‘The North Water’ Recap: ‘The Devils of the Earth’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘The North Water’.
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We are taught when we are young, that disaster brings out the best in humanity. A lesson that is reinforced by the disasters we watch play out on television, since we see first responders rushing toward the danger and when the dust has settled, we hear about people that are eager to donate blood or provide those in need with supplies, truly helping us to believe that our darkest hour is when we shine. But as we grow older, we come to realize, that particular lesson is horrendously incorrect. For what we saw back in the day was nothing more than a façade. For in reality, those dark moments were disasters on a small scale, the kind that impacted a limited number of people, and that matters because we eventually come to learn that when disaster happens on a large scale, or we are in the midst of it with others… human behavior is nowhere near as noble.
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In fact, disaster motivates some individuals to become quite selfish, or apathetic, or even worse… it brings out the worst in people since they believe now they can act without remorse or impunity since the end is nigh and well, for proof, look no further than the past year and a half, or on a smaller scale… by way of this week’s episode of The North Water on AMC+. For ‘The Devils of the Earth’ saw the survivors of the Volunteer more or else fall to pieces when faced with the harsh realities of surviving in the middle of the arctic, outside of Patrick Sumner, who desperately tried to keep the morale of the men thriving… with mixed results, of course. For they were indeed filled with apathy and dread and in many ways, were ready to accept their fate and honestly, had it not been for Sumner’s pushing… they might have wasted away, and that was just the beginning of this grand exploration into how we handle a disaster in negative manner.

For Cavendish and a few of the other crew members, helped to the explore the selfish nature we can take on when major trouble arises, as evidenced by the wild behaviors they exhibited. Cavendish for instance, immediately took a hard leadership stance when some indigenous hunters dropped by with seal meat to offer in trade, demanding that they stay and feed them, nearly jeopardizing the safety of the group since they nearly left over such wild demands. Plus, he also… in a supremely desperate gambit, released Henry Drax in the hopes that Henry would do right by him and get him back home when Henry announced he was going to venture with the hunters back to their camp. A move that ended in disaster when Henry murdered both the hunters and Cavendish in an effort to save his own hide before escaping into the night. Which in turn left everyone hungry and that motivated the rest of the crew to set out on their own to try and find a whaling station to get help, leaving Sumner and Otto behind. 

Which in turn, allowed for the story to explore how disaster can make us desperate, to the point where we will do whatever it takes to get what we want at the expense of others. A feat that the story accomplished by having Sumner push himself into the wastelands of the arctic in a desperate attempt to hunt a polar bear for food. A move that reduced the camp to just Otto, and he was without supplies or hope or survival and it nearly killed Sumner as well. For he was surrounded by nothing more than ice and snow and his growing hunger related madness, and while he did indeed kill his bear… it was a pyrrhic victory. For there was no way he was going to drag that carcass back to camp, and there was no way to cook it in the midst of a blizzard. So, he resigned himself… to simply using the corpse for warmth and wait out an uncertain future. One that likely would have ended in death, had it not been for quite the surprise.

For a stranger in this wasteland, found Sumner and brought him back to his cozy little shack/oasis in the middle of the ice and snow and it would seem that Patrick is going to survive after all, thanks to the kindness of this gent and his servant, which makes for a bittersweet ending for certain. Since so many are likely dead or dying while Sumner recovers from the cold. All because everyone buckled during this crisis, and it is that collapse that definitely gives one pause. For it truly did give us a harrowing examination of what we can become when there is a grand and sweeping disaster at hand and that made for one bleak tale, one that hopefully teaches us a lesson about humility and cooperation in the face of adversity. But all lessons and observations aside, this episode also deserves credit for making us quite eager to see what comes next, now that we know that Patrick has survived the harshness of the arctic. For such a twist, might allow for him to finally enjoy his second chance at life once he returns to the warmth and chaos of everyday society. Until next time.  

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