Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (TV Series) Dead People Lie Down (2020) User Reviews

Don't believe the sceptics

[veralynson · 8/10 · 3 May 2020]

Whatever anyone says, I personally loved this one. Of course the fans of the original series will fail to find in this one the old Penny Dreadful, but I believe that the atmosphere and the credibility of the setting was well achieved. Zovatto makes, in my opinion, an impression on screen, adding the human touch to this episode, and I believe and hope that a darker side to the protagonist will soon be revealed.

Naturally, the star of the show in terms of acting is Kinnear, he can make even the simplest scenes compelling. And while the plot originally started out very by-the-book, I am seeing, in this episode, more of what I expected from Penny Dreadful as I recall it: suspense, existential conflicts, dark passion and macabre scenes. Hoping for the next episode to be even better.

To the fans: I recommend watching without prejudice and simply enjoy it. As a fan of the setting, I can only wish for more depth further on as the show progresses.

A little slow...but still good

[Drank22 · 8/10 · 7 May 2020]

This episode definitely feels a little slow compared to the premiere as not much really happens except in the last 10 or so minutes. This episode does feel like more of a setup for the next episode as a few plot lines are introduced but not much happens to move them, or the previous plots forward. I can see myself in the future when I rewatch the series as having to "get through" this episode, instead of looking forward to it.

That being said I still enjoyed this episode and am excited to see the story unravel. This show seems to be getting darker which I enjoy and I must say the last scene was probably the best of the episode. The tension is definitely building for something big to happen....we just have to wait a bit longer to see what exactly what that will be. The actors are still doing a tremendous job and the German accents are pretty impressive.

My main complaint is where is the main title sequence?

Honestly...

[W011y4m5 · 6/10 · 5 August 2020]

Let's just take a brief moment to truly appreciate how atrocious these German accents are on the show... I'm pretty sure the deliberately comedic pronunciations in "Allo Allo!" were more convincing.

Dead People Lie Down

[bobcobb301 · 6/10 · 8 May 2020]

I feel like the show needs to get past when it is taking place and start telling better stories. We get it, we don't need 100 20th Century references per episode.

I am still intrigued though.

Rips apart at the seams

[allnewsuperfake · 4/10 · 10 July 2020]

This episode sees our young detective trying to do his job, and I really enjoyed that part. The dynamic with his partner, the introduction of the church that is somehow involved in the murder they are trying to solve, it's all done fairly well. 1938's Los Angeles comes to live, and while it's certainly not perfect, everyone is doing a good job, and I dig the actual plot. There's a lot going on, including our bright young detective flirting with the icon of said church, and then...

... then we are back in the hospital, where his brother, who got shot by him, lies dying. And it's suddenly all racism and corruption, and the younger brother meeting his fate, there's not yet that much flirting, but you can see from the first moment where it's going. It's grim and dark and fairly disgusting, once again because everyone is doing a good job, not perfect, but well enough. And then...

...we are back with our bright, young, smooth detective, who, after shooting his brother in the midst of a riot trying to protect his very birthplace, is all smiles and flirting without a care in the world. Sure, there's also racism and corruption, but he is unfathomed and completely professional. What an astonishing young man. Or a psychopath, which would make sense as well. But I bet he won't turn out to be the killer. He's also been touched by some saint, but that was last episode and even though it seems to be a central plot point it is barely mentioned here.

The saint's evil sister works in very mysterious ways, because only one episode ago we saw here whispering in people's ears and have them do exactly what she told them. And as much as I enjoy her plotting and planning and manipulating here, it's not quiet clear why she doesn't just repeat her little trick.

It's like I'm watching two series at the same time, is what I'm trying to say. And that's right before I find myself in the middle of a nazi takeover of America. It's not that the pieces themselves are not interesting, but right now they are pulling apart and leave giant holes in what is supposed to be one coherrent story. Let's hope it's only temporary.

What is this rubbish

[confidential-67897 · 1/10 · 3 May 2020]

The original penny dreadful was great, and the cast was spot on, Eva green and Timothy Dalton in particular. This new incarnation is just truly terrible, I seriously doubt it will get a 2nd season

WTF is this political drama?

[moyetbear-224-584960 · 1/10 · 3 May 2020]

Latino Community against the police department who is trying to solve the murder of a prominent white dude that was killed under mysterious circumstances using old Latino rituals.

Throw in some family drama, throw-in racial tension, throw in a money-laundering church with a singing nun, and then try and make Nathan Lane act Butch, while data from Star Trek tries to play police chief.

Two episodes in and it's gone know where the supernatural element is such a background piece of the show that it has become redundantly boring at this point.

And don't forget to throw in Nazis and German people hiding out in America before the war.

The writer leaves you wanting something better than throw away ideas. and throw away as what they should do to the rest of the season if it doesn't pick up pace which so far has moved at the speed of a glacier.

yes I know it's not the Penny dreadful that we had from previous seasons but this doesn't even have something interesting to it it's like watching a version of modern-day Los Angeles in antique costumes.

There is no horror to be found here other than the obvious waste of time that's you could have spent on something else.

Dead People Lie Down

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 22 February 2024]

An odd second episode. I expected Tiago Vega to be cut up for shooting his brother Raul. He now lies in intensive care, not expected to survive. His mother prays for him.

Tiago is only mildly upset and then back to normal. Even slightly flirtatious with radio evangelist Sister Molly Finnister who he needs to pump some information from.

It might just be that Tiago got unexpected good news. His cop partner Lewis Michener claims not to have seen who shot him in the arm. His brother might be in the clear but the doctors tell Tiago he is only expected to live for a few more days.

Still the police are even more angry at all the Mexicas as the turmoil has led to the deaths of four cops.

Councilman Townsend proclaims that the new highway will go though in honour of the dead cops. Using the tragedy to get the press on his side.

Shades of post 9/11 metaphors with the political grandstanding.

It is also notable how these shows also go to the same well. Radio evangelist Sister Molly Finnister is based on a real evangelist from the 1930s. The first series of the revamped Perry Mason had a similar character.