The Terror (2018) s01e01 Episode Script
Go for Broke
1 [WIND HOWLING.]
[MAN.]
They saw many men on foot, all starving.
He met them? [HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"We saw a captain there.
The one called Aglooka.
" [POT CONTENTS BUBBLING.]
Ask him [SNIFFS.]
if one of these men is the one he's calling Aglooka.
[QUESTION ASKED IN LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
[WIND HOWLS OUTSIDE.]
[MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"He spoke in our tongue.
He was dying.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"He pointed south.
Says they were going overland.
Home.
" - [SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
- "But they could barely walk.
" [SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
[WIND WHISTLES.]
"And with Tuunbaq behind them.
" Tuunbaq? [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"Behind them, coming.
Always coming.
" Someone was pursuing them? An Eskimo? - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
- "From the shamans.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"The thing that eats on two legs and four.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"The thing made of muscles and spells.
" I don't understand.
Is he describing a man? Sorry, Sir James.
I don't know what the hell he's describing.
What did Francis say? - Aglooka? - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"Your friend took my hands.
He said, 'Tell those who come after us not to stay.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"The ships are gone.
There's no way through.
- No passage.
" - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
- "Tell them we are gone.
" - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"Dead and gone.
" [RATTLING.]
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
[SPLASHING.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Billy, take this one up with you and don't let him down till he can do his becket bends with both his eyes closed.
Yes, sir.
[MUTTERED GREETINGS.]
Captain, sir.
[LIVELY CHATTER IN BACKGROUND.]
[METALLIC SQUEAKING.]
Daily observations are starting to make for bizarre reading, sir.
Well, magnetic north wanders miles every day.
We're within its circle now.
It'll be tall headlines for the men.
[MAN.]
Terror is signaling, Sir John.
Captain Crozier requests an ice report.
Shall I send Mr.
Reid back? No.
Tell Francis, James and I will be joining him for dinner.
Mr.
Terry! Open the flag box! Word has it, they've not yet run out of beef tongue on Terror.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTED ORDERS.]
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Of all the hardships of the Discovery Service, this may be the toughest.
It's three courses tonight and a dessert.
It'll be over before you know it, Captain.
Not if Fitzjames is with us.
We'll have to hear his whole saga of policing that massive guano deposit off Namibia.
Or the time he got shot by the Chinese.
I'm inclined to put the food in my ears.
I haven't settled the matter of spirits for tonight, sir.
Sir John abstains, of course, and it's Allsopp's for the rest.
But is there anything special you require, sir? More open water, clear to the Pacific.
And then we can go home.
- We're close, sir.
- [SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
Careful how you use that word, "close".
This is the Discovery Service.
"Close" is nothing.
[SCOFFS.]
It's worse than nothing.
It's worse than anything in the world.
[WIND WHISTLING AND ICE CRUNCHING.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[SHRILL PIPE CALL.]
- [BELL DINGS.]
- Welcome aboard, Sir John.
[DOG BARKS.]
Captain Fitzjames.
[CLATTERING AND LIVELY CHATTER.]
If we're that near the pole, we'll see King William Land any day, then.
Look who's an expert.
Mr.
Farr showed me on a chart.
Past King William Land we get to the American coast and it's all mapped out again from there.
[DOG BARKING.]
- Hello, boy.
- [VIOLIN JIG IN BACKGROUND.]
That thing whined all night.
Must be sick or got a scent.
With the right wind, he can smell bears at a mile.
The brigades already ashore were catching every kind of fire, so I was bringing out the Congreves.
- Rockets.
- Yes.
Ironic, considering it was the Chinese themselves who had pioneered the things.
We shot the marksmen down off the city walls and we started up.
As I climbed the ladder, I was thinking of - Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
- [CHUCKLING.]
We reached the top and I saw the city of Chingkiang laid out before us, wavering in the morning heat.
And the soldiers in the alleys below started using their matchlocks on us, those muskets for which you carry a lit taper at all times.
But in such dry conditions, when we'd shoot one of them, they would fall down on top of these tapers and they would catch fire like tinder piles.
So, soon the whole city was dotted with these lone columns of personal smoke and the whole view smelled of roast duck.
[LAUGHTER.]
And then we rushed down into the streets to assist the 49th, which we could hear was under attack.
We came upon a pack of Chinese behind a street barricade.
And I'd I'd just loaded a rocket and aimed when I was pierced.
Single musket ball.
Size of a cherry.
Passed clean through my arm and kept on in, making a third wound here, entering my chest.
Like the shot that killed Lord Nelson at Trafalgar.
And, had it not used up most of its energy on my arm, yes, I might have ended same as he.
Tell us about Birdshit Island, why don't you, James? That's a capital story.
Mr.
Reid and I chatted about the ice today.
He tells me we've started sailing past slabs he thinks are not part of the summer break-up.
- Old ice? - He's not concerned.
He thinks we're close to an intersection with some bigger channel coming down from the north, bringing bergy bits with it.
But it means our little summer strait is likely coming to an end.
It has yet to be named, and I thought Sir James Ross could be honored thusly.
Hear, hear.
Would that he were here with us now.
But for being a newlywed.
[FRANKLIN.]
You approve, Francis? He'll be very pleased.
What rank is that dog? You ever wonder that? Mm.
He's on decks most nights, so I guess you could call that watch duty.
I don't know.
That'd make him a AB.
Or a Marine.
But he can walk the quarterdeck, so that makes him a Petty Officer at least.
Right? And some nights he's back there in officers' country.
Petty Officers can't sleep aft, so would that be considered a Wardroom Officer? What would that be? A Mate? A Lieutenant? Are we still talking about this dog? [CHUCKLING.]
It's of consequence, though, isn't it? Puttin' a dog above a man.
Who serves who in that arrangement? It's a ship's dog.
We put up with it.
[COUGHING.]
