Masks
Pick A Card, Any Card
Episode 2 of High Seas Season 3 begins with the evening’s entertainment getting underway. A magician no less! He amuses the crowd and calls Carolina up to stage. She’s understandably nervous but agrees to let him make her disappear. Meanwhile, Eva is handed a note by one of the staff onboard the ship. It’s from Steve and he has urgent news for her. As she heads up to see him, he’s suddenly shot dead by gunshot. Only, whoever shot him clearly knows what they’re doing and they have a silencer on their pistol. As Steve bleeds out, just before he dies he utters the word “Katona.” Varela obviously arrives on scene along with everyone else and casts his suspicious eyes on Eva. She lies, of course, telling them she doesn’t know who he is.
The Investigation
Fernando, the Captain and the others decide to investigate Steve’s cabin for clues. Within, they find a radio and an empty vial that could be used for the virus. In order to get to the bottom of this, they call in Doctor Ayala for assistance. Realizing that Steve has many secrets, the group press on and figure out what’s happening. When Eva returns to her cabin, she finds Fabio sitting sternly, trying to work out what went wrong in their operation. Someone is on to them and given the dead end with Jean-Paul, they’re back to square one. Convinced that they’ve missed something, Eva admits that Steve uttered “Katona” before he died, which Fabio reveals is Hungarian for soldier but also a surname.
Alex Katona
Alex Katona, one of Untermann’s students, certainly matches the description. Could he be one of the passengers onboard? Fabio certainly thinks so. It could be that Steve saw Untermann and Katona together, with the teacher passing on his work to the student to carry on. Carolina meanwhile, sits with Fernando and they discuss Eva’s motivations. Fernando immediately suspects something but remains loyal to his wife despite his suspicions. Meanwhile, Doctor Ayala heads back and speaks to Carmen about their plan. Given Eva knows about the virus, they decide to ramp up their plans going forward. They too know about the virus and as Carmen looks over Diana’s bandaged body, she tells Ayala that the time is now. On the back of what’s happened, Natalia recommends they tighten security and have patrols in the hallway. Given the rotten luck this ship seems to have, Hector backs them up and forces the Captain into agreeing. Fabio meets back up with Eva and admits that his real name isn’t really Fabio. However, before we find out his real name, the duo remain fixated on tracking down who Alex Katona is as he may hold the key to this.
Dopplegangers
Dima approaches Carolina in the hallway and reveals that there’s more to Steve than meets the eye. As she heads into his apartment, she finds his lighter which happens to have a hidden compartment. Within that holds a film reel. Could this hold the clues they need? As Carolina knocks on Eva’s door frantically, she’s sidelined by Carmen who admits that Diana is ill and needs her help. Begrudgingly, Carolina steps into their cabin, just as the Doctor reveals himself and locks the door. He immediately injects her with a muscle relaxant. As Carolina collapses on the ground, Diana stands up and reveals what lies underneath the bandages. She has the exact same face as Carolina! They switch sides and the real Carolina unwillingly assumes Diana’s identity.
Viktor Andonov
Fabio and Eva meet up on deck, where the former admits he’s been following the Bulgarian. He’s convinced that he’s Katona but Eva isn’t so sure. It turns out Fabio actually knows some of the language too, speaking Bulgarian and admitting the man could be playing the part well. Back at their cabin, Carolina (who’s actually Diana of course) returns and quizzes her sister over what’s happening. Varela immediately arrives at the cabin not long after to do a weapon check. It turns out the weapon used was a 9mm Luger so for now they’re in the clear. When he leaves, Eva opens up and reveals the truth to her sister about the virus and how it’s onboard. When she leaves, Fabio arrives and Eva admits tentatively that she revealed the truth about the virus. This causes Fabio to try and cut her loose from the investigation but she refuses. Hector heads up and speaks to Natalia about the Captain, and in particular how unstable he seems. Hector is determined to cause issues and he eventually stands up and passionately kisses Natalia. She doesn’t seem to mind though and the pair get intimate. Veronica arrives in Carmen’s cabin and pleads with her silently to help. Although she suspects something afoul, Carmen arrives just in time to stop the maid from discovering the truth.
Another Missing Person
That evening, Carolina (who’s actually Diana) and Eva head to dinner but their table has been reserved by someone else… a table for two including Viktor Andonov and a mysterious other. Could this be Katona and Undermann? Refusing to speak to Diana about the matter, Eva instead heads back to Fabio but he continues to shun her and refuses to engage in her line of thinking. While Eva watches his table like a hawk, Ana distracts her from the balcony and convinces her to follow. There, she shows Eva Viktor’s room which happens to be completely trashed. Blood spatters are on the floor too and whoever was here, clearly has a serious vendetta against him. Down in the basement, another body happens to be strung up to a chair, bloodied and bruised. Viktor Andonov.
The Episode Review
Alas, the plot continues to thicken. Who is responsible for killing Viktor Andonov? The murder mystery element of this is certainly heating up and there’s lot of questions still to be answered. Much like last season’s incredulous ghost at the end, this time we get doppelgangers. Why is Diana disguised as Carolina? What’s the end-goal here? Someone is clearly involved in all of this and so far High Seas has done a wonderful job wrapping up this delicious murder mystery into a big, fat question mark. It’s not perfect, but it is simple and enjoyable entertainment. The door is left wide open for the next episode but let’s hope we get some answers sooner rather than later!
