The Terror is an American supernatural horrordramaanthology television series developed for AMC. The series is named after Dan Simmons's 2007 novel, which serves as the basis for the first season.[2][3][4] It premiered on March 25, 2018, with a second season, subtitled Infamy, premiering on August 12, 2019.[5] In February 2024, the series was renewed for a third season, subtitled Devil in Silver, based on the novel of the same name by Victor LaValle and is set to premiere in 2025.[6]
The first season begins with the Royal Navy's polar explorer ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror having recently left Beechey Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, heading south toward King William Island into uncharted territory, seeking to find and confirm the existence and navigability of the fabled Northwest Passage. The ships are soon frozen and trapped in the ice, and those aboard must survive the harsh weather conditions and each other, while being stalked by an elusive menace.
The Terror: Infamy
The second season takes place on the west coast of the United States during World War II and centers on the Japanese folklore of bakemono, "an uncanny specter that menaces a Japanese American community from its home in Southern California to the internment camps to the war in the Pacific".[7]
The Terror: Devil in Silver
The third season follows Pepper, "a working class moving man who, through a combination of bad luck and a bad temper, finds himself wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital—an institution filled with the people society would rather forget. There, Pepper must contend with patients who work against him, doctors who harbor grim secrets, and perhaps even the very Devil himself".[6]
A title card informs the viewer that Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition was never seen again. In the opening sequence, James Ross is speaking to a Netsilik man in a tent who encountered the expedition's last survivors, under the leadership of Captain Francis Crozier, and informs Ross they were being pursued south by a creature called "Tuunbaq" and are now "dead and gone." Four years earlier, in September 1846, Captain Sir John Franklin's Royal Navy expedition aboard HMS Erebus and HMS Terror is attempting the first crossing of the Northwest Passage in the Arctic Archipelago. The expedition runs into difficulty when ice damages Erebus's propeller. Francis Crozier, captain of the Terror and second-in-command of the expedition, becomes concerned about becoming stranded in the pack ice above the Arctic Circle through winter, and recommends to Franklin that they shift all men from Erebus to Terror and steam south aboard Terror to avoid becoming trapped in winter ice. Franklin overrules Crozier's concerns and presses the expedition further west in the belief that the ships can complete transit before the onset of thick ice. Before the ships can reach open water, they become trapped by the ice.
In June 1847, after a winter in the ice, Erebus and Terror remain stuck. Franklin sends out parties to find leads (open water passages) through the ice. The party that treks east finds nothing, but the party heading to the south travels into dangerous territory and accidentally shoots an Inuit man, mistaking him for a polar bear. During the chaos, a massive, unseen creature kills their lieutenant, Graham Gore. The surviving men from the expedition to the south return with the wounded Inuit man and his companion, an Inuit woman. The man is a powerful shaman without a tongue to speak and the woman is his daughter, and he communicates that after his death she must control the "Tuunbaq". After the Inuit man dies of his wounds, the crew apologize to the woman, whom they call "Lady Silence" because she refuses to speak to them, for killing him.
The crew bury the Inuit shaman in the sea through a hole in the ice, and Lady Silence sets out alone on foot to return to her people. Franklin and Crozier had once been friends, but in England Franklin had denied Crozier permission to marry his niece. They angrily debate their crews' future and disagree sharply about Crozier's suggestion that they send out a party on foot to seek help. Franklin joins a group of armed Royal Marines who have set a hunting blind for the creature, but it ambushes the group, killing a marine and Franklin, who drowns after the creature tears off his leg and tosses him into the same hole where the British had buried the shaman. Crozier later sends out a party across the ice to seek help, despite the protests of James Fitzjames (now captain of Erebus). Alone in an igloo, Lady Silence hears the creature outside and finds that it has left her a seal carcass to eat.
By November 1847, as the creature continues to kill members of the British expedition, the crews of Erebus and Terror begin to consider it supernatural. Opportunistic caulker's mate Cornelius Hickey leads an unauthorised expedition to abduct Lady Silence, bringing her back to the ships in the belief that she is controlling the creature. When Hickey disputes his punishment during a debriefing, Crozier orders him subject to a more severe lashing than his fellow abductors, ordering him to be "punished as a boy" (whipped across the buttocks rather than the back). An increasingly alcoholic Crozier announces to Terror's crew an opportunity to transfer to Erebus due to Terror's precarious location on a fault in the ice, and all but ten of Terror's crew depart for Erebus.
The Erebus's naval surgeon's mate, Dr. Goodsir, speaks with Lady Silence to learn her language, but has little success learning about the nature of the creature. Crozier becomes temperamental as his liquor supplies run out, and sends his first lieutenant Edward Little to pilfer bottles of whiskey from the private stores of Fitzjames aboard Erebus. The creature, revealed as a polar bear-like creature with vaguely human facial features called the "Tuunbaq", attacks Terror and pursues her ice master Thomas Blanky up one of the ship's masts, mauling his leg so severely that it later requires amputation. The men manage to wound the creature with a cannon and it flees, and Lady Silence escapes during the commotion. Crozier resolves on sobriety, delegating command of the expedition to Fitzjames, and command of HMS Terror to Lt. Little, while he suffers alcohol withdrawal.
