“The Ladder,” the third episode of AMC’s new historical fiction/horror series The Terror (airing Monday nights at 8 p.m. CST), builds nicely upon the show’s excellent first two hours. It deftly balances atmosphere, character building and horror while delivering a shocking twist to viewers unfamiliar with the real-life story of the Franklin Expedition or the bestselling novel by Dan Simmons.
We’ve been following The Terror here at WiC, and have had high hopes that Game of Thrones alumni like Ciaran Hinds (Mance Rayder), Tobias Menzies (Edmure Tully) and Clive Russell (Brynden ‘Blackfish” Tully) would be able to shine in this new project. They have. You come away from “The Ladder” certain that you are in the hands of masterful storytellers. It makes you both anxious to see more and somewhat depressed that there are only seven episodes left.
The Terror expertly balances storytelling elements and cinematic techniques: wide, cinematic vistas vs. tight, claustrophobic ship interiors; the lofty hopes of men vs the harsh realities of nature; the Imperial colonial will vs the victimized indigenous people; the latest science and technology vs the inexplicable forces of primitive myth; and the endless slow hours of snowbound idleness vs bursts of sudden, pulse-pounding horror. Yes, The Terror takes its time introducing and establishing tone, but the narrative never drags.
BEWARE MATEY: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 3 LIE BELOW
“The Ladder” opens in June, 1847, with the expedition’s two vessels, The Terror and The Erebus, still icebound with no open water in sight. Two sailors aboard the Erebus prep the body of the Silent Woman’s (Nive Nielsen) father for burial and discover carved talismans resembling a bear and a man sewn into his clothing. Trying to be respectful, assistant surgeon Harry Goodsir (Paul Ready) tells the sailors to bury the man with his charms. When her father’s possessions are brought to her, the Silent Woman motions to be given the charms from the coat lining, but they’re already gone.
Although Goodsir is unhappy about it, the body of the Silent Woman’s father is dumped unceremoniously into a deep fire hole in the ice. Do you get the feeling that we’re going to see that man again? Meanwhile, the Silent Woman travels a short distance from the stranded ships and builds an igloo; she’s looking for something to come to her, probably the same monster currently terrorizing the misshapen sailors.
Aboard the flagship Erebus, Sir John Franklin (Ciaran Hinds) is insulted when Captain Crozier (Jared Harris) misses breakfast with the officers, including Captain Fitzsimmons (Tobias Menzies). Crozier arrives as Franklin writes a eulogy for the dead Lt. Gore; fearing what will happen if the summer thaw does not dislodge the ships from the ice, Crozier asks permission to send eight men south in search of rescue. It’s an 800-mile gambit, and Franklin denies the request, angered by what he sees as Crozier’s alarmism.
"Franklin: “I have lost six men on this expedition to date. Six. And you ask me to risk more than doubling that number trekking over distant ground where you know I have lost men in years past. I will hear no more of this. I will not lose another man.”Crozier: “Fact is we may lose all of our men. That is what my alarm is ringing now, Sir John. And I-I’m at a loss as to why yours is not.””"
Upon his return to The Terror, Crozier tells his veteran first mate Thomas Blankey (Ian Hart) to prepare an eight-man sledge team to head south, despite Franklin’s decision. Crozier intends to lead the team so no blame will be placed upon any of the other officers for his act of mutiny.
Meanwhile, a group of marines and sailors are installed in an ice blind, using dead rats from the ship as bait in an attempt to lure in the mysterious bear that took the life of one of their crewmen the episode prior and shoot it. Franklin, bringing Goodsir and a camera with him, visits the blind to lift the men’s spirits and take a photograph. At the same time, Crozier pens a letter to Franklin explaining his decision to defy his commander’s wishes and slip away with the sledge team.
On board The Terror, the ongoing storyline of sailor Cornelius Hickey (Adam Nagatis) unfolds. In a previous episode, Officer John Irving (Ronin Raferty) caught Hickey having sex with fellow sailor William Gibson (Edward Ashley). Irving, a religious man who hates disorder, does not report what he found to Captain Crozier, but does confront Hickey and all but demands that the man find god, saying that this icy wasteland is the perfect place to do it.
As it ends up, Gibson had already told his side of the story to Irving, basically saying that Hickey forced him into homosexual acts. Learning this, Hickey confronts Gibson in his cabin. Facing brutal punishment if their secret gets out, Gibson ends the relationship. Hickey is deeply wounded, but can do nothing about it.
Back in the ice blind, Franklin and Goodsir are shocked when one of their party is grabbed through the canvas roof and spit back decapitated. The marines shoot wildly into the surrounding ice spires, but there isn’t anything to shoot at. Franklin runs away in fear, separating from the armed men. Hearing the shots and screams, Fitzsimmons leads an armed platoon out from the Erebus, but they’re too late. The monster has attacked Franklin, ripping off his leg before dragging him to the fire hole (the same one used to dispose of the Silent Woman’s father) and hurling him in headfirst, where he disappears.
Having lost their leader, the members of the expedition are in shock. Fitzsimmons is nearly inconsolable, while Crozier reluctantly takes command. With only Franklin’s severed leg in the coffin, the crew holds a funeral ceremony with Crozier reading the eulogy Franklin had written for Lt. Gore. Meanwhile, the vengeful Hickey sneaks into the Terror and defiles Irving’s bunk.
“The Ladder” ends on two powerful notes. In the first scene, the eight-man sledge team (without Crozier) heads south. In the second, the Silent Woman waits until the monster comes to her, it’s hot breath misting through the fur flap of her igloo. She steps outside with great trepidation, but the creature is gone. It has left her a gift: a dead seal.
It’s a great cap to a brilliant episode. We’ve got some wonderfully eerie and mysterious linkages going on in the story now; we wonder about the monster’s spiritual relationship to the Silent Woman (and her father), and its apparent intelligence and sense of revenge. The fact that it intentionally dumped Franklin’s body into the same fire hole used to unceremoniously dispose of the Silent Woman’s father is a clue that the sailors are dealing with something far more complicated than a dumb brute.
The Terror is adept with its cinematic storytelling, refusing to burden action sequences with too much frantic editing and angles and allowing the ones selected to sit, maximizing dramatic impact and leaving viewers with a sense of lingering horror. The use of flashbacks is judicial, and supplies us with vital background information (and the delightful appearance of Clive Russell as the famous explorer Sir John Ross), revealing the prior Franklin/Crozier relationship and the immense political aspirations of Franklin and his supportive wife, Lady Jane Franklin (Greta Scacchi).
“The Ladder” delivers on developing characters, a shocking twist, more peril and more mystery, promising that once this 10-part series his its full stride, the horror and pathos are gonna be turned up to 11.
EPISODE GRADE — A
Lots more to come! Here is AMC’s sneak peek for Episode 4, “Punished, as a Boy.”
What did you guys think of Episode 3?
Next: The Terror sets an eerie table in Episode 4, 'Punished, as a Boy'
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