Spoiler Warning! This article discusses the season to date and details of episode four.
See becomes more intriguing with the release of episode four, “The River.” I still have major issues with how blindness is handled. The latest example, Baba Voss (Jason Momoa) builds a raft the Swiss Family Robinson couldn’t construct on their best day. It’s impossible to do this without sight, but I guess willing suspension of disbelief has to be kicked into overdrive to truly enjoy the show. Thankfully “The River” takes an unexpected plot turn when Queen Kane (Sylvia Hoeks) takes the show in a different direction.
Here’s a quick recap of See episodes one through three. See takes place in a dystopian future where humans have been blind for generations. The evil Queen Kane (Sylvia Hoeks), leader of the Payans, has dispatched an army of Witchfinders to find twins born with the ability to see. They are the children of a prophet with sight and her ex-lover, Jerlamarel (Joshua Henry). The twins were raised by Baba Voss, leader of an Alkenny village, who married their mother, Maghra (Hera Hilmar), when she was pregnant. The twins, Kofun (Archie Madekwe) and Haniwa (Nesta Cooper), grow from infants to teenagers. At the end of episode three, the Witchfinder general, Tamacti Jun (Christian Camargo), has found the secret Alkenny refuge.
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“The River” begins with Baba Voss, Maghra, the twins, and Paris (Alfre Woodard) getting ready to flee. The Witchfinder army is led by dogs and closing in on the village. The treacherous Gether Bax (Mojean Aria) wants the Alkenny to hold them, but Kofun puts a knife to his throat and takes him hostage. Baba Voss races his family and a few supporters through the woods to a raft he has secretly constructed on the river. Bow Lion (Yadira Guevara-Prip) goes with them when her mother, the village elder (Tantoo Cardinal), begs her to leave and be saved.
When they reach the raft, Haniwa wants to kill Gether Bax; but Kofun says that is not their way. Back at the village, Tamacti Jun stabs the village elder through the throat and kills her. Everyone boards the raft and silently pushes off into the river. The Witchfinders reach Gether Bax, who tells them of the raft. They stand on the river’s edge and swing ropes with hooks toward the water. Two of Baba Voss’s friends are hooked and killed. Baba Voss ties a rope around his waist and jumps into the water. He slits the throats of the Witchfinders near the raft. Maghra is cut on the leg by an attacker, but stabs him in the head. Haniwa kills Gether Bax with an arrow as they escape. Tamacti Jun gives the order to execute the remaining Alkenny villagers.
Back at the Payan dam, the royal council voices their anger to Queen Kane. The search for the twins has taken a generation and yielded no results. They have received word from Tamacti Jun that the twins have escaped again. A lord and lady concoct a plan to murder Queen Kane. They do not know that her handmaiden/shadow has secretly listened.
On the raft, Paris presents a message for the twins; given to her by Jerlamarel. He instructs them how to find him. They will build a new kingdom of knowledge for a dark world. Maghra wants no part of it. She begs the survivors to find a new sanctuary and live peacefully. Baba Voss takes a vote on what to do. Haniwa does not think Bow Lion deserves a say, but is overruled. Bow Lion is the deciding vote to follow the path of Jerlamarel.
At the dam, Queen Kane is invited to hear a new type of bird. It’s really a venomous spider in a cage meant to poison her. She turns the tables and kills the traitors. Her handmaiden informs her that the people and council are in revolt. They have gathered at the lower levels of the dam to overthrow her.
Baba Voss lands the raft at a riverbank for the night. Maghra asks Haniwa what she expects from Jerlamarel. The girl loves her mother, but desires knowledge. Kofun takes the first watch. When they awake, all of their weapons have been stolen. Maghra had taken a small pouch from the village and hidden it in her bosom. She won’t tell the others what it is, but claims they must find it.
At the dam, Queen Kane walks by herself to the rusted control panels. A book of knots rests by the switches and dials. She briefly runs her fingers over it. At the riverbank, everyone searches for the missing weapons and pouch. Haniwa sees a figure shrouded in the forest. When she gets Baba Voss, the figure has vanished into thin air. At the control panel, Queen Kane turns off the turbines. Water stops flowing through the dam. The entire structure begins to quake as it crumbles. Queen Kane says aloud it is time for her to join Tamacti Jun’s search.
The River wipes out the Payans at the dam and the Alkenny villagers. The show has whittled down to the primary characters. Queen Kane has gotten off the bench and decided to get in the game. Who took the weapons and Maghra’s pouch? How were they not detected, especially by the twins. See has not had a supernatural element, but the plot is still wide open. I am curious where the journey takes them. Episode four was the first in the series to gain traction. At this point, I’ll just have to accept the blind premise completely without quibbling. See episodes premiere every Friday on Apple TV+.
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Julian Roman
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Film critic, raconteur, praying for dolphins to grow thumbs and do better.
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