History Series / TheTerror

** The show (and book) follow earlier literature in assuming that the "Aglooka" mentioned by native witness accounts was the same man and that his identitity was Crozier, [[spoiler:which would mean Crozier survived long after the ships became trapped and was probably one of the last survivors]]. However it's been [[https://visionsnorth.blogspot.com/2011/09/aglooka.html pointed out]] that the "Aglooka" encounters are inconsistent enough to presume that different bands of Inuit met different groups of Franklin Expedition survivors and gave the "Aglooka" name to a different man each time ("Aglooka" was likely the Inuktitut word ''Aglukaq'', meaning "long strider"). The claim that Crozier was given the name in his earlier expeditions to the Arctic, and the Netsilik man identifying him from his daguerreotype are likewise fictional (though the latter is loosely based on a Netsilik man who claimed to have met the second-in-command of the Expedition while still in the ships, and produced two spoons with Crozier's initials as evidence).

** The show (and book) follow earlier literature in assuming that the "Aglooka" mentioned by native witness accounts was the same man and that his identitity was Crozier, [[spoiler:which would mean Crozier survived long after the ships became trapped and was probably one of the last survivors]]. However it's been [[https://visionsnorth.blogspot.com/2011/09/aglooka.html pointed out]] that the "Aglooka" encounters are inconsistent enough to presume that different bands of Inuit met different groups of Franklin Expedition survivors and gave the "Aglooka" name to a different man each time ("Aglooka" was likely the Inuktitut word ''Aglukaq'', meaning "long strider").

* SecretHistory: The final episode reveals [[spoiler:that Crozier joined the Inuit and purposely left tales that he had died to stop searches for him.]]

* YourTomcatIsPregnant: When Sir John is gifted Jacko, he immediately remarks that the monkey is actually female. He keeps the name anyway.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Essentially the entire cast, with the notable exceptions of Lady Silence, her father and [[spoiler: the Tuunbaq.]]

* HolierThanThou: The most outspokenly religious character, Sir John Franklin, is a classist xenophobe who has a dead Inuit's body disposed of like trash, at the same time he is preparing the eulogy of a British soldier and friend of his. He even remarks that they have only lost one man.

** The show (and book) follow earlier literature in assuming that the "Aglooka" mentioned by native witness accounts was the same man and that his identitity was Crozier, [[spoiler:which would mean Crozier survived long after the ships became trapped and was probably one of the last survivors]]. However it's been [[https://visionsnorth.blogspot.com/2011/09/aglooka.html pointed out]] that the "Aglooka" encounters are inconsistent enough to presume that different bands of Inuit met different groups of Franklin Expedition survivors and gave the "Aglooka" name to a different man each time (likely the Inuktitut word ''Aglukaq'', meaning "long strider").

** Fitzjames is said to have sailed the coast of Namibia, which wasn't known by that name until 1990 (besides, the concept of "Namibia" as a place was created by the Germans when they established their Southwest Africa colony in 1884).

** Fitzjames is said to have sailed off the coast of Namibia, which wasn't known by that name until 1990 (the very concept of "Namibia" as a place was created by the Germans when they established their Southwest Africa colony in 1884).

** Fitzjames is said to have sailed off the coast of Namibia, which wasn't known by that name until 1990 (and the very concept of "Namibia" as a place was created by the Germans when they established their Southwest Africa colony in 1884).

--> Crozier: For the crimes of insubordination, dereliction of duty, desertion, kidnapping, brutality, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and dirtiness]], Petty Officer Cornelius Hickey will be [[UpToEleven flogged 30 lashes.]] As a boy.

* NiceHat: The ship's officers wear the CommissarCap, but Franklin wears a plumed bicorne hat and BadassCape.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: The only named characters to survive the series are Lady Jane, Sophia, John and James Clark Ross, Crozier, and Lady Silence/Silna.]]

** After they’re caught fooling around, Hickey discovers Gibson has sold him out to Lieutenant Irving, though Gibson insists this betrayal was necessary to spare them both from a more severe punishment. In the penultimate episode of the season, [[spoiler: Hickey repays this previous backstab by literally stabbing Gibson in the back, though this too (in theory) is done to spare the other further suffering.]]

