“The Terror” thoughts, Episode Four: “Punished, as a Boy”

I’m spelling all this stuff out in detail because the details are there, and the material is designed to withstand this kind of scrutiny. The Terror could be coasting on survival-horror staples and period-prestige clichés. Instead, it’s using these extraordinary circumstances as a crucible for revealing character, not melting it away for cheap thrills and meaningless misery. It’s a miracle on the ice.

My review of this week’s episode of The Terror for the A.V. Club focuses on a worried-wife scene and a torture scene that the show elevates from rote to vital.

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