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Geek Girl Authority
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
TV Review: NAUTILUS Episode 5, ‘Anguille Fumée'
Season 1 Episode 5 of Nautilus begins with the ship in free-fall as every effort to dislodge the giant electric eel they picked up in the previous episode fails. Worse still, soon after, the crew starts acting strange. An unlikely hero must rise if the crew is going to make it out of the depths of the ocean. I found Episode 4 of Nautilus underwhelming, but the team behind this AMC show comes back swinging with its fifth entry. In 'Anguille Fumée,' the show brings out its most tense episode yet in a locked-room horror mystery. This was like watching some of our favorite Star Trek horror episodes, but set in the deep in a submarine. Nautilus, Season 1 Episode 5, 'Anguille Fumée' With so much of the episode taking place in the submarine itself, I felt we got to see more of the Nautilus crew in this episode. We still don't know any of their backstory, but more screen time with the supporting crew is always enjoyable. Their quirky personalities cut through all the tension. RELATED: Read our Nautilus reviews Elsewhere with the East India Mercantile Company, the stakes rise as captured Nautilus crewmember Jagadish Ghosh (Chum Ehelepola) is in dire straits while being confronted by Captain Billy Millais (Luke Arnold). The creative team has been dropping hints throughout the show that there's more to Millais than he can let on. And Arnold has been quietly capturing this intrigue in his performance. I am looking forward to seeing where they take his character. RELATED: Everything We Know So Far About The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping 'Anguille Fumée' is spectacularly tense. The ship is in danger; the crew is at their wits' end, and danger is at every step. They're in uncharted waters—literally and figuratively—and trust isn't high. Anything and everything can set off a fuse, and this Nautilus episode plays with that concept while leaning into classic horror imagery and story beats. The Accent Issue An issue that hasn't cropped up before is the accents. I can't assess the other accents on Nautilus , but several characters speak Hindi, and one character speaks Bengali in this episode—the actors speaking Hindi are very obviously not native to India, because it's heavily-accented. RELATED: The Final Battle Begins in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle Official Trailer Nemo actor Shazad Latif is a British actor with Pakistani heritage. Shabana Azeez, who plays Nemo's wife Renouka, and Samara Wheeler, who plays their child Mya, are both Australian. They're playing Indian characters in an era where hardly anyone traveled, they shouldn't have anachronistic accents when speaking their mother tongues. And the gentleman speaking Bengali—not an Indian character or actor—kudos for trying, but I couldn't understand a single word he said. I had to read the subtitles. RELATED: Summer Game Fest 2025: A New Era of Horror Begins With Resident Evil Requiem But the accent issue is a negligible problem on Nautilus . The actors are doing their best, possibly in languages they aren't familiar with. I can't fault them. I'm someone who grew up in India, and I speak regional languages with an accent because English is my first language. And I watch way too much TV, which has affected the way I speak. Nemo and Humility We get a little more of Humility Lucas' (Georgia Flood) backstory. It's nothing we haven't seen and read in a ton of stories about women in the past who tried to break the mold. But for young viewers, they'll find Humility's chaffing and belligerence against a sexist world a mirror to their own fight against the patriarchy. RELATED: Everything Coming to Netflix in July 2025 But an ongoing issue is that the creators of Nautilus are so intent on positioning Humility as the 'underestimated woman with brains' that they keep forgetting Nemo is the brains behind the ship's design. He would, therefore, know something about engineering and science. Nemo spends far too much time stultified by the science, while Humility is always saving the moment with her scientific knowledge. The story and their connection would be far stronger if they worked together. They can disagree on their methods—which briefly happens in this episode—but they're always at odds, or underestimating each other. Five episodes into Nautilus , their dynamic seems to be standing in place. RELATED: Read our Interview with the Vampire recaps If Nemo and Humility spend too much time tearing each other down, the eventual bond that the writers have undoubtedly written for them won't be believable. But I have faith that the show will right that issue, if by doing nothing else but leaning into the chemistry that Latif and Flood have easily built over five episodes. RELATED: Movie Review: M3GAN 2.0 This is one of the best episodes of Nautilus yet, but, perhaps because it's so engrossing and enjoyable, the show's issues were amplified. Nautilus airs every Sunday on AMC and AMC+. TV Review: IRONHEART Monita has been championing diversity, inclusivity, and representation in entertainment media through her work for over a decade. She is a Tomatometer-Approved Critic. She writes for Bam Smack Pow and Geek Girl Authority. Her bylines have appeared on 3-time Eisner Award-winning publication Women Write About Comics, HuffPost, (formerly Soundsphere/Screensphere, FanSided's Show Snob, and Vocal. She was also a TV/Movies features writer at Alongside her twin, Monita co-hosts the pop culture podcast Stereo Geeks.