January 1848 finds the ships still trapped in the ice. Now in charge of the expedition, Fitzjames plans to abandon the ships and lead the men back to civilization on foot. Blanky advises him to soften the blow of this news, so he organizes a carnival on the ice, reasoning that it will deplete the food and drink they will need to carry. Goodsir discerns that the poorly-soldered tins of food on the ships are giving the men lead poisoning and attempts to warn the Erebus's surgeon, Dr. Stanley, who replies he has a "plan". After weeks of withdrawal, Crozier recovers in time to visit Fitzjames's carnival, and is disturbed by the breakdown in naval discipline. Lady Silence sings and calls for the creature, asking it to accept her in her father's place and begins to cut off her own tongue, then walks towards the carnival. Crozier announces the plan to travel south overland to Fort Resolution, but is interrupted by Lady Silence. During the announcement and commotion, a mentally unhinged Dr. Stanley traps the men in the carnival before setting fire to himself and the tents, killing himself and many other men. The others manage to escape, but Dr. Peddie is killed in the blaze and Dr. McDonald is accidentally killed by Hickey when he cuts through the tent, leaving Goodsir as the last surgeon left in the expedition.
On April 22, 1848, Crozier gives the order to abandon the ships. The men soon depart on foot, and a patrol, including Crozier, Fitzjames and Terror's Sergeant Tozer, discovers that the party Crozier had sent ahead of them was massacred only eighteen miles from the ships by the Tuunbaq. Crozier, wanting to keep morale high, chooses to keep this from the men, along with the knowledge of the lead poisoning learned from Goodsir. After the crew reach King William Land, Hickey becomes aware of the bad tins and begins plotting a mutiny along with Tozer. While hunting for game, Hickey, Lieutenant John Irving, and petty officer Thomas Farr, come across a hunting party of friendly Netsilik, who provide Irving with seal meat. Hickey then murders both Irving and Farr.
Off-screen, Hickey lies to another hunting party, telling them that Irving and Farr were murdered by the Netsilik; the other party kills the Netsilik family in retaliation. After they return to camp a fog rolls in, worsening the men's fear about a surprise Netsilik attack. Hickey and Tozer open the camp's armoury and distribute weapons without Crozier's permission. Crozier has Goodsir conduct an autopsy on Lieutenant Irving, sees that he had recently eaten seal meat, and deduces that Hickey was responsible for the deaths and is planning a mutiny. He sentences Hickey and Tozer to hang, but the Tuunbaq, provoked by the Netsilik massacre, returns and attacks the camp. The Tuunbaq kills many men, but is wounded by a Congreve rocket fired by Fitzjames. In the chaos, Hickey and Tozer rally the mutineers, steal supplies and a sled, and disappear into the fog.
Hickey sets up camp and murders one of his own men, William Gibson. Goodsir, abducted by Hickey's men, is forced to cut up Gibson's body so that Hickey and his men can eat it. Crozier and his remaining men become malnourished and ill of lead poisoning, with many dying as they continue south. Fitzjames cannot bear the pain and is euthanized at his own request. Blanky's leg stump becomes gangrenous, and he volunteers to sacrifice himself by luring the Tuunbaq away from the rest of the survivors. In the process, he accidentally stumbles across the Northwest Passage just before the Tuunbaq finds and kills him. Later, Hickey's men ambush Crozier. After they have killed one of his men, Crozier surrenders, instructing Little to take charge and lead the remaining crew south.
Crozier is brought to Hickey's camp and, knowing that Hickey's men will eventually eat him, Goodsir poisons himself to poison the group except Crozier, who eats the unaffected soles of Goodsir′s feet. Hickey reveals that he killed the real Cornelius Hickey and has been impersonating him on the expedition to escape England, and sabotaged the crew's efforts to return. The Tuunbaq returns, killing Tozer and most of the mutineers. Hickey cuts off his tongue to control the creature, but it kills him before an injured Crozier manages to kill the creature, which had become weakened by the poisoned bodies. After being rescued by Lady Silence, Crozier learns that the rest of his men, including Little, have died. He adapts to the Inuit way of life. Following Inuit custom, Lady Silence, whose name is revealed to be Silna, is exiled for having "lost Tuunbaq". When members of a British search party led by Ross land two years later in September 1850, Crozier conceals himself from them and instructs the Inuit leader to tell them that everyone from the expedition is dead, that there is no Northwest Passage, and that they should not return. After eavesdropping on the conversation, Crozier departs to hunt seal.
The residents of Terminal Island are haunted by a series of mysterious unexplained deaths. Chester, a Japanese-American man, learns that his Mexican girlfriend Luz is pregnant, and contemplates his future. The men of Japanese ancestry are arrested after the news breaks that Japan has attacked Pearl Harbor.
An evacuation order is given for the residents of Terminal Island who are to be held in internment camps following the Pearl Harbor attack. Chester wants to leave with Luz but is later arrested after a local resident reports him to the FBI. Luz decides to join Chester after telling the FBI agents that she is carrying his child.