- [HE COUGHS.]
- All right? Young? - [HE COUGHS.]
- David? [COUGHING.]
- [HE RETCHES.]
- David? David! [URGENT SHOUTING.]
Gangway! [SPLUTTERING.]
- Get a doctor now! - Come on! - Roll him over! - Watch it! [MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
[LIGHTNING CRACKS.]
I don't want to be the first one to say the word, Sir John, but we're all thinking it.
None of the three who died at Beechey showed any sign of it.
And, even if it's the case now, we will be in the Pacific before it has a chance to don its dertaker's weepers.
Your confidence is reassuring, of course.
You're not confident with all our progress? I don't know why.
We've all but found the passage in a year.
We're not rowing drakkars after all.
In this place, technology still bends the knee to luck, James.
[KNOCKING.]
Sir.
We've given the boy a Dover's powder.
Settled his spasms.
He's resting now.
As he can.
But he has a dark blood in his stool.
Digested blood.
He's bleeding above his colon.
- That's a vivid description.
- Is it scurvy? Though I see nothing to mark it as such, I can't rule it out.
But if I were to wager a guess at this point, I'd say the patient's consumptive.
Doesn't always attack the lungs.
Dr.
Stanley should examine him.
Perhaps he can discern something more.
- I'll send a gig for him.
- No, no.
There's no need.
- We'll take him with us.
- Young? - In his condition? - Yes.
Wrap him up well and have our boat readied.
II would hesitate to move him, sir.
I don't frankly know how much spirit the boy has left in him.
Bit of cool air will freshen him.
He'll be tucked up just the same in half an hour's time.
- [ROPES CREAKING.]
- Steady now.
Ease away.
- [EERIE MUSIC.]
- Oh, Francis.
Tell your cook "yes" to the cow's head, "no" to the capers he cooked it with.
For future visits.
Good night, Francis.
Try to shake the Brown study.
- [WIND WHISTLES.]
- All is well.
All clear.
Heave away.
There is nothing worse than a man who has lost his joy.
He's become insufferable.
And he's a lushington to boot.
We should be better friends to him, James.
I can't work out why he's even here.
He despises glory.
Even the glory of a good pudding.
And he looks down on we of the wardroom.
I tell you, one glance from him I have to remind myself I'm not a fraud.
I'll not have you speak of him uncharitably, James.
He is my second.
Now, if something were to happen to me, you would be his second.
You should cherish that man.
Sometimes I think you love your men more than even God loves them, Sir John.
For all your sakes, let's hope you're wrong.
[WIND WHISTLING.]
Ready, all! - Ready to let go the bowlines! - [THUD.]
[MEN CALL OUT AND SCREAM.]
Aarghh! Man overboard starboard side! - All hands on deck! - [SHOUTING.]
All eyes on the man in the water! [URGENT SHOUTING.]
Who's marking him? [MUFFLED CHATTER.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[HE GASPS.]
There! - Stand back! - [HE GASPS.]
Drop the line! Give me room! Give me room! [SPLASH.]
[BUBBLING.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
- Collins, no! - Let me try! That seaman wouldn't want you to risk more! Billy Orren, that's who it is! He's gone! [PANTING.]
[HE GRUNTS AND PANTS.]
What I fail to understand is why you chose not to speak up when you began feeling this take root.
Wide.
I've been getting headaches all me life.
Didn't think nothing of it.
And we've been drinking that squeezed lemon every night.
Crew's under strictest orders to come forward if unwell.
I'd think burying three of your mates on Beechey was sufficient motivation.
The lemon juice is not a cure-all.
I didn't want to disappoint Sir John.
Well, he can praise your loyalty as he buries you.
[SHALLOW BREATHING.]
We can't spin the propeller nor retract it.
Mr.
Reid is certain we must have caught a growler at the surface.
- So, is it blocked? - Yes.
Yes.
Mr.
Gregory thinks there must be ice wedged up in the prop well.
But we won't know till first light.
He all but assured me if we can clear out a jam, we'll be under way.
Good.
I think that's all for now, then, Graham, since we don't appear to be sinking.
Wake me if that should change.
[NIB SCRAPING ON PAPER.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[LANTERN SQUEAKING.]
[BOWS STRAINING.]
[MAN.]
Algonquian, Massacred by Mohawk.
[HUSHED MUTTERING.]
[APPLAUSE.]
- Did that disturb you? - Which part, Francis? The savages, or that they became Catholics? [CHUCKLING.]
[APPLAUSE PETERS OUT.]
[WHISPERS.]
I have a question for you later.
No question is needed, Francis.
But you'll hear me out? [GASPS FROM AUDIENCE.]
Sir James Ross at Furthest South.
[GASPING.]
If you believe that depiction, you've dropped a stone at least - since we've been back.
- [APPLAUSE.]
And seen a dentist as well, apparently.
[MAN.]
Ladies and gentlemen, it's our great honor to find up in the boxes tonight the actual Sir James Ross! [CHEERING.]
Get up, old man.
[CHEERING CONTINUES.]
Bravo, gentlemen! Bravo.
You should stand up.
[CHEERING CONTINUES.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[WATER SLOSHING.]
[DOG BARKING.]
I don't want you to do to me what you did to Tom Hartnell's brother.
Well that that was for the good of the crew.
We needed to know if it was scurvy killed John Hartnell I want to go to my grave as I am.
Don't cut me open.
- Do you promise? - If Sir John orders it done, we must do.
You may be a warning of things to come.
Now, hold hold fast, David.
[HE GULPS AND GASPS.]
If Sir John orders it I will do it.
Do you know sometimes when people are near passing I've heard they speak of a radiance like a million daybreaks all in one.
In which loved ones are there to welcome them over.
We grew up at the Foundlings.
I never knew me father or me mum.
Then Then there will be the angels with songs lovelier than you've heard.
