Stephen Stanley is a character in AMC's The Terror. He is the surgeon on HMS Erebus.
In The Show[]
Dr. Stanley first appears in episode 1 giving cabin boy David Young a hard time because he hadn't come forward about being sick. After Young dies his assistant Mr. Henry Goodsir informs him of something Young saw that he couldn't see but Stanley brushes it off as simply a hallucination and orders a dissection done in the morning to check for signs of scurvy. He oversees the operation and appears near the end of episode 1 during Sir John Franklin's speech and later near the end of episode 2 where he refuses to operate on the Netsilik Shaman. He appears again towards the end of episode 3 attending Franklin's funeral. In episode 4 he consults with his fellow surgeons on how to best treat Private William Heather who had his skull ripped open by the Tuunbaq and recommends sealing his eyes shut using wax.
In episode 5 he is treating Lieutenant Henry Thomas Dundas Le Vesconte for frostbite and grants permission for Goodsir to leave Erebus for HMS Terror to accompany Lady Silence and sarcastically asks him to be invited to the wedding to which Goodsir replies if he's ever been invited to one at all. In the next episode he is present when a report is given regarding the remaining provisions by Lieutenant John Irving and later Henry Foster Collins comes to him about his mental state. Stanley tells him he's suffering from seasonal depression and the best treatment is to stay busy and attend the upcoming carnivale. Not long after Goodsir informs him of lead poisoning being caused by the tinned food and how command must be informed immediately but Stanley tells him he'll take care of it. Realizing the expedition has little to no chance of survival and being burdened with guilt, Stanley sets fire to the carnivale and himself in order to prevent a slow and agonizing end.
In the Book[]
Dr. Stanley dies of burns sustained during the fire, but is not responsible for starting the blaze. Instead, the men attempting to escape from the Tuunbaq use their knives to slash through the canvas walls of the carnival rooms; the strips of fabric ignite after coming into contact with torches. The rigging and remaining canvas walls immediately burst into flame and the fire spreads quickly through the area.
Trivia[]
- A table spoon belonging to Dr. Stanley was recovered from Erebus Bay in 1859.
- Like other characters in the show, Dr. Stanley served in China during the First Opium War, and it is possible he treated James Fitzjames's wound in the battle of Nanking.
- On Montreal Island in 1945, a search party found skulls belonging to Franklin expedition sailors. Among the finds were two pieces of wood. One was marked "Erebus" and the other "Mr. Stanley", suggesting that the real Dr. Stanley survived long enough to reach that island.