Jonathan Hession/SHOWTIMEThe End.
Penny Dreadful fans were left shocked and confused at the end of Sunday night's season three finale, and for good reason. (Spoilers ahead!)
In the final moments of the episode, Vanessa (Eva Green) died (but found "peace") and the show ended with "The End," which baffled loyal "Dreadfuls" as Showtime had yet to announce if this was the series finale. And now we're sorry to be the bearer of bad news as Penny Dreadful will not be returning for a fourth season.
In a special video message to fans, creator John Logan says, "Penny Dreadful was always intended to go for three years exactly, so I think we've told our story well and thank you for all your support and hanging in there with us."
In another behind-the-scenes video, shot on the set of the final episode, Eva Green says, "I'm going to miss Vanessa. It's going to be hard to kind of leave her behind. To be able to play such a beautiful character is a gift for an actor and I've been so lucky."
Tasked with killing Vanessa was her love Ethan (Josh Hartnett), with the duo "drawn to each other from the very opening scene," Harnett explains. "It's inevitable that their conclusions have to be intertwined." Talk about a tragic love story.
He continues, "It's not the way Ethan wanted it to end, of course. He wants to take care of Vanessa. He's always wanted to take care of Vanessa. And it becomes clear that this is the only way he can actually do that." As for Logan, he says this is how he always envisioned the series ending. "We knew where it was going and where we wanted to end it. It seemed the only place it could end."
In a statement, Logan expanded on the series' ending: "I created Penny Dreadful to tell the story of a woman grappling with her faith, and with the demons inside her. For me the character of Vanessa Ives is the heart of this series. From the beginning, I imagined her story would unfold over a three-season arc, ending with Vanessa finally – and triumphantly – finding peace as she returns to her faith. To have had fans that have embraced us so passionately has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my career. This has been a very personal project for me and I will be forever grateful to have worked with the incredible cast led by Eva, Josh and Tim, our amazing Irish crew, and with our wonderful partners at Showtime and Sky."
After it was officially announced that Penny Dreadful would not be returning for a fourth season, Showtime president David Nevins issued a statement praising Logan and the cast and of the series.
"John Logan deftly created a truly beautiful, brilliantly-written, epic drama series that has drawn a passionate fanbase to our network," he said. "After three fulfilling seasons, John has told the story he set out to tell and brought the series to a close in an incredibly poetic way. It has been an honor to work with him and this amazingly talented cast, and we're thrilled that we can continue to work with John as he transitions to write and produce his next project for us, Just Kids, alongside Patti Smith. Together with our partners at Sky, we celebrate John's vision and the thrilling finale of Penny Dreadful."
Are you sad to see Penny Dreadful end? Sound off in the comments!