Nautilus’ Episode 7 Review

In episode seven of ‘Nautilus’, the submarine is fleeing from the Company’s Dreadnaught through thick ice. Nemo tries to pull off a risky manoeuvre, waiting till the last minute to submerge, hoping their pursuers will crash into the ice. The plan fails, leaving both vessels stuck in the ice.

Not only that, but their engine is damaged. They need a forge to repair it, but the only one around is aboard the Dreadnaught. The two parties negotiate an uneasy truce to get what they want: if the Company will let them use their forge, the Nautilus will pull their ship free from the ice.

It also means that Humility meets with her fiance, Lord Pitt, for the first time, and makes up her mind that she’s no intention of ever marrying him.

Seeing the two parties stranded and having to work together like this gives the opportunity for some good scenes, sadly, this potential is wasted. With nothing else to do, they decide to have a cricket match between crews. This could have been well played, using the situation as a way to develop the characters, especially as Maitlis ends up batting on Nemo’s side. It could have been a chance to show that the Company men aren’t cartoon villains, and allow the match to be a substitute for their more devastating rivalry that’s temporarily on hold. Instead, it just ends up being cartoonish, with Pitt shouting, screaming and cheating, eventually devolving into a comedy brawl between both sides. I’ve criticised the show’s character development before, and this seems like a golden opportunity squandered for some cheap comedy, when a well written scene between Nemo and Youngblood could have done so much for both men.

While I know this isn’t a serious historical drama, I still think more of an attempt could have been made to make the characters talk and act more like people from 1857. So often the dialogue is on the nose, and characters will shout or become emotional. In many ways, the show doesn’t need to be set in the 19th century at all, and could easily have been updated to the present day, without changing any of the characters. In fact, a modern setting might have suited it better.

At the end of the show, the truce manages to hold long enough for both parties to get what they want, and Nemo takes the Nautilus under the ice to escape from the Dreadnaught, as their voyage continues.