Creator: Joss Whedon
Director: David Semel
Starring: Laura Donnelly, Ann Skelly, James Norton, Tom Riley, Pip Torrens, Denis O’Hare, Amy Manson, Olivia Williams and Ben Chaplin
It’s time to talk The Nevers Season 1 Episode 4. The latest episode, called Undertaking, of this news HBO Max series focuses on Amalia (Laura Donnelly) and those at the orphanage uncovering who ordered the shooting of Mary. While the true meaning of Mary’s song is uncovered.
We begin this episode with Mary’s funeral; it is discovered at the funeral that there is now a name for those against the touched, known now as the purists. However, with this new name, it raises questions of who formed this group and gave them the name. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if it has something to do with Lord Massen (Pip Torrens), who has every reason to part of this organisation.
WHAT IS LORD MASSEN HIDING IN THE NEVERS EPISODE 4?
Credit: HBO Max
Read more: The Nevers Season 1 Episode 3 Spoiler Review
Lord Massen knows his place in society; he is a strong character that you don’t want to mess with and is starting to have a bigger presence in the overall plot. There lots this character is hiding but that makes this character exciting to watch. I want to know what his plans are but I want to know even more what happened to his touched daughter. I want to know his backstory so I can understand clearly what makes Massen the way he is. We know his wife and child died but there is someone hiding in his basement, I still think it is his daughter but if it isn’t then what is he hiding down there.
Lord Massen and Amalia scene together is one of the best scenes of this episode. Torrens and Donnelly are both strong actors and, in this scene, we really see two strong characters facing each other. Lord Massen was actually quite considerate to Amalia and heard her out. In this conversation, we come to the conclusion that Mary was a causality of war because whoever killed Mary wasn’t trying to kill her for a reason but to create an impact and cause chaos within the touched community.
WHOSES TO BLAME FOR MARY’S DEATH?
The death of Mary is very emotional and the funeral has an impact too, we really feel the sorrow of the characters; they are broken. It is a shame Mary had to leave us so soon as her story was the main thing we were following and now she has been taken out of the equation.
The outcome of finding out who was the cause of Mary’s death truly shocked me. Of all the people I didn’t expect it to be Lucy (Elizabeth Berrington). Her turn which caused her to have super strength was also the cause of her son’s death. While others feel blessed to be given such powers she feels cursed. As a result, she has been spying on the touched and reporting to Massen because he promised to cure her. However, at the moment we don’t know if it is even possible to cure the touched.
Only in the previous episode was any light shed onto the Lucy so it is more surprising that she is the cause of Mary’s death even if it wasn’t intentional. We didn’t spend a lot of time with Lucy therefore, we never suspected her. However, it raises the point that there are a lot of people at the orphanage so surely not all of them agree with Amalia True and how she handling everything.
WHO IS AMALIA TRUE?
Credit: HBO Max
Read more: The Nevers Season 1 Episode 1 Spoiler Review
Amalia is a very confusing character; we haven’t been told much about this character just very broad statements that don’t make much sense. These include Amalia telling us she has a mission but no orders, so then what is this mission. Also, she tells us she isn’t from here and was left behind, no one seems to question this as if they already know the answer but we are left wondering.
True is such a complex character but I’m not really enjoying the fact we don’t get to learn anything about her. At the moment it is really unclear what Amalia is and what all her little one-liners about her origins and past really means.
Donnelly does a great job in portraying this complicated character I just wish I could understand her better. Amalia True is a very strong-willed woman with a difficult past, she is woman speaking her mind. I do enjoy Donnelly performance but I have to say Amalia’s fight scenes are becoming very samey, every fight feels the same and doesn’t s give the same impact in once did in the early episodes.
MARY’S SONG HOLDS A MESSAGE FOR AMALIA
Credit: HBO Max
Read more: Joss Whedon Leaves HBO’s Sci-Fi Show The Nevers Due To Exhaustion
The translation of Mary’s song is a nice element that I didn’t think I needed as it shows how important Mary was to keep the plot moving. The song is a message for Amalia as if someone is speaking through the song. Finding out the meaning of the song held so much emotion for Amalia as it finally gave her some orders. In summary, the song tells Amalia that ‘she wasn’t left alone’ but the ‘mission is still incomplete’. What that mission is I have no idea, but Amalia is told ‘to be ready’ as she has had to ‘go inside the city to heal’ but ‘come below and find me’. I think this is hinting towards Lavinia Bidlow (Olivia Williams) and her mining.
Maladie (Amy Manson) is a crazy character and I feel let down that she was taken down by Mundi so easily. Thankfully she isn’t killed just taken to a cell, seen to be talking uncontrollably about a big plan. I wonder what this big plan is, could it have something to do with Amalia’s mission? We know that there is a history and backstory with Amalia and Maladie so could these two characters have more in common in this fight then maybe we first realise. I think it would be a really interesting development if in the end Amalia and Maladie end up working together.
PENANCE AND AUGIE GET CLOSER
It’s nice with all the tragic events going on that we still got to have some time with Penance (Ann Skelly) and Augie (Tom Riley) as they make amends. This interaction is so sweet but awkward. It feels like we are watching ourselves as we try to talk to someone we like, especially if it is our first love. I’m happy that we got more time with this pairing as it is also a nice relief from the confusing mystery.
EVERY EPISODE RAISES MORE QUESTIONS THAN IT PROVIDES ANSWERS TO
Credit: HBO Max
Read more: The Nevers Season 1 Episode 2 Spoiler Review
It feels as if there many villains to watch out for and now I start to wonder if they are working together in some strange way. The plot of this show isn’t clear at all, right from the start we have been wondering what that ship was and who it may have belonged to. However, with only two episodes left in this first half of the season, I do wonder how will they wrap everything up into a nice ending to make us want to watch the second half. I hope we are given some kind of answers in these final two episodes to give us an insight into what we have been watching these past few weeks.
We said goodbye to Lucy and Mary in this episode in different ways, while also learning the true meaning of Mary’s song. This episode provides some answers but it just raises more. Maladie is now locked up and Amalia needs to dissect the message from the song and uncover its meaning. I feel like it is quite easy to predict what will happen next but I’m hoping for a surprise. However, I feel like I might be hoping for too much.
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