Well, first piece of good news from this episode: I learned a new name, Evans! Second piece of good news: they took my advice and killed some more people so I wouldn't have to learn as many names. They're very courteous that way. Now, the bad news is that the outcome of my first piece of good news was a direct casualty of the second piece of good news. Which is all to say, I still don't know any extra names and the pool of names has seen a hefty reduction. Though no death was as significant as last week's, there was certainly death afoot, and we got a bit of a taste for how smart our crew's foe really is. Let's take a look back, shall we?
Recap
The first scene we're treated to this week is on land for a change, and also is not a flashback. Lady Jane (Sir John's wife) and Sophia Cracroft (Sir John's niece), meet with men to make a case for a search party to be sent to look for Terror and Erebus. Because they are women in the 1800s, however, the men are mostly dismissive of any arguments they ladies make. Lady Jane makes a last-ditch effort by recounting a time she stood barefoot in the snow and attempted to stay for as long as she could stand it in order to get a taste of what the men would be dealing with in the far harsher climate of the Antarctic. When this appeal also fails, the women depart, with Lady Jane telling Sophia that they need to find a way to put a search party together themselves because she can feel that Sir John and the men need help. She's half right! The men could certainly use some assistance, but I don't think they will be able to do much in the way of help for Sir John at this point.Back at the ships, Goodsir (thanks Google!) attempts to make sense of the bite patterns in pictures of the dead bodies, while Crozier is doing alcohol things before a meeting. As he begins to get dressed for the meeting, a kerfuffle is heard from above, due a man losing a significant portion of his skull thanks to the creature. As they work to get skull-chunk man below deck, another shout is heard as they discover a man has gone missing. Search parties are sent out, with Evans, a ship's boy, begging Crozier to join. His reluctance to let the boy join all but sealed the boy's fate, causing me to immediately mourn the name I had just learned. As the search parties head in several directions, Crozier and Evans head off in a direction alone. Crozier leaves the boy behind momentarily to climb an ice patch and get a look at the other side, further confirming the suspicion that the boy is a goner. Crozier spots what looks like a body and shouts for Evans to join as he runs towards it. It's not a body, though, just a jacket covering blood in the snow, purposefully made to seem like a body. Smart bear/not bear! Of course, this revelation is quickly followed by a shout from Evans as the creature has returned and Crozier rushes back, only to find that Evans is nowhere to be found.
While doing more alcohol things and wallowing in self-pity about Evans's death, Crozier reveals that he's only on this mission because of his love for Sophia, who told him to look out for Sir John and keep him safe. Oops. We are later treated to flashback of Sophia declining to marry Crozier because, she claims, he is already married to the sea, and she does not wish to grow to resent marrying him, because she really does love him. How adorably tragic.While on watch, Hickey sees the silhouette of an odd-looking man leaning over the side of the ship. Upon further inspection and later analysis, however, it was actually two men. Chopped in half. One man's legs, another man's body. After some discussion, it is decided that they must bring Lady Silence back to the ships and ask her everything she knows about the creature. Though an argument is made to track her down immediately, Crozier gives the order to send a party in the morning. He then returns to his quarters for the aforementioned flashback, which ends when yet another kerfuffle is heard from above. Turns out Hickey was all for the "right now" plan and took it upon himself to get a group together and grab Lady Silence by force. He tells the men a (possibly untrue) story about Lady Silence performing what looked like a ritual with the bear/not bear before it was spooked by their presence and ran away (which really doesn't sound like the ruthless killing machine we've been experiencing), but Crozier quickly puts an end to story time and orders that Lady Silence be brought to comfortable quarters while he meets with the men responsible for the abduction. Crozier decrees that they will all be punished with 12 lashes. Hickey obviously think that's not enough, because he decides to start talking back to Crozier to defend is actions and is upped to 30 lashes. Hickey is going for the gold here, though, and keeps right on at it, and even raises his voice, earning him punishment as a boy. What does it mean to be punished as a boy? Well, while the other two men were lashed on their bare backs, Hickey is going to get 30 spanks on his bare bum. But not the fun spanks. These are lashes, delivered with the same lashing whip used on the other men's backs. 12 was enough to open a gash or two on the other men's backs, but 30 on the rear flung blood all over the room and wasn't really a pleasant time for anybody. Hickey's wounds are tended to, and Goodsir is later tasked with bringing Lady silence a meal, most of which she is definitely not a fan of. Our episode ends with Goodsir attempting to communicate with Lady Silence and apologizing for the treatment she has been receiving.
Verdict
There was a lot going on this episode, and the pacing picked up a bit to keep up with it. The heightened pace also marks a great parallel with the heightened anxiety the crew faces as they continue to be attacked. AMC is doing a fantastic job so far with this show, and each episode truly seems to be getting better each week so far. Though her reentry was poorly handled by Hickey, I am glad to have Lady Silence back at the ships, not only for the female presence, but also for they mythology she is undoubtedly about to bring with her. For me, learning more about her and her connection to the creature is the part of the show I am most excited for. That, and the good, old fashioned, animalistic murder of the ships' crew, because who doesn't enjoy seeing a dead body on TV? Four episodes in, and I continue to get more invested in this show, I can't wait for tonight's new episode!
How are you feeling four episodes in? Do you think Hickey was at all justified in his actions? Do you think Crozier was at all justified in the punishment he served Hickey? Sound off in the comments below!