[HE GASPS FOR BREATH.]
Will I fly? Up to God? Yes.
You You'll see the Passage first, then, as you go.
Try Try to call back and let us know where it is.
[DAVID EXHALES.]
I wanted to be 'ere when we found it.
Do not fear it, David.
I I have been there when souls have passed.
A great peace descends.
[MUTTERS.]
They are glass.
But the ring is plate.
It won't fetch much but my sister should have it.
It's a nasty jar but [SNIFFLES.]
.
.
but I can't get it off.
I I can ask cook for some grease.
- Or I have an oil of castor - No.
When you're sure I'm gone find a way.
And don't tell Sir John I was afraid.
You have my word.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
[DAVID GASPS AND PANTS.]
[DISTANT BARKING.]
[BARKING IN BACKGROUND.]
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
He's been going on like that since the wind died.
[BARKING.]
Something's got him worked up.
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
Take your wigs off.
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
[WIND WHISTLES.]
Don't you hear that? [CREAKING AND RUMBLING.]
[DAVID BREATHES UNEASILY.]
[BREATHES UNEASILY.]
[CREAKING.]
- Give me your glass.
- Yeah.
Just don't drop it.
It belongs to Lieutenant Irving.
Put a thumb in it.
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
[HE GRUNTS.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
No No [DAVID MOANS.]
No.
No! David? - No.
No.
- David? David? Wake Mr.
Blanky.
Do it now.
[DAVID GROANS.]
No! No! [GASPS.]
Run! Run! He wants us to run! - David, calm down.
- No! [HE GASPS.]
[TRICKLING.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[TRICKLING CONTINUES.]
[LANTERN SQUEAKING.]
Come.
Sorry to disturb you.
David Young has passed.
As if that weren't plain.
Cover him and get some rest, Mr.
Goodsir.
Some Some You can do the post-mortem in the morning when the men go up.
I-Is it necessary? Sir John has a flea in his ear about scurvy.
- He will ask.
- Something transpired at the end.
He He was seeing something I couldn't see.
Holding its gaze as if it was in the room with us Do I really need to explain what is an hallucination? He had no fever.
He was clear-eyed.
Good night, Mr.
Goodsir.
Mm.
[BLANKY.]
Look at the snow on those bergy bits.
That's not summer break up.
That's coming down from the north.
- It's pack ice.
- [WIND WHISTLING.]
There are leads but How was the cold last night? It dropped.
20.
[WIND WHISTLING.]
Is Erebus aware? Well, no flags as yet.
But no doubt they woke thinking of their propeller.
If Sir John doesn't convene a meeting of the officers by ten, I'll do it myself.
You're about to surpass us all, son.
You're going somewhere no man has ever been, not even a native.
If it is ice wedged behind the propeller, and you can pry it out, well, you'll have grabbed the ring twice in one morning.
Right.
[BOOTS THUDDING.]
Observe my signals.
One pull on the tube means half a fathom's slack.
Two means the tube is kinked, likely on the gunwale.
Three pull me up.
If water floods the suit, it will be exponentially harder to lift me and exponentially more urgent, so all of you be ready on the line.
There should be a surgeon here.
They're just below, Mr.
Collins.
Proceed.
[HELMET CLUNKING AND CLICKING.]
You're a pilgrim to the deeps.
And remember God lies in all realms.
[MAN.]
Lower him in.
[TOOLS RATTLE.]
[MUFFLED SPEECH FROM DECK.]
[MEN CALLING OUT ON DECK.]
[LANTERN SQUEAKING.]
[PULLEY SQUEAKING.]
[MAN.]
Steady.
[LOW CHATTERING.]
[MAN CALLS OUT ORDER.]
[FLESH TEARING.]
[WATER SPLASHING AND BUBBLING.]
[WATER BUBBLING.]
[SLOW BREATHING.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[SAWING.]
[STRIKES ICE.]
[RIPPING.]
[BODY PART CLATTERS IN TRAY.]
[STRIKES ICE.]
[SHALLOW BREATHING.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[NERVOUS FAST BREATHING.]
[HYPERVENTILATES.]
[SCREAMS.]
Haul me up! [WATER SPLASHING AND BUBBLING.]
[WIND WHISTLING.]
[CHATTER FROM ABOVE.]
[SQUELCHING.]
You wouldn't call this cirrhotic.
And there's gall.
I don't see scurvy.
- I don't see anything at all.
- Open the bowel.
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[SPLAT.]
[GULPING.]
Ah.
[HE GASPS.]
Propeller's bent.
One of the blades [HE PANTS.]
I pried some ice from behind.
I think she'll spin now, sir.
[FITZJAMES.]
Is there anything else to report? - No, sir.
- Capital job, Mr.
Collins.
Graham, let the engineers know and signal Terror.
Have Captain Crozier bring his lieutenants over.
- Sir.
- We need to confer about the ice that's in front of us now.
I envy you, Mr.
Collins.
I have long wanted to move below.
What was it like? Like a dream, sir.
[FRANKLIN.]
News is in about Erebus.
While she can still make headway under steam, the flagship's efficiency has been compromised.
How badly compromised? She can still pull two knots, maybe three, with the boiler full up.
- Half-power, more or less? - Yes.
[FRANKLIN.]
As well, we know that the ice ahead is increasing dramatically, both in thickness and amount.
But we must be nearly in sight of King William Land.
Then it isn't but another 200 miles before we can pick up the western charts and draw in this final piece of the puzzle once and for all.
Hear, hear.
Our situation is more dire than you may understand.
Dramatic opening shot.
Please, go ahead, Francis.
That is not just ice ahead.
It is the pack.
And you are proposing that we cross it, in September.
Even with leads, it could take us weeks of picking our way through it.
- We may not have weeks.
- What, weeks at most? You've seen the sun dogs, Graham? How many have there been now? Three.
