“The Disciple” picks up just after the end of “Wolves”. Lord Benton (Alun Armstrong) has the now captured Declan Harp (Jason Momoa) chained up in a dungeon; however, Michael Smyth (Landon Liboiron) is still at large. Benton tells his soldiers to scour every inch of the territory. They must find Michael. In fact, he isn’t lost! Grace Emberly (Zoe Boyle) has the boy tucked safely into a cellar away from harm.
Benton unrolls a package of tools as he shifts his glance to Harp, “We’re going to have a discussion about your lack of respect for me”. Viewers are suddenly reminded what he said in episode one. Harp learned everything he knows about torture from Benton.
The next day, Chesterfield (Evan Jonigkeit) goes to see Grace. It seems the young Captain is starting to catch on. He looks around suspiciously as he asks Grace what Harp is to her. However, Grace holds to her statement that there’s nothing going on between them.
Meanwhile, Harp still finds himself trapped with Benton, who is in a torturing mood. One by one, Benton carves tally marks into Harp’s back. One for each of his men killed by Harp. As the scene plays out, the camera pulls into an uncomfortable close-up, making the moment much harder to watch.
Later, Captain Johnson (Charles Aitken) arrives to see Lord Benton. He stands by and watches as Captain Chesterfield leads Clenna (Lyla Porter-Follows) roughly from the house.
In Montreal, Douglas Brown (Allan Hawco) vents to his brother about having to take Samuel Grant’s (Shawn Doyle) money. They are far from pleased about their current financial state. However, Grant’s assistant arrives, interrupting their conversation. He informs the Brown’s that they’ve defaulted on their debt, and he leads them from the office at gunpoint.
Samuel Grant stands up from his desk as Elizabeth Carruthers (Katie McGrath) enters his office. As the two sit down, they primly discuss Carruthers’ business. Grant proposes that they should in fact work together. She is a woman in a man’s world, after all.
Later, Chesterfield is hanging on the edge of sanity as he drags Clenna into the Ale House. He loudly demands that Michael Smyth turn himself in, or risk harming Clenna. Grace manages to stop him from doing anything drastic. However, Chesterfield storms off, leaving Clenna with Grace.
Meanwhile, Douglas and Malcom (Michael Patric) squabble in prison. They quickly stand as Elizabeth Carruthers enters their cell. It turns out, Elizabeth has paid their debt to Samuel Grant. However, she has two conditions. Firstly, they will hand her all control of their business. Secondly, she requires a husband. She’s flippant as she turns around, “Either of you will do”. Not quite sure what else to say, the men agree and she leaves to attend to their release.
Later, Elizabeth secures the Brown Brothers’ release. However, as Malcom leaves, the door closes in front of Douglas. It turns out, they are charging him for the murder of Peter Carruthers.
It seems Malcom is the brother tapped to marry Elizabeth. He agrees to all her pre-conditions, namely that she retains all control of the business, and they will never, ever sleep in the same bed. However, he has one pre-condition of his own. She must do what she can to get Douglas out of prison. She basically shrugs and promises to do her best.
Tension escalates within the HBC as a hurried Chesterfield once again goes to see Grace. He begs for her forgiveness after his earlier rashness. However, he needs to know, does she love Declan Harp? She gracefully steps around the question, planting a different seed in Chesterfield’s mind. While Captain Johnson holds himself up as a “Man of God”, Grace caught him in mid-coitus with one of her girls. She encourages her lapdog…er…Chesterfield to arrest the Captain on these grounds.
Tired of being trapped, Sokanon, Michael and Clenna decide to finally make their move. There is a moment of tension while the three of them almost escape without being seen. However, once they are noticed, there’s too many people. The troops soon overpower Michael while the girl’s manage to escape.
Meanwhile, Declan is still Lord Benton’s plaything. While Benton has been unable to truly break Harp, he decides to bring out his real weapons. He mentions Harp’s wife, who it turns out was pregnant with a daughter at the time of her death. Hearing this, Harp is overcome with the only emotion we’ve seen from him all season. The now captured Michael is ushered inside as Harp’s pained cries echo in the background. There’s an interesting beat as Chesterfield stops, and in a rare tender moment, tries to offer Harp water. However, the distraught Harp doesn’t respond.
Chesterfield ushers Lord Benton back to his office, where Johnson waits to arrest him. However, Chesterfield quickly jumps in, putting Johnson under arrest for indecent behavior. It turns out, Captain Johnson is quicker on the draw and points his musket at the surprised Chesterfield. Johnson still has the upper hand.
At the same time, Sokanon launches a plan to break into the dungeon in order to rescue Michael and Harp. Working with Clenna, they kill the guards and pick the lock. However, the sudden arrival of Captain Johnson and another guard interrupts their plan. However, the men are no match for Michael and Sokanon. After a brief struggle, both men are dead.
As the episode comes to a close, Harp and his team are free, and Benton is once again in control. However, everything is building to a violent conclusion.
Viewers can watch the entire first season of Frontier on Netflix.
Notes:
- This episode contains an absolutely stunning performance from Jason Momoa. He doesn’t tend to play characters with a tremendous amount of emotional range, but he truly shines in this episode.
- Movie Review: LEE - September 30, 2024
- Movie Review: APARTMENT 7A - September 26, 2024
- Movie Review: MEGALOPOLIS - September 26, 2024
