Every season, the Drama After Dark team gathers ‘round the (currently virtual) conference room table to watch the latest and greatest in all things drama. This month, our colleagues at MASTERPIECE are bringing us Atlantic Crossing, a historical dramatization of the relationship between US President Franklin Roosevelt and Norwegian Crown Princess Martha set against the backdrop of WWII. I’m here to recap the show as it happens.
Our story begins in the lush green hills of the Hudson Valley in 1939. “But wait,” I hear you cry. “This is MASTERPIECE we’re talking about — shouldn’t we be in Derbyshire or something?” Prepare yourselves, friends: we’re not in the proverbial Kansas of the English countryside anymore: we’re in the good old US of A, and we’re making our way across New York state on a train.
On the train are a very cute couple who appear to be on vacation. As is the way of all dynamic duos, the one with the camera is badgering the other to just pose for a cute photo in his new cowboy hat already! Picture taken, and “everything’s bigger in America” innuendo innuended, the pair get down to the important business of making out. Unfortunately for them, there really isn’t time for a train quickie, because they’ve arrived at the station where a crowd of adoring Norwegians awaits them. Based on the show’s synopsis, I’ve gathered that these two are the royalty we were promised: Crown Princess Martha and her husband, Prince Olav. Now normally, readers of my recaps know I’d be giving them cutesy nicknames, but since these folks are historical figures AND their story is, hopefully in a surprise to no one, pretty intense, I’m gonna go ahead and call them by their names.
Disembarking (after setting their various clothing to rights), the pair are greeted by reporters, who get the basic pat answers they deserve: America is beautiful, everyone is nice, and the couple would rather spend time with each other than talk to the press.
Reporter: Prince Olav, what do you think of America so far?
Olav: Platitudes!
Reporter: What about you, Princess Martha? What do you like best about America?
Martha, still thinking about their railway activities: My husband.
Frankly, it’s a hilarious answer, and while she’s embarrassed, our other main character Special Agent Dale Cooper FDR is delighted. Yes, our Norwegian friends are being hosted by the powerhouse 32nd President of the United States and his even more impressive wife (I said what I said).
FDR: I tell ya, I thought that was charming. I wish my wife would say something like that!
Eleanor: Keep dreamin’, bub.
FDR: Anyway, I can see why all of America has a huge crush on you both — I sure do!
Eleanor: Ugh, enough small talk. Olav, pal, what’s the deal: are we headed for The Great War II: Even Greater, or what?
Olav: Uhhhhh. Unclear? Hitler seems content to just focus on Poland.
Eleanor: Do you think he’s going to invade?
FDR: Quit it with the shop talk, Ellie! They’re trying to avoid thinking about Major World Events on vacation, and since the internet hasn’t been invented yet, they still can!
Eleanor: Well I guess I’ll just head into the kitchen then; speaking of avoiding thinking about things, I’d like to ignore your embarrassing jokes.
FDR: Well, that’s my wife: absolutely brilliant, and a total workaholic buzzkill.
Speaking of a buzzkill, the presidential grandkids seem to have chucked their ball into the pool. They require assistance, which Olav readily volunteers to give.
FDR: So, did you really have a good visit?
Martha: Definitely — I love America.
FDR: Well I love you too. I mean, America loves you too.
One year later, it seems Eleanor was right to worry. The Allied powers have declared war, and tensions mount as the world waits to find out who will attack first. In the White House, FDR ponders the fate of Norway.
Eleanor: Why are you sitting in the dark like a weirdo? Come to dinner.
FDR: Hitler.
Eleanor: No, he’s not invited.
FDR: Zing. Anyway, looks like he’s planning to head north to Denmark or Norway.
Eleanor: But they’re neutral… can he really deal with another front right now?
FDR: He’s going to have to — Norway’s got all the steel, and there’s no point trying to build the longest road if you don’t have resources.
Eleanor: Well that’s awful news. I hope the people are prepared.
