Saagar Kote
AMC’s adventure drama series ‘Nautilus,’ delves into the origin story of Captain Nemo and his legendary submarine, The Nautilus. The series follows the dispossessed Indian prince, now a captive of the East India Mercantile Company. Fueled by a burning desire for retribution against those who stripped him of everything, Nemo sets sail with his diverse crew aboard the impressive submarine. The previous episode ended with the Nautilus sinking to the bottom of the Arabian Sea, being bombarded by the keg bombs of the Dreadnought, and surrounded by a mysterious sea creature. As Captain Nemo figures out an escape, Blaster is held at gunpoint by a mysterious soldier of the Company, who has been hiding inside the submarine.
The Sentience of Whales Saves The Day
As the Nautilus comes under heavy attack from the Dreadnought, it finds itself at the bottom of the Arabian Sea with a sea creature circling it. Meanwhile, Mr. Harris, the radio expert at the Dreadnought, hears a clicking sound, unsure of what it means. Captain Nemo decides to use an underwater suit to swim out of the submarine and draw the huge mysterious creature surrounding them away from the area. Nemo risks his own life for the sake of the crew and swims closer to the mysterious creature, which knocks him down. He falls to the bottom of the ocean floor, but manages to pick himself up. When all hope seems lost and the creature is about to destroy the Nautilus, the whales come to the rescue, driving the dangerous being away from the submarine.
In a heartwarming moment, Benoit reveals that whales are sentient beings who saved their ship as a gesture of gratitude for Nemo’s selfless act of saving the whales from whalers in the previous episode. The Dreadnought is still in pursuit of the submarine, but the protagonist uses a diversion tactic by randomly firing torpedos, which confuses Crawley and others at the attacking ship, who assume that the Nautilus is on the move again. As the East India Company’s ship tracks the torpedoes, believing it to be the submarine, Nemo and the crew escape. Archie, the four-legged friend of Blaster, leads Humility Lucas to Edward, the mysterious Company soldier who is holding Blaster at gunpoint.
The Need For Food and Water Drives The Nautilus to an Unknown Territory
The crew of the submarine realizes that they are running out of food and water, which leads them on a risky adventure to an island believed to be inhabited by cannibals. As the group headed by Nemo reaches the island, they are apprehended by an unknown king and his men. The royal man, who is only referred to as “Rajah,” spots Captain Nemo and says that he looks like someone he recognizes, the former Maharajah of Bundelkhand. Nemo is taken aback and admits that he is the son of the former king. Nemo’s real name is revealed to be Dakkar, the heir to the throne of Bundelkhand. The Nautilus crew is shocked after hearing this and is unsure how to react. Rajah offers the crew food and supplies due to his mysterious past with Nemo’s father. However, Humility claims that the captain held her in the submarine against her will and wishes to be freed.
As a result of this, Rajah initially takes only Miss Lucas with him to his royal town. On the way to the palace, Humility tells Rajah that she wants to go to America to pursue her dreams in the field of science. Meanwhile, at the Nautilus, Nemo realizes that he desperately needs Rajah’s help to set sail again on his adventure to the Pillars of Halvar. Upon reaching the palace, Humility and her royal host have a conversation about Nemo’s mysterious past. Rajah tells her that the captain’s wife and daughter were mercilessly killed by the East India Company, and that his lands were seized when he was studying in England. The host also tells Humility that he couldn’t save his family and that he had been taken prisoner. The brutality of the Company took everything away from Nemo, leaving him stateless and disgraced.
A Case of Betrayals in the Past and the Present
Nemo and his crew go to the royal town of Rajah for supplies. During their visit, Edward, the mysterious soldier, implores the captain to allow him to join the crew. Upon their arrival at the palace entrance, Rajah greets the crew and agrees to imprison Edward. Rajah takes Benoit to the library to show him his books, including an original manuscript of Alexander von Humboldt’s Kosmos. In the library, Rajah also shows Benoit William Dampier’s diaries. The mysterious royal presents Nemo with a photograph of his father attending an East India Company dinner. He asserts that the Company was set to inherit his father’s lands upon his death, provided there is no living heir. The host claims that Nemo’s father must have sent him away to London to disown him. Hearing this, Nemo is shocked.
While the royal host distracts everyone, members of the Nautilus crew find the Rajah’s supplies to be infested with maggots and useless. Meanwhile, Nemo examines the photo in the office, stealing it, just as a telegram arrives. The East India Company, through the telegram, offers the king a large sum for the Nautilus and the capture of its prisoners. Nemo’s attempt to hold his host at gunpoint is thwarted by the royal guards. Rajah reveals that he had to accept the terms of the Company and that they would be there to apprehend the Nautilus crew in an hour. The deceptive host imprisons the captain, following which Edward is freed. Meanwhile, Humility discovers in an underground area that children are being used as slaves to serve Rajah in the boiler room.
A Revolt Fires Up the Situation at the Palace
Humility takes the children out of the boiler room and to the royal feast. The crew soon learns that their host is not a kind man, as he mistreats a child named Amaal. Jagadish tries to rile up the oppressed people present at the feast to revolt against their abuser. As Amaal’s father joins in, the rest follow, leading to a civil conflict between the oppressed and Rajah’s soldiers. Edward tells Humility about Nemo’s imprisonment, following which she breaks him out of captivity. As the engineer and the captain run across the palace to escape, they are pursued by the soldiers. They jump and climb on a horse, hoping to gallop their way to freedom, while being chased.
In a shocking twist, Edward destroys the telegram machine, but before that, he uses it to send a message elsewhere. When Jagadish discovers this, Edward shoots him, which shows that he is not as innocent as he previously presented himself to be. Humility and the captain reach the submarine, while Kai and Loti arrive with food supplies. Nemo tells the crew that they have to leave the town immediately. As the group prepares to leave, they spot the menacing Dreadnought heading towards them. Rajah takes Jagadish captive, and Edward lies to the crew that Jagadish was taken forcefully by royal guards, hiding his involvement in the incident. With the Dreadnought fast approaching, Nemo looks on, hoping to make it out of his predicament.
Read More: Is Nautilus Based on a True Story?