It's already a colder year than last.
I've been to the Arctic, - Francis.
- On foot.
And you nearly starved.
Not all of your men returned.
I say this with all due honor.
For God's sake, Francis.
A captain is due his candor.
So, what would you propose instead? - Wait out winter here? - No.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
The exact shape of King William Land is unknown.
As we discovered with Cornwallis Land, it could be King William Island, with a chance to sail around its eastern shore.
[FRANKLIN.]
Yes, but east would add miles.
We might not be out this year after all.
But only because Erebus is lame.
If we consolidate all our coal on the less-damaged ship, we'd have enough to go for broke and get east of King William Land, possibly around it, before winter.
It's our best, and probably only, chance.
Yes.
We should go for broke.
Abandon Erebus? Is Is that what you're saying? If it is a dead end, we can over-winter in complete safety out of the pack in some sheltered harbor.
We retrace our steps come spring tired of one another, no doubt, but alive.
That is an interesting speculation.
But, of course, we will not be abandoning Erebus, nor Terror, should she suffer some minor misfortunes.
- We are almost there - Hear me, John.
It won't matter if we're 200 or 2,000 miles from safe water.
If the leads close up and we are out there in it, we'll have no idea where the current will move the pack, of which we will be a part.
We could be forced onto the shallows on the weather side of King William and crushed to atoms, if we're even upright by then.
As a trusted friend once put it This place wants us dead.
Who is this friend? Does he also write melodrama? - [CLATTERING.]
- [SOFT CHATTERING.]
Sir John, myself, Mr.
Blanky and Mr.
Reid.
Only four of us at this table are Arctic veterans.
There'll be no melodramas here.
Just live men or dead men.
It's certainly good to see color in your cheeks again, Francis.
But we are two weeks from finding the grail.
And it is my belief that God and winter will find us in safe waters by the end of the year.
The Sandwich Islands.
Or even further.
If you're wrong, we are about to commit an act of hubris we may not survive.
You know what men are like when they are desperate.
We both do.
I shall continue to command from Erebus, but due to her injuries, I'm putting Terror in lead position.
She may not be the better ice-breaker, but she's the more powerful ship now.
Bury your boy, Young, and we'll be on our way.
West around King William Land as planned.
- Bury? - Yes.
A mercy.
It was a long night.
Long ago in Westminster There lived a rat-catcher's daughter All this when we could have just dropped him overboard and been done with it.
[EVANS.]
Sir John's a spiritual man.
- I'd say an impractical one.
- Careful there.
[SINGING.]
What, is that some kind of treason, Sergeant? [CLATTERING AND THUD.]
They shoulda run more nails through that lid.
[TOZER.]
Pull up the ropes and fill it in, Mr.
Hickey.
- Me? - Mr.
Hornby tells me you have the most duty owing.
Didn't tell me why.
Grousing, probably.
[THUD.]
Are Are we just gonna leave it like that? Unless you want to climb in there and fix it, yes, we are.
Hop to it, Mr.
Hickey.
[HE GRUNTS.]
[FOOTSTEPS CRUNCHING.]
[TOZER.]
Mr.
Hickey [ROCKS CLATTERING.]
[FOOT THUDS ONTO COFFIN.]
[TOZER.]
It's not important.
[WIND WHISTLING.]
[LOW GRUNTING.]
[HE SIGHS.]
Sergeant Tozer said it's not important.
Well, it would be to this boy's father, wouldn't it? Hm? - Help a mate up.
- [ROCKS CLATTER.]
And Jesus saith unto Thomas: "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed but blessed are they that have not yet seen but still believe.
" And just as David Young is at the gates so too are we.
And now is our moment to stride through them, to our glory, and to our destiny.
I have set a course south south-west.
We will see the North American mainland within a fortnight, gentlemen.
We must now begin our last and best efforts to reach her, as we become the greatest Argonauts of our age! We shall earn our loved ones' cheers and embraces at our return.
- Onwards, men! - [MEN CALL OUT IN UNISON.]
- All right, lads.
- [URGENT CHATTER.]
- Man the braces! - [SHOUTED ORDERS.]
[SHOUTED ORDERS.]
[SHIPS CRUNCHING THROUGH ICE.]
- Hard to starboard! - Hard to starboard it is, sir! - Hard to starboard! - Go to it, man.
Let's hit it with force.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[CRACKING.]
[URGENT CHATTER.]
There should be more men picking here! Why is there only one man picking? All right, men, stand back! [HE BLOWS.]
- [FIZZING.]
- Right, everybody, fall back! [BOOMING EXPLOSIONS.]
[EXPLOSIONS.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS GROAN.]
[EXPLOSION.]
[DOG WHINING.]
[ICE CRUNCHING.]
[SHIP CREAKING.]
[PROLONGED CREAKING.]
[CREAKING SUBSIDES.]
Our Lord and Father will see us through.
[CREAKING AND RUMBLING.]
[KNIFE CUTTING FOOD.]
Whatever morning brings.
[RUMBLING.]
[PROLONGED CREAKING.]
[THUD.]
[LOW CREAKING.]
[WIND HOWLING OUTSIDE.]
[ICE CRUNCHING UNDERFOOT.]
Get the ice anchors up.
We're part of it now.
Sir.
Fix our position with care, Mr.
Reid.
I want to know exactly where we are in relation to King William Land.
- Yes, sir.
- [RATTLING.]
When the men are fed, have them begin pulling the tarp up.
Mr.
Gregory can start drawing down the engine for winter.
Your demeanor should be all cheer, gentlemen.
You understand? It's going to be tight, but that's what we signed up for, an adventure for Queen and Country.
An adventure of a lifetime.
That's what you tell the men.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[APPLAUSE IN THEATER.]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING.]
[SILENCE.]
[MAN.]
They saw many men on foot, all starving.
He met them? [HE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"We saw a captain there.
