that Tom is digging a grave for his dead pet in the garden of the Craft estate. With Maria checking up on the boy, she learns from him what had happened. Unlike with other adults, the caretaker has no reason to doubt the saddened child“s claim that his beloved pet had simply died because Elsa“s weird son was staring at it in its small cage for a minute or less. She does not categorize his story as something which he might have fabricated from whole cloth, or that it might stem from the over-imaginative mind of an impressionable child. She tells the kid that she believes him, and she does. Her reaction is very different to any other grownup. Instead of telling the boy that there“s nothing to be afraid of, that these things happen, beloved animals like people you love will die, she lets him know that the demons are real, and that in her case and in Tom“s case, they were literally not hiding under the bed anymore. She cautions him. Nobody can know of his suspicions, not yet at least. Yet she“s also aware that she must do more for Tom than to just console him in his moment of grief and anxiety. Helping others comes natural to her. She reaches for a charm which is a little coyote figurine on a string. She implores Tom that he must always wear this talisman, that it“ll protect him. Sans context this would come across as the act of a superstitious, rather foolish old woman. But we“ve gotten to know her, and we know that she is right about these kinds of things. Seeing her handing over the totem to Tom without hesitation, a boy she obviously loves as if he were one of her own, shows us again that Maria is a good person. And after the events of last week“s episode, we also learn that Maria is not one to abandon her faith in Santa Muerta this easily, even though the deity she has believed in all her live, proved impotent. Santa Muerta even turned tail once her evil sister Magda showed up at Maria“s residence. The fact that she“s prepared to give this charm to Tom for his protection, tells us that Mrs. Vega hasn“t rejected Santa Muerta and that she“s still convinced that there“s potency in the icons that“re used to worship the angel of the dead. She even says to Tom: “She watches over you now.”“ Maria knows that he believes her. She fulfills her role as mother, surrogate or otherwise. As a protector, she embraces it much more strongly by passing this charm on, which is of much spiritual significance to her. Not only is the coyote her spirit guide as we have learned, and thus, directly connected to her identity and her belief system, but Maria knows that she and her own family are in danger. Still, in this moment, her first thought is to shield this boy from another family from the evil spirit she“s encountered, a demon who“s all too real and deadly.
Later in the evening, Molly goes to Vega“s hotel room. She seems unconcerned that someone from this part of town might recognize her, though a stunning blonde, who“s dressed to the ninth, is surely liable to raise not just a few eyebrows in this dingy, largely unintegrated neighborhood. As per usual, the two of them have a fight. They tell each other that this will never work out. Then they make love. But there isn“t any tragedy or even much drama in all of this. The script is just going through the motions as if it“s running down the clock, which is a real pity since the arc of their relationship started very strong. What“s more, when Michener shows up and he bangs on Vega“s door and he then quickly waltzes into his room, only to see Molly in Vega“s bed, he seems very disengaged from the whole situation. Of course, he once again berates his partner for keeping secrets from him, but then he simply shrugs it off with a shrug of his shoulders while he has a “boys will be boys”“ grin on his weathered face, indicating to Vega that he“s been around the block a few times as well. Granted, he“s slightly distracted by an investigation that“s a bit closer to his heart than to solve the death of an affluent gentile family of four from Beverly Hills, but with everything leading back to Goss and the victims connected to their church, Molly and Adelaide are still suspects in a multiple homicide for which he“s just sent the wrong guy to the gas chamber. This has either slipped Michener“s mind or the screenwriter must have felt that Adelaide Finnister“s attempt to drive a wedge between the lovers provided enough melodrama. Anyway, once the detectives compare their notes, they quickly discover that the missing link they“ve been searching for is a construction outfit called Via Hormosa. Why not break into their offices right away? But this is when the second act closes with a loud bang, or more precisely, many little, loud bangs from a Thompson submachine gun fired at the two detectives who unsurprisingly manage to escape unscathed. This cowardly attack on their lives from a narrow alleyway and from the shadows is to signal to them and to the audience that their conflict has reached a new level of intensity. Unfortunately, this provides little excitement. As with Peter, Maria, and with Charlton Townsend, the strength of this particular episode lies in the whispers and the secrets. Whenever we touch base with Councilman Townsend, who has secrets of his own, especially those that relate to his career ambitions and to the affairs of the heart, these scenes work much better, thanks to a stellar performance from Michael Gladis once again. With an episode titled “Hide and Seek”“, it“s sadly fitting that some of the things the mid-level bureaucrat has hidden away more or less carefully, are now used to blackmail him, things that aren“t under the bed, but in his bed, but mostly still in his closet. His connection to Richard Goss might blow up all around him, the same man who wants to make him Mayor of Los Angeles and a puppet of the Third Reich, with Detective Michener having started an unauthorized investigation. But then there“s his adversary on the city council“s transportation board, Congresswoman Beverly Beck (Christine Estabrook), who tells him that she is the good guy, yet she isn“t above using his Achilles“ heel as lethal ammunition to thwart his political aspirations. As