The Terror - John Bridgens & Henry Peglar (all scenes)

[@HamburgerTime209]

The relationship between Peglar and Bridgens is inspired by one of only 3 written documents to be recovered from the expedition; The Peglar Papers. Sometimes called the Dead Sea Scrolls of the North. On the southern coast of King William Island, the McClintock Expedition discovered a skeleton, lying facedown in the gravel, just as the intuits had said they had “dropped and died as they walked”. This skeleton was thought to be the remains of a steward, as he had a clothes brush and hair comb on him, as well as from the way he had knotted his kerchief. No one else would wear it that way unless they were a steward. In the pocket of this skeleton they found a pocket-book containing the seaman’s certificate of HMS Terror’s Captain of the Foretop (senior sailor in charge of crew who rigged the upper part of the foremast) Henry Peglar, and a battered sheaf of papers written in what they thought at first to be German, but was actually a baffling set of letters written in English but _backwards_ . Why it was written this way, no one knows, it’s been speculated that it was an attempt at privacy on a cramped ship (the novel posits that Peglar was dyslexic, which I like a lot better). In addition it was clear that the author was clearly barely literate, as nearly every word was badly mispelled. So it took a while for these letters to be decoded. But most frustrating of all is that what little can be made of the letters seem to be about reminiscing the man’s experiences in warm tropical climates, and hardly anything about the expedition. Some phrases can be discerned to be about seemingly current at that time events, like “brekfest to be short rations” and “we will have his new boots in the middel watch”, “whose is this coffee?”, “… as we have got some very hard ground to heave a…”, “…all my art Tom for I dont think for…”, “the Terror camp clear”. A lot of stuff that seems like might tell us a lot about what happened on the expedition if there was just a bit more context. Anyways, so the letters were thought to be written by Peglar, as they had his seaman’s certificate among them, but clearly the body was not his, as no sailor would ever have a reason to tie his neckerchief like a steward. The body is commonly thought to be that of Armitage, or Gibson (I don’t know why not Bridgens, maybe because he was from Erebus instead of Terror), as they both had served aboard other vessels with Peglar. Whoever it was it was a very touching thing to do, and makes for a good foundation to build this fictional but entirely possible pairing (Although it’s worth pointing out that the real Bridgens was 26 in 1845, not 62 as depicted in the show and book).

[@captainsharpeNEL]

That's very nice coming from someone who's very invested in the topic and optimist and romantic. now let me play the cold pessimist realist and tell me if you can deny with facts this: No one almost knew how to read back then, and letters are either for his family (seen in movies dying soldiers asking comrade to take their letters to kin?) and when he was about to pass or way before it he made a pact with the skeleton guy to carry it onwards, either a journal to himself, either stories in which he imagined being in same condition only in a warm climate as a way to get warm and cheer himself up, maybe he wrote then read it to others as story time. now same thing about the kerchief- it was cold. you would tie anything you have in the best way to block wind and cold, if you need to walk outside in the cold. change my mind?

[@lovelandfrog5692]

The actor who plays Bridgens has the kindest face.

[@nat68446]

The actor is John Lynch, he’s brilliant

[@scorpiolady73]

I love this relationship. The way he kisses his hand and smiles. The actor who played Bridgens brought such tenderness to the role. I loved his last moments with Fitzjames. "There will be poems". 🥰 the way he walked off into the distance. Swashbuckly! I love the C....I love the C...I love the C...what a lovely thing for a sailor to recite

[@scorpiolady73]

Find a Bridgens to love and love you back!

[@captainyossarian388]

1:59 Love that moment. I was like "Awwwww." These two are so sweet together, such a contrast to the toxic relationship of Hickey and the other gent.

[@sabrinayyx3612]

Totally. I wanted to love Hickey/Gibson but they were just too nasty to each other:( I'm glad they at least gave us these two to make up for it :) lol

[@Styxswimmer]

@@sabrinayyx3612 my son and I were watching this and my nephew was visiting. My nephew started spouting about how gays are gross and an abomination. I was kinda mad and I told him we should all just let others live their lives and that there are many gay couples happily married and many straight marriages that are toxic. He just spouted more Bible nonsense and I had his mom pick him up. 🙄

[@tedflanc1024]

After watching the series, I read the book. In the novel Bridgens was credited as being the oldest crew member by age. There was even an entire subplot in the book regarding a romantic relationship between Bridgens and Peglar. Bridgens fate in the series mirrors that in the novel perfectly. He wandered off into the frozen wasteland, lied down, closed his eyes and died!!!