Guess what: they’re not! Over in Norway, Martha continues to cultivate her #Influencer status, taking pictures of her kids frolicking in the snow. But she has other pressing matters to attend to: various functions and engagements, and refusing to talk to the press. She’s also a bit distracted by the household staff putting up blackout curtains. Olav, it seems, has drawn the same conclusions as our pal FDR: Germany might attack. It’s hard to tell if Olav is deliberately keeping Martha in the dark (metaphorically, in addition to the literal blackout curtains) when he says that he thinks they’re unlikely to be invaded and that the English mines in the waters around Norway are just a precaution. We’ll have to wait and see. Anyway, despite their efforts to play it cool in front of their kids, they’re both freaking out, and you can tell because Martha’s nose starts bleeding like a faucet.
While German planes attack Norwegian ships at sea, life is still relatively normal for the royal family. The King visits, and gets into a convo about UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s latest speech. The highlight is that Churchill intimated that if the smaller neutral nations (like Norway) had just sacked up and joined the Allies, war might have been avoided.
Olav: Well if the cabinet weren’t so cowardly, we would have mobilized against Hitler already.
Martha: Guys, not in front of the kids. Children, this is just silly adult stuff, don’t worry your pretty little heads about it, ok?
King Grandpa, convincingly lying to the kids: Oh, definitely: we’re just talking about this because those newspapers won’t shut up about it. They’re like the teacher in Charlie Brown! Anyway, let’s all be distracted by ice cream!
Kids: Yay!
After dinner, while the family enjoys their nighttime routine, Olav gets called away to deal with an urgent phone call that shatters the family’s happy evening.
The oldest, smartest kid: Soooo… is Germany going to invade?
Martha: No way! Norway is neutral, and that means no one is allowed to do that, not even Germany.
Later on, Olav questions Martha — does she really think Germany won’t attack? To be fair to her, it would be unprecedented. But Olav delivers the bad news from the phone call earlier: the Germans have attacked a passenger ship, which is as much of a “we’re coming for ya, neutral or not” as Norway might get. Olav is pissed: this was a ship full of vulnerable people, and the cabinet still refuses to act. But since Norway has a constitutional monarchy, he can’t override their decision. He drops the issue for the time being, but you better believe that he rolls up to the next state function just WAITING to pounce on the Prime Minister and ask what the heck he intends to do about the attack.
Olav: We have to do something, hundreds of people could have died!
Prime Minister: But it’s fine, everyone lived!
King Grandpa: I think we should kick all the German ships out of Norwegian waters.
Prime Minister: Well the English are also meddling in our business; are we going to kick them out too?
Olav: They didn’t attack us!
Prime Minister: But if we want to remain neutral, we gotta hear both sides!
Olav, louder: Screw neutrality, we’ve already lost a bunch of our ships and our citizens are getting killed!
Martha: Nothing to see here, other party goers!
King Grandpa: We need to act!
Prime Minister: And have them declare war on us? No thanks! They’re bigger and stronger than us; all we can do is formally protest. Anyway, I have to go, this hasn’t been fun at all. Bye!
Olav, also furious, storms off in the opposite direction, giving Martha a chance to corner the American Ambassador Florence Harriman, who is also a kickass historical lady who I fear will not get as much screen time as I desire in this series.
Martha: Hey girl, quick question. Any updates from American intelligence re: a German invasion? Olav is worried and our government is acting like the real threat is Great Britain.
Me: I mean to be fair in almost any other circumstance this would be a reasonable thing to worry about, those jerks colonized EVERYONE.
Florence the Ambassador: Uh. Look, we all hope that Norway doesn’t have to get involved.
Martha: Don’t screw with me, Flo. Tell me.
Florence the Ambassador: Ok, so you know how in war you need a lot of steel? Well that’s your whole deal, and since everyone gets it from here, yeah: there’s a risk that Germany could invade.
Martha: Wait, like imminently?
Florence the Ambassador: Yeah, I’d plan for the worst, bud!
