The Terror: Season One (Review)
The Terror
2018 AMC
Season One
Score: 9/10
“Are we brothers, Francis? I would like that very much.”
If somebody told me a week ago that as soon as I finished a ten-episode series set in the 1840's, where over a hundred characters slowly and painfully succumb to the perils of the lonely and isolated Arctic, including starvation and malnutrition, "You'll want to watch this again!" I'd laugh at their audacity.
I just finished watching The Terror, a retelling of Dan Simmons' 2007 novel of the same name, detailing the real-life ill-fated Arctic expedition of Captain Sir John Franklin, but with a fictional supernatural twist, and all I want to do right now is watch it again.
The Terror stars Ciarán Hinds as the hubristic Franklin, with Jared Harris and Tobias Menzies as respectively, the alcoholic but decent Captain James Crozier and the confident Commander James Fitzjames. The expedition, made up of the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, sets out to find the Northwest Passage through ice-clogged Arctic seas. Despite dire conditions, and seas frozen solid in a colder-than-predicted climate, Franklin foolishly pushes the mission forward, as the crew battles against mysterious physical ailments, their own sanity, and each other. Also, as (very bad) luck would have it, in a bit of supernatural fantasy, the mission runs afoul of a mysterious creature of Inuit legend (partially manufactured by Simmons), Tuunbaq.
On paper, The Terror should be a drag, and the monster tossed-in and ridiculous. However, a minor nitpick I'll list below is the only thing currently keeping me from giving this show a perfect score. Under the meticulous and thoughtful care of showrunners, David Kajganich and Soo Hugh, The Terror is a revelation. It essentially takes every negative inherent possibility, and turns it into an asset
For instance, considering the setting and time in history, one would expect The Terror to have a dark and grimy look, stereotypical of much modern entertainment. Instead, despite an utter lack of any shade of green, each shot is clear and gorgeous, like taking a warm bath. The monster should be a distraction from the main course, yet it feels integral to the show's emotional landscape. With so many characters, the show could have easily lost focus, yet every moment feels vital. The cast, which could have struggled to find the humanity in failed explorers from 170 years ago, is excellent, with particular kudos to Harris and Menzies, who bring incredible humanity to the already great writing and natural evolution of their characters' relationship. Further standouts include Paul Ready as the intensely moral Dr. Harry Goodsir, and Adam Nagaitis as Cornelius Hickey, a crewman with significant screentime. These characters change and grow or diminish in sometimes unpredictable, but always believable ways. My one complaint is, considering the fact that the cast is essentially 120 white guys who look and are dressed relatively similar, that more of the characters aren't given a backstory to help them stand out from one another. In reference to a similar, but less painstakingly plotted show, I wouldn't have minded a few more Lost-like vignettes of the seaman in their previous, landlocked lives, just to get a sense of who they were. Then again, this show is not about who these characters are in civilization, but who they really are under extreme duress. I also feel like, upon second viewing, individual mid-level characters are going to stand out far more, as even on my first binge viewing, I noticed several tiny tidbits from early episodes being paid off in latter ones.
I can't think of enough superlatives to give this show (and I haven't even mentioned Marcus Fjellström's experimental electronic score, which gives a beautiful sense of wrongness to everything it soundtracks, or the immersive sound design of constant, enveloping wind), and its perfect, genre-blending sensibilities. For fans of history, historical fiction, horror, suspense, and downright...terror, The Terror should not be missed. For those who aren't interested in those things, but are interested in characters attempting to keep their moral compass in the face of peril and evil, or for people who just like extremely well-done TV, you've got ten hours of weird, wonderful, yet pure AMC prestige awaiting your view.
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