Thomas Blanky
Background
Thomas Blanky is the ice-master on the HMS Terror in the Discovery Service for the British Royal Navy.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 1 Go for Broke played by Ian Hart
Blanky and Francis Crozier look at the icebergs in front of them and realize it is pack ice due to the snow on top. John Franklin calls a meeting of the officers, including Lt. H.T.D. Le Vesconte, and John Gregory tells them about the damage to the Erebus and Crozier warns Franklin that they will be dealing with pack ice ahead. He asks Lt. Graham Gore how many sun dogs he has seen and suggests they explore King William Land to see if it is an island and Blanky agrees. Franklin decides against his advice and James Fitzjames considers Crozier's warning, melodrama. Crozier then angrily points out that only four people at the table are veterans of the arctic, but Franklin again decides to continue on. Six days later, both ships are stuck in the ice and the next morning they wake up to be surrounded by continuous ice.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 2 Gore played by Ian Hart
Spring, 1847, During the night Blanky finds Crozier out on the deck and Crozier recalls Tad, Parry's boat hauling reindeer, that was brought from Norway, but in the end slaughtered due to their uselessness on the ice. Crozier tells Blanky, he is worried they are like the reindeer and may be out of their depth. Blanky tells Crozier if the ice grows too much. the boats may be crushed by the ice.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 3 The Ladder played by Ian Hart
June, 1847, Lt. Edward Little asks Crozier if he has any experience with Eskimo holding grudges when their loved ones are wronged. Crozier tells him, he wouldn't know as he has never wronged an Eskimo and Blanky tells Little that the Eskimo are too concerned with surviving to start a war. Crozier tells Blanky to come up with a list of the eight most ablest men which he will then lead to find aid. After Franklin is killed by the Tuunbaq, Crozier goes to the Erebus and tells Blanky to start a search party with Lieutenant Fairholme in charge. Fitzjames asks him not to send out the party as Franklin forbade it and Fitzjames asks for one day for the men to grieve.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 5 First Shot a Winner, Lads played by Ian Hart
Blanky is telling Crozier about the shifting pressure of the ice on the ship when Little walks in and tells him Hornby died. He tells him Lady Silence has also come aboard along with Henry Goodsir. When Crozier finds out the Erebus didn't have any whiskey, only rum and gin, he tells Little to go back and get whiskey from Fitzhames' own supply. Crozier tells Thomas Jopson to collect Hornby's things and when he finds out he only has two bottles of whiskey, tells Little to have whiskey by the time the two bottles run out.
Goodsir goes into Crozier's cabin and Crozier becomes upset when he finds out that Goodsir has made no progress in finding out about the Tuunbaq from Lady Silence, but only in learning words. Lady Silence is brought into the cabin by Little and is questioned about the Tuunbaq by Crozier. Blanky recognizes the word Tuunbaq to mean a spirit that dresses like an animal. Crozier tells Goodsir to ask Lady Silence how to kill it, but Goodsir refuses to ask her. When she refuses to speak with Crozier anymore, he orders her off the ship. She asks Crozier why he wants to die and Fitzjames walks in and tells Crozier he needs to step up to his responsibility and Crozier punches at Fitzjames, who pushes him away. Crozier orders everyone out but Fitzjames and Blanky goes to the deck and shortly after Sgt. Solomon Tozer runs towards him and says the Tuunbaq got Thomas Darlington. The Tuunbaq goes on the deck and kills another man and then attacks Blanky. Blanky climbs up the mast and yells at the men to fire the cannon at it. Blanky throws a lit lantern on the Tuunbaq, setting it on fire and Tozer has the skin on his hands ripped off as he aims the cannon upwards. Lt. George Hodgson fires the cannon and the Tuubaq falls to the ground, but disappears. Blanky is brought to Dr. MacDonald and John Diggle helps as Dr. MacDonald cuts off Blanky's lower leg after everyone in the room takes a shot.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 6 A Mercy played by Ian Hart
January, 1848, Lt. John Irving gives a briefing to Fitzjames, Hodgson, Dr. MacDonald, Dr. Stanley, Blanky and Le Vesconte on the status of the ships' supplies. He then mentions that Dr. MacDonald thinks any of the anti-scurvy properties the lemons may have had have worn out due to age. He ends by telling Fitzjames if they reduce their rations by 3/4 then they will run out by midwinter next year. Fitzjames tells Irving to have John Diggle and Richard Wall focus on serving salted meats to save the portable food stuffs. Fitzjames releases everyone else, except for Blanky, who he questions about what happened to Sir John Ross at Fury Beach. Blanky tells Fitzjames of how Sir Ross was willing to leave behind the sick before leaving any equipment behind, of how they built Somerset House. He continues that even in camp, the officers lived a life of relative plenty while the others slept in ditches, and of how he wanted to kill Sir Ross.
