Episode 9 of Nautilus, "Ride of the Valkyrie," marks the second-to-last week of the show's premiere season. Next Sunday, we'll get a two-part finale on AMC. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, because tonight's new episode is discussion-worthy. Finally, we get to see the Viking treasure ship! Let's dive right into our recap and review of episode 9.
This episode opens with the Nautilus un-submerged and sailing beneath an aurora borealis. While up top and enjoying the view, Nemo relates a story about his daughter to Humility. I don’t see any damage to the ship from the last episode's metal-eating bugs, so we are left to assume repairs were made and excess water removed before they reach this point.
The crew gathers together for a large meal. They discuss their destination, the Pillars of Halvare, and the Norse goddess, Freya. It’s a scene with much-needed camaraderie as each also talks of what they will do with their share of the expected treasure. There are moments of concern and gratitude as well. It's good to see their trust remains for now.
What happens in Nautilus episode 9, "Ride of the Valkyrie"
Cuff, who’s on watch, calls Nemo outside on the little deck to see something odd. Some of the others join them. They sail past tall pikes with skulls impaled upon their tips. The warning instantly revives the dread and fears of the crew. As they continue sailing forward through the fog, the giant pillars of Halvar come into view.
Nemo has the Nautilus dive and they search for the treasure ship. Once a sunken ship is located, Blaster and Suyin remain aboard while the others don diving suits and exit the Nautilus.
On the sunken ship, they encounter an armored skeleton sitting with a longsword across its lap. However, the crates around him are empty with no treasure in sight. One by one, each of the divers is whisked away by some unseen creature.
Nemo wakes to see his companions tied up, along with himself. They are in the middle of a cliffside plateau, surrounded by a tribe of mostly warrior women. No, these are not Amazons, but descendants of the Vikings and protectors of this burial ground.
Their leader accuses the Nautilus crew of trespassing and doesn’t believe Nemo when he tells her about the submarine. She intends to put their heads on pikes, but Nemo demands a hearing.
While waiting as the Viking women discuss and prepare for a trial, Nemo notices an abundance of jewels and gold among the tribe. He deduces that the burial ground and rumors of treasure were to lure treasure seekers into an ambush.
A pair of the warrior women find the Nautilus underwater and enter through the hatch. It's curious that the Nautilus crew had to use diving suits while these women relied solely on their bodies and skill. It only takes a few moments for a confrontation between them and Blaster and Suyin to commence. Suyin breaks out a revolver and grazes one of them, sending them away.
At Nemo’s trial, each of the Nautilus crew stands to speak as to his character. They have difficulty with a few of the questions proposed to them by the tribal leader. (There are those trust issues again.) She recognizes him as an honorable man, yet sentences all of the ship's crew to death.
Now, we know these folks won’t just meekly let themselves be put to the sword. True to their characters, a battle breaks out. There are some fun sequences in the fighting and bits of plundering during the action. The Nautilus crew escaped by jumping off the cliff, leaving their diving gear behind.
There are injuries during the escape. Nemo loses his grip on a jeweled necklace he grabbed and has to choose whether to dive for it or save Cuff.
As the Nautilus prepares to sail away, the Viking women destroy the cliffs and bury the treasure. The debris nearly buries the Nautilus as it falls. The falling stony structures create a mini tsunami that violently tosses the submarine. Eventually, the ship shoots out from the remaining cliffs into calmer water.
Later, cleaned up and dry, the crew gathers to discuss their prospects. Nemo, feeling the weight of disappointment and his mistakes, tells them he will put them ashore. However, the bonding these folks created along their voyage isn’t completely broken. After impassioned speeches, they choose to stay with him and the Nautilus.
This episode concludes with Crowley receiving Millais’s telegram in London. It informs him of Nemo’s intent to bring the Nautilus there. He prepares by surrounding the company building with soldiers. Interestingly, Nemo has already arrived...a little too quickly by my estimation.
The tsunami pushing the Nautilus into safety stretched my believability a bit. I half expected the whales to reappear again but glad they didn't. I really liked the Viking women, even though their leader was rather rigid in her views. They are this episode's big encounter.
Still, I'm left with a lot of questions about their society, such as: with so few men, does this mean all their children are related? Are the women chosen from another community elsewhere and brought here? It's likely we'll never know.