Pirates of Dark Water Rewatch: The Beast and the Bell

Episode 8: The Beast and the Bell

Original Airdate: November 2, 1991

Written By: Matthew Malach and Bill Matheny

Directed By: Don Lusk and Paul Sommer (Supervising Direction: Ray Patterson)

In an open marketplace on an unnamed island at an unnamed port, Ren and Niddler shop for supplies, attempting to bargain as they have little money. A pair of merchants dismiss Ren for having little money, then go as far as to mock him and push him into the harbor when he dares to high hat them. They don’t know him to be the son of a king and really don’t care to hear it.

On the Wraith, Ioz kvetches about Ren’s dawdling as Tula worries more about strange feelings she’s been having. She’s shocked to spot a screaming, horned face appear on the surface of the mast, but has no explanation for Ioz, who doesn’t see it before it disappears.

Ren and Niddler return to the ship and get berated from Ioz for their lack of ability to gain supplies. Ren thinks his bloodline and their mission should be enough to get a discount, Ioz thinks real pirates don’t need to bargain, they should just steal what they need. Ren gets petulant about people not believing him and the compass goes berserk. Light starts shooting out of the compass, severing lines and ricocheting off bulkheads, driving Niddler off the ship and blinding the crew. The compass drags Ren to the bow, where the light beam causes water to erupt, bringing about a visage of Primus. This image of Primus tells Ren to go to the island of Banjamar and ring the Bell of the First Sound, a magical device even more powerful than the Thirteen Treasures of Rule. If he does so, he’ll be able to destroy all the Dark Water, thereby saving Mer. After the image fades, Ren tells an incredulous Ioz and Tula and orders the Wraith to set sail.

Amid stormy seas, Tula continues to voice her concerns about feeling uneasy before Banjamar is spotted. The island has a broken ring of stones orbiting it, from the waterline and up. Ren attempts to sail the Wraith through one of the breaks, failing by bouncing the ship off the swirling stones and sending Niddler overboard. Ren reinforces his desire to end the quest by ringing the bell, stunning the others into silence, who are seeing this trip as folly. Niddler climbs back aboard, covered in squid creatures called ‘amphicites’. Ren sees these critters as a way onto the island, as they are filled with oxygen. Leaving the Wraith at anchor and placing the amphicites on their heads, the crew swims underwater and below the ring of stones, to get to Banjamar.

Ashore, Ren is eager to continue quickly, while Ioz is less so. Two large-lobed, uniformed men with military forks spot Ren and pin him with sonic beams emitted from their weapons. With a threat from Ioz, the men capture the whole crew, calling them intruders.

Brought before a disbelieving elder named Kangent, Ren keeps up with his exuberant need to follow the directives of the Primus image. When he mentions the Bell of the First Sound, the soldiers and crowd gathered grow restless and wary. Kangent has the crew brought to the “still room” as Ren whines about no one ever believing he’s a prince. Once they’ve gone, a soldier and Kangent discuss whether Ren may be telling the truth, except that Primus would never have placed the Bell in jeopardy…

The “still room” is a prison cell where the sound of movement causes bars of light to erupt from the floor. Stay still, and the bars go away. Tula is pressed to use her ecomancer powers to keep the bars from appearing, freeing everyone.

Ren is sure of where the Bell is being kept, having watched how the crowd reacted to his mention of it earlier. Tula’s skepticism of the whole adventure grows, but Ren plods on, continuing to believe the image of his father. The crew is spotted by guards in their attempt to gain access to the building the Bell is in, but Ioz uses a stolen sonic fork to allow Ren and Tula in.

The Bell of the First Sound is a huge thing, easily dwarfing any of our heroes. Hung at about 8 feet off the floor, Ren gets ready to strike the Bell with a nearby sonic fork and rid Mer of Dark Water. Tula sees a design on the outer side of the Bell that looks like a winged creature with the same face that she saw on the Wraith earlier. She tries to stop Ren, but it’s too late. He strikes, ringing the Bell and freeing the creature Kiroptus.

Thanking Ren, Kiroptus grabs him, monologuing about being trapped for 17 years and also searching for the 13 Treasures. Ren is completely confused until Kiroptus transforms his head into that of Primus, teasing him. Ren is appalled at being tricked and vows revenge.

Kangent arrives in the building, shocked to see Kiroptus free. Tula takes his sonic fork and attacks the creature, who wants Ren’s compass. Ren gets free and Kangent calls everyone to join him under the Bell, as Kiroptus will not touch it. Soldiers arrive with Ioz, and they drive Kiroptus off, who then flies through the ceiling.

