An All-American Welcome Greets 'Atlantic Crossing' Episode 3

Episode 3 of Atlantic Crossing opens in Scotland, where Olav and General Fleisher (Stig R. Amdam) are gloomily drilling the Norwegian Brigade. The recruits are volunteers from whaling ships, who may have a great attitude and harpoon skills, but are of little use since the Allies won’t allow them to use weapons. Fleisher believes that the Allies will support an invasion to seize control of Norway’s iron ore, but Olav is skeptical, before being distracted by learning that the course of the ship carrying his wife and children to the U.S. has been altered by the Americans, and is now crossing a minefield.

We’re plunged right into a very unsettling scene. Lifeboats have been lowered to the sides of the ship, where Norwegian sailors, most of whom look very young and frightened, scan the water for mines. An alarm goes off, and Märtha, telling the children it’s just a drill, takes them on deck. Her daughters, dealing with anxiety and missing their father, bicker, and as Märtha tries to restore order, Harald wanders off in search of diversion. In the family’s cabin, he finds his mother’s purse and opens the small pillbox containing some pretty, turquoise-colored candy. His mother bursts in, horrified, and pries the cyanide pill from his mouth.

Olav learns, to his relief, that the ship has arrived safely in New York, where Märtha throws the cyanide pills into the sea as they sail past the Statue of Liberty. “Now we are safe,” she says. Her children are excited by the sights of New York, and she films them on her movie camera. At the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, she’s greeted by a crowd waving Norwegian flags, and then by Ambassador Morgenstierne (Trond Teigen), who’s arranged a press conference with an enthusiastic group of journalists. But Märtha insists that she call London to talk to Olav first.