Frontier opens on a caption: HBC OUTPOST- THE DISPUTED TERRITORY. It is late at night, and three British soldiers kneel on the ground, covered in their own blood. “Have mercy, please,” one of them says. Meanwhile, an imposing figure menacingly circles around them as we see flashes of a blade, “This is your own doing. This is not your land. You shouldn’t be here”. Suddenly, in rapid succession each of the men are killed, we’re talking almost Game of Thrones levels of violence here. As the three bodies lay sprawled on the ground, the murderer turns around, this is Declan Harp (Jason Momoa).
Later, the Hudson’s Bay Company offices in London have gotten word of the attack on their men. Lord Benton (Alun Armstrong) sits behind his desk. As a matter of fact, he seems completely unaffected by the description of the graphic torture his men underwent as he finishes a hearty breakfast. He talks with Captain Chesterfield (Evan Jonigkit), a young up-and-coming soldier. It turns out, Benton himself has quite the reputation as a bringer of pain. “We must make him suffer,” he says. It turns out, Benton is well acquainted with Declan Harp. In fact, Harp even studied under Benton. The two men discuss going to the “New World”. They need to rid themselves of the tiresome Declan Harp once and for all.
Meanwhile, three teenagers plot to break onto a British naval ship anchored in London. Their eyes are on the ship’s large stash of black powder. Michael Smyth (Landon Liboiron) leads the group. However, as they make their escape, the soldiers have captured and killed their look-out. There is a struggle and another of their group is captured, leaving Michael to escape the chaos alone. Unfortunately, he doesn’t go far and hides in the cargo hold where he wakes up the next morning.
The Canadian town of Fort James is dreary as Father James Coffin (Christian McKay) enters a tavern. He brings word of a ship, sailing quickly to the Canadian town. The local governor looks up. Drunk on brandy as well as power, he announces to the entire room that it’s Lord Benton sending reinforcements.
In fact, this is the ship that Michael has found his way onto. He is suddenly discovered as the crew are called on deck. Lord Benton announces that something of his has been stolen. There’s a moment of tension as the cook who discovered him attempts to pin the theft on Michael. However, the boy is a quick thinker and smartly pins it right back on the cook. The move is a savvy one, and Michael finds himself on Lord Benton’s good side.
However, Lord Benton has a plan. It turns out, Declan Harp is half Irish. Lord Benton informs Michael (who’s Irish himself) that he’s going to serve as a Trojan Horse for the Hudson’s Bay Company. His job will be to infiltrate Harp’s gang, and bring information back to the company.
Later, as his ship finally makes port Michael goes into a tavern and quickly makes contact with the Father. Coffin convinces Michael to let him be his guide in the wilderness. While it’s left to the imagination, the Father seems to have a decidedly un priestly past behind him. Is he using Michael to run away from something? However, Michael has too much ale and things fade into blackness.
Later, Michael wakes in a heap. He doesn’t know where he is. Had he drunkenly stumbled outside? Father Coffin sprints from the trees closely pursued by a British Soldier. They outrun the men, but as they walk and talk, Captain Chesterfield and his men blindside them. As a matter of fact, the Hudson’s Bay Company has set Michael up with a guide of their’s. However, as the men make camp with the British troops, an Indigenous woman leaps out of the forrest and kills the near-by redcoats. She walks up to Michael, “Follow. Now.”
Michael and the Father nervously follow her on a lengthy hike through picturesque Canadian scenery before coming across Harp’s camp in the middle of the mountains.
Entering the campsite, Declan Harp stands in the middle of the crowd. He carefully skins an animal. Harp turns around and moves towards Michael, his clothes drip with the animal’s blood.
Finally faced with the objective of his mission, Michael is antsy. He speaks slowly, lying to Harp that he wanted to make a name for himself in the fur trade. However, the moment races out of control as Father Coffin panics under Harp’s loaded silence. “I am a man of Devine Providence!” he cries, holding out his cross with a quivering hand. Harp pushes him aside, “I have no use for you”. Michael jumps in. It seems he can’t handle the thought of another life in his hands, “I have information on Lord Benton!”.
The first season of Frontier is available in its’ entirety on Netflix.
A Few Notes:
- At first glance, the fact that this show is about the nineteenth century fur trade might turn off some viewers. However, this is only a small part of the narrative. It’s an action, character based drama. Fans of shows like Black Sails will find the show interesting.
- These are some interesting characters. While Jason Momoa has played this type of character in the past, it will be interesting to see how Declan Harp develops in coming episodes.
- Christian McKay is perfectly cast as Father Coffin. The seasoned character actor has been honing his craft in period pieces like Rush, The Theory of Everything and Florence Foster Jenkins. Check out his work if you haven’t.
- Finally, musical theater fans may recognize Alun Armstrong. The actor originated the role of Thenardier in the original London cast of Les Miserables.
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