'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' Episode 5 Preview: Things get steamy between Tiago and Sister Molly
With Magda (Natalie Dormer) working behind the scenes, the scene is set to explode in Los Angeles as things come to a head, on several fronts. First, there is the business of Mateo murdering the racist cop, Jimmy Riley, which Detective Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane) says is a "declaration of war". This firmly puts Mateo (Johnathan Nieves) and Tiago (Daniel Zovatto) on two sides of the conflict that will tear the city and the Vega family apart.
In the trailer for Episode 5, we see Tiago and Lewis enter a narrow hallway, guns cocked. So there will be some action as their investigations take them from the Sonoratown slums to the Vega House. Councilman Townsend (Michael Gladis) will also get more ammunition for his racist agenda after a cop has been killed and the Germans now have prime blackmail material against him, thanks to his assistant, Alex, who is Magda in disguise.
According to the show's official synopsis, Alex will lecture Townsend about his "personal life" as a closeted gay man. LA in the 1930s is definitely not the time or place for someone hoping to be mayor to come out, which means he is now pretty much a puppet that the Nazis can steer as they choose. We also know, thanks to Lewis' Jewish gangster friend that the Nazis have the guns to start a war in LA, should they choose to do so.
Meanwhile, Josefina Vega (Jessica Garza) confides in Sister Molly (Kerry Bishé), who is shocked to discover that Josefina is Tiago's sister. What's more, we also see things get hot and heavy between Tiago and Sister Molly in the trailer. This means that the James Hazlett murder investigation will get more emotionally fraught for Tiago since Sister Molly is a prime suspect, according to Lewis. He will probably try to hide the fact that he is sleeping with her because, in the trailer, Lewis asks him, "Is there something you are not telling me?"
We also see Magda turn on the full force of her evil on both Mateo Vega and Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear). She tells Mateo to say "goodbye to your weak and worthless gods -- it is time to purge." Mateo, who is already both angry and scared, is primed for a bit of brainwashing. Since he was ready to kill Tiago just a few episodes ago, what will be the effect of Magda's evil temptations to give in to his fear and rage?
Meanwhile, Magda as Elsa, makes an alarming phonecall to Peter and tells him to come. In the trailer, she is seen covered in blood and Peter looks shaken. It is quite possible that Elsa will tell Peter that she has murdered her abusive husband and needs his help disposing the body. The tale of her abusive husband is a story she has been telling Peter since the very start and in this episode, we will see how she is going to use this narrative to draw Peter further into her clutches by making him a partner-in-crime. If she can create a fake boy, like Frank, from her body, creating a fake dead body won't be too much of a stretch.
'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' airs on Sundays at 10/9c on Showtime.