Geek Girl Authority
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
TV Review: NAUTILUS Episode 4, ‘Slippery When Wet'
The crew of the Nautilus has been betrayed, one of their own has disappeared, and they're back where they started—sans provisions to survive while they're escaping the maw of the Company. Season 1 Episode 4, 'Slippery When Wet,' of the AMC show continues its adventurous ways, and we learn some interesting new details about our protagonists. Let's see where these hints lead. Nautilus, Season 1 Episode 4, 'Slippery When Wet' A lot happened in the previous episode of Nautilus when the crew met the Rajah (Richard E. Grant), only for him to turn them over to the East India Mercantile Company. But we learnt more about our protagonist, Captain Nemo (Shazad Latif) as well, and this episode builds off that. RELATED: Read our Nautilus reviews In this episode, the Nautilus crew set off for a mysterious island to find food and water. And of course, mysteries are unveiled, adventures and perils ensue. But 'Slippery When Wet' also plants the seeds of a deeper, unwitting connection between Nemo and the Company. I'm curious to see how the creative team intends to play this out. Nemo is the victim of Imperialism—but so are many individuals who are given no choice but to join the bad guys. The creative team has to strike a delicate balance so they don't inadvertently sympathize with the murderous colonizers. RELATED: On Location: Es Saadi Marrakesh Resort on The Night Manager Season 1 Though this Nautilus episode develops more intrigue, the focus is on the adventure at hand. It's a diverting filler, intended to give us more time with Nemo and Humility Lucas (Georgia Flood). As enjoyable as that is, I wish we'd seen more of the characters in action in the episode. Four episodes in, I find myself wondering who these supporting characters are. Nautilus gives us bold and humorous personalities like Boniface (Pacharo Mzembe) and Turan (Arlo Green), as well as morally ambiguous strong-and-silent types like Suyin (Ling Cooper Tang), but hasn't done anything to build up their characters yet. Exciting But Derivative This is the first episode of Nautilus that I didn't have me enthralled from start to finish. It's exciting throughout, with a ton of action, but we've seen most of these story choices before. RELATED: Read our Interview with the Vampire recaps The creepy island with the dodgy survivors who are up to no good. Check. The protagonists being caught in a netted trap. Check check. A sacrifice scene. Another check. Even the cinematography is familiar. I know I said I liked Nautilus because it felt like watching the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but Episode 4 feels like Dead Man's Chest . It tries too hard. What makes the episode interesting are the characters. Shazad Latif and Georgia Flood are building a fun chemistry between their characters. Their banter continues to be fun, and from time to time, a little cringe. RELATED: NYCC 2025: Check Out the First Wave of Star-Studded Guests The cringe comes from their presumptions. I realize now that Nemo and Humility putting their foot in it every time they try to chastise each other is the shtick . I enjoy it now. Give me more. There's a big missed opportunity with a couple of characters in this episode as well. We meet a new character in Episode 4 who is interesting from the get-go. I'm to believe that's it for them in Nautilus ? And another character is seemingly killed in this episode as well. Are they really gone? RELATED: Everything Coming to Netflix in July 2025 But guess what. In the end, all is forgiven, and I am aching to know what's next, because there's yet another stellar cliffhanger. I know I harp on about this in every review, but these cliffhangers are real bangers. I forgot what it was like to watch a streaming show that actually knows what episodic storytelling is. Nautilus really knows how to leave us … well, hanging. Nautilus airs every Sunday on AMC and AMC+. TV Review: IRONHEART Monita has been championing diversity, inclusivity, and representation in entertainment media through her work for over a decade. She is a contributor at Bam Smack Pow and Geek Girl Authority. Her bylines have appeared on 3-time Eisner Award-winning publication Women Write About Comics, HuffPost, (formerly Soundsphere/Screensphere, FanSided's Show Snob, and Vocal. She was also a TV/Movies features writer at Alongside her twin, Monita co-hosts the pop culture podcast Stereo Geeks.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nautilus Sneak Peek: Richard E. Grant Makes a Splashy Entrance as Hospitable ‘Blue Wizard' (Exclusive)
