As the second episode of The North Water begins, Jones (Kieran Urquhart) calls for Patrick Sumner (Jack O’Connell) while searching for him. He eventually finds Patrick lifeless so he flips him over and tries to help. Then, Jones fires his rifle into the air to signal for help. Otto (Roland Moller) helps pull Patrick back onto the boat before Captain Brownlee (Stephen Graham) asks if he is still breathing. Jones believes he is. They rush him to the wardroom where they begin patting him down with hot towels. Once they’ve finished, Patrick is taken to his cabin and Jones gives him brandy while telling him he’ll be okay. The Captain makes it clear he doesn’t want Patrick getting off of the boat ever again. Cavendish (Sam Spruell) believes Patrick may still die but Henry Drax (Colin Farell) says he’ll be difficult to finish off.

Despite the risks, the two men are not willing to give up on Patrick’s loot just yet. When they set sail, we heard Patrick talking to the young boy and saying Pani over and over. In a flashback, Patrick pleads with the boy to bring him water before admitting his parents left him 20 some years ago too when they were sent to a typhus hospital. He explains that his mother promised him that she’d come back but she never did. He knew they had died long before he was saved by William Harper the surgeon who treated him. We see a flashback of the two together. Patrick tells the young boy, Gaurav (Rishi Kuppa), he is going to keep him safe when the British soldiers arrive tomorrow. Someone busts through the door, shoots toward them, and exclaims he is a good shot. The nightmare immediately awakens Patrick. Then, Patrick explains it takes three weeks to pass Cape Farewell and his recovery was painful and slow.

Brownlee has told him they should be merciful since a lot of ships have been lost in these waters. Otto is convinced Patrick died on the ice and he left his body to travel to higher realms. Patrick is told he would’ve met the dead and spoke to them but he can’t remember anything like that. He doesn’t know what he saw on the ice but he doesn’t believe he was saved or damned because he would be new somehow and there is nothing new about him. They travel north toward Baffin Bay and Patrick admits he is there to do his job. The men are grateful for the attention they receive from Patrick. He says it might be foolish but the men trust him. He sees them as bodies since he is indifferent to their moral characters. He confesses he has little comfort to give in his current state before he receives a visit from Joseph Hannah (Stephen McMillan) who says his stomach is bad and has been since last night.

Patrick wants to examine Joseph but he says he only needs some Pepperdine. Joseph eventually relents and lets Patrick inspect him to find the source of the pain. Once Patrick unsuccessfully checks a few spots, Joseph begins crying and says it is everywhere. Joseph says it is lower down and it hurts when he uses the bathroom. Patrick tells him to roll on his side before suggesting it could be piles. Patrick checks him using candlelight before asking a young boy to grab warm water and a clean rag. He returns to Joseph and asks who did this to him but Joseph denies it. Joseph won’t place the blame on anyone so Patrick gives him something to take and instructions for taking it. He tells Joseph to return tomorrow for another. Joseph thanks him before leaving. Patrick immediately visits the Captain to tell him that Joseph has been sodomized. Patrick admits the damage was extensive and there are signs of venereal disease.

They agree that the boy is a bit feeble-minded. Patrick is sure it happened on the ship so Brownlee immediately tells Cavendish to fetch Joseph. Cavendish is allowed to stay because he knows the men on the ship. Brownlee pushes and pushes but Joseph is afraid to tell anyone who abused him. He decides to let Joseph leave while Patrick argues they should speak to witnesses. Cavendish says he’ll tell the men to keep their quarters tidier to prevent such slip and fall incidents in the future. He leaves and Brownlee tells Patrick he’ll move the boy downstairs to keep him safe. Sumner wonders if Cavendish could be the culprit but Brownlee doesn’t believe that is possible. The Captain insists there is nothing else they can do except Patrick can treat the injuries. Patrick returns to his room and drinks before falling asleep. Before long, he gets a visit from Drax who already knows about Joseph.

Henry insists Joseph is a known liar. They talk about the boy being feeble-minded before Henry admits he knows Joseph’s father and brother. Patrick finishes helping Henry before saying it is likely the end of it unless Joseph changes his mind and talks. Henry asks why he wanted to become a surgeon. Patrick says he wanted to advance from his humble origins but Henry isn’t sure being on a Yorkshire whaler qualifies. The conversation ends a short time later. Next, the crew encounter whales and everyone begins working to get them. Patrick watches through a telescope as two boats approach the whale. Henry hits the whale causing the men to cheer him on. Seconds later, he tells the guys to get ready because she is about to rise. When Patrick asks Brownlee what happens next, the captain tells him that they’ll kill the whale.

