The Ship
Maura wakes up in a white room with a man sitting next to her. He introduces himself as Dr. John Watson, and tells her that she has been in a coma for nine years. Maura is confused and scared, but Dr. Watson reassures her that everything will be alright. ..
Maura is on a big boat bound for New York called the Kerberos. There are news reports spreading about the Prometheus, a ship that’s been missing for four months now. Interestingly, Maura’s cabin happens to be numbered the same as the one she was pulled into in the psychiatric ward. On the counter is a letter from her brother, asking to meet in New York, explaining what she’s doing onboard the ship. She’s also a doctor too, having studied the brain for a while.
The passengers on this ship are a diverse group of people from all walks of life. There are the snobbish Mrs Wilson who has a high opinion on everyone, a French newlywed couple – Lucien and Clemence – who clearly don’t love each other and even Cantonese immigrants in the form of Ling-Yi and her mother.
A passenger rushes into the room, with apparent injuries on his face. He is not given medical attention until Maura, a passenger herself, goes after him and helps. One of the passengers is heavily pregnant and in a lot of pain as her baby has turned around. Maura manages to help save the day. ..
Maura turns to see that the transmission is coming from the island. She can see people on the shoreline, and she can hear their cries for help. She knows that she needs to go help them, but she also knows that she shouldn’t be down there. Maura turns to Captain Larsen and asks if he can take her down to the island. He agrees, and they head down below deck. When Maura heads back up to the deck, she finds herself facing Captain Eyk Larsen, who points out that she shouldn’t be down in Third Class. Given Maura is a First Class passenger, she has no business there. However, they’re interrupted by a transmission coming in, as one of the officers - who looks startlingly like Adam Driver I may add - reveals that they’ve been getting messages for the last 20 minutes. Maura turns to see that the transmission is coming from the island. She can see people on the shoreline, and she can hear their cries for help. She knows that she needs to go help them, but she also knows that she shouldn’t be down there. Maura turns to Captain Larsen and asks if he can take her down to the island. He agrees, and they head down below deck ..
The distress signal appears to be coming from the Prometheus, a ship that has drifted north. The captain decides to investigate and encourages them to change course.
Eyk admits that he doesn’t know if the coordinates are from the Prometheus or not, but given that four months have passed since they were last heard from, it’s unlikely that the crew have survived. Larsen suggests that if the crew had rationed their food, they may have been able to survive. ..
Maura knows someone onboard the ship, but she remains quiet until the Captain admits he will brief the ship later on and let them know what’s happening. Remember Maura’s letter? Well, Larsen has a letter too, scribbled on the back: “What was lost will be found.”
The passengers are not happy when they find out the ship has changed course, questioning the Captain’s methods and pointing out they all paid good money to get to New York in seven days without detours. Eyk has no words. Instead, he turns and walks away.
Meanwhile, Jerome and Olek end up working in the bowels of the ship, shoveling coal into the fires to turn the boat around and make it to – they presume – the Prometheus. Above several decks though is Maura, who decides against dinner and ends up chatting with Larsen, who’s interested in her background with medicine. Maura bites back and points out that he too has a lot of secrets. ..
The first mate and the captain of the ship are interrupted when they notice a ship right ahead on the horizon. As they approach, they fire a red flare and it seems like the ship is abandoned. The officers – including the first mate – believe they should notify the Company first but the Captain has other ideas. He demands a lifeboat be lowered and decides to go and investigate. Those let behind can notify HQ.
Eyk Larsen, one of the passengers on the Prometheus, decides to bring a priest along with them in order to provide comfort to the crew. He believes that Father Ramiro, who looks a lot like Jamie Bell, will be a good fit for the job. However, Eyk is not sure if he can speak English very well, so he allows his friend to tag along. ..
The small lifeboat is dwarfed by the size of the Prometheus and as they make it up alongside the boat, each of them ascend to the main deck, one at a time. Someone must have sent the signal, but it appears the ship is completely deserted. In fact, once they head inside, the signal stops broadcasting.
Eyk Larsen investigates the strange ribbon on the floor and finds that it is in fact a signal from a telegraph machine. However, the machine has been destroyed, so how was a signal even sent? Well, we see this man climbing out from the water and seemingly stalking the others on the Kerberos.
Maura looks at the device with confusion. She can’t understand what it is or why it’s been given to her. But before she can ask, the boy interrupts her. “I know what you’re thinking,” he says, “but I don’t want you to worry. This is just a toy. It won’t do anything.” Maura takes the toy and examines it more closely. It seems like there are some strange symbols on it, and she starts to feel uneasy about what it might mean. But before she can ask any questions, the boy interrupts her again. “Just take it,” he says, “and put it away.”
This strange man, who looks like an older version of the child on the Prometheus I may add, ends up dripping wet and uses a strange green bug to head under the door of Room 1013, (two doors down from Maura’s cabin) and open it up. As the man heads inside, the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
The show looks set to be a hit and with such a great cast, it’s sure to be one of the most exciting new shows on TV this year.
1899 could be a real mystery sensation this year if it can pull off its story and build on the foundations set here. There’s definitely lots to like and thankfully we don’t have to wait an entire week to find out what happens next. Onto the next! ..