The one called Aglooka.
" [POT CONTENTS BUBBLING.]
Ask him [SNIFFS.]
if one of these men is the one he's calling Aglooka.
[QUESTION ASKED IN LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
[WIND HOWLS OUTSIDE.]
[MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"He spoke in our tongue.
He was dying.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"He pointed south.
Says they were going overland.
Home.
" - [SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
- "But they could barely walk.
" [SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
[WIND WHISTLES.]
"And with Tuunbaq behind them.
" Tuunbaq? [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"Behind them, coming.
Always coming.
" Someone was pursuing them? An Eskimo? - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
- "From the shamans.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"The thing that eats on two legs and four.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"The thing made of muscles and spells.
" I don't understand.
Is he describing a man? Sorry, Sir James.
I don't know what the hell he's describing.
What did Francis say? - Aglooka? - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"Your friend took my hands.
He said, 'Tell those who come after us not to stay.
" [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"The ships are gone.
There's no way through.
- No passage.
" - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
- "Tell them we are gone.
" - [MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE.]
"Dead and gone.
" [RATTLING.]
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
[SPLASHING.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
Billy, take this one up with you and don't let him down till he can do his becket bends with both his eyes closed.
Yes, sir.
[MUTTERED GREETINGS.]
Captain, sir.
[LIVELY CHATTER IN BACKGROUND.]
[METALLIC SQUEAKING.]
Daily observations are starting to make for bizarre reading, sir.
Well, magnetic north wanders miles every day.
We're within its circle now.
It'll be tall headlines for the men.
[MAN.]
Terror is signaling, Sir John.
Captain Crozier requests an ice report.
Shall I send Mr.
Reid back? No.
Tell Francis, James and I will be joining him for dinner.
Mr.
Terry! Open the flag box! Word has it, they've not yet run out of beef tongue on Terror.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTED ORDERS.]
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
Of all the hardships of the Discovery Service, this may be the toughest.
It's three courses tonight and a dessert.
It'll be over before you know it, Captain.
Not if Fitzjames is with us.
We'll have to hear his whole saga of policing that massive guano deposit off Namibia.
Or the time he got shot by the Chinese.
I'm inclined to put the food in my ears.
I haven't settled the matter of spirits for tonight, sir.
Sir John abstains, of course, and it's Allsopp's for the rest.
But is there anything special you require, sir? More open water, clear to the Pacific.
And then we can go home.
- We're close, sir.
- [SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
Careful how you use that word, "close".
This is the Discovery Service.
"Close" is nothing.
[SCOFFS.]
It's worse than nothing.
It's worse than anything in the world.
[WIND WHISTLING AND ICE CRUNCHING.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[SHRILL PIPE CALL.]
- [BELL DINGS.]
- Welcome aboard, Sir John.
[DOG BARKS.]
Captain Fitzjames.
[CLATTERING AND LIVELY CHATTER.]
If we're that near the pole, we'll see King William Land any day, then.
Look who's an expert.
Mr.
Farr showed me on a chart.
Past King William Land we get to the American coast and it's all mapped out again from there.
[DOG BARKING.]
- Hello, boy.
- [VIOLIN JIG IN BACKGROUND.]
That thing whined all night.
Must be sick or got a scent.
With the right wind, he can smell bears at a mile.
The brigades already ashore were catching every kind of fire, so I was bringing out the Congreves.
- Rockets.
- Yes.
Ironic, considering it was the Chinese themselves who had pioneered the things.
We shot the marksmen down off the city walls and we started up.
As I climbed the ladder, I was thinking of - Caesar crossing the Rubicon.
- [CHUCKLING.]
We reached the top and I saw the city of Chingkiang laid out before us, wavering in the morning heat.
And the soldiers in the alleys below started using their matchlocks on us, those muskets for which you carry a lit taper at all times.
But in such dry conditions, when we'd shoot one of them, they would fall down on top of these tapers and they would catch fire like tinder piles.
So, soon the whole city was dotted with these lone columns of personal smoke and the whole view smelled of roast duck.
[LAUGHTER.]
And then we rushed down into the streets to assist the 49th, which we could hear was under attack.
We came upon a pack of Chinese behind a street barricade.
And I'd I'd just loaded a rocket and aimed when I was pierced.
Single musket ball.
Size of a cherry.
Passed clean through my arm and kept on in, making a third wound here, entering my chest.
Like the shot that killed Lord Nelson at Trafalgar.
And, had it not used up most of its energy on my arm, yes, I might have ended same as he.
Tell us about Birdshit Island, why don't you, James? That's a capital story.
Mr.
Reid and I chatted about the ice today.
He tells me we've started sailing past slabs he thinks are not part of the summer break-up.
- Old ice? - He's not concerned.
He thinks we're close to an intersection with some bigger channel coming down from the north, bringing bergy bits with it.
But it means our little summer strait is likely coming to an end.
It has yet to be named, and I thought Sir James Ross could be honored thusly.
Hear, hear.
Would that he were here with us now.
But for being a newlywed.
[FRANKLIN.]
You approve, Francis? He'll be very pleased.
What rank is that dog? You ever wonder that? Mm.
He's on decks most nights, so I guess you could call that watch duty.
I don't know.
That'd make him a AB.
Or a Marine.
But he can walk the quarterdeck, so that makes him a Petty Officer at least.
Right? And some nights he's back there in officers' country.
Petty Officers can't sleep aft, so would that be considered a Wardroom Officer? What would that be? A Mate? A Lieutenant? Are we still talking about this dog? [CHUCKLING.]
It's of consequence, though, isn't it? Puttin' a dog above a man.
Who serves who in that arrangement? It's a ship's dog.
We put up with it.
[COUGHING.]
- [HE COUGHS.]
- All right? Young? - [HE COUGHS.]
- David? [COUGHING.]