Onetime Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant makes quite an entrance in TVLine's exclusive sneak peek from the third episode of AMC's Nautilus. Nautilus stars Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery) as the legendary Captain Nemo, an Indian Prince robbed of his birthright and family, imprisoned by the East India Mercantile Company, and driven by revenge against the forces that have taken everything from him. More from TVLine In Survival Mode, Everyday People Revisit Extraordinary Disasters - Get NBC Premiere Date, First Teaser Shrinking EP Tees Up Brett Goldstein and Cobie Smulders' Returns, Michael J. Fox and Jeff Daniels' Season 3 Arcs Bill Lawrence: Scrubs Revival 'Looks at How the System Has Changed' - And Who, Potentially, Has Scrubbed Out In said revenge mission, Nemo audaciously steals a prototype submarine from the penal colony in which he is imprisoned, escaping into the ocean with a motley crew of fellow prisoners. The cast also includes Georgia Flood (Apples Never Fall) as Humility Lucas, Céline Menville (Emily in Paris) as Loti and Thierry Frémont (Liaison) as Benoit, while Grant (Loki) and Anna Torv (Fringe) are among Season 1's guest stars. In our exclusive clip from Episode 3, titled 'What Lies Beneath' and premiering this Sunday, July 6, at 9/8c on AMC and AMC+, Nemo and the crew happen upon Grant's eccentric White Rajah, who is quick to offer his unexpected guests food, drink and, well, greatly needed baths. The Rajah also realizes that he once crossed path's with Nemo's father, who of course was no regular Joe…. Press play above to watch Grant's debut as the Rajah, and see who from the crew is quick to herald their host as a most generous 'blue wizard.' Want scoop on , or for any other TV show? Shoot an email to InsideLine@ and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line! Best of TVLine Summer TV Calendar: Your Guide to 85+ Season and Series Premieres Classic Christmas Movies Guide: Where to Watch It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, Die Hard and Others What's New on Netflix in June
Geek Girl Authority
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
TV Review: NAUTILUS Episode 3, ‘What Lies Beneath'
When last we left Nautilus , the submarine's crew was hiding from the East India Mercantile Company … at the bottom of the ocean. But something else had taken notice of them, and it didn't sound friendly. Get ready for some old-fashioned gimmicks, adventures, and twists in the third outing of Nautilus . Nautilus, Episode 3, 'What Lies Beneath' The Nautilus is in dire straits in the third episode. They're fast running out of rations and have to surface. And they do, into the welcoming arms of Rajah (Richard E. Grant). Rajah runs a tight ship on his palatial grounds, surrounded by a litany of servants and armed guards, almost all of whom are made up of local residents. What could possibly go wrong? RELATED: TV Review: Nautilus Premiere The title of the episode, 'What Lies Beneath,' has a few meanings here. We find the Nautilus literally uncovering something new at the bottom of the ocean. But we also peel back the layers of Nemo's (Shazad Latif) backstory and meet the newest character, Richard E. Grant's Rajah. Raja means king in Hindi. I'm intrigued by the spelling choice — I haven't seen 'Rajah' used in a long time. But then again, there are a few spelling choices that confuse me. Nemo was locked up in Kalpani, but I'm pretty sure the name of the place is supposed to be Kalapani. I'm hardly an expert in history or geography, so I'm going to let these anachronisms go. For now. Rajah Richard E. Grant is, once again, a delight. I don't know how he does it. Every time I scoff at his inclusion — not because I dislike him, but because the entertainment industry can be so insular and keep casting the same people over and over — he steals the show. RELATED: Read our Interview with the Vampire recaps Grant has a particular way of delivering his dialogue, and it never gets old. He's easily beguiling, like an elderly uncle with one's best interests at heart. But you just know there's something else up this guy's sleeve. Rajah knows a lot about a lot, but the layers don't unfurl till later. Grant keeps the audience on their toes. Despite my initial skepticism, he's a great choice for the role of the Rajah. I am looking forward to seeing more of him on the show. RELATED: Movie Review: Sinners Also, stellar pronunciation of 'Bundelkhand.' Kudos for not butchering that, Mr. Grant. Nemo's Backstory We'd seen flashes of Nemo's backstory in the two-episode premiere of Nautilus . Not enough to tell us much, but enough for us to gauge that he'd faced some tragedies. We