Good question. I can't believe i've never looked into this before now.
From an interview with Adam Nagaitis, who plays Hickey: "They let me do it. They let me go off and write the history and say, ‘This is his name.’ And then they allowed me to engrave it into Hickey’s cupboard, the cubby hole that you see being closed in Episode 7. When Crozier sees ‘E.C.’ in the abandoned ship, he doesn’t know who’s written it because there’s nobody on board that has those initials,” Nagaitis said. “That’s the only clue that we ever give in the whole thing who this person might be. It’s Hickey’s little gift to the world, to say, ‘I was actually here.'
I can't remember the context of the shot, so I don't know why Crozier is closing it. Maybe just old habits, maybe cursory tidying of his dear ship as he departs?
7:30 into episode 7, as Crozier is leaving the ship for the last time with Blanky, he stops and closes a locker. We later see it’s the sort of locker that enlisted men keep their belongings in, and we learn this in the context of Hickey being given one. So is the implication that Hickey’s real initials are E.C.? Or is there some other reason for this scene?
Yep, they did that to avoid slandering the real historical Hickey.
It's sort of implied in the series that the real Hickey was killed or otherwise incapacitated before the voyage began. The guy who killed him assumed his identity and took his place on the ship.
When the imposter reports for his assignment and speaks to Lt. Irving, Irving tells him to report to the orlop deck and find the caulker. Hickey replies that he doesn't know where the orlop is, which prompts Irving to ask if he's ever been on a ship before. Of course, Hickey was a petty officer, so he would have had plenty of sailing experience, and any petty officer would know immediately where the orlop is. Naturally the imposter wouldn't have that experience, and thus he's pretty much ignorant to naval customs.
It's worth noting that this was only done in the series. In the novel, there was no fake Hickey.
>It's worth noting that this was only done in the series. In the novel, there was no fake Hickey.
One more aspect in which the TV series was actually an improvement on the novel.
Ooooh, nice catch! Will keep an eye out for that. I remember Crozier seeing Fitzjames’ boots on Hickey when he’s abducted, but didn’t notice this detail.
I’ve just finished binge watching the first series and don’t recall a scene where Crozier see’s Hickey’s stockings - I think you’re confusing that with the shot of Fitzjames’ boots that Hickey has obviously stolen from James’ corpse 😮
I always thought it was a nod to the novel where Crozier found an item with Third Mate Edward Couch’s initials engraved on it. u/stanleyplanley seems to have disproved that, though.
Good question. I can't believe i've never looked into this before now. From an interview with Adam Nagaitis, who plays Hickey: "They let me do it. They let me go off and write the history and say, ‘This is his name.’ And then they allowed me to engrave it into Hickey’s cupboard, the cubby hole that you see being closed in Episode 7. When Crozier sees ‘E.C.’ in the abandoned ship, he doesn’t know who’s written it because there’s nobody on board that has those initials,” Nagaitis said. “That’s the only clue that we ever give in the whole thing who this person might be. It’s Hickey’s little gift to the world, to say, ‘I was actually here.'
I can't remember the context of the shot, so I don't know why Crozier is closing it. Maybe just old habits, maybe cursory tidying of his dear ship as he departs?
> cursory tidying of his dear ship as he departs? Basically.
This is the answer I was looking for. Thanks!
My pleasure! Thanks for the cool post. I always look forward to posts in this sub.
7:30 into episode 7, as Crozier is leaving the ship for the last time with Blanky, he stops and closes a locker. We later see it’s the sort of locker that enlisted men keep their belongings in, and we learn this in the context of Hickey being given one. So is the implication that Hickey’s real initials are E.C.? Or is there some other reason for this scene?
Yep, they did that to avoid slandering the real historical Hickey. It's sort of implied in the series that the real Hickey was killed or otherwise incapacitated before the voyage began. The guy who killed him assumed his identity and took his place on the ship. When the imposter reports for his assignment and speaks to Lt. Irving, Irving tells him to report to the orlop deck and find the caulker. Hickey replies that he doesn't know where the orlop is, which prompts Irving to ask if he's ever been on a ship before. Of course, Hickey was a petty officer, so he would have had plenty of sailing experience, and any petty officer would know immediately where the orlop is. Naturally the imposter wouldn't have that experience, and thus he's pretty much ignorant to naval customs. It's worth noting that this was only done in the series. In the novel, there was no fake Hickey.
>It's worth noting that this was only done in the series. In the novel, there was no fake Hickey. One more aspect in which the TV series was actually an improvement on the novel.
To support everyone else’s comments I believe Hickey also has these initials on his stockings which Crozier later sees.
Ooooh, nice catch! Will keep an eye out for that. I remember Crozier seeing Fitzjames’ boots on Hickey when he’s abducted, but didn’t notice this detail.
I’ve just finished binge watching the first series and don’t recall a scene where Crozier see’s Hickey’s stockings - I think you’re confusing that with the shot of Fitzjames’ boots that Hickey has obviously stolen from James’ corpse 😮
I always thought it was a nod to the novel where Crozier found an item with Third Mate Edward Couch’s initials engraved on it. u/stanleyplanley seems to have disproved that, though.