A few characters made abrupt exits on Showtime's Penny Dreadful during its first season, but none were felt quite so poignantly as the death of Proteus (Alex Price).

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On Thursday, Showtime released an In Memoriam video commemorating the brief but lovely life of Victor Frankenstein's (Harry Treadaway) second creation (featured below).

Proteus charmed audiences during his short existence with his sense of wonder, marveling at the "fairy lights" (aka street lamps) and exploring his own range of vulnerability humanity. He also struggled to understand what he was, a weight which his creator, Frankenstein, felt deeply.

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Penny Dreadful seemed to be setting Proteus up as the "creature" which viewers were to know throughout the season when he was suddenly and brutally torn apart, literally, by Frankenstein's first creation, Caliban (Rory Kinnear).

Having entered the cruel world confused and abandoned, Caliban had tracked his creator down in pursuit of justice for his very existence.

During the course of season one, Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) referred to Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) as the daughter "he deserved" in comparison to his own sweet Mina, and it seems to be a similar case for Frankenstein and his creatures. Proteus was the sweet and gentle creature he'd hoped for, but perhaps for cheating the fabric of life the unforgiving Caliban was the creature he deserved.

While Proteus served the important function of introducing Caliban to the audience, his death was perhaps felt by viewers more deeply than expected. This could be the reasoning behind Showtime's decision to release the new video, or perhaps the network simply wants to remind audiences that no one is safe on the Victorian supernatural drama.

Penny Dreadful returns on Showtime for a second season in 2015.

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