REVIEW: The Terror, Season 1 Episode Three 'The Ladder'

 REVIEW: The Terror, Season 1 Episode Three 'The Ladder'

For a horror anthology series about two ships stranded at sea, 'The Ladder' seems a very odd episode title. The metaphorical nature of a 'ladder' and how it can represent somebody's rank (the higher up you are, the more importance you hold), is prominent throughout, but even so I would have thought a better title for this episode would have been to name it after Sir John (Ciaran Hinds) himself.

Sir John really is the star of the show here, as we delve further into his backstory and find out more about who this character is deep down. We learn of how he was ridiculed by the public for his failed artic exhibition, how he lost his governorship over Van Dierman's Land. Sir John's life is one of failure and disappointment, and it quickly becomes clear about how he viewed his artic passage exhibition as a desperate stab at redemption and success.

It's great to see characters' vulnerabilities exposed in a piece of fiction like this, especially when other characters are brought into a scene to expose those insecurities further. Step forward, Captain Francis Crozier (Jared Harris). Francis enters Sir John's cabin to ask his permission to send members of the crew out on a sledge to search for help regarding their predicament, and Sir John instantly accuses Francis of writing the expedition off prematurely as a failure.

But of course, Francis would be right to think that. The expedition has already failed. We as the audience now know that Sir John is in serious denial, and he doesn't want to face up to the truth. These kind of flaws are really interesting to watch as a viewer, as it shows the raw humanity under the skin of these characters who we have been watching for three episodes already.

It's not only Sir John who is flawed however, as Francis also has his own demons. The captain has a serious drink problem enjoying a glass of whiskey a little too much and serving it to the rest of the crew. Alcoholism is, of course, a very serious real world problem, but this episode treats it with the right kind of level-headed sincerity it deserves. I did feel sorry for poor Hickey (Adam Nagaitis), who seemed to genuinely believe he had a special connection with Francis, because of how they shared a drink. It's pretty cruel how he then discovers that Francis actually drinks with everyone, if he can have a bottle too.

When the bear makes its attack, it feels inevitable that the crew are so hopelessly unprepared. It's fair to say that they are not a very strong unit, with leaders who perhaps aren't the greatest to lead them through this perilous expedition. The way it strikes through the calm tranquility of taking photographs within the confines of a tent is brilliant, as it plays upon something similar to the way Alfred Hitchcock uses the shower in his classic movie Psycho.

It puts our characters in a place where they feel safe, and has the threat directly invade their sense of security. That kind of tactic really helps to hammer home the idea that nowhere is safe for these people we are watching on our television screens; danger could be lurking just around the corner at any moment. It's also great that Ridley Scott has, once again, wisely decided to just offer glimpses of the bear, rather than showing it head on.

The death, without going into spoiler territory, is a big one, and it's worth it for the excellent acting on display. The reaction of the crew is sublime, but the stand-out in particular is Tobias Menzies as James Fitzjames, who totally lays into Francis for not letting his crew grieve over their loss. It's such a raw and human display of emotion from an actor who has been in the industry for a while, and it demonstrates exactly why Tobias Menzies is such a success within the film and television industry. He is an extremely skilled actor, and really commands the screen.

Also impressive is the way this episode delves into the suspicions regarding the Inuit father and daughter. After the events of the previous episode, the daughter (Nive Neilsen) has gone quiet, and refusing to speak, and the crew wonder if she is going to return to her people and send them after her. There's also speculation as to whether the bear will come after them more because of what they did to her father, and this aspect is extremely compelling because it plays into our suspicions also. We see the daughter act strange at the beginning of the episode when she carves a circle in the snow, and hearing all these views from the crew is almost like hearing our own thoughts validated in trying to figure out what is going on.

Overall, this was a very strong third entry in the series. It's nice to learn more about Sir John Franklin's back story, and Ridley Scott does a great job at playing the horror aspects without revealing too much of the bear creature. It will be interesting to see where the fourth episode leads after the shock death in this episode, as it certainly seems it will be all change for the crews of the HMS Terror and Erebus.

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What are your thoughts on The Terror's third episode? Let me know in the comments section.