it turns out, his sexuality is his Green Kryptonite, not only because of the times, but because of him. Charlton Townsend is quick to tell others how they need to live, and who should be viewed as an outsider. Ironically, his view of the world is one of intolerance. Ultimately, he“s a bigot and a racist whenever political capital can be gained from catering to the majority. As opportunistic as he is, and as quick to judge, he has himself convinced that he“ll be criticized just as harshly. He dreams of sexual liberation, but he still wants to please the opinion of a public he secretly despises like all sycophants and demagogues with a lust for power. But Charlton, who must be used to such a treatment, gets rejected three times in this installment. Beverly Beck is the first person to cause him such an indignation. There“s the blackmail, her willingness to fight him tooth and nails, and to fight dirty after he“s threatened her over her announcement to have him recalled from the ballot. Like little men will or men who feel little, he“s bragging about his connections and his friends who“re very powerful. However, Councilwoman Beck persists by simply mentioning that she refuses to be scared of a man who“s too afraid to admit to who he really is, and that she“s about to put a candidate of her own into place, a female contender who he will find impossible to beat even if he chooses to still run for office. When he returns to his assistant Alex with his tail between his legs and his fat face swollen with anger, he suffers the second rejection, but not in so many words, in fact, in no words at all. Gladis makes it all work, and Natalie Dormer gives a performance as Alex Malone that is very distinct from the other characters she portrays on the show but is still connected to the way she brings her core persona Magda to life. As different as Alex, Elsa and Rio are from each other, they all trace back to Magda thanks to Dormer“s qualities as an actress. Matters are also helped in that Dormer has a strong screen presence and a lot of charisma and confidence in her abilities and instincts, and her chemistry with Michael Gladis and especially with Adrianna Barraza and Rory Kinnear, who plays Peter Craft, is really excellent. There“s a lot of energy in her acting, which works also very well when matched against the very restrained style with which Lorenza Izzo portrays her sister Santa Muerta. And once Townsend relates his plight to her in her guise as Alex, Dormer has her, or the demon underneath her human mask, say little, but we sense how she is getting tired of the unlucky Councilman and his cowardice and entanglements. As her plans for his political ascent go awry, with Townsend increasingly turning into a liability rather than her asset, we can tell that she“s getting restless, that perhaps she has already gotten restless with devising a new set of machinations. With Beck letting it slip that she was ready to present her own candidate, a woman, Magda might have already been spinning her web elsewhere, and unbeknownst to Charlton Townsend or the viewers. Who“s to say that Magda won“t be making one more appearance in yet another disguise, namely as Beverly Beck“s mystery woman, with the Councilwoman unable to see through her pretend-play of course, because who has the real power in such a dynamic? An unremarkable person who serves as the water carrier for a large, buffoonish, lumbering fool, or a beautiful female candidate who dazzles and who possesses enough cunning to win the hearts and minds of voters? Though Magda might have planned for the former, perhaps it was time to act as the latter, ironically, with Beck“s support. Support is also exactly what Charlton wants from the man he“s been secretly seeing, and who he now introduces to another aspect of his life that“s equally hidden away. Always the smarmy opportunist, Charlton takes his lover Kurt to a special nightclub in Los Angeles, a speakeasy of sorts, but of the persuasion that many would have considered sexually deviant in the late 1930s. To Kurt“s surprise, in this club, women dance with other women, men dance with men, while a crooner intonates some shmaltzy show tune. Whereas Townsend seems to feel right at home, Kurt is a bit overwhelmed but also delighted. His reaction might make us forget that Kurt“s actually a killer in the employ of Goss and the secret police of the Third Reich, though the Councilman“s keenly aware of his lover“s profession. It also needs mentioning that for a man who sneaks around a park at night to enlist the service of a male prostitute and short-changes a young man in a seedy hotel room for services rendered, he appears well-connected to the part of nightlife and community of the city that cannot exist in the open. He also seems remarkable unconcerned with Beck“s insinuations in regard to his sex life. Instead of spending the night with him at his exquisitely furnished house located high up in the Hollywood Hills like he did before, he introduces Kurt to this magical place which is raided by the vice squad frequently enough for the proprietor to set up an alarm, and guidelines to work as a safeguard in such an event with the rules apparently known to every patron except to Kurt. But as with many political movers and shakers, Townsend has an ulterior motive for taking his lover to this nightclub. Though Townsend seems genuinely smitten with the wildly handsome killer, he exposes him to the razzle dazzle of this nightclub and these gay men and woman, many of which look like they“re power brokers from the high society themselves, to show him how beautiful this clandestine world can be, especially with someone like him as his guide. For Kurt, this is all love and sparkles as he reaches for Charlton“s hand and they dance together. This is when the Councilman reveals his true colors. This could go away just as easily because of Beck. He wants Kurt to kill her for him, for them. Kurt turns him down by saying that he doesn“t work for him. Still, he wants to explain his reasons a bit further. If he did this, Charlton would be entering into a very dangerous province. “This is not the man I love,”“ Kurt tells him.