At the rooms of the Elder, Kangent apologizes for not believing the impetuous Ren. Ioz blames Kangent, though he explains that Primus requested that no one was ever to reveal knowledge of the Bell to any outsider. Kangent then begins to explain the history of Primus, Kiroptus and the 13 Treasures.

The Thirteen Treasures of Rule are seals to the core of Mer, where an evil entity called the Dark Dweller is said to reside. Some time ago, he broke through the seal, and using his minion Kiroptus, had the treasures scattered all over Mer. The Dark Dweller cracked the bottom of the oceans, forcing out the Dark Water that now continues to plague the world. Primus’ goal was to recover the Treasures and rebuild the seal, which brought him into contact with Kiroptus. Primus discovered the power of Bell of the First Sound and asked Kangent to help in imprisoning the creature.

Ren offers to help recapture Kiroptus, who is likely still on the island, as he wants the compass and probably wouldn’t leave without it. A plan is committed to play, using the compass as a lure, much like the first time. Kiroptus hauls the Bell out of the building using an anchor to hook it, casting it aside so he can nab the compass. Kangent makes a hole in the stones around Banjamar with a sonic fork to allow Ren and Niddler to fly out to the Wraith and retrieve their Treasures of Rule.  Kiroptus follows them out, where a brief melee ensues. Ren escapes on a never-before-seen hang glider, returning to Banjamar. Kiroptus beats him back to the Bell, so Ren runs off to hide, scooting into a nearby house. Kiroptus follows him, using the compass to locate the treasures Ren carries. Ren leads him into the house, triumphantly exclaiming to Kiroptus. Why? The “house” is actually the real Bell of the First Sound, dressed up to look like a home. Ren strikes the side of the Bell, which starts drawing the evil servant of the Dark Dweller into the side of the Bell. Ren tried to regain the compass from Kiroptus, who grabs Ren. Ren is now also being drawn into the Bell! Tula, Ioz and Niddler are able to drag Ren free, Kiroptus is returned to imprisonment and everything is back to normal.

With the Bell restored to its original location, Kangent offers to throw a feast for Ren and his friends, while Ren asks to learn more of his father, as well as the Dark Dweller.

Mutant Scum – A few more peoples of Mer that look less than human appear in THE BEAST AND THE BELL, most significantly the denizens of Banjamar. These folk have stretched, lengthy earlobes and sallow colored skin. Kangent has a slightly feline look, while a few others have three fingers. Not one of them back down when it comes to fighting or seem stupid, which is a nice change. Also in the episode is the first appearance of the amphicites, cool squids with a transparent sac of oxygen within them. Seeing Niddler with one on his face as he swims underwater is an animated sight.

When Do We Get to Eat? Niddler is his hungry self, with numerous foodstuffs mentioned in the very beginning and the very ending of the episode. Anyone for pooka looka pie? Minga Muffins? Biperion eggs? Praja fruit? Still, Niddler has little to do here but be the hungry monkeybird. There is some inconsistency in his being able to fly with wet wings, but it’s all for the good of the story, right?

It’s All in the Art – Banjamar is physically appealing, from the water. The orbiting “sound stones” make the place seem like a prison is some ways, but it’s definitely interesting to look at. Nice design.

Ahoy, skarpango pirate! Welcome aboard, Kangent. Voiced by veteran actor Rene Auberjonois (either known from Clayton Endicott III from BENSON or Odo from STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, it’s up to you), the story treats the viewer to another of Primus’ old friends, though this one has a ton more information than a few of the last. Kangent will be seen again, though not immediately.

This one feels like a mission directive from on high: tell these kids something about Dark Water or we’ll do it for you. There’s a lot to absorb in a short period of time, as usual. It’s not necessarily a bad thing and it’s not really forced on the viewer, it’s just Ren being a brat that’s grating. This is another episode in the rewatch that I don’t recall well. I remember Kiroptus and I remember the title giving away the plot when it popped on the screen – it’s pretty transparent. What makes the story lag is the lack of Ioz, Tula and even the pirates of the Maelstrom. Yes, there isn’t even one single appearance by anyone from their enemy’s ship, even at the marketplace in the opening. Although the plot may suffer, there is a larger mythology connected solely here, as the Dark Dweller has not even been mentioned in any earlier episodes. If you look deeper at the rhyme from THE QUEST, you can start to assume that the “other” searching for the treasures may not actually be Bloth, which opens the show way up in potential plots and stories. So, while the entirety of THE BEAST AND THE BELL may be exposition, it’s well desired and in some cases, needed after seven episodes. Talk about a lengthy build!

I’ve given this one three out of five minga melons, only because it’s got needed mythology. I’ll discuss the Dark Dweller’s appearance in a later episode, when he becomes active in the story.