REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels': What makes Nazis better villains than demons, vampires and witches?

At the cost of the series' supernatural themes, 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' may just have turned its gaze on the most important monsters of all
PUBLISHED JUN 15, 2020
(Showtime)
(Showtime)

Spoilers for 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' Season 1 Episode 8 'Hide and Seek'

"We're pure. Smart. Hard-working. We believe in family. It is our duty to protect our people." These are familiar words, heard uttered by Americans around the country seeking to define who they are, and what sets them apart from the rest of the world. They're words that describe the nation's pride, often to help Americans justify the things they do to keep their way of life intact. Those exact words, however, were also used nearly a century ago by the Nazi party, right before they tried to wipe out an entire race of people in World War II.

The main antagonists of the original 'Penny Dreadful' had one thing in common — they could hide in plain sight. Whether they were vampires, witches, werewolves, or immortal suffragettes, the takeaway from 'Penny Dreadful' seemed to be that anyone can have a monster, lurking beneath the skin, no matter how ordinary they appear on the surface. 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' takes that idea one step further, exploring Magda's (Natalie Dormer) belief that anyone can be a monster, and that all it takes is to give them the space in which to become one. 

The Nazis of America certainly had a lot of space to grow. Established in 1936, the group consisted of German Americans who wanted to spread the gospel of the Nazi party, fighting for pro-Nazi propaganda by any means possible. They were a small, but vocal group, and played an important role in turning the tide of public opinion towards Anti-Semitism. The Bund is featured prominently in the latest episode of 'City of Angels,' where we learn that Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear) is the head of the LA branch of the organization. 

Peter Craft has attempted to convince the audience throughout the series that there is such a thing as a good Nazi. At every turn, however, it's clear to see that Craft is not a good man despite how sympathetic his performance is. In fact, his one redeeming move — to defend Maria Vega (Adriana Barraza) from his racist wife, Elsa/Magda (Natalie Dormer), only proves how terrible his actions are. He was always able to refuse Elsa's manipulations. Choosing to have his wife committed, helping Elsa dispose of a body and his pro-Nazi leanings are all choices he made. Elsa can't shoulder the blame. She forced nothing onto him merely encouraged him to be the monster he always wanted to be.

The Nazis have been such deadly villains throughout the series because there's no ritual or supernatural twist that turns a person an average human into one of the Nazi party. We've seen them present themselves as reasonable, well-argued people with allegedly good intentions. We've seen how people believe that there is merit to their words, and be lured by their offers, but we've also seen those very same people terrified of the Nazis they've found themselves dealing with. The Nazis are both a terrifying threat and a seductive temptation, the very essence of devilry made flesh. Even the Church is not immune to their charms.

With the rise of pro-Nazi sentiments in current times, to say nothing of the discussion about prejudice on the basis of race and sexual orientation, 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' turns its gaze towards monsters that have never been more relevant to our current times. Though light on the supernatural, the true horror of 'City of Angels' may just be how familiar the words of the series' antagonists are to the people of today. 

The next episode of 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' airs on June 21 on Showtime.

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW