‘The Terror’ Recap: ‘Terror Camp Clear’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Fear, is perhaps, the most powerful emotion out there. Simply because, it is able to motivate us in negative and positive fashion. For it drives anyone who is chasing a dream or a career goal, to work harder and reach the finish line so that they don’t see what they seek slip away, and of course, it also brings out the worst in us. Because it can also drive us to hurt others or put our relationships at risk when we think something bad is hiding over the horizon and it just so happens that fear, and all the bad things that come with it were put on full display in the next episode of The Terror.

For ‘Terror Camp Clear’ picked up shortly after Mister Hickey brutally murdered his shipmates and it turns out that his decision to turn upon them, was all part of a master plan to engender fear amongst those at the camp. Because Hickey told a terrifying tale of native Eskimos who brutally attacked his group and were likely preparing a counteroffensive since the marines put down the group that ‘harmed’ Irving and Farr and well, his lies quickly took root within the camp. For everyone was on edge and firmly believed that trouble was coming and several of the men begged Captain Crozier to open up the Armory to arm the men for this inevitable ambush.

But something about the whole mess didn’t sit right with Francis, and he quickly set out to perform an investigation to understand exactly what happened to his men and it didn’t take long for him to realize that Hickey was once again lying and twisting the truth since everything seemed out of place. Which prompted the captain to order an autopsy on Irving, and that revealed the seal meat he ingested that the nice Eskimo offered the Lieutenant at the end of the last episode and with that evidence in hand, the time had come for Hickey to pay the piper and Crozier ordered the arrest of Mister Hickey and Mister Tozier, since the latter man worked to arm the men in a panic while the investigation was under way.

Which meant that both men were facing charges for the worst crimes possible, and that meant the time had come for a public execution, wherein the captain and Hickey traded barbs and well, it was fascinating to see Hickey fight to the bitter end, since he still worked to sow insurrection and doubt by revealing that Francis tendered his resignation and was ready to run a year ago. But before more internal trouble could come forth, the men of the Erebus and the Terror paid the price for sending Lady Silence away in fear and for harming her people. For the Tuunbaq returned and ripped the camp and most of its men to shreds, leaving the fates of most of the me up in the air, and this attack also allowed for Hickey and his mutineers to escape.

If anything, I truly appreciated the straight forward approach to this particular tale. For rather than drag out the mutiny over the course of several episodes, it brought everything to a head here, opening up all kinds of new storytelling possibilities for the final two episodes. Plus, I truly appreciated the fact that the story used the same direct approach when it comes to its examination of fear, since it let the characters handle the commentary instead of spelling it out via exposition, and it worked like a charm since we watched the dangers of fear unfold before our eyes. Either way, this was a hell of an episode, with a hell of an ending and well, I’m eager to see what comes next now that Tuunbaq has returned and wreaked utter havoc, which means it’s best I leave you now to dive back into this incredible story. Until next time.  

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