- [HE RETCHES.]
- David? David! [URGENT SHOUTING.]
Gangway! [SPLUTTERING.]
- Get a doctor now! - Come on! - Roll him over! - Watch it! [MELANCHOLY MUSIC.]
[LIGHTNING CRACKS.]
I don't want to be the first one to say the word, Sir John, but we're all thinking it.
None of the three who died at Beechey showed any sign of it.
And, even if it's the case now, we will be in the Pacific before it has a chance to don its dertaker's weepers.
Your confidence is reassuring, of course.
You're not confident with all our progress? I don't know why.
We've all but found the passage in a year.
We're not rowing drakkars after all.
In this place, technology still bends the knee to luck, James.
[KNOCKING.]
Sir.
We've given the boy a Dover's powder.
Settled his spasms.
He's resting now.
As he can.
But he has a dark blood in his stool.
Digested blood.
He's bleeding above his colon.
- That's a vivid description.
- Is it scurvy? Though I see nothing to mark it as such, I can't rule it out.
But if I were to wager a guess at this point, I'd say the patient's consumptive.
Doesn't always attack the lungs.
Dr.
Stanley should examine him.
Perhaps he can discern something more.
- I'll send a gig for him.
- No, no.
There's no need.
- We'll take him with us.
- Young? - In his condition? - Yes.
Wrap him up well and have our boat readied.
II would hesitate to move him, sir.
I don't frankly know how much spirit the boy has left in him.
Bit of cool air will freshen him.
He'll be tucked up just the same in half an hour's time.
- [ROPES CREAKING.]
- Steady now.
Ease away.
- [EERIE MUSIC.]
- Oh, Francis.
Tell your cook "yes" to the cow's head, "no" to the capers he cooked it with.
For future visits.
Good night, Francis.
Try to shake the Brown study.
- [WIND WHISTLES.]
- All is well.
All clear.
Heave away.
There is nothing worse than a man who has lost his joy.
He's become insufferable.
And he's a lushington to boot.
We should be better friends to him, James.
I can't work out why he's even here.
He despises glory.
Even the glory of a good pudding.
And he looks down on we of the wardroom.
I tell you, one glance from him I have to remind myself I'm not a fraud.
I'll not have you speak of him uncharitably, James.
He is my second.
Now, if something were to happen to me, you would be his second.
You should cherish that man.
Sometimes I think you love your men more than even God loves them, Sir John.
For all your sakes, let's hope you're wrong.
[WIND WHISTLING.]
Ready, all! - Ready to let go the bowlines! - [THUD.]
[MEN CALL OUT AND SCREAM.]
Aarghh! Man overboard starboard side! - All hands on deck! - [SHOUTING.]
All eyes on the man in the water! [URGENT SHOUTING.]
Who's marking him? [MUFFLED CHATTER.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[HE GASPS.]
There! - Stand back! - [HE GASPS.]
Drop the line! Give me room! Give me room! [SPLASH.]
[BUBBLING.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
- Collins, no! - Let me try! That seaman wouldn't want you to risk more! Billy Orren, that's who it is! He's gone! [PANTING.]
[HE GRUNTS AND PANTS.]
What I fail to understand is why you chose not to speak up when you began feeling this take root.
Wide.
I've been getting headaches all me life.
Didn't think nothing of it.
And we've been drinking that squeezed lemon every night.
Crew's under strictest orders to come forward if unwell.
I'd think burying three of your mates on Beechey was sufficient motivation.
The lemon juice is not a cure-all.
I didn't want to disappoint Sir John.
Well, he can praise your loyalty as he buries you.
[SHALLOW BREATHING.]
We can't spin the propeller nor retract it.
Mr.
Reid is certain we must have caught a growler at the surface.
- So, is it blocked? - Yes.
Yes.
Mr.
Gregory thinks there must be ice wedged up in the prop well.
But we won't know till first light.
He all but assured me if we can clear out a jam, we'll be under way.
Good.
I think that's all for now, then, Graham, since we don't appear to be sinking.
Wake me if that should change.
[NIB SCRAPING ON PAPER.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[LANTERN SQUEAKING.]
[BOWS STRAINING.]
[MAN.]
Algonquian, Massacred by Mohawk.
[HUSHED MUTTERING.]
[APPLAUSE.]
- Did that disturb you? - Which part, Francis? The savages, or that they became Catholics? [CHUCKLING.]
[APPLAUSE PETERS OUT.]
[WHISPERS.]
I have a question for you later.
No question is needed, Francis.
But you'll hear me out? [GASPS FROM AUDIENCE.]
Sir James Ross at Furthest South.
[GASPING.]
If you believe that depiction, you've dropped a stone at least - since we've been back.
- [APPLAUSE.]
And seen a dentist as well, apparently.
[MAN.]
Ladies and gentlemen, it's our great honor to find up in the boxes tonight the actual Sir James Ross! [CHEERING.]
Get up, old man.
[CHEERING CONTINUES.]
Bravo, gentlemen! Bravo.
You should stand up.
[CHEERING CONTINUES.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[WATER SLOSHING.]
[DOG BARKING.]
I don't want you to do to me what you did to Tom Hartnell's brother.
Well that that was for the good of the crew.
We needed to know if it was scurvy killed John Hartnell I want to go to my grave as I am.
Don't cut me open.
- Do you promise? - If Sir John orders it done, we must do.
You may be a warning of things to come.
Now, hold hold fast, David.
[HE GULPS AND GASPS.]
If Sir John orders it I will do it.
Do you know sometimes when people are near passing I've heard they speak of a radiance like a million daybreaks all in one.
In which loved ones are there to welcome them over.
We grew up at the Foundlings.
I never knew me father or me mum.
Then Then there will be the angels with songs lovelier than you've heard.
[HE GASPS FOR BREATH.]
Will I fly? Up to God? Yes.
