Episode 4 of Nautilus, "Slippery When Wet" begins with the Nautilus again facing down the pursuing dreadnought. The dreadnought fires upon the Nautilus and intentionally misses, although the explosion still rocks the ship. Once again, a reckless Nemo leaves the Nautilus, this time without a diving suit. He swims over and takes an axe to the turret on the dreadnought. Upon breaking it he is thrown back from the resulting blast.
Billy Millais (Luke Arnold) has flashbacks to his shared childhood with Nemo, when the both of them were bullies by classmates. I’m curious to see if he ever switches sides. At times, he is bothered by the racism of the company men, but then he does his job when needed.
Nemo is rescued and revived back on the Nautilus. The damage inflicted on the dreadnought buys them time to make it out of the bay.
Next we visit with the White Rajah and Jagadish on the dreadnought. I assume the ship had to dock for repairs and picked them up, though we aren’t shown this happening. Crawley has the ship’s doctor work on Jagadish’s injuries.
When the Rajah seeks asylum in exchange for delivering Jagadish, Crawley stabs him. Crawley is not someone you want to cross; it’s like he walks around with a blade in his hand all the time, hoping for an excuse to use it.
Apparently the supplies picked up from the Rajah’s place didn’t last long, so Nemo turns the Nautilus towards a collection of islands in search of more food. At least now they’re growing herbs in the kitchen, harvesting seaweed, and catching some fish to go with their maggots.
Review: Nautilus Episode 4, "Slippery When Wet"
On the first island they encounter, a landing party goes ashore. They find dragonfruit and papayas to fill their bags. Blaster discovers some large rock crabs.
Nemo and Humility converse on the beach while searching for fresh water. They reveal more tidbits about their backgrounds. Perhaps this is setting them up for a romantic relationship.
Back on the Nautilus, Loti and Kai get together. They’re an unusual pairing given their differing dispositions, but interesting to watch. We get a quick look at Loti's elaborate back tattoo. I see a compass in the center, flying birds, and shapes which could be land. This hints at a map!
Hoping to be a useful member of the crew, Cuff searches out Benoit. They talk about a newly invented stun gun and the reasons why the Nautilus was built. I’m reminded that Jules Vernes’ writing is one of the inspirations for steampunk; the machines and gadgets on this show are fun. Benoit is still focused on exploration and scientific discoveries over warfare, despite having been used by both Crawley and Nemo. He’s downtrodden but hopeful.
Suyin (Ling Cooper Tang) discovers signs of other people on the island. Blaster follows the crabs and runs into skeletal remains of a ship’s crew. Signs hung about their necks declare them mutineers. There is another crew on the island, and they do not seem benevolent.
Meanwhile, Nemo and Humility trip a rope trap. Not only does it string the pair up off the ground, but it’s attached to a ship’s bell up in a tree that alerts this other crew, who have been marooned on this island. However, before Nemo and Humility can be taken, someone cuts them down. The stranger tells them to follow her if they want to live. Isn’t that one of the most overused comments in movies these days, originating in Terminator?
The stranger is Casimir, played by Muki Zubis, whom gamers may recognize from Baulder’s Gate 3. She has been avoiding the shipwrecked crew. She leads Nemo and Humility to safety through log tunnels and rocks. Everyone introduces themselves and Casimir shows them her distillation system for water.
The marooned sailors find the cut trap. Their captain Henry Mogg (Noah Taylor) calls out, promising not to harm anyone if they step forward. When they don’t, he sends his sailors out searching. They find Blaster because he falls out of a hole in the tunnel.
The sailors take Blaster back to their camp where he tells them his father is a lord. He also lies about how he got on the island, keeping the others from the Nautilus and the submarine itself out of his story. Unfortunately that leaves him alone with Captain Mogg, who has him cast out over a deep water pool atop a makeshift raft. We find out these sailors are lunatics who feed a creature they call the Collector.
Nemo and Humility reach this wayward crew, and she goes on a rant to keep their attention. Casimir is high above and lowers a rope down to Blaster to rescue him.
The Collector shows up. This terrible, fanged huge sea eel chomps down on Mogg and then chases Nemo, Humility, Blaster, and Casimir through the rocks and trees.
Waiting back at the boat, now loaded with fruit, the remaining crew notice something wrong with the dog. He was out sniffing around earlier and now looks like he's high.
Everyone meets up on the beach with the eel close behind. They shove off, hoping to make it to the Nautilus before it reaches them. They get to the ship, but the creature senses its engines when they start.
They prepare to dive, but Casimir refuses to go inside. The eel encircles the Nautilus with Casimir still outside.
The eel is attracted to the ship's power coil. The ship’s electronics go haywire. Humility jumps into action and shuts down the engines. The eel itself is electrified and tightens its body around the Nautilus.
The episode concludes with Millais listening on the hydrophone, picking up something. Is it the Nautilus?
Other Nautilus reviews:
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