Chester and his family start to settle into life in the internment camp. Some of the residents believe that a bakemono is responsible for the events that have occurred. Furuya is arrested for assault and tells Chester that he wasn't responsible for his actions and that something had possessed him. The camp's children discover Furuya's body the next day in the nearby woods after Yuko kills him. Chester then accepts a translator job with the army and departs the camp. Concerned about the pregnancy, Luz meets with Yuko who is a posing as a midwife at the camp to assist her, but she is unaware that Yuko harbors a strong interest in Chester and their unborn child.
Chester is stationed in Guadalcanal where he works with the U.S. Army. While on assignment to locate a missing sergeant, Chester uncovers a secret code on a belt of a dead Japanese soldier. Believing he may be haunted by a Yūrei, Chester takes pictures near his camp and closely examines them. Yuko possesses an MP named Nessler and forces him to jump from a watchtower, killing him. Major Bowen believes that Nessler was drunk from contraband sake and orders a crackdown in the camp. Luz is heartened by Chester's letter and thinks about what life would be like when they have a family of their own. Asako takes Luz to see Dr. Kitemura after she goes into labor, which leads Yuko to possess Nurse Hasegawa so she can assist with her birth. But after a difficult labor, the twins are stillborn.
The Japanese Americans are forced to undertake a humiliating exercise that divides the community. Chester comes face to face with a man who forces him to question his very nature. Luz, stricken by grief after the tragedy, is forced to make an important choice.
A story of the past provides insight into the present evil that stalks the Terminal Islanders. Chester returns home to his family, only to find that someone he was searching for is gone. Henry and Asako are faced with a difficult decision.
The Nakayamas have been torn apart, and Chester searches for the person he believes can help, even if it means taking drastic action. A tuberculosis outbreak in the community forces Amy to act, though she's caught between doing what she's told and doing what's right.
Chester and Luz have reached a turning point in their relationship, one that causes an evil force to catch up to them. Amy must take matters into her own hands as she's tormented by a powerful nemesis. Chester meets a boy who gives him answers.
The Terminal Islanders return home to find that things have changed since they left. The Nakayamas, still tense from the pain they've inflicted on one another, must come together to battle the spirit that threatens their future.
As all seems lost, Henry and Asako must look to the past to provide answers to their current turmoil. Chester and Luz grapple with their identities in hopes of saving those who are dearest to them. Amy and Yamato-san struggle to once again assimilate to American life.
Production
Season 1
After the success of the show The Walking Dead, the American cable TV network AMC planned to create a horror TV series based on the novel The Terror.[40] In March 2016, it was confirmed that AMC ordered 10 episodes of the show, with an expected premiere date in 2018.
David Kajganich and Soo Hugh serve as co-showrunners, while Kajganich penned the adaptation. Ridley Scott, Alexandra Milchan, Scott Lambert, David W. Zucker, and Guymon Casady are executive producers.[41] In September 2016, it was announced that Tobias Menzies was cast as a series lead and the showrunners were seeking an Inuit woman, between the ages of 16 and 30, to play an unspecified 'major character', most likely Lady Silence.[42][43]
Most of the scenes on the ice were created using CGI.[44]
Season 2
The second season, titled The Terror: Infamy, and consisting of 10 episodes, is co-created by Max Borenstein and Alexander Woo, who also serves as the showrunner.[7]
Derek Mio plays the lead role of Chester Nakayama, a son of Japanese born immigrants who joins the army.[45]George Takei plays Yamato-san, a former fishing captain and community elder who was imprisoned with his family in two Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. Also cast are Kiki Sukezane as Yuko, a mysterious woman from Chester's past; Shingo Usami as Henry Nakayama, Chester's father; and Naoko Mori as Asako Nakayama, Chester's mother; and Miki Ishikawa as Amy, a Nakayama family friend. Takei also serves in a consulting role to ensure the accuracy of historical events and storytelling.[46]C. Thomas Howell was cast as Retired Major Hallowell Bowen, an official with the War Relocation Authority whose "presence looms over the Japanese-American characters in the story."[47]
Josef Kubota Wladyka directed the first two episodes of the season.[48] Production began on January 14, 2019, in Vancouver.[49]
The first season premiered on AMC in the United States and Canada on March 25, 2018, and concluded on May 21, 2018. It was released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video in every other country where the service is present (except Canada, the UK and some Middle Eastern countries) starting March 26, 2018. Amazon released most of the first season ahead of its broadcast on AMC. In the United Kingdom, The Terror premiered on AMC on April 24, 2018,[54] and BBC Two on March 3, 2021.[55]
Reception
Critical response
Season 1
The first season received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a 94% rating based on 70 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "A thriller wrapped in a prestige drama package, The Terror makes for gripping, atmospheric supernatural horror."[56] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the season has a score of 76 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[57]
Season 2
The second season also received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a 80% rating based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Real-world and supernatural horrors collide in Infamy, an exceptionally well-crafted ghost story that creeps under the skin and stays there."[58] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[59]
^Episodes 4 to 10 were released before their AMC broadcast on Amazon Prime Video in every country where the service is present except the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.[18][19]
^This episode was shown as a special preview on March 25, 2018, and then aired its official premiere on March 26, 2018.