[@henriquecesardesouzasilva8766]

Although Bridgens death in the series is quite faithful to that of his book counterpart, I find interesting that Peglar fate is quite different, with his death being a lot more gruesome in the book.

[@franz.francisco]

@@henriquecesardesouzasilva8766 a lot of things are more gruesome in the book. i think the show's writers were trying to be more respectful to the real people, since every character in the book (and by extension, the show) are based on, and named after real people who took part in the real expedition

[@mirandad6378]

@@franz.francisco his death in the book was falling in the water and freezing in the boat right? the monster even refrained from ripping him to shreds. seems as likely a way to die on the ice as anything else and FAR less gruesome than scurvy or botulism.

[@franz.francisco]

@@mirandad6378 i wasn't speaking of bridgens in specific, but a lot of other deaths are more gruesome, not all are, though.

[@karolinakunka8863]

I love them both so much, so much tenderness between them 🥺

[@131alexa]

Nice compilation. This subplot has

[@freakazoidas]

I remember being thought that love and hate are two emotions that keep you going when you are a prisoner of war, or being tortured or being in a desperate situation with seemingly no way out. Essentially trying to stay alive to come back to your loved one or to hurt someone who put you in this situation. And since here there is no-one to blame for years of bad weather and Bridges looses the one person that was keeping him going - it's only human that he would break and give up.

[@fireemblemistrash75]

Seeing him curl up and die alone, it brings out emotions of such sadness seeing grown men, veterans even of arctic exploration or long voyages, give up like this. As if this was the closest thing to comfort he could find before he finally passes away, but alone, truly at one with nothing. This series has so many moments that have had me think to a level my English literature teachers failed to ignite within me. This series has truly unlocked certain fears and emotions within me, and that nature is indeed brutal yet gentle. As brutal as ice bergs gouging out the hull of a ship, a coarse rock grinding against a skull, yet something about these men freezing or starving is such a slow, almost gentle way to die. Reminds me of the book “to build a fire” so short but defines the fear of the cold as something slow, and painful.

[@redsary44]

I'm so naive I didn't realize it was like a romantic thing until the last scene where Bridgens just lays down to die from sadness .

[@florencechang2354]

I don't think is it's romantic, more like a father-son relation. He chose to die alone because there's no hope in survival and there's no one he needs to be strong for.

[@lynzzzify]

@@florencechang2354 in the book it's confirmed as romantic; the show takes a subtle approach (which is pretty realistic as there would be a lot of stigma and very little privacy) but the depth of intimacy is pretty clear

[@Curtis69213]

@@florencechang2354nope

[@lucysinclaire4935]

7:19 - someone else (on tumblr I think) pointed out that the symbol in the book is Henry's sketch of John's tattoo - you can just about glimpse the tattoo in the same scene on the inner part of John's forearm (left arm, near the elbow crook).

[@Looming_ewe]

Oh that's soooo good 😭💖

[@Styxswimmer]

Sometimes what gets people through extreme trials is their loved ones. When that's gone, they give up. They have nothing left. Once his partner was dead he had nothing left to fight for. Such a sad scene.

[@valeykt8248]

то, как во второй сценке бридженс и пеглар прикоснулись друг другу, держась за книгу... такое нежное, ласковое прикосновение, переполненное любовью и уважением. так жаль, что у них мало совместных сцен, мне очень сильно хотелось бы увидеть больше сцен, как они взаимодействуют: читают друг другу, обсуждают сюжеты, смеются над какой-нибудь шуткой :(

[@Looming_ewe]

Me too 😭 I would have loved to see more scenes with them, just living their lives in each other's company, being happy together... 😔

[@DrewSew]

I prefer Harry's death in the show to that in the book. It's so sweet that he died in the company of the one person he loved.

[@Id_have_all_birds_in_zoos]

Definitely a stark contrast to the book’s version of his death :(

[@nono-su3iu]

good upload. very emotional scenes in an already top notch series

[@diogenesborealis7852]

The Xenophon reference is excellent, because everyone expects Platon.

[@justinhamilton8647]

I thoought they were like father and son until I read the book lol im so dumb. their relationship is as heartbreaking and as engaging as crozier & fitzjames. what a brilliant series

[@matteotorre2711]

8:50 name title of the soundtrack?

[@AimForMyHead81]

I've looked everywhere but can't find it

[@matteotorre2711]

@@AimForMyHead81 me too

[@MrFeastablesChocolate]

It’s probably buried somewhere in the composer’s KZbin channel

[@redcardinalist]

Hmm good qeustion there's probably a soundtrack release for the series (although whether this particular bit it on it is a g ood question)

[@kingofthemonsters8357]

It’s now been released as “Last Draughts, Last Best Efforts X” as part of The Last Sunset of the Year, the composer’s final album.