Literally the next day, Martha’s butler/second in command/household manager Ragni comes home to find her kids heading out for a preparedness drill. She’s not feeling it: this seems kind of unsafe AND like a major bummer. Given how dark this show is likely to get, I can’t blame her, but also, as a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts, I have to support the “be prepared” ethos. Anyway, the kids head out, after promising to come straight home if anything bad happens.
At the royal family’s house, Olav catches the latest news on the wireless: German troops are massing at the Danish border. In even worse news, German ships have been torpedoed off the coast of Norway, and while it’s not clear how it happened, this seems to be shaping up into a real Gulf of Tonkin situation i.e. the kind of maritime incident that propels everyone into war whether they like it or not. Olav sees that as confirmation of the writing on the wall: the Germans are coming. The plan: Olav is going to drop Martha and the kids off at their secluded cabin to wait out the conflict. He assumes that England will protect Norway, but regardless, he won’t just sit around while others risk their lives.
Martha: Dude, you’re the heir to the throne.
Olav: But I’m an officer!
Martha: Yeah, symbolically! This isn’t the War of the Roses, you’re not expected to actually be good in battle anymore!
Olav: I don’t want to just be a figurehead. I’m gonna help protect our country. It’ll be over in a few days, don’t worry.
Martha: Promise we’ll stay together no matter what!
Olav: Uh, no can do. Anyway, that’s the bad news siren: go wake up the kids and prepare them to flee.
At Ragni’s house, we find out that the royal family and the cabinet will be evacuated, and Ragni and company are going too. Her husband Nikolai, who appears to be some kind of secret service type, seems awfully chill about the whole situation, including the fact that their older kids are off on a training exercise. He even says they’ll just leave some bus money so the kids can meet them later on. I have a bad feeling about this plan, and I really hope I’m wrong (I’m almost certainly not wrong).
At the Royal family’s house, they’re a second away from leaving when they hear planes flying overhead. I’m just going to say it: the family is wearing some truly remarkable “sneaking out in the dead of night” fashion. Very Family Von Trapp. Martha and the kids shelter inside while Olav checks outside. Lucky for them, they’re Norwegian planes: the Germans don’t have anything so old and crappy. The family bundles into a car, leaving many of the household staff behind. I know we’re meant to only care about our main characters, but I have to say, I’m worried about all these folks who don’t have the weight of being royalty on their side!
The next morning, they meet up with King Grandpa and others at the train station. He reminds everyone that they’re setting an example for the crowd, and have to stay calm and dignified even though they’re all, rightly, freaking the f out. It’s a good thing they were prepped, because we find out that overnight the German forces took three major Norwegian cities. The current plan is basically to get everyone to Hamar, a town inland of Oslo, where the cabinet and parliament can have an emergency meeting and make a plan. While the royal family mostly keep it together, the Prime Minister is visibly freaking out, and looks like he slept in a wind tunnel. On the way onto the train, Olav and Martha overhear a troubling conversation — the mobilization order was sent out overnight by post. Germany is claiming that they had to invade to defend Norway from the English and French. Olav is, as usual, really mad: the mobilization is going out so slowly it’ll take days for the armies to get ready.
As the train starts moving, Martha tries to sit with the kids, but Olav and Nikolai stop her — the royal family has to be separated in case the train is attacked. This seems like something that would be standard protocol, but at the same time, YIKES. Mid-journey, the train stops suddenly as German planes begin flying overhead. Everyone rushes outside as quickly as possible and takes shelter in the train station, and just in time too: the planes begin shelling the area.
Back at the palace, the occupying German forces line up the household staff at gunpoint and start asking where the royal family has gone. I think we all know where this is going, and hopefully we won't have to see these people get murdered to protect their employers, but only time will tell. The commander almost immediately kills the family dog, so I wouldn't count on it.
