Nautilus’ Episode 4 Review
Episode four of ‘Nautilus’ puts the crew ashore on a dangerous desert island.
Having run from their last port without time to resupply, the Nautilus puts into a desert island, hoping to find food and water. While these things are there in abundance, there’s also some things they hadn’t expected waiting for them.
The previous episode was definitely the high point of the show so far, as now we’re back to the show’s standard output. Episode three had quite a bit of character development, and some interesting new characters and scenes. Unfortunately, none of that carries over into this entry.
One of the worst things about ‘Nautilus’ is its habit of making all of its characters into cartoons. The castaway East India Mercantile Company sailors in this episode look and act like they’ve stepped from a comedy movie, rather than a serious piece of TV. I know the show is meant to be fun, but it’s hard to take characters like Nemo and Humility seriously when there are such wacky characters alongside them.
Another thing this show relies on is convenience, giving the characters easy ways to escape from difficult and dangerous situations, killing any tension or sense that they might not make it out. Like the way the Nautilus escapes from the Dreadnaught in the shallow harbor. This should have been the end for them, but all it takes is a couple of minutes and Nemo manages to free them, using only an ax.
It’s the same thing with the castaway Casamir, who was included simply for the sake of providing some exposition and an easy way for them to escape. There was no point to her in the story, as she gets no character development and gives nothing to the plot, and the scene where she gets eaten by the giant eel was more funny than tragic. There’s already a big cast standing by, desperate for screentime, give her scenes to one of them instead.
Is this episode as bad as the first couple? No. It’s fun and has some entertaining moments, but there’s still a lack of depth or central driving plot that I thought the show might be over by now after the events of episode three. None of the threads from that episode are picked up here, and it’s still hanging in the balance whether this show wants to be truly serious, or just a piece of forgettable entertainment.
If there’s one thing that might be interesting, it’s Cuff, the former Company soldier who’s now joined the crew. Is he a villain, working for the Company? Or just in it for himself? He could be an interesting character. We also know that Nemo and Captain Millais have history. Hopefully these storylines will be explored soon, and give us something to get our teeth into, rather than just flashy action.