At the end of the previous episode, the Nautilus was trapped by a giant squid near the ocean floor. It prevents them from surfacing by wrapping its body around the ship and holding fast with tentacle suckers. As it squeezes, the ship's metal hull groans and parts fall off.
Nemo, reckless as ever, puts on a diving suit and exits to try and scare it off. His spear gun is no match for it. However, mama whale shows up and rescues the Nautilus. Perhaps the whales are going to be a recurring thing.
Meanwhile, the Nautilus is still being pursued by the dreadnought, but it escapes by firing a torpedo filled that makes a lot of noise. Both ships have men monitoring ocean sounds. The dreadnought officer picks up on the torpedo, so they give chase. Meanwhile, the Nautilus fires its engines and flees. Crawley is disgusted at falling for the ruse.
Humility rescues Blaster from the stowaway, and we learn the story of how he used to be a trooper. She convinces Nemo to show him mercy so they lock him up.
Nemo makes plans to travel north through the Arctic. However, they only have a week’s worth of food so must search for supplies first. Many of the places on their map are unsuitable or company sites, so they settle on one with rumored cannibals…probably a bad idea.
Once on land, the landing party is quickly surrounded by uniformed men with guns, though they aren’t company men. Their commander, the White Rajah (Richard E. Grant) tags the Nautilus group as the escaped prisoners they are. He also reveals Nemo’s royal background.
Nemo refuses an offer to visit the White Rajah’s palace, but Humility wants to go: she claims that Nemo is holding her captive, securing herself a trip. The others, except Loti, return to the Nautilus. Loti forces her way into the palace, telling Humility she cannot get away from her.
Nemo decides to bring the Nautilus in to dock so they can get those promised supplies. He doesn't want to but knows they badly need food and fresh water.
I laughed when the palace chefs served squid to Humility. She’s intrigued by the ice machine the Rajah has built. Over dinner, he tells her of the company-ordered murder of Nemo’s wife and daughter, along with how he came to be in the penal colony.
At the dock, Nemo leaves several of the crew as guards and assigns others to inspect the incoming supplies. He also turns the stowaway trooper over to the Rajah’s men upon reaching the palace.
Benoit discovers a map to Atlantis in one of the palace libraries and pockets it. Meanwhile, back at the docks, the Nautilus crew discover the supplies are spoiled and full of maggots. Kai (Tyrone Ngatai) runs to the palace to warn Nemo.
Recap: Nautilus Episode 3, "What Lies Beneath"
All this leads to a feast in the palace. It’s opulent, with towers of macaroons, some in the shape of animals. There’s a live band, many servants, and guards stationed everywhere. It's certainly overdone, especially in the face of starving villagers.
The White Rajah reveals to Nemo that his father’s lands were not stolen by the company but sold to them. Nemo’s unsure whether to believe that, despite a photograph which shows his father at a table with company executives. He steals the photo and discovers a telegraph machine with information about the Nautilus on it. The White Rajah is after Nemo, who is thrown into a cell near the stowaway trooper.
The ice machine breaks down, and apparently the Rajah had the engineer executed a while back. He turns to Humility, asking her to see if she can repair it. She accepts. While looking for its power source underground, she discovers women and children laboring in the boiler room. She leads them up to the feast pavilion and offers them food. The Rajah arrives at the pavilion where he confronts the children. Humility defends them. Their parents are the guards and servants, so the Nautilus crew incite them to rise up. When the Rajah’s soldiers fire upon them, all chaos breaks out.
Naturally, the pavilion falls admidst the fighting. I have to say I expected that. Maybe I’ve just played too much Dungeons & Dragons.
While looking for Nemo, Kai finds the food store house. He loads up a nearby wagon. Meanwhile, Humility frees Nemo. They flee guards upstairs and get trapped on the balcony. As would any good hero, Nemo swashbuckles his way down, with Humility following. They steal a horse and bolt for the Nautilus.
The villagers prevail and go to take over the palace. Jagadish (Chum Ehelepola) finds the freed trooper at the telegraph. The man sabotages it. Jagadish learns the trooper sent a message to the company and gets shot for his discovery.
Meanwhile, Kai runs down a soldier with the supply wagon and Loti jumps on. They also head for the dock. Everyone from the Nautilus (including the trooper) converge upon the ship, except for Jagadish who is taken by the Rajah when he flees.
This episode concludes with the dreadnought sailing into view. "What Lies Beneath" is filled with discovery, betrayal, and action. It raises the bar on my expectations the show.
Other Nautilus reviews:
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