The new season of Penny Dreadful just premiered. Does it live up to season 1?

Penny Dreadful had a strong first season. It was dark and dramatic, sexy and sullen, campy but not ridiculous, with engaging characters and frightening villains. It’s hard to imagine the followup season living up to the first, but based on episode 1, “Fresh Hell,” it seems promising. Mild spoilers below.

Related: The Art and Making of Penny Dreadful book review

Characters

A second season allows for less time spent introducing and getting to know everyone, so in “Fresh Hell” we get to dive right into the story. Most of your favorites are back and ready to get down to business. Vanessa and Ethan are still battling their inner demons, Victor and the Creature progress in bringing Brona back to life, and Malcolm and Sembene are, well, there.

Back again is also Madame Kali, or Evelyn Poole, and with a much larger presence than last season. With the vampires basically eradicated, the new threat emerges in the form of witches. Evelyn, her daughter, and a few other sensually scary witches are taking over the villainous role. It’s still a little early to know how worthy an opponent they are, but Evelyn’s cutthroat nature would lead you to believe that she’s a threat to be feared.

A few new characters are also introduced, namely the family who runs the wax museum. They’re a welcome addition to the show, able to provide some much-needed normalcy and average-ness to the otherwise outrageous and odd nature of the rest of the characters.

And if you were hoping for some ageless beauty, you’re out of luck. No Dorian in this episode. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Sex

The provocatively sensual moments were at a low this premiere, but it looks like there might be some interesting ones in the future.

Doctor Frankenstein appears to be developing some non-professional feelings for his patient, which can only lead to trouble. Because who would want to be on the bad side of the Creature or Ethan? However, the Creature may not end up wanting Brona-Creature anyway, as it seems he has someone new to set his sights on (who can’t set sights on him).

‘Interesting’ is also the only word to describe Evelyn Poole’s relationship with her daughter, Hecate. No word on how that develops, where it’s going, or where it’s been. No way are we going there.

Setting

No Gothic show is complete without the scenery and atmosphere to go with it, and “Fresh Hell” delivers the same gritty old Victorian feel as season 1. It’s beautifully bleak with incredible cinematography that helps elevate some of the more campy scenes. In particular, watch for the moment in Evelyn’s house. The camera’s twists and turns show just how impressive and elaborate her house is. You wouldn’t want to get stuck in there; you’d never find your way out.

Violence

This premiere was shockingly lacking in blood and guts. It didn’t have the same grand violence of previous episodes, and certainly not any moments as exciting as the opening scene in season 1. But it would have felt out of place. This episode wasn’t about the gruesome. There were, however, a few bloody instances that tease what’s to come.

First, poor Ethan wakes up red handed yet again, with a slight mess to clean up (or leave for someone else to deal with). With an adorably confused and concerned puppy look on his face, he goes to see Vanessa and tell her he’s leaving. This leads to the introduction of this season’s new villains in a rather claustrophobic fight sequence, which leaves a couple of horses in a rather unfortunate state. As fights go, this one was rather tame, but word to the animal lovers: you won’t like what you see.

And what would an episode be without Vanessa doing some strange, bloody ritual? Perhaps she should invest in some bandages. That little finger ran a lot of red.

What did you think of the ‘Penny Dreadful’ season 2 premiere?

Related: Patti LuPone to guest star on Penny Dreadful season 2