TV Rundown: June 8 - 13: Eva Green Rocks 'Penny Dreadful'

Backstory: Penny Dreadful: The highly anticipated Vanessa-centric episode finally took place. What an episode it was, grim, graphic and disturbing. It must be said that the mechanism revealed as the culprit for Vanessa’s downward spiral was disappointing because it wasn’t wretched enough to warrant her self-loathing. The upside was the hour’s magnificent display of Eva Green’s talent. Few actors can carry an entire episode on their shoulders and remain as intriguing from beginning to end.

Green is one of those select few. Utilizing that wild gleam in her eye, she delivered a fearless portrayal of Vanessa’s fall down the rabbit hole, resulting in her terrifying mental state. Never one to shy away from any physical facet of a performance, Green pulled out all of the stops. She’s never scared to go there. To the dark pathos of a character’s most unglamorous moments and that is what sets her apart. One of the best acting talents around, Green not only commanded the screen, she owned it.

Shine the Light: Game of Thrones: The siege of Castle Black would transpire over the course of the entire episode and in that time, characters rose and fell, their fates changed forever. There was only one nagging issue; the lighting was so dark that actually seeing the action was next to impossible. Enhancing the mood of the series gloomy storytelling doesn’t always require a complimenting visual bleakness. The excitement of the battle waned considerably as determining, who was who, became exceedingly difficult and distractive to the narrative.

They’re Back: Pretty Little Liars: The series returned in intriguing fashion as the latest culprit to be unmasked as “A” begged more questions than answers. Spencer’s appropriate suspicion of Ali kept the girl’s from completely slipping under her manipulative influence. Emily is all too ready to welcome her back into the fold, which is frustrating given the amount of torment that she has unleashed on her friends and Paige. Where is the healthy dose of skepticism that she always pays everyone else? Elsewhere, Ezra clung to life and wormed his way back into Aria’s heart.

No Rest for the Wicked: Fargo: Lester completely destroyed whatever moral fabric he had left, in a diabolical move. One of the questions at the core of the series has been whether he is completely evil or somewhere in between. Now we have our answer. It’s the former. Want more "Fargo"? Check out, Thin Ice: The Morality Tale of "Fargo" by clicking here.

Hopeless Decisions: The Bold and the Beautiful: Hope’s decision to go back to lame brain Liam appended two points for future storylines. First, Hope’s self-respect went out the window. Despite saying she wanted loyalty; she tossed away the only guy who has ever given it to her. Second, the show is ignoring the blockbuster hate-chemistry between Quinn and Liam.

Which has more illustrious spark and potential than the 100 millionth “Lope” reunion could ever muster. After all on soaps, the four letter word known as “hate” commonly leads to the other four letter word, “lust”. Seize the potential B&B! Oh and by the way, no one believes that Ridge is actually dead. He is one of the stars of the show.

[Image by Showtime]

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