learn more about Nemo's history in 'What Lies Beneath.' RELATED: Yellowjackets Lets Women Be Angry Readers of the Jules Verne books, especially The Mysterious Island , will be especially delighted by this episode, which leans heavily into the source material. But there are more revelations still, some of which are truly shocking to the viewer and Nemo. Can we believe this news, though? Nemo and Humility Lucas (Georgia Flood) also continue to spar with each other. I've already warmed to these two and their banter. I can guess where their relationship is headed, but I'm going to wait and see what the show does. So Old-Fashioned, Yet So Fun I can't believe how much I'm enjoying Nautilus . I tend to go into everything with a heap of trepidation, and I wasn't expecting much out of a show that landed in my inbox with nary any fanfare. But Nautilus is so fun while being devastatingly dark as well. RELATED: AMC's Anne Rice's Immortal Universe Talamasca Series Casts Its Lead The show is like one of those old-timey swashbucklers — with guns instead of swords. Good guys versus obvious bads; the underdog versus the big corporation. The fun adventures are balanced with a reality check. This episode was particularly humorous, which buoys the viewer during some of the tragic revelations. Resident Nautilus funny man, Jagadish (Chum Ehelepola), gets the spotlight here and commands it. RELATED: 6 Book Recommendations if You Love Our Flag Means Death And the cliffhangers. This show really knows how to leave you desperate for more. I can't wait for the next episode. Nautilus airs every Sunday on AMC and AMC+. Movie Review: A NICE INDIAN BOY Monita has been championing diversity, inclusivity, and representation in entertainment media through her work for over a decade. She is a contributor at Bam Smack Pow, and her bylines have appeared on 3-time Eisner Award-winning publication Women Write About Comics, Geek Girl Authority, HuffPost, (formerly Soundsphere/Screensphere, FanSided's Show Snob, and Vocal. She was also a TV/Movies features writer at Alongside her twin, Monita co-hosts the pop culture podcast Stereo Geeks.
Geek Girl Authority
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
TV Review: NAUTILUS Series Premiere
A new adaptation of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea sails on to our screens. AMC and AMC+ debut the 10-episode series, Nautilus , with a different take on the classic science-fiction story. Get ready for a rip-roaring adventure under the seas, with a cast of colorful characters, set against the backdrop of Imperial treachery. Poster of AMC's Nautilus, featuring Shazad Latif, Georgia Flood, Thierry Fremont, and Tyrone Ngatai. Image courtesy AMC/AMC+ About Nautilus In its two-episode premiere, Nautilus introduces us to our protagonists, the enigmatic and very wronged Nemo (Shazad Latif), the fiery Humility Lucas (Georgia Flood), as well as beleaguered scientist and engineer behind the creation of the titular submarine, Benoit (Thierry Fremont). RELATED: Everything Coming to Netflix in June 2025 Alongside these characters are two lots of supporting casts — there are a bunch of East India Mercantile Company men who are after Nemo, and then there's the Nautilus crew, made up mostly of formerly enslaved men from numerous nations including Boniface (Pacharo Mzembe) and Kai (Tyrone Ngatai), as well as Humility's aid Loti (Céline Menville), and young Blaster (Kayden Price) who was an errand boy on a Company ship. Nautilus throws the viewer into the action almost from the get-go. It's 1857, and the East India Mercantile Company has pillaged and plundered nations around the world. We're introduced to Nemo, a prisoner of the EIMC. He's been plotting an escape with a few of the other 'convicts,' and when an opportunity presents itself, a group of them take control of the Nautilus and escape. RELATED: AMC's Anne Rice's Immortal Universe Talamasca Series Casts Its Lead During their escape, Nemo spots a Company ship. Fearing an attack, Nemo attacks first, and that's how he meets Humility. She's sailing to meet her fiancé in Bombay, and chafes against the sexist rules of the era. Luckily, albeit involuntarily, she soon gets her wish to postpone her marriage by joining the Nautilus adventure. But the underwater crew's travails don't end there. Nemo is out for vengeance, and the crew struggles with his wayward demands. The crew isn't trained to run a submarine either, which makes repairs and perils all the more hazardous. And, of course, the EIMC wants their submarine back, Nemo gone, and Humility returned to her fiancé. How Nautilus Departs From the Book Adaptations always take liberties with the source material. It's