[@ianaspinall7948]

I love bridgens

[@Freaknovitch]

can someone explain what the significance of the bird is...?

[@filippoguidi9544]

I think the appearance of a seagull is important because seagulls feed on fish and they can catch them only in ice free waters. Open waters is what the men on the expedition have been effortlessly looking for to escape their fate. A flying bird is also a symbol of liberty. Birds can fly free without experiencing the physical obstacles and boundaries that limit men.

[@jodysanders6445]

@@filippoguidi9544 Excellent interpretation, my fellow human being

[@walterwallman3566]

A white bird is a symbol of peace. After harry see's it he dies in the next scene while Bridgens reads his poetry and then goes out to die himself, both dying relatively peaceful deaths

[@AshHanks-nl5bn]

Well as above, close to a food source & possible rescue. I have to say, changing the subject if you don't mind too much, before I picked my phone up & started to scroll through KZbin I was feeling quite chipper, then I watched this clip & I feel rather less chipper.

[@redcardinalist]

Worth mentioning here that "Herodotus" (whichever book it is) would be in Latin or Greek so both our friends are well educated

[@lucysinclaire4935]

Just piggy-backing your comment. To those that didn't read the book, it's explained that Bridgens taught Peglar to read (English as well as Greek and Latin) and that during those lessons its Peglar that pursued the older man (who was known to be gay). They both find this amusing because the "norm" in sailor life was for older men to prey on the younger/inexperienced lads (See: Hickey 🤮)

[@redcardinalist]

@lucysinclaire4935 Many thanks for the further info.

[@Rajeswarmohanty]

great movie .. i enjoyed a lot

[@_Glorie_]

🥰😭🥰

[@CeeJay-ft7ec]

🤢

[@claymac7895]

Whoever came up with the idea to pull those boats for hundreds of miles, with no food, was a real genius I tell you.

[@Peoples_Republic_of_Devonshire]

It was the least bad option. They had a large quantity of supplies and equipment to bring with them which was far more than could be carried on their backs. So they needed a means of portage. More than that, their best bet of being rescued was to attract the attention of a passing ship or to get to a settlement. That means they vitally needed the boats, they absolutely could not leave them behind if they wanted to get out.

[@litorres4125]

@@Peoples_Republic_of_Devonshire They were basically fucked and going for broke

[@redcardinalist]

well it was either that or stay and die with the ships. what would you do?

[@doomdude69]

Part of their trek South would have had involved crossing a vast sea to reach another mainland. There wasnt any land mass connecting them - remember they were on an island - well they didnt know it was an island but whatever they mapped was part of that island. Sadly, they never reached the shore cause they all died. The boats were mandatory to cross that body of water. It was so far south that those waters were not frozen. Imagine going South without a boat, they'd be stranded on the beach. We can argue all day if that was the right thing to do, but remember, they didnt have the luxury of knowing their fates - we do.

[@Adrfhrhg]

🥺

[@pipisroom-rf2ll]

am i the only one thta tought they were father and son ??? am i stupid???

[@allikat3730]

I thought so too! It doesn't help that they had one man with a boyish young face and an older man with greying hair. Still thought their relationship was very sweet, but it was only after I was going through some wiki pages that I discovered they have a romance subplot in the book and potentially irl

[@michaelr3583]

The arctic is supposed to be sub zero and they are walking around with no coats on. If it was that warm the ships wouldnt be icelocked

[@TheAsymmetrical]

Theyre on Kitikmeot in the middle of summer, temperatures there are 20-25 degrees these days. They're far away from the boats at this point and this isn't your 2020s polar ice, this is 1800s polar ice. This and they are in coats and insulating wear most of the time, it's just not cold enough to cause frostbite.

[@redcardinalist]

as per TAs reply. Go learn something before commentating and looking ignorant....

[@michaelr3583]

@@TheAsymmetrical OK. why can't we see thier breaths? Is 1800's air different too?

[@TheAsymmetrical]

@@michaelr3583probably cleaner, but no. because as I said. It's summer.

[@michaelr3583]

@@TheAsymmetrical they abandoned the ships in the ice in the summer so they could have a full 6 months to walk the ice in daylight. The ships were still trapped in ice in the summer. water freezes at 32F. The directors just messed up.

[@scottliverpool7187]

Gay

[@valeykt8248]

very very gay

[@captainyossarian388]

Gentle and tender love.

[@jimmy2k4o]

It’s the navy, it’s doesn’t count. Lol

[@silviabelluomini2456]

Yes they are. So?

[@131alexa]

Nothing gets past you, does it?