You You'll see the Passage first, then, as you go.
Try Try to call back and let us know where it is.
[DAVID EXHALES.]
I wanted to be 'ere when we found it.
Do not fear it, David.
I I have been there when souls have passed.
A great peace descends.
[MUTTERS.]
They are glass.
But the ring is plate.
It won't fetch much but my sister should have it.
It's a nasty jar but [SNIFFLES.]
.
.
but I can't get it off.
I I can ask cook for some grease.
- Or I have an oil of castor - No.
When you're sure I'm gone find a way.
And don't tell Sir John I was afraid.
You have my word.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
[DAVID GASPS AND PANTS.]
[DISTANT BARKING.]
[BARKING IN BACKGROUND.]
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
He's been going on like that since the wind died.
[BARKING.]
Something's got him worked up.
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
Take your wigs off.
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
[WIND WHISTLES.]
Don't you hear that? [CREAKING AND RUMBLING.]
[DAVID BREATHES UNEASILY.]
[BREATHES UNEASILY.]
[CREAKING.]
- Give me your glass.
- Yeah.
Just don't drop it.
It belongs to Lieutenant Irving.
Put a thumb in it.
[BARKING CONTINUES.]
[HE GRUNTS.]
[EERIE MUSIC.]
No No [DAVID MOANS.]
No.
No! David? - No.
No.
- David? David? Wake Mr.
Blanky.
Do it now.
[DAVID GROANS.]
No! No! [GASPS.]
Run! Run! He wants us to run! - David, calm down.
- No! [HE GASPS.]
[TRICKLING.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[TRICKLING CONTINUES.]
[LANTERN SQUEAKING.]
Come.
Sorry to disturb you.
David Young has passed.
As if that weren't plain.
Cover him and get some rest, Mr.
Goodsir.
Some Some You can do the post-mortem in the morning when the men go up.
I-Is it necessary? Sir John has a flea in his ear about scurvy.
- He will ask.
- Something transpired at the end.
He He was seeing something I couldn't see.
Holding its gaze as if it was in the room with us Do I really need to explain what is an hallucination? He had no fever.
He was clear-eyed.
Good night, Mr.
Goodsir.
Mm.
[BLANKY.]
Look at the snow on those bergy bits.
That's not summer break up.
That's coming down from the north.
- It's pack ice.
- [WIND WHISTLING.]
There are leads but How was the cold last night? It dropped.
20.
[WIND WHISTLING.]
Is Erebus aware? Well, no flags as yet.
But no doubt they woke thinking of their propeller.
If Sir John doesn't convene a meeting of the officers by ten, I'll do it myself.
You're about to surpass us all, son.
You're going somewhere no man has ever been, not even a native.
If it is ice wedged behind the propeller, and you can pry it out, well, you'll have grabbed the ring twice in one morning.
Right.
[BOOTS THUDDING.]
Observe my signals.
One pull on the tube means half a fathom's slack.
Two means the tube is kinked, likely on the gunwale.
Three pull me up.
If water floods the suit, it will be exponentially harder to lift me and exponentially more urgent, so all of you be ready on the line.
There should be a surgeon here.
They're just below, Mr.
Collins.
Proceed.
[HELMET CLUNKING AND CLICKING.]
You're a pilgrim to the deeps.
And remember God lies in all realms.
[MAN.]
Lower him in.
[TOOLS RATTLE.]
[MUFFLED SPEECH FROM DECK.]
[MEN CALLING OUT ON DECK.]
[LANTERN SQUEAKING.]
[PULLEY SQUEAKING.]
[MAN.]
Steady.
[LOW CHATTERING.]
[MAN CALLS OUT ORDER.]
[FLESH TEARING.]
[WATER SPLASHING AND BUBBLING.]
[WATER BUBBLING.]
[SLOW BREATHING.]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[SAWING.]
[STRIKES ICE.]
[RIPPING.]
[BODY PART CLATTERS IN TRAY.]
[STRIKES ICE.]
[SHALLOW BREATHING.]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC.]
[NERVOUS FAST BREATHING.]
[HYPERVENTILATES.]
[SCREAMS.]
Haul me up! [WATER SPLASHING AND BUBBLING.]
[WIND WHISTLING.]
[CHATTER FROM ABOVE.]
[SQUELCHING.]
You wouldn't call this cirrhotic.
And there's gall.
I don't see scurvy.
- I don't see anything at all.
- Open the bowel.
[SHIP'S TIMBERS CREAKING.]
[SPLAT.]
[GULPING.]
Ah.
[HE GASPS.]
Propeller's bent.
One of the blades [HE PANTS.]
I pried some ice from behind.
I think she'll spin now, sir.
[FITZJAMES.]
Is there anything else to report? - No, sir.
- Capital job, Mr.
Collins.
Graham, let the engineers know and signal Terror.
Have Captain Crozier bring his lieutenants over.
- Sir.
- We need to confer about the ice that's in front of us now.
I envy you, Mr.
Collins.
I have long wanted to move below.
What was it like? Like a dream, sir.
[FRANKLIN.]
News is in about Erebus.
While she can still make headway under steam, the flagship's efficiency has been compromised.
How badly compromised? She can still pull two knots, maybe three, with the boiler full up.
- Half-power, more or less? - Yes.
[FRANKLIN.]
As well, we know that the ice ahead is increasing dramatically, both in thickness and amount.
But we must be nearly in sight of King William Land.
Then it isn't but another 200 miles before we can pick up the western charts and draw in this final piece of the puzzle once and for all.
Hear, hear.
Our situation is more dire than you may understand.
Dramatic opening shot.
Please, go ahead, Francis.
That is not just ice ahead.
It is the pack.
And you are proposing that we cross it, in September.
Even with leads, it could take us weeks of picking our way through it.
- We may not have weeks.
- What, weeks at most? You've seen the sun dogs, Graham? How many have there been now? Three.
