And now, our fave, Tobias Menzies, is stepping into a new uniform and showing his teeth in AMC’s new period/horror series, The Terror.
The hotness hurts
Based on the true story of a British expedition in 1845 to find the supposed Northwest Passage that would connect the North Sea with the Pacific Ocean, The Terror tells the tale of two British bombardment ships (the best technology of the era), two captains, the men who serve their command and the horrors that befall them while trapped for years in a pack of ice miles long in every direction.
The premiere episode (a double shot) is available now on amc.com to stream for free, and it’s showing itself to be one of the most terrifying and captivating new shows of the season. But it’s not a horror show.
Yes, there are monsters. Creaking timbers of a ship in unknown perils. Within the first 15 minutes, there is a superfluence of blood and vomit that would rival a Scream Queen flick. But it is in the characters that the real horror lies. A young shipmate who dies screaming and clutching the hands of a sweet surgeon, instead of peacefully entering paradise. Death and danger abound.
However, that same, sweet surgeon is faced with a small moment after that patient is dead and buried that he realizes he forgot to get the ring off his finger as he asked. It goes unmentioned, he never gets it, it is just a look of realization, but we still feel a sense of dread and anxiety for him – that his oversight will not only haunt something preternatural under the ice, but also his own soul. There are weight and care given to the lesser characters that makes us ache when they ache, worry when they worry.
And that’s to say nothing of the main characters. Ciaran Hinds is Commander John Franklin, a pious and experienced captain who seems to want to bring the best out in his men and his expedition, but lacks the brass to make the tough decisions. Jared Harris is the pivotal role of Captain Francis Crozier, an even more experienced seaman with a gentle demeanor, a demure grace, and a drinking problem. And of course there is Tobias Menzies, doing what he does best: delighting us with his moral mutability and caprice. If that’s what you can call it.
And the show itself, production value and cinematography? The best you can ask for.
What’s to stop you from watching it? Well, it’s not exactly the female-driven narratives we love around here. There are women in the flashbacks that set the normality for the men that we meet, but that is all they are: fodder for the stories of the men. There are Inuit people who are used as well to further their stories. And there is one woman, an Inuit woman, who becomes invaluable to the story, but who also willingly gives up her tongue. She is known as the Silent Woman. It’s not a great rallying cry for female-driven content. But regardless, it’s worth delving into.
If for no other reason, than that we are totally Tobiased.
ETA: Breaking news about Tobias’ BRAND SPANKING NEW ROLE!!!! #Tobiased™
The Terror airs on Mondays at 9 pm Eastern on AMC.