If there is one character who proves most valuable for this episode this would be Peter Craft, with Rory Kinnear proving once again how good he is with portraying this torn everyman who wants to be a good man. But unlike with Michener and Maria in the previous two installments, the sequences with him are more personal and feel less connected to the overall storyline, nor do they do much to drive the show“s narrative forward. Peter is trapped in a much smaller world it seems, one that is hermetically sealed off from the other events. Still, he lives in the same world as our other players, and in his own way, Peter“s concerned with what is happening in Los Angeles, America and beyond. But Peter“s more impotent than his hired help Maria who was allowed to find her inner strength. What connects Peter Craft to the story we are told is Magda who has beguiled him in the role of the seemingly simple-minded German refugee Elsa Branson. Now Peter discovers that he remains a man who“s stuck between two women, even after he“s banished his wife Linda (Piper Perabo) from the house like Maria was able to do with Magda where her own home is concerned. Consequently, Peter goes to the sanatorium he had Linda committed to in an attempt to broker a peaceful separation. However, as awkward as he usually is, he messes up all the cooperation she might give him when he clumsily presents her with custody papers for her to sign after a bit of small talk regarding her well-being. Naturally, with Linda coming from means, she immediately tells him that her lawyer will take it from here. This won“t be all she tells him with glee. Once the divorce is final, she will make it her mission to dismantle his life, which she refers to as a “house of cards”“. This is actually the first time that we learn that Peter“s been keeping secrets, and he is visible shaken by the threats she“s making, much more than Charlton is when Beverly Beck told him that she might go so far as to tell people about his nightly activities. But Linda shows very little restraint as she is shouting that he is a fraud. The way the scene plays out, with Linda smoking and laughing in triumph, and her husband trembling once he has the privacy of an empty hallway, this creates some riveting excitement as we“re left to wonder what dark secret he“s buried from those who know him except from his wife. Peter does not fare much better in the next scene we see him in. This is a social gathering of the German American Bund which Peter leads, a meeting that also includes the wives. His deputy Hermann (Ethan Peck) who has some designs on Elsa, makes a powerplay. Hermann is all in on Hitler“s idea of ethnic cleansing, and he is convinced that their little club needs to warn their American neighbors about the Jews. Peter Craft sues for a peaceful coexistence of all groups and races. “What are you scared of?”“, Hermann asks Peter while he launches into a big speech how they are called upon to spread Hitler“s ideology in their adopted country via the radio and even door to door. The Americans need to find out about the Jews according to him. Like any demagogue with a lust for power, he frames his racism as an act of patriotism. “America will thank us,”“ he proclaims as his buddies in the Bund do support him loudly. Peter“s prepared to stand his ground. While he gives a speech as well, intended as a passionate rebuttal, Elsa“s eyes wander from one of the men to the other. As it turns out, Elsa has obviously changed. She is no longer the frightened, meek woman who“s captured Peter“s heart by seeking him out as a protector from a life that had dealt her many unfriendly cards and an abusive husband. With her makeup, and her hairstyle, and the clothes she“s donned, she looks like someone who“s worthy to take her seat among the one percent, a woman who clawed her way up with feminine guile in a society ostensibly ruled by men, a woman equally eager and ready to defend her territory. And when Hermann isn“t buying what Peter“s selling, and he goes so far as to accuse the president of the Bund of talking like “you are not even German”“, Elsa stands by her man, and she deftly puts the handsome upstart in his place: “We aren“t animals.”