Penny Dreadful City of Angels Season 1 Recap
Showrunner/Created by: John Logan
Penny Dreadful City of Angels Season 1 SPOILER FILLED Recap
The Lady of the Holy Death, Santa Muerte and her Demon sister Magda discuss the fate of mankind. Magda believes that “All mankind needs to be the monster he truly is is being told he can.” and wants to prove it to Santa Muerte. Magda kills a group of Mexican farm workers including Jose Vega. As Jose dies in her arms Santa Muerte protects his young son Tiago leaving him scarred for life.
In 1938 on his first day as the only Mexican American Detective in the LAPD Tiago Vega is confronted by the grizzly murder of The Hazletts, a rich white family from Beverly Hills. Working with his Jewish partner, Lewis Michner, their investigation leads them to the Joyful Voices ministry where Tiago falls in love with his prime suspect in the case, Sister Molly Finnister. But Molly learns that her own mother, Miss Adelaide, had the Hazlett family murdered to protect their church’s wealth and influence. Adelaide used traditional Mexican iconography to hide the motive for the Hazlett’s deaths. Reeling from the revelation Sister Molly takes her own life and is welcomed into the arms of Santa Muerte.
Before Tiago’s arrival, Lewis Michener, had been fighting the creeping influence of the Nazi’s on LA with his friends Dottie, Sam, Anton and Jewish mafia boss Benny Berman. When Sam and Anton are murdered by the Nazi’s, the Jewish friends try to save a young scientist, Brian Koenig. Koenig has worked out the secret to rocket propelled flight which could give extend the Nazi’s weapon range all the way to the USA. When Michner learns that Brian Koenig is fascinated by the science of what he is creating and has no thought of the possible impacts, the detective chooses death for the young scientist.
Meanwhile throughout the city of angels, demon Magda creates various personas to influence susceptible men to ready the path for her arrival. When nation battles nation, race devours race and brother kills brother not a soul will be left and Magda will appear.
Her first persona Alex takes the form of a mousy personal assistant to closeted gay Councilman Charlton Townsend. Working with German architect Herr Richard Goss, Alex encourages Townsend to get support for a road through immigrant populations in Los Angeles by promising him greater power in the city. They keep the councilman in check by arranging a relationship with Kurt, a handsome but dangerous gestapo officer.
The second, Rio, is a co leader of a flamboyant Mexican American group, the Pachucos. She influences Tiago’s younger brother Mateo Vega to murder the racist abuser Officer Reilly igniting tensions between the Mexican Americans residents and the LAPD. When Tiago finds out it was his brother who murdered the officer he pins it and the murder of the Hazlett family on another member of the Pachuco’s a patsy Diego Lopez. Diego believes he has a powerful hold over Tiago but on his transfer to San Quentin State Prison Lewis Michener is unable to protect the boy from the violent bigotted cops who bind Lewis and lynch Diego on the streets of his hometown.
A third persona, German immigrant Elsa is trying to influence another German immigrant, Doctor Peter Kraft, to embrace his family’s legacy as warmongers to lead his German-American Bundt organisation into an influential Nazi supporting lobby group. To achieve this goal she creates a fourth manifestation, Frank, who creates a rift between the Kraft family and their beloved housekeeper Tiago’s mother Maria Vega.
Magda also takes advantage of a standoff between the LAPD and the workers union, led by Tiago’s brother Raul Vego, to whisper in the ears of both sides to turn the confrontation violent. Raul is left with a life threatening injury until his mother Maria calls on the power of Santa Muerte to save him. Raul is forever changed by his brush with death but believes he has a purpose yet to be fulfilled.
As Tiago mourns the loss of Sister Molly, Magda pays a silent visit to him. The ground is now prepared for her arrival and Tiago will have a part to play.
The music for our Penny Dreadful City of Angels Dreadful podcast is an edited version of “Latina” from Hicham Chahidi and is used under Creative Commons licence
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
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