What actually happens
A vampire autopsy with hieroglyphs
In London in 1891, Vanessa Ives hires the American marksman Ethan Chandler to help Sir Malcolm Murray find his abducted daughter, Mina Harker. The trio raid a vampire nest and kill one vampire, and Victor Frankenstein's autopsy turns up hieroglyphs under its skin, which prove to be a resurrection spell from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Vanessa meets Dorian Gray at a party, where a séance leaves her possessed by an evil entity. Victor's newest creation, Proteus, is murdered by Caliban, an earlier creation that Victor abandoned. Caliban also kills Van Helsing and demands a mate. Victor smothers Ethan's dying love, Brona Croft, and uses her body to make that mate.
The possession in episode 7 is the scene people brace for. After a night with Dorian, a demon takes hold of Vanessa. Her friends restrain her at the house, a priest arrives to give last rites, she attacks him, and Ethan performs the exorcism alone. She comes out of it alive and says she now knows where Mina is. Mina turns out to be at the Grand Guignol theatre, where she captures Vanessa for her master. Sir Malcolm kills Mina to save Vanessa, and Ethan becomes a werewolf and attacks two Pinkerton detectives.
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A coven with a very detailed doll
In season 2, the witch Evelyn Poole and her coven hunt Vanessa so they can hand her to the Devil, who is called the Master. Evelyn's daughter Hecate does the dirty work, and Evelyn builds a doll of Vanessa. Evelyn also enchants Sir Malcolm, and his wife Gladys, tormented by a voodoo doll, is haunted by the ghosts of her children and ends her own life. Victor brings Brona back as Lily, who learns to be a lady, then announces her independence from men and plans to murder Victor. The Putneys lock Caliban in a cell to put him on display. Vanessa and Ethan hide at the cottage of the Cut-Wife, where Vanessa recites from the Verbis Diablo to kill the man who murdered her teacher. Ethan, as the werewolf, kills his friend Sembene. Vanessa faces the Master, who appears as a puppet that looks like her, refuses his offer of a normal life, and destroys it. Ethan kills Evelyn, then turns himself in to Inspector Rusk for the Mariner's Inn murders and is extradited to America.
Everyone is scattered, and so is the plot
In season 3, the characters are spread across the world. Vanessa sees the alienist Dr. Seward in London, Sir Malcolm is in Zanzibar, and Ethan is escorted to America with Hecate in tow. Victor works with Dr. Henry Jekyll on a serum, and the Creature sets off from the Arctic to find his family. Dorian and Lily take in a girl named Justine, and Lily builds an army of women. Vanessa starts seeing the zoologist Dr. Alexander Sweet, who is secretly Count Dracula. In the American West, Ethan's father, Jared Talbot, threatens him until a shootout ends with Sir Malcolm shooting Jared dead. Inspector Rusk and Hecate die in the same fight. Back in London, Catriona Hartdegen tells Vanessa that Dracula can be killed when he is in his human form. At the museum, Sweet talks Vanessa into joining him, and she lets him bite her.
The ending, explained
In the penultimate episode, London falls into darkness and vampires attack Sir Malcolm's house, until Catriona helps save them. She warns them that the end of days is near and that only Vanessa can stop it. In the finale, Dracula tells Vanessa that a prophecy names Ethan as the only one who can threaten him. Sir Malcolm and the others fight their way to his lair and beat back his children, but Dracula himself overpowers them. Ethan slips away and finds Vanessa, and at her request he shoots her to end the darkness. The fog clears. Victor releases Lily without giving her the serum, and she leaves Dorian. The Creature's son dies, and the Creature places the boy's body in the river. Sir Malcolm, Victor and Ethan consider their futures at Vanessa's funeral. The Creature watches from a distance, then kneels alone at her grave.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: not fine, and we're sorry.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Penny Dreadful scary?
Yes, Penny Dreadful is a 6 out of 10 with a medium dread level. It is a slow gothic series of possessions, witches and vampires, with some jump scares and a few graphic scenes, and the feeling fades within a night.
How does Penny Dreadful end?
Dracula plunges London into darkness, and Ethan shoots Vanessa at her own request to end it. The fog clears, her funeral is held, and the Creature kneels alone at her grave.
Does the dog die in Penny Dreadful?
Yes, a dog dies in Penny Dreadful, in a flashback to Victor's childhood, and the body is shown in detail. Rats, a cat, a rabbit, cows and a sheep also die over the course of the series.
Is there a post-credits scene in Penny Dreadful?
Nobody has confirmed whether Penny Dreadful has a scene after the credits.
Who is Dracula in Penny Dreadful?
In season 3, Dracula is the zoologist Dr. Alexander Sweet, whom Vanessa starts seeing after he lectures in London. Catriona Hartdegen tells her he can be killed while he is in his human form.
