Wow. I gotta say, I was not expecting that. This episode gave us a lot to chew on. At least a whole leg's worth. Or a seal's worth, maybe. You get the point. I'm excited to say that I was able to pick up a couple more names this episode, so at this rate I should know everyone by the season finale! But, if they keep killing people that'll be a lot easier for me. Fingers crossed! For now, though, let's take a look back at episode three before tonight's fourth installment.
Recap
Back at the ships, Francis and Sir John get into a disagreement about their current situation. Francis insists they send eight men out on a rescue expedition to bring back assistance before they have to deal with another harsh winter, but Sir John is completely against the idea. Interestingly, Sir John was asked if he had a rescue plan prepared before the ships even set out on their mission, and he most assuredly did not. He probably should have gone for this one, but oh well.
Elsewhere, the Hickey/Gibson incident deepens. After no punishments came about for their deeds below deck (it's a shame that was an issue), Hickey tried to thank the man that caught them, but was told Gibson called him a "devious seducer" and that the lack of attention was only to protect Gibson. As this was news to Hickey, he met Gibson in his quarters to ask about talk about what happened. Gibson assured him this was the only way that no harm came to them, and that their relationship/hookups/whatever it was is over now. Hickey later decides to show him how crappy this was by, well, crapping on Gibson's bed. Hilarious, but also pretty dangerous for someone who is already viewed poorly for being a "seducer". I worry for his future.
Now, for the meat of the episode. Sir John and a couple of other men set out to meet some men camped out trying to bait and kill the bear that killed Gore. After they pose for a photo (which used to take forever) Sir John stays with the men for a few minutes to wait for the bear. Something that probably isn't a bear finds them, however. The tarp of their shelter caves in, and one of the men is snatched into the air and is headless by the time his body returns to the earth. His head follows shortly after. Many gunshots are fired, alerting the ships that something has gone wrong. Sir John breaks off from the group to attempt to return to Erebus, but the bear/probably-not-just-a-bear catches him and drags him off to the hole that earlier seemed to be fit for burial. He is momentarily left outside of the hole one leg short before being nudged over the edge, warming up on the hot coals for a bit, and then plunging to his demise. Men arrive to help, but it is clear that Sir John is lost. Francis, who had been writing Sir John a letter of resignation, takes this as a sign that he can give the greenlight to his rescue party and almost immediately does so while the men mourn.
At the end of the episode, we revisit Lady Silence who has constructed herself a very nice igloo. While enjoying a peaceful evening inside sharpening her blade, she is visited by some sort of creature outside. It approaches the opening to her igloo, breathes heavily for a few minutes, and then departs. For some reason, she quickly decides to pop out of the igloo and see what was happening, only to discover nothing around. Well, nothing except for a very dead seal that almost looks as though it was presented as a gift. Or maybe that was what was outside the igloo and it just decided to back away and die slowly? Either way, she looked pretty unsettled about the whole incident.Verdict
The slow-burn pace continued in this episode, albeit with a few exceptionally upbeat moments, and the show is very clearly heading for some positive territory in the plot department. For us at least, not so much for the men on the show. One of the better things about slower paced shows is that when they do have a fast-paced moment, it has so much more impact. This effect certainly took place here. From the moment the tarp came down on the men, the confusion and suspense were relentless, right up until the fateful demise of Sir John. Was he the greatest human? Not really. But he didn't deserve to be ripped apart, not physically at least. I'm excited to see where Lady Silence's storyline will go, and to find out what's up with that seal. It definitely could be a coincidence, but also it was directly outside of the igloo looking straight at her, so that seems a little...well, fishy. I had to. I know seals aren't fish, but they eat fish, so it works! Anyways, back to the episode. It will be very interesting to see how the Hibson story arc plays out, though I don't have very high hopes for the couple at the moment. Hibson sounds appropriate, right? Gickey doesn't have the same ring to it. Maybe Hickson? Or Gibsey? I'll work on it. I'm not shipping it at the moment since Gibson kinda threw Hickey under the bus here, but it's always good to have a ship name just in case, right? Especially on a show about ships. Ba dum. Tsss. And with that, I will see myself out and await tonight's fourth episode.
What did you think of episode three? Did you think Sir John would bite the dust this early, if at all? Does anybody have preference on my Hickey/Gibson ship names, or an idea of your own? Sound off in the comments below!
