Joe and Terry discuss Hulu’s cruise ship slasher series Wreck, alternating between our respective sites.

Miss a recap? 1 / 2 / 3

Spoilers for episode 4 “The Sacramentum Slasher”

Episode 1.04: Jamie gains an unexpected ally on board the ship, who promises him that they will investigate from the inside and get him the answers he's desperate for.

JOE

Well Terry, taken in isolation, “The Sacramentum Slasher” confirms that we are both right: the episode ends with the ominous threat of not just Officer Hottie Sam (Louis Boyer) being involved in Pippa (Jodie Tyack)’s disappearance, but Karen (Harriet Webb) is, as well.

The reason I included the words “in isolation” above is because a slasher (film or TV series) is nothing without its bait and switch red herrings. So even though episode 4 of Wreck ends with a cliffhanger in which Jamie (Oscar Kennedy) is beaten in the ball pit (because sure!) and surrounded by Karen and the Officers, we’re only just past the halfway point of season one.

So yes, Karen and Sam, as well as Officer Beaker (Warren James Dunning) are definitely implicated in criminal wrongdoings, I’m not convinced that they’re killers.

“The Sacramentum Slasher” is a very traditional mid-season entry: it reveals certain new pieces of information while simultaneously spinning its wheels. At two different points, characters suggest that they’ll leave the ship at the next port of call, to which I kept loudly exclaiming “no, you won’t!” These false threats are par for the course, but it’s also something of a delay tactic as we gather a few new clues and eliminate (or introduce) a few suspects.

In this case, Jamie and Vivian (Thaddea Graham) are making surprisingly good headway. Not only does Jamie (supposedly) get Officer Sam on board to help them by providing them with Pippa’s files, but they manage to sneak into the girl’s old room and, via a somewhat ludicrous series of events, discover not just a convoluted map of the ship under the rug, but a list of four names hidden in the fire alarm.

The names introduce a pretty hilarious sequence in which Cormac (Peter Claffey) and Rosie (Miya Ocego) overact in the hallway in order to lure the HR woman away from her computer while Vivian and Jamie investigate. Cormac is, of course, hidden inside the Quacky mascot costume as Rosie keeps the HR woman within sight. It’s so, so silly and delightful, even as the ticking clock looms over Vivian’s search. The results are telling and simultaneously unhelpful; all four of Pippa’s names have been labelled “Absconded” by Karen in the system (Note: the use of that very specific word, while appropriate, was so funny to me because it is *such* a specific, unorthodox choice).

It’s only when Vivian and Jamie investigate the long list of other “absconded” crew and they see Jerome (Diego Andres)’s name listed - despite the fact that they haven’t docked since he went missing several days ago - tells them that something super shady is up.

Of course that doesn’t help Jamie, who finds himself surrounded and outnumbered as the episode ends. But Terry there’s still so much left to discuss, like the romantic cliffhanger between him and Olly (Anthony Rickman), who thinks he’s been stood up after the pair spent the episode dancing around whether their burgeoning romance could continue.

On a less high stakes note, what did you make of Vivian and Lily (Ramanique Ahluwalia)’s She’s All That “Am I just a stupid bet” drama? Did you catch the sex scene’s very silly homage to Titanic? Did the showdown between the performers and Karen over the hot water challenges tickle your funny bone or was it just filler?

And which of Karen’s lines to the striking cast members land best for you: “Did you really think you were the only tits and teeth this side of the Atlantic?” or “You penis flytraps have blown it repeatedly”?

TERRY

“You penis flytraps” is easily one of my favorite lines I’ve heard this year, Joe. Karen is just the right amount of bitchy realness that I can’t help but love her (as a fictional character; I would absolutely loathe her in the real world). That means the script and actor Harriet Webb are firing on all cylinders.

I actually hope that Karen isn’t the killer. While I would absolutely, er, kill, for her to deliver the killer monologue with the same kind of brash, gay-bitchy dialogue she’s become known for, her apathetic “I’m over this” persona matched with her intensity brings me so much joy.

I didn’t realize until this episode that she was also part of the military unit. I should have known this obviously because of who she hired and the way in which she controls them with military precision…but it just didn’t register until she compared Lauren (Amber Grappy)’s exhaustion to storming the Taliban stronghold on only an hour of sleep. What I love about this line is that it’s obviously ridiculous but it also gives us a little insight into what makes Karen tick.

Onto the characters, I do somewhat like the Vivian/Lily relationship. A bit less so now that the cards are on the table. Yes, I did love the wink and a nod to She’s All That with the bet between Lily and the “Eton Antichrist” Nile (Ned Costello), but it kind of cheapens their relationship.

Yes, it works in the confines of a romantic comedy, but realistically why would Vivian continue to hang out with a woman who’s so entitled that they participate in a game to bed the working class? That’s not a very strong foundation to build a relationship on. The fact it gives us a Titanic love scene is a cherry on the top of a cruise ship romance, though.