* GallowsHumor: Blanky, facing the imminent amputation of his leg, asks Crozier to serve everyone a shot of whisky from his bottle, stating that he feels like he and the Tuunbag have just gotten engaged and he feels like celebrating. Much later on, [[spoiler: as he's preparing to lure the Tuunbaq away from the rest of the crew, he starts cackling gleefully when Crozier realizes why he wants [[RegretEatingMe forks and rope]].]]

* HeroesLoveDogs: Franklin and Crozier to Neptune, in contrast to Hickey who wants to eat him.

** Franklin also served as this for his niece, Sophia.
* PolarMadness: The expedition has to deal with [[GrimUpNorth brutal cold]], [[AlwaysNight long periods of unending darkness]], [[BravingTheBlizzard constant snowstorms]], [[GoMadFromTheIsolation near-total isolation]], [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident dwindling and tainted provisions]], [[SnowedIn ice that is slowly squeezing their trapped ships to pieces]], and [[EldritchAbomination the giant, angry bear-demon-thing that keeps showing up to kill them in increasingly horrible ways]]. It's no wonder that more than a few of them snap under the pressure.

* RiddleForTheAges: When Crozier finds Lt Little's party, their camp is in ruins, with bits of equipment and clothing strewn about the place, the half-eaten remains of at least one crewmember are sitting in a pot, the rest are lying together dead and Little, still barely clinging to life, has pierced his face with gold chains. He lives long enough to mutter a cryptic "Close" to Crozier before expiring. Neither Crozier nor the audience learn how it came to pass. Even stranger, this part, down to the facial piercings, [[ShownTheirWork is true.]]
* SeadogBeard: Blanky has a long beard.

* SergeantRock: Solomon Tozer of the Royal Marines. [[spoiler: Until he joins up with Hickey.]]

** [[spoiler:Fitzjames' entire backstory, including the war story he brags about at dinner as well as his confession of his origins, comes from a biography of his real life counterpart by William Battersby, published a few years after Dan Simmons' novel. When the novel was written, not much was known about him aside from his then-present reputation as a cheerful, handsome war hero and a general assumption that he had "connections".]]

** Later when the crew are putting on a masquerade as a morale-builder, Fitzjames (Menzies) is looking through the costume trunk (TruthInTelevision: expedition ships often had things like costumes, libraries, and later gramaphones to entertain crew on isolated missions.) The outfit he settles on? A Roman costume that's extremely similar to Brutus's. Possibly combining this with foreshadowing-it's almost a copy of what Brutus is wearing [[spoiler: when he dies.]]

** Between the publication of Dan Simmons' book and the premiere of this series, the wrecks of both the ''Erebus'' and the ''Terror'' were discovered; what archaeologists have learned from the remains has been incorporated into the series, altering the book's climax. (It was thought for 160 years or so that the ships never moved again once they were stuck in the ice. Discovery of the wrecks showed that they in fact moved down the coast of King William Island a fair distance. So in this show, Crozier leaves a skeleton crew behind to pilot the ships in case they ever see open water.)

* AllTrollsAreDifferent: The Tuunbaq is a gigantic, cannibalistic bear with curiously humanoid features, which may have provided the inspiration for the malevolent Jotunns of Scandinavian folklore (the Vikings having encountered and traded with the Inuit centuries earlier).

** In his first scene, Fitzjames is bragging about the bullet he took in China. In a later episode, [[spoiler:his old bullet scar reopens due to scurvy and becomes infected]].

* CoolBoat: The two ships of the expedition are the most advanced of their time, with heated bunks and a propeller instead of the paddlewheels normally seen on early steam warships. Not that it does them much good in the Arctic...

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The crew manage to wound and fend off the Tuunbaq, after it sets it sights on Blanky. This is the first indication that, unlike the book, this version of the Tuunbaq has a consistent corporeal form. And if it can be wounded...

** The episode title "Gore" can serve as referring to the NiceGuy Lieutenant, as well as the violent end he meets.

** Blanky, realizing that with his gangrenous leg he has no hope, leaves the main party in an effort to draw the Tuunbaq to him instead. He also ties as many forks to himself as the surviving sailors can spare, to make himself as unpleasant a meal as possible. When the Tuunbaq does show up, Blanky laughs in the face of death and says, "What in the name of God took you so fucking long?"
** A haggard Goodsir, clad only in his nightshirt, smears his body with poison and drinks some more poison, to kill Hickey's men when they cannibalize him. Then he makes a point to dress up in his full uniform before lying down on his cot and slitting his wrists.