At the train station, the group debates their next move. They’re concerned that the German planes will soon start attacking the station in earnest, and while it’s holding up for now, it won’t be safe under heavy bombardment. They need to leave, but the train will attract too much attention. One of the parliament members suggests that they split into smaller, less conspicuous groups for safety. Initially the group refuses, arguing that anything less than a united group is tantamount to surrender, but when they find out that Denmark has fallen, everyone quickly makes the call to press on.
Back at home, Ragni’s kids come home to find the rest of their family gone, and a very brief note on the table. Thankfully, they seem resourceful and scrappy, so hopefully they’ll get to Hamar in time, but given what’s happening down the road at the royal palace, I am concerned! By that same evening, so are their parents. Ragni wants to have either her or her husband wait for the kids at Hamar, but he’s gotten more recent military updates, and is worried that the kids might not get there at all. The roads out of Oslo have been closed. She doesn’t want to leave the children, but he points out that they have duties to their work. Obviously, this is an absolutely wretched position to be in; there’s really no good answer. With no other option, and with the knowledge that the German forces are rapidly approaching, everyone bundles into cars to press onward. In the car, Martha and Olav try to make a plan.
Martha: Germany isn’t attacking Sweden. We should go there.
Olav: We can’t. My dad, King Grandpa, won’t leave Norway.
Martha, correct: Well we can’t stay here!
Later that night, the family splits up. Olav and King Grandpa are to stay together with the members of parliament and the cabinet, while the rest of the family flees across the border. They all think it’ll only be for a few days, but we know better. As everyone drives into the darkness of an uncertain future, the family’s car throws a flat tire. Their guards work to change it when they hear noises from the woods surrounding the road. Martha, incredibly quick thinking, tells the kids to play hide and seek on the floor of the car, but when a mysterious armed man knocks on her window, it’s still terrifying and I (and I’m guessing all the adults on the show) assume they’re toast. Thankfully, the mysterious stranger is part of the Norwegian Army. They’ve stopped the car because they heard the German forces were closing in; they tell the family to drive hell for leather for the border, and they’ll try to cover them.
In the other group, Olav and King Grandpa see German planes approaching behind them. They keep driving. King Grandpa, still a parent, pushes his son down and tries to shield him with his body. The planes don’t stop, and don’t attack the cars.
At the Swedish border, the guards ask for passports, which in their haste, the family does not have. Martha hands over her Swedish driver's license, but even though the guard immediately realizes who she is, he maintains that they cannot cross without their passports.
Martha: Seriously, guy? The Germans are pursuing us. Open the border!
Guard: Yeah, that’s clearly part of the issue!
Martha’s Guard: You know, I wonder what YOUR King is going to say when he finds out you wouldn’t let his niece, a Swedish citizen, into her own country?
Guard, not realizing how bad this is going to sound once this is all over: I’m just following orders.
Behind them, more cars (likely German forces) appear in the distance. But Martha isn’t about to wait around to find out who they are. She tells the kids to get down in the back seat, and tells her driver to floor it past the checkpoint. At the last second, the gate guard pulls up the barrier so they don’t go crashing into it, and the family makes it through without anyone getting hurt.
They check into a hotel, and almost immediately, Ragni’s husband Nikolai says he has to leave to go cover Olav. Their youngest kid, who’s too little to have gotten the memo re: duty beating family in the “working for royalty” version of Rock Paper Scissors, asks if dad will go looking for his older siblings.
Nikolai: I’m just not gonna answer that! Everything will be ok.
Ragni: Well this is the worst! Be careful.
Back in Norway, an extremely tense group lunch of the country’s leadership is interrupted by a German attack. They run outside to escape just as the planes start dropping bombs. The group heads for the relative cover of the woods, but in the confusion, Olav and King Grandpa are separated. Before we can find out what’s become of King Grandpa, or even whether Olav and the rest of the government will survive the attack, the episode is over. Now, could I go look up all of these folks on the internet and find out what’s going to happen? Yes, but I shan’t. If you, like me, have only a minimal grasp on Norway’s involvement in WWII and a will to avoid historical spoilers, there’s only one way to find out what happens next: tune in next week for episode 2.