It doesn’t take long for Henry to jump onto the whale and stab it through the heart. Then, Brownlee tells them that the loot should have a value close to 900 pounds but it is only the beginning. Patrick tells Cavendish he’d like to help since he is good with a blade. The captain agrees to let him help and the crew works through the night. Once they’ve finished, Patrick tells Cavendish about working during his childhood so Cavendish says an Irishman is a laborer at heart. Later, Patrick returns to his room and takes medicine before going to sleep. Patrick gets up in the morning and heads to the deck where Otto tells him about the barrel water. Brownlee is preparing for the whales which they should encounter when they reach Melville Bay. While working, the crew finds Joseph’s dead body in one of the barrels. Patrick examines the body and tells Brownlee that the boy was strangled to death. This enrages the captain since he has never seen a murdering whaler.

He says he has never seen an outright murder of a cabin boy. The Captain orders everyone to prepare for the burial or return to their duties before Patrick tells him Joseph is missing a tooth and it was taken recently. Brownlee wonders what kind of crew Baxter has stuck him with before we jump forward to the burial. Otto tells Patrick they’ve drifted away from the Lord because the Lord has allowed them to do so. Patrick wonders what sense there was in murdering a young boy but Otto says the most important questions are the ones they cannot hope to answer with words. Otto suggests they should give up words but the doctor suggests otherwise. As the boat continues, Brownlee says Baxter better pray there is enough ice up there. Cavendish approaches the captain and says he has pushed the men until they told him McKendrick (Philip Hill-Pearson) was responsible for the murder. He goes on to explain there were rumors that the carpenter McKendrick was in a relationship with a man before.

Brownlee tells Cavendish to bring him in before reminding him that this cannot interfere with what they’ve been put on the vessel to do. Moments later, Brownlee and Patrick interview McKendrick about Joseph. McKendrick denies knowing the boy and having a thing for cabin boys before admitting he doesn’t have a wife waiting for him. It isn’t that he doesn’t like women. He just hasn’t found a suitable one yet. He denies preferring men. When told about Joseph being sodomized, McKendrick admits he already knew because the men were talking about it. He denies killing Joseph but Cavendish says there are several who’ve testified that he likes young boys. McKendrick eventually changes his tune and says it hasn’t ever been about boys and boys are not to his taste. Cavendish argues that he’d siege any arse after a whiskey or two. Brownlee tells him he is disgusting even if he isn’t a murderer.

Brownlee is convinced McKendrick is the murderer although he continues denying it. Patrick knows a way to find out for sure since Joseph had sores that were likely venereal so the killer would have them too. They force McKendrick to get undressed and Patrick asks him to pull back the foreskin. Patrick finds nothing down there or elsewhere to convince him that McKendrick is the killer. That leads to an argument between Patrick and Cavendish who says he knows more about Sumner than he might believe. Brownlee agrees with Patrick that there isn’t enough evidence. Brownlee agrees to put him in irons until they can find a witness if there is one. When Patrick leaves, he hears Cavendish telling the Captain there are things he doesn’t know about Sumner but Brownlee doesn’t want to hear it.

He wants proof so they can move on before saying he’ll meet with Morwood before going north. Patrick returns to his cabin and burns some of his papers. Later that night, Cavendish tries to convince everyone that McKendrick is the murderer and they only need to find a witness who saw them together. Henry quickly speaks up and claims he saw them by the deckhouse late one night. He claims McKendrick was trying to give the boy little kisses but Joseph didn’t like it too much. Cavendish believes that is enough evidence but Patrick asks why Henry never mentioned it before. Drax says it must’ve slipped his mind. Drax goes to the captain and tells the story again but McKendrick denies everything. Henry says he’ll swear it on the bible while McKendrick promises he is spewing out lies. Again, McKendrick says he didn’t fancy little boys.

He claims that Henry Drax has done things far worse than him and he encourages them to ask Henry what he did in the Marquesas. Drax says he has passed some time with the South Sea blacks and he has some tattoos they gave him on his back. McKendrick calls him a cannibal but Henry laughs it off. Captain Brownlee doesn’t believe it either. McKendrick yells as he is taken down and Brownlee tells Drax he’ll be expected to testify in court. Drax says he doesn’t like being talked to that way and he only told what he saw. Patrick is told he can go now since he has caused enough trouble. As he leaves, he hears Brownlee get upset and throw things around. When Patrick lays down in his bed, he hears the doorknob rattle so he calls out but nobody says anything. It rattles again. He has a nightmare of Drax and Joseph being together.

 

The North Water Review

The North Water is a highly ambitious show that can be excellent despite being plagued by a few minor problems. For some, those problems might be impossible to ignore and I can totally understand that. Overall, the episode was excellent but the pitch-black scenes make it difficult for me to see what is happening at times. I understand the need for realism but some exceptions should be made to avoid hindering the story for the viewer.

The show likely went too far here since I don’t think anyone should have to change their television’s settings to accommodate a television show. At times, the scenes are so dark that I can’t tell which characters are talking or what is going on. It is like night and day once the characters step onto the deck and the beauty of these scenes make The North Water well worth it.

The episode was grim, bleak, and a bit grotesque. It was exceptionally entertaining and I think the rest of the season can be as well as long as it doesn’t bend reality too much. The second episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Previous and future recaps of The North Water can be found on Reel Mockery here.