Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (1×01) Santa Muerte Review

Being a big fan of the original Penny Dreadful, it was sad to see it go after 3 seasons. Now the series is back with a new spinoff. While City of Angels has some massive shoes to fill, it will certainly be interesting to see if it could find the same magic almost 4 years later.

Synopsis: Los Angeles, 1938. LAPD detective Tiago Vega and his partner, Lewis Michener, investigate a murder. While at City Hall, Tiago’s activist brother Raul Vega battles with the fiery Councilman Charlton Townsend over the construction of California’s first freeway. Meanwhile, Peter Craft, the head of the German-American Bun, meets Elsa, the mysterious mother of one of his patients. Sensing danger, Tiago’s mother Maria pleads with Santa Muerte to protect her family as the rising tensions in the city threaten to explode. (Showtime)

City of Angels is certainly not the same series as the original which could either be a good or bad thing. It’s got the retro look down but it’s too early to tell.

The series is definitely ambitious as Santa Muerte does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of establishing characters and subplots that all seem to be connected somehow (and for which will surely be revealed over the following episodes). It has its feet in multiple worlds, from the booming 1938 Los Angeles and the racial divide between caucasians and latinos. Standing in the middle is Detective Tiago Vega (Daniel Zovatto), the first Mexican detective in the LAPD. There was definitely a pull from both sides even if this episode.

Vega is given a rough introduction once he and his partner, Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane), investigate a grisly murder with parallels to worshippers of Santa Muerte for which his mother Maria (Adriana Barraza) was a staunch believer, praying to her to protect her family. Suffice it to say that the large and tight-knit Vega family was involved in multiple facets of the story. All of this was leading up to the construction of California’s first freeway which just happened to go through the Latino part of town and specifically the Vega household. Tiago’s brother Raul (Adam Rodriguez) lead the charge against Councilman Charlton Townsend (Michael Gladis) to try and stop construction. Tensions were at an all-time high.

Meanwhile, a German doctor head of the German-American Bun named Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear) met a woman named Elsa (Natalie Dormer), the mysterious mother of one of his patients. In fact, this woman, whoever she is, would show up as multiple characters throughout the episode. The big selling point of the series presumably was this character who loomed large over everything (and also in the posters), undoubtedly her master plan. Whatever that may be remains to be seen. She was certainly doing some major instigating in this episode. Logic would suggest that she was a version of the devil, showing up with Santa Muerte in a flashback that started the episode, highlighting her connection to Tiago Vega, someone who is surely destined to play a major role.

The episode ended with a standoff at the freeway construction site that saw the police squaring off with Raul Vega and his faction of protestors. Tiago Vega, being a member of the police department, was unsettled at the prospect of choosing sides but he still found himself there in the end. Choosing a diplomatic approach to ease the tension, he tried to talk down his brother and community but the mysterious woman had a different idea, doing some instigating of her own. A shootout/brawl ensued, leaving the woman and Santa Muerte looking on.

In terms of the series, Zovatto definitely has the charisma to lead, assuming the writers give him enough to do and don’t overplay the internal conflict angle. His family will surely still be there for him in some form. The chemistry between the family was fun as this episode gave them enough to do so hopefully the writers find the right balance so they don’t wear out their welcome. Zovatto also had chemistry with Lane’s Michener. Though the generational gap theme in cop shows is not new, it works here and there is a connection between them that will be exciting to see utilized. The novelty of seeing Nathan Lane play a character like this also played a part. Meanwhile. the jury is still out on Dormer. She is undoubtedly talented enough to play multiple characters but this episode was just the beginning for her.

I don’t know about you but I will be staying tuned for next week’s episode.

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook. Also subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.