“ But while the couple is on their way home, Elsa berates Peter for behaving like a milquetoast, for being soft. Though he isn“t prepared to turn the car around on the relationship he“s entered into, he has his limits. He stops at the curb and takes off his mask, the one Linda had threatened to pull from his visage by every means at her disposal. Under the soft glow of the streetlamps, he stands revealed. “Being a German is not marching with Hitler,”“ Peter tells her emphatically. He“s all about peace, and this is the reason why he“d assumed the name Craft when coming to America. As we learned before, Peter originally hails from Essen, a city which is home to the Krupp Family, Germany“s premier weapons manufacturer, a dynasty that has been in this business “for centuries now, the Krupp factories make the blades, the bullets and the canons for all the wars. Right now, Krupp is busy with making panzer tanks and Stuka dive bombers for Hitler. They sell death to the world and always have. My name is not Peter Craft. I am Peter Krupp. In the war I saw what those machines could do. I was a medic. I saw the blood and the wounds”¦ And this is my family“s legacy. I can never escape it. But I will not embrace it.”“ Peter, as Elsa and we learn, is not only trying to distance himself from his family. He“s asking for atonement. He wants what everyone wants. Salvation. But his battles for the evening are far from over. When they return home, they are confronted by Frank having burned himself on the hot stove while under Maria“s care. The two of them get into an argument, this one turning loud with Elsa asking him to fire their housekeeper for her presumed negligence. When Peter calls Maria in, the woman knows what“s coming her way and the look on Maria“s face lets us know that she“s already resigned to her fate. But Peter“s had enough of being pushed around and being called weak, and clearly, his anger and frustration must find release in some way, shape or form. It“s much to Rory Kinnear“s credit as an actor that he conveys the conflicting emotions of Peter“s complex character without resorting to any melodramatic gestures or overacting. As it befits the role he“s embodying, he portrays Peter as a man who is awkward and deeply ashamed, even in his moment of defiance. Instead of letting Maria go, Peter takes one long look at Elsa and then he tells Maria that she“ll be getting a raise for her hard work before sending her home for the night. Full well expecting that this will only infuriate Elsa even more than her pretend play in light of Frank“s “accident”“ already let on, Peter pre-empts any response she might have by telling her: “You want Peter Craft? Here he is.”“ This, while his face slightly darkens. Once again, we see that Dormer is also a force to be reckoned with acting wise. As charismatic and energetic as she can be when this called for, especially when she can let things rip as Magda, she“s also very good in her reactions. With the different characters she gets to portray, Dormer can be quiet as a whisper or as subtle as a tiny change of her expression, like in the moment during which Peter turns to her, to look at her as he“s getting ready to go rogue. With the slightest change in her facial expression and a minimalistic tightening of her eyes, the actress conveys to us that her character Elsa has realized that things are not going according to her plan. With Peter turning his back on her and walking out, she falls into an armchair. This development leaves Elsa (and Magda) at an impasse again, like in her disguise as Alex. With Townsend waging a battle with Beverly Beck he cannot win, and with Peter unexpectedly and very suddenly growing a spine to stand up against Elsa“s little suggestions which have quickly turned into demands, the scenarios she“s set into motion have taken on a life of their own. With many secrets revealed in this episode, there“s something else than can“t remain hidden or be ignored for that matter. The theme is properly communicated, the three-act structure is nicely built, what is missing, is Magda“s motivation and her objective beyond showing her sister that if told they can, men will act every which way they desire, but good and decent. As Alex stares with much frustration at the little man she“s picked to become the Mayor of Los Angeles and ultimately, the President of the United States, and as Elsa falls into a luxurious armchair in the house she has invaded, with her schemes seemingly availing her nothing or not much at all, we are still left to wonder what Magda“s overall plan is after all. Why should a demon like her go to such great lengths to insert herself into the lives of humans by donning different disguises beyond the very obvious answer that she is a trickster who likes to play games. It“s not like we want her to talk us through her plan like a Republic serial villain, but with only two episodes left to go this season, Magda remains a compelling and engaging antagonist, albeit one whose motivation is under-explained.
Rating for the episode: 3.5 out of 5.
Author Profile
Chris Buse (RIP)
A comic book reader since 1972. When he is not reading or writing about the books he loves or is listening to The Twilight Sad, you can find Chris at his consulting company in Germany... drinking damn good coffee. Also a proud member of the ICC (International Comics Collective) Podcast with Al Mega and Dave Elliott.
