Undertaking
Episode 4 of The Nevers begins with Mary’s funeral. Somber music swells, all of our Touched join together and mourners sing. In the middle of all this, Amalia decides to drink at the bar. That is, until she gets involved in a bar brawl. Some wisecracking jokes later, Amalia splashes on top of these men after jokingly telling another that’s “see him in a minute.” Amalia has decided to hide her pain, as we soon find out, claiming women will be killed for using their voice. It’s a bit of a double entendre, partly referencing Mary’s song and also her own issues with the patriarchy. This is soon shown in action though when a woman called Effie Boyle shows up looking to speak to Mundi. The other reporters are not happy to see her, but she remains determined to help find who killed Mary. Mundi doesn’t give her much time but does confirm it’s definitely a Touched. Lord Massen meanwhile continues to proverbially slap his workers into submission. He tells them all they can be replaced at any time by a number of foreigners, warning them to play ball. Back at the sanctuary, Amalia’s absence from the funeral sees murmurs bubbles up – spearheaded by Annie questioning Amalia’s loyalty to the cause. Amalia suddenly shows back up though and confirms the big man with the chains last episode was called Nicholas Perbal. Or Odium to those who know him. Anyway, Amalia tasks Penance and the others to start drawing up a list of suspects. Those suspects could well include a Touched betraying them all so they’ll need to be vigilant. That’s certainly easier said than done, especially with so many people hating the Touched – and the extra recruits joining them all. Dr Horatio draws up a list, including Massen and the Beggar King. Well, the gang decides to split up, with Amalia heading off to visit Massen. Interestingly, another name on the list is Lavinia Bidlow. Given she’s playing both sides of the conflict, it seems likely that it could well be her. Mundi is also on the hunt, hot-headed and desperate for answers. He heads straight to Hugo and confronts him. It’s a brief chat, but one that certainly makes an impact. Penance meanwhile, heads up to visit Augie who’s currently controlling the birds in the sky. He’s nervous and struggles to get his words out when faced with Penance. Eventually Hugo tells her he wants to be friends. His nervous persona allows Penance to see the truth; he was the one who sent the wreath to Mary. Annie heads to see the Beggar King, burning as she goes. Among those in attendance is a nonchalant chap in the alleyways called Nimble Jack. He tries to win Annie over with his wit, before eventually showing his skills; this boy can conjure up circular shields. He reiterates the chain of events that have led her here and tells Annie that someone is putting on a show. Quite who this “someone” is, remains to be seen. Eventually she lets him slip away, agreeing to be friends or, well, “common enemies” as they so eloquently name it. Amalia heads up to visit Lord Massen at his estate. He calls her a casualty of war, which Amalia immediately clings to. The word war seems to hint that there’s going to be a fight in the foreseeable future. The pair dance around their truths, with some serious tension between the two. As Amalia heads back to base, the group try to work out who’s pulling the strings. They suspect it’s Massen of course and decide to send a message; they’re going to destroy Massen’s munitions. Meanwhile, Maladie shows up in Mundi’s office with big news. It turns out she was there at Mary’s funeral, enacting one final cuddle with Mary’s body while it was in the coffin. She tells Mundi she’s not the one responsible for Mary’s death. She saw Mary as a sister (see: pet) to her. Eventually Maladie slips out the window, sending an enraged Mundi out after her, grabbing the girl and choking her out with a sleeper hold. At the warehouse, Amalia leads the team in to destroy the munitions. Only, there’s a problem. There’s no munitions at the warehouse and all of this is a decoy. Lucy then reveals herself to be a double agent; she has actually been working with Massen this whole time. She’s bitter and angry with what happened to her son and quickly winds up fighting with Amalia inside the building. Amalia bests her and tells Lucy she’s going to be carted off on a boat and taken away – but not before divulging the truth about what’s been happening. Back at the sanctuary, Amalia and Penance reflect on what’s happened with Lucy. Amalia blames herself for not being able to see the truth. Just then, they’re interrupted by Myrtle who shows up with a translation of Mary’s song. It turns out she spoke about protecting one another as Touched and saving them. And there’s also words directed toward Amalia too. They simply tell her that she’s not alone. As the words are spoken, Amalia finally lets herself feel some emotion and she begins weeping, letting the tears fall freely.
The Episode Review
The Nevers returns this week with a big reveal in Lucy and how she’s actually a double agent. Her motivation is obviously revenge, desperate to get justice for her child that was taken away thanks to these Touched powers. Meanwhile, the split focus on the investigation works quite well to see the various different methods of tracking down and uncovering information. There’s certainly echoes of romance blossoming between these different characters, including Augie and Penance’s continued awkwardness. On top of that, there’s also some light flirtation between Nimble Jack and Annie as the two verbally dance around the other’s questions. It’s a nice segment in truth, one that sees Annie’s defences lower. That much is especially true back at the sanctuary as well, where she steps up and questions Amalia’s loyalty to the cause. Seeing Amalia drunk and making a big joke of events on the back of Mary’s death certainly isn’t a great look for her. Of course, it takes several chunks of exposition to follow in order to learn why. Amalia crying at the end is a nice touch though, and something that actually makes sense to show a more human side to her. Despite the positives, The Nevers continues to struggle with its tone. The various characters and ideas don’t quite mesh as well together as they should. So far, The Nevers has been a real mixed bag, but the ending does hint that we’re going to get more promising material ahead.