What did work for me is the way in which the narrative has begun bringing together a found family for our lost protagonists Jamie and Vivian. Now that the real Cormac and Rosie are together and know what’s going on with Jamie and his quest, I love that they’re making their own chosen family.

I’m starting to think that my initial (and somewhat ridiculous) thought that Cormac is the killer Duckie (or, as we find out in this episode, Quacky) is wrong…which I’m thankful for. I like that tall drink of water and he brings an easy-breezy good representation of a straight man. Aside from the kind of creepy (but ultimately cute) way he was following Rosie, his behavior towards Jamie has been nothing but kind. It’s the antithesis of toxic masculinity and I appreciate a good himbo with golden retriever energy.

The battle between Karen and the Entertainers could easily be filler as it's one of those sitcom-esque complications that gets resolved by the end of the episode. But it also helps humanize Sophia, who starts to see Lauren as a real person. About midway through the episode, Sophia is bawling in the restroom and ends up having a conversation with Lauren, who is also lamenting a lost relationship. This brief conversation is an eye-opener for Sophia, who sees Lauren plunging the toilets and says, “We all deserve better.” Until this moment, it was an Entertainers-only mentality. From there, whenever we do get the Entertainers vs. Karen battles, Lauren is part of the crowd. So while it is a rather sitcom situation, it does help move the characters forward and it’s quite funny.

I’m starting to wonder, though, if Karen and crew are trying to keep a lid on the deaths for a different reason?

We haven’t really seen a whole lot of Duckie for a show that puts the character front and center. This allows the story to not get swept up in the purposefully silly killer mascot storyline and, instead, focuses on class dynamics within the ship. But the number of people who could potentially be under the mask is quickly drying up.

Sure, it could be Karen or one of her lackeys. But I am wondering if there’s something a bit more supernatural going on simply because the list of possible suspects is becoming either too obvious or non-existent.

But back to you, Joe. Do you have any thoughts on who the killer(s) could possibly be? What do you think about the flashbacks and how they present Pippa as well as Jamie, pre-ship? Do you have any thoughts on what Pippa was drawing under her carpet? Finally, what do you think the list of names signifies in terms of this killer and Pippa vanishing?

JOE

I’m with you that I don’t want it to be Karen and the Officer lackeys because it’s simply too obvious now. And even if it is, I think you’re right that it won’t be for the reasons we think. After all, the series has already shifted from a lover’s spat involving Pippa and Danny to the drug war between the crew and the Filipinnos to now the armed forces of the Officers.

I think we’ve actually been overthinking it, Terry (you especially because your Cormac theory was always too wild! ;))

Let’s revisit who has been in front of our face and repeatedly brought to the fore in every episode: Pippa. What if it was someone else as Duckie at the beginning (take your pick: Danny or Officer Sam or Jerome, even), but what if it’s been Pippa getting her revenge ever since?

After all: we both said in the first few reviews that if you don’t have a body, there hasn’t been a murder because that character is still alive. And since everyone thinks she died by suicide and is out of sight and out of mind, no one is even considering her as a potential suspect…including us.

It would offer an explanation for the map, since she needs to know all of the ship’s hiding places, secret compartments and alleyways, etc. Particularly that hidden passage that we have seen Duckie use multiple times to move around and hide bodies.

Now whether the names tie into that hypothesis, or they’re simply embroiled in the ship’s black market drug business, or there’s something else coming down the pike, I don’t know. It’s possible that we don’t recognize any of the names because they’re just the MacGuffin to lead us to the computer records featuring the many staff who have “Absconded” and set up this Karen/ball pit finale. It’s Wreck: anything goes!

Terry, back to you: how will Jamie get out of this jam? Is there any danger Olly thinks he’s been stood up and we don’t get more kissing until late(r) in the season? And what will happen next episode (where is Jerome’s body?!)

TERRY

It’s not looking good for Jamie, but he’ll obviously get away from his would-be kidnappers (murderers?) but I can’t for the life of me think how, given how many Officers there are standing over him. But I imagine he’ll escape and, I imagine, run straight to Olly in the projection booth. I think that if he shows up presumably disheveled, Olly’s annoyance will turn to concern…though, I think this is the moment where Jamie is going to have to come clean about who he really is.

Considering the discussion about telling the truth, not being who you say you are, etc., has happened between the two of them, I’m curious to see Olly’s reaction. Part of me thinks he’s going to be okay, if annoyed, because they seem to be really into each other and Olly is a good guy so far.

Onto more pressing matters, with Danny (Jack Rowan)’s body gone, our Scooby gang will need to find Jerome’s body if they want to have any evidence. I’m guessing he’s in the walls somewhere…but I think that will be the big narrative thrust of this episode. Without some kind of evidence, it’s the workers versus upper management on a ship where the threat of being dropped off in some unknown country keeps floating to the surface.

We have two episodes left, Joe, and I am excited because it’s time to start getting answers! Next week, we’ll be back at Queer.Horror.Movies for the penultimate episode of this (already renewed) season!