Fitzjames decides to have a Carnival and Carnival starts and Crozier and Jopson arrive later and find the crew drunk. Crozier holds a speech and tells the crew that they need to return to their homes. Crozier tells them that they will be walking to safety. He continues that they should find help from the Netsilik people on their way and should eventually meet up with Lt. Fairholme and his group. Lady Silence stumbles into the crowd and shortly after, Dr. Stanley starts himself and the carnival camp on fire. The fire spreads through carnival and some of the crew are burned to death. Cornelius Hickey uses a knife to cut open the canvas and kills Dr. MacDonald in the process. The remaining crew stumble out of the area and the dead are lined up.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 7 Horrible from Supper played by Ian Hart
April 22, 1848, Crozier writes one last item in the log book, he and Blanky do one last walk through the ship and Blanky relates the history of the ship and they then leave. Irving gives the word, and the group starts their march through the Arctic. The crew meet up with Little's group, who have already set up camp. During the night, John Morfin collapses and asks Goodsir to kill him. The rest of the camp wakes up and Morfin takes the rifle from Pvt. William Pilkington and points it at Crozier. Fitzjames orders Morfin to lower his weapon and Morfin shoots towards him before being shot dead by Tozer.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 8 Terror Camp Clear played by Ian Hart
April, 1848, Crozier and Fitzjames arrive back at camp and see a mass of activity in camp. Little tells Crozier that a group of Netsilik murdered Irving and Thomas Farr as witnessed by Hickey and a group was sent out with Hodgson which then murdered the Netsilik. Hodgson tells Fitzjames that he shot two and Thomas Armitage killed another two, another one was killed by Pocock, while one escaped. Blanky tells Crozier that the reason the marines are running about camp is in preparation for a counterattack. Crozier asks Hodgson what evidence he saw backing up Hickey's claim, but he offers no evidence. Jopson, Hickey, Crozier, Lady Silence, Goodsir, Blanky, and Thomas Hartnell prepare to leave to go where the Netsilik were killed. Crozier's party arrives at the scene of the murder of the Netsilik and finds it contained a mother and daughter. Hartnell grabs a sack of food on the Netsilik sled and Lady Silence tells Goodsir that the family were friends of hers.
Crozier's group returns and is initially shot at. Fitzjames tells Crozier that Little gave the order to release weapons and Lady Silence is in danger. Crozier tells Lady Silence to leave and Goodsir apologizes to Lady Silence. Hickey and Tozer are arrested and are brought to a makeshift gallows. The trial is given before the surviving sailors. Crozier admits there is no help coming, but tells them that Hickey is a user and has John Diggle open the bag the Netsilik had. Diggle tells the others that the bag has fresh meat and Goodsir reveals that Irving had recently eaten fresh meat. Hickey is given a chance to speak and he tells the others that Crozier had planned to abandon the crew. A laugh rings out in the fog and Henry Collins walks into camp, followed by the Tuunbaq. The Tuunbaq then slaughters many members of the camp.
During the events of The Terror: Season 1 Episode 9 The C, the C, the Open C played by Ian Hart
The next day after the Tuunbaq attack on the camp, Blanky walks up to Crozier and Fitzjames and tells them a body belongs to Mr. Honey, a carpenter. Fitzjames tells Crozier that they can't bury all of the bodies. Robert Golding tells Crozier, Little and Blanky that he saw the Tuunbaq and it is tracking them. Blanky tells Crozier, he wants to sacrifice himself to give the others time. Crozier refuses and Blanky shows him his rotting leg. Blanky then requests rope and forks to tie around him so when the Tuunbaq comes to swallow him, it will choke. As the group leaves, Crozier stares at Blanky for the last time. Blanky leaves the group and discovers the Northwest Passage and writes it on a map. Later, Blanky hears the Tuunbaq nearby, laughs and is eaten.