'''Sir John:''' For all your sakes, let's hope you're wrong.

** First a minor outbreak of tuberculosis occurs during the first winter, killing off a handful of the crew.

** [[spoiler: Then a scouting team accidentally shoots an Inuit shaman and appear to have incurred the wrath of a monster which kills several of the party,]] [[spoiler:including Franklin.]]

** When Goodsir brings that last tidbit to the attention of Dr Stanley, [[spoiler: Stanley appears to be driven to despair and madness by the almost certain death sentence that has been given to the party, and sets the Carnivale tent ''and himself'' on fire. Two of those to die in the disaster are Dr. Macdonald and Dr. Peddie, leaving Goodsir as the last medical man in both crews.]]
** When the crews abandon ''Erebus'' and ''Terror'', Crozier and a few other men discover that the advance party that was sent out months before had been killed by the Tuunbaq, only a few miles from the ships -- so there's no hope of rescue coming.

** An off-screen example is what befalls [[spoiler: Lieutenant Little and the remaining crewmen who elect to follow Crozier's order to leave him behind, even though he hoped they wouldn't actually do that. When Crozier finds their camp after several weeks under Lady Silence's care, all that remains are broken down and destroyed tents, half eaten bodies and severed limbs in cookpots, and the dying Edward Little, whose face is now covered in golden chains sewn into his cheeks and lip and is so far gone he can only blankly stare at Crozier and utter "close" before expiring.]]
* GoingColdTurkey: Crozier, who is the first to realize that he cannot go on being TheAlcoholic as things are going bad, tells his officer that he's going to be locked up in his room for a while. He even says "[[NoMatterHowMuchIBeg I may beg]]," but that the other officers are to carry on without him until he gets dry. Attended only by his loyal steward Jopson, Crozier eventually kicks alcohol.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Ross had sailed with Crozier on a previous Arctic expedition.

* HowWeGotHere: The first scene of the series features James Ross, leading a rescue party in 1850, making contact with the Netsilik and finding out that all the men of the Franklin expedition died. Then we jump back to 1846 and the start of the story proper, as Franklin and his ships approach the Arctic ice.

** Sir John seems like a good guy, until we find out that he forbids his niece from marrying the perfectly honorable Crozier on account of his Irish heritage.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: The only named characters to survive the series are Lady Jane, Sophia, John and James Ross, Crozier, and Lady Silence/Silna.]]

* LastKiss: After Peglar dies, Bridgens kisses his hand.

* MagicVersusTechnology: [[spoiler: The supernatural Tuunbaq against the well equipped steamboat crew.]]

** The remnants of Crozier's loyalists make a more subdued one. When Lt. Little, senior of the two officers they have left, says they must go back and rescue Crozier, the men simply refuse to do it. They also refuse to obey Crozier's command to take the sick with them, instead leaving the sickest and weakest men to die in their tents.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The expedition sails on the ''Terror'' and the ''Erebus'' (Greek god of darkness). Both ships were war vessels before being converted for exploration.

** Lt. Graham Gore is shown to be a friendly officer who treats the men of his scouting party very fairly, taking one of the haul lines to pull their boat and equipment when he could easily pawn the hard work off on the enlisted men, [[spoiler: until he becomes the Tuunbaaq’s first victim]].

* NoMatterHowMuchIBeg: Crozier does this before GoingColdTurkey. Acutely aware that he ''must'' quit drinking so he can lead the men, he tells Jopson and his officers to shut him up in his cabin, and leave him there until he's through withdrawal, even though "I may beg." They do, and he makes it.

** Franklin himself is about sixty, and Crozier about seven years younger.

* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler:At the very beginning of the first episode, when Ross is questioning the Inuk leader (via interpreter) about what happened to the Franklin expedition, and is told Crozier's last words, someone sitting outside the tent gets up and walks away. In the final episode it turns out that person was ''Crozier,'' walking away from the prospect of returning to England and maintaining the lie he asked the Inuit leader to tell.]]