a necessity in many ways — because of the medium of story, the sensibilities of the time, and to keep audiences interested. Nautilus is no different. The cast of characters doesn't resemble the original books. RELATED: Read our Interview with the Vampire recaps The upside is, we have characters from different origins and ethnicities, plus three female characters, all of whom have a role to play in the proceedings. It's especially great to see Nautilus lean into Nemo's Indian origins. Shazad Latif is a British actor who has Pakistani heritage. I'm glad that Nautilus doesn't shy away from the anti-Imperialism commentary of the original book and its sequel, The Mysterious Island . It's not a coincidence that the show begins in 1857, the year India rebelled against the East India Company. The show begins with a rebellion that sets of the proceedings. RELATED: Yellowjackets Lets Women Be Angry Captain Nemo What doesn't work in Nautilus are some of the choices around Nemo. In the book, he is introduced as a mysterious scientist and engineer, the wealthy creator of the Nautilus who seeks vengeance and has a love for exploration. The show chooses to introduce Nemo as disheveled and captive, which plants the foundation for his vengeance, but also robs him of his grandeur. We've seen many characters of color introduced in pop culture this way, and the whole point of book-Nemo is that he subverts that assumption. RELATED: 6 Book Recommendations if You Love Our Flag Means Death The other issue is that Nemo isn't the creator of the Nautilus. Not directly — he has to feed information to Benoit. Once again, that strips away the agency Nemo had in the book. Nemo's supposed to be a great engineer and futurist, yet in the first episode of Nautilus , he can't fix his own ship. Nemo keeps turning to Humility for engineering help. Now, it's fantastic to have a female character flexing her STEM skills, especially in a period show. But Humility's smarts come at the cost of Nemo's brilliance. This type of trope-subversion is humorous when the characters are evenly matched in status. But Nemo is a man of color; he doesn't need to be shown up by a white person, even if she's a woman who is undermined by her own people. A Rollicking Adventure The other major criticism is the presentation of the EIMC. All the Company men are so cartoonishly evil. You can't take them seriously. I'd argue that's the point, but they're such a yawn-worthy intrusion away from the crew of the Nautilus. RELATED: The Best Moments From Every Episode of Our Flag Means Death While these issues will grate on some viewers (like myself), the first two episodes were a lot of fun. Nautilus evokes the fun of first watching Pirates of the Caribbean (with seemingly less problematic people involved) and Our Flag Means Death . It's not quite as irreverent as those properties, but it captures the tension and spectacle of traveling the high seas. The sets of the Nautilus are particularly arresting. The gorgeous steampunk machinery is exactly how one expects the Nautilus to look. However, the CGI water and animals should have been more vividly rendered — they're a tad flat against the practical sets of the submarine. RELATED: Movie Review: Sinners The first two episodes end on cliffhangers, and I am champing at the bit to watch the rest. The weekly rollout is going to be deliciously painful. The tensions of the plot are multi-fold. All the characters have different motivations and end goals; these pull them in different directions, all while they're trapped in a restrictive environment. There's the additional stress of being chased by the EIMC while chasing vengeance. And, of course, the sea is a character all on its own, being as unpredictable as can be. RELATED: 6 Great Historical Fiction Novels Focused on Real Women From History Fortunately, the show undercuts the tensions with silly humor that inveigles its way in at the most needed moments. Nautilus may not be perfect, but the premiere promises a rollicking good romp, with flawed characters and dark backstories. This show is definitely worth hopping aboard for. Nautilus premieres on AMC and AMC+ starting Sunday, June 29. Book Review: JUST EMILIA Monita has been championing diversity, inclusivity, and representation in entertainment media through her work for over a decade. She is a contributor at Bam Smack Pow, and her bylines have appeared on 3-time Eisner Award-winning publication Women Write About Comics, Geek Girl Authority, HuffPost, (formerly Soundsphere/Screensphere, FanSided's Show Snob, and Vocal. She was also a TV/Movies features writer at Alongside her twin, Monita co-hosts the pop culture podcast Stereo Geeks.