It's already a colder year than last.
I've been to the Arctic, - Francis.
- On foot.
And you nearly starved.
Not all of your men returned.
I say this with all due honor.
For God's sake, Francis.
A captain is due his candor.
So, what would you propose instead? - Wait out winter here? - No.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
The exact shape of King William Land is unknown.
As we discovered with Cornwallis Land, it could be King William Island, with a chance to sail around its eastern shore.
[FRANKLIN.]
Yes, but east would add miles.
We might not be out this year after all.
But only because Erebus is lame.
If we consolidate all our coal on the less-damaged ship, we'd have enough to go for broke and get east of King William Land, possibly around it, before winter.
It's our best, and probably only, chance.
Yes.
We should go for broke.
Abandon Erebus? Is Is that what you're saying? If it is a dead end, we can over-winter in complete safety out of the pack in some sheltered harbor.
We retrace our steps come spring tired of one another, no doubt, but alive.
That is an interesting speculation.
But, of course, we will not be abandoning Erebus, nor Terror, should she suffer some minor misfortunes.
- We are almost there - Hear me, John.
It won't matter if we're 200 or 2,000 miles from safe water.
If the leads close up and we are out there in it, we'll have no idea where the current will move the pack, of which we will be a part.
We could be forced onto the shallows on the weather side of King William and crushed to atoms, if we're even upright by then.
As a trusted friend once put it This place wants us dead.
Who is this friend? Does he also write melodrama? - [CLATTERING.]
- [SOFT CHATTERING.]
Sir John, myself, Mr.
Blanky and Mr.
Reid.
Only four of us at this table are Arctic veterans.
There'll be no melodramas here.
Just live men or dead men.
It's certainly good to see color in your cheeks again, Francis.
But we are two weeks from finding the grail.
And it is my belief that God and winter will find us in safe waters by the end of the year.
The Sandwich Islands.
Or even further.
If you're wrong, we are about to commit an act of hubris we may not survive.
You know what men are like when they are desperate.
We both do.
I shall continue to command from Erebus, but due to her injuries, I'm putting Terror in lead position.
She may not be the better ice-breaker, but she's the more powerful ship now.
Bury your boy, Young, and we'll be on our way.
West around King William Land as planned.
- Bury? - Yes.
A mercy.
It was a long night.
Long ago in Westminster There lived a rat-catcher's daughter All this when we could have just dropped him overboard and been done with it.
[EVANS.]
Sir John's a spiritual man.
- I'd say an impractical one.
- Careful there.
[SINGING.]
What, is that some kind of treason, Sergeant? [CLATTERING AND THUD.]
They shoulda run more nails through that lid.
[TOZER.]
Pull up the ropes and fill it in, Mr.
Hickey.
- Me? - Mr.
Hornby tells me you have the most duty owing.
Didn't tell me why.
Grousing, probably.
[THUD.]
Are Are we just gonna leave it like that? Unless you want to climb in there and fix it, yes, we are.
Hop to it, Mr.
Hickey.
[HE GRUNTS.]
[FOOTSTEPS CRUNCHING.]
[TOZER.]
Mr.
Hickey [ROCKS CLATTERING.]
[FOOT THUDS ONTO COFFIN.]
[TOZER.]
It's not important.
[WIND WHISTLING.]
[LOW GRUNTING.]
[HE SIGHS.]
Sergeant Tozer said it's not important.
Well, it would be to this boy's father, wouldn't it? Hm? - Help a mate up.
- [ROCKS CLATTER.]
And Jesus saith unto Thomas: "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed but blessed are they that have not yet seen but still believe.
" And just as David Young is at the gates so too are we.
And now is our moment to stride through them, to our glory, and to our destiny.
I have set a course south south-west.
We will see the North American mainland within a fortnight, gentlemen.
We must now begin our last and best efforts to reach her, as we become the greatest Argonauts of our age! We shall earn our loved ones' cheers and embraces at our return.
- Onwards, men! - [MEN CALL OUT IN UNISON.]
- All right, lads.
- [URGENT CHATTER.]
- Man the braces! - [SHOUTED ORDERS.]
[SHOUTED ORDERS.]
[SHIPS CRUNCHING THROUGH ICE.]
- Hard to starboard! - Hard to starboard it is, sir! - Hard to starboard! - Go to it, man.
Let's hit it with force.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[CRACKING.]
[URGENT CHATTER.]
There should be more men picking here! Why is there only one man picking? All right, men, stand back! [HE BLOWS.]
- [FIZZING.]
- Right, everybody, fall back! [BOOMING EXPLOSIONS.]
[EXPLOSIONS.]
[SHIP'S TIMBERS GROAN.]
[EXPLOSION.]
[DOG WHINING.]
[ICE CRUNCHING.]
[SHIP CREAKING.]
[PROLONGED CREAKING.]
[CREAKING SUBSIDES.]
Our Lord and Father will see us through.
[CREAKING AND RUMBLING.]
[KNIFE CUTTING FOOD.]
Whatever morning brings.
[RUMBLING.]
[PROLONGED CREAKING.]
[THUD.]
[LOW CREAKING.]
[WIND HOWLING OUTSIDE.]
[ICE CRUNCHING UNDERFOOT.]
Get the ice anchors up.
We're part of it now.
Sir.
Fix our position with care, Mr.
Reid.
I want to know exactly where we are in relation to King William Land.
- Yes, sir.
- [RATTLING.]
When the men are fed, have them begin pulling the tarp up.
Mr.
Gregory can start drawing down the engine for winter.
Your demeanor should be all cheer, gentlemen.
You understand? It's going to be tight, but that's what we signed up for, an adventure for Queen and Country.
An adventure of a lifetime.
That's what you tell the men.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC.]
[APPLAUSE IN THEATER.]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING.]
[SILENCE.]