* RiddleForTheAges: When Crozier finds Lt Little's party, the remains of the camp is strewn about the place, the cooked remains of at least one crewmember is lying around half-eaten, the rest are lying together dead and Little, still barely clinging to life, has pierced his face with gold chains. He lives long enough to mutter a cryptic "Close" to Crozier before expiring. Neither Crozier nor the audience learn how it came to pass. Even stranger, this part, down to the facial piercings, [[ShownTheirWork is true.]]

* SecretlyDying: Though the Expedition as a whole starts taking awful damage from lead poisoning, scurvy, and general lack of adequate medical care, [[spoiler:Fitzjames and Blanky]] both try to conceal the grave extent of their personal injuries. [[spoiler:Fitzjames is forced to give up the charade when he collapses on the haul; Crozier sees the blood staining Fitzjames’s clothes from his old war wounds reopening and gently but firmly insists that Fitzjames be placed in the whaleboats instead of walking. The jarring from the whaleboat itself causes Fitzjames to cry out in pain, and it’s clear from that point on that he doesn’t have much longer. Shortly after his death, Blanky in turn reveals that his stump leg has gone gangrenous and asks Crozier to let him go before he ends up in similar condition.]]
* SelfImmolation: [[spoiler: Dr. Stanley, in an attempt to mass-MercyKill everyone during the Carnevale.]]
* SergeantRock: Solomon Tozer of the Royal Marines.
* ShadowArchetype: Hickey becomes this to both Crozier (as an underappreciated, overworked lower-class Irishman) and Fitzjames. [[spoiler:Both Hickey and Fitzjames received their positions on the ship through dubious means- Hickey performed a KillAndReplace on the real Cornelius Hickey, and Fitzjames, whose career in the navy began in the first place when his foster family glossed over his volunteer record to get him promoted to midshipman without his actually having done the prerequisite duty, got the appointment in thanks from paying to cover up a scandal involving an admiral’s son. Hickey proves to be almost totally amoral, while Fitzjames, uncomfortably aware of being a fraud, is ultimately a good man who does everything he can to try to deserve what he has.]]

** Near the end, Crozier finds an abandoned camp left by Little's party; among the detritus are several books, pages flapping in the wind. In RealLife the remnants of Franklin crew members were found with quite a bit of stuff that was pretty useless for desperate men trying to make a forced march before they starved to death, like a copy of a novel, ''The Vicar of Wakefield''.
** [[spoiler:Finally Crozier crosses a frozen strait and finds the last camp, where everyone is dead except Little, who gasps out the word "Close?" and then expires. The last remnants of the Franklin expedition were found at just such a place on the Canadian mainland, now called "Starvation Cove".]]

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Both the series and the book it's based on follow the the real life Franklin's Expedition and mostly accurate depict the widely accepted account of events that caused the tragic failure of the expedition. However, one major departure from real events is the inclusion of the Tuunbaq, which is a completely fictional embellishment.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Or the cat, as it were. We never discover the fate of Fagin, the ship's cat. It's likely she was either eaten for food, or starved to death on ''The Terror'' when the vermin ran out.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Franklin is given a MischiefMakingMonkey by his wife.

** A subtle one regarding Hickey's identity. In Episode 2 Crozier comments that Hickey doesn't sound Irish, which Hickey says is because he's lived in England a long time. Hickey also responds that Crozier 'gives hope to the rest of us micks.' Mick is a derogatory term for an Irish person, so unlikely to be used by one. Look closely, and Crozier gives a slight reaction to this. [[spoiler: When we meet the real Hickey briefly at the beginning of episode seven, he indeed speaks with a typical Irish accent.]]

** A subtle one regarding Hickey's identity. In Episode 2 Crozier comments that Hickey doesn't sound Irish, which Hickey says is because he's lived in England a long time. Hickey also responds that Crozier 'gives hope to the rest of us micks.' Mick is a derogatory term for an Irish person, so unlikely to be used by one. Look closely, and Crozier gives a slight reaction to this.

* SeadogBeard: Blanky has a long BadassBeard.

[[folder:W-Z]]* WhenHeSmiles: The characters don't smile often, but when they do, their faces light up and the mood is almost always just a little lifted.