The Terror is television show about the crew of a Royal Naval expedition searching for the Arctic’s treacherous Northwest Passage who discovers instead a monstrous predator.
Well I for one did NOT see what was coming in episode 3 of AMC’s newest hit, The Terror. I need to dive right into the recap so I can share some of my post-episode thoughts.
The episode begins with the burial of the elderly Eskimo who was shot and killed during episode 2. He had some ivory carvings around his neck (one of which looked like a polar bear) that his daughter wanted, but they were dumped through the ice with his corpse. Cornelius Hickey (Adam Nagaitis) is later cornered by John Irving (Ronan Raftery) about his homosexual behavior. Irving ays that he won’t report him if Hickey agrees to report to him. This could be a forced alliance forming, but Hickey also seems to exact some revenge at the end of the episode.
We get a little bit more background on Sir John Franklin’s (Ciaran Hinds) former life in London. In a flashback we see him talking to his wife and learn that at one point Sir John was a governor, but he was removed from duty and feels disgraced. They both view this voyage through the Arctic as a means of redemption to get back in good graces. As we jump back to modern times, the growing animosity between Sir John and Francis Crozier (Jared Harris) reaches a boiling point. Francis tries to get permission from Sir John to send a party out to seek rescue for them. Sir John abruptly rejects this idea, and proceeds to verbally abuse Crozier, accusing him of being ill fit for command. Following this squabble, Francis secretly plans to lead the expedition himself.
A hunting tent has been set up and manned by some crew to kill the bear that attacked Lieutenant Graham Gore (Tom Weston-Jones). When Sir John travels out to visit and pose for a picture with the hunting crew, they are attacked and a crew member is left mutilated and decapitated. Sir John attempts to escape, but he is tracked down and dragged away our bear/monster. He is dumped in the same ice hole where the elderly Eskimo was buried, and all that is left of him is his leg. With Sir John dead, Francis gives command for the rescue mission to move forward.
The episode ends at the igloo of the young Eskimo daughter. She hears the bear/monster panting outside, and upon going out to investigate it is nowhere to be found. All that’s there is a dead seal that has been left for her.
So I’ve got a few early season thoughts following this episode. One deals with Ciaran Hinds. First and foremost, I sincerely hope he isn’t truly dead. He was one of the reasons I was particularly excited for this show, and if he’s dead it’s a devastating blow to me. However, as he was being dragged away he had some weird flashbacks to his time in London, and they felt like unfinished thoughts. This leads me to believe that he is not quite dead yet, or at least has more to offer in the show. If he’s really dead though, RIP.
Second, the young Eskimo girl. She seemed awfully fond of the ivory carvings that were on her father’s neck, and I have to imagine that they were more than just keepsakes. Aside from resembling the monster, one almost looked like a whistle to me. Perhaps a way to control the monster? Also, the dead seal being left for her at the end of the episode. That looked a lot like an offering, so I’m thinking they’re in cahoots.
Last, when Harry Goodsir (Paul Ready) was taking the picture of the hunting crew with Sir John, he was timing something. Hard to say exactly what it was, but I don’t think he was timing how long was needed to take the picture. It felt to me that he was trying to see how it was taking something to happen, perhaps for the monster to come forth? So at this point I don’t fully trust Dr. Goodsir.
Some pretty significant things happened in this episode. Part of me is torn up over Sir John possibly suffering a very early season death, but I also like the mystery of the monster that continues unraveling. Better believe I’m excited to tune in next week!