Nightmare Fuel / Around the World in 80 Days (2021)

General:

• Bellamy. Horrifying because he's such a normal villain; a domineering bully who inflates himself at the expense of others and pretends to be doing it for their own good. His every other sentence is aimed at demeaning and humiliating Fogg, and while he didn't intend for Fogg to die from his interference it's chilling how quickly he rallies to take advantage of the situation. It's no coincidence that Fogg Grew a Spine once he was separated from Bellamy for a while. An anecdote during Bellamy's eulogy of Fogg reveals that this has been going on since they were six years old.

• Kneedling. Is there anything more horrifying than having a Corrupt Cop gunning for you, one who is not afraid to abuse their position or endanger your life to achieve their goals?
  • He casually bribes Passpartout into drugging Fogg with what he says is harmless sleeping drugs, but which is in fact datura that would have killed him if not for Aouda's expertise.
  • The fact that he can just casually walk into a bank and tell a bunch of tall tales about Fogg, persuading them to withhold his money "while the warrants are sorted out," and they just believe him, no questions asked.

Episode 1:

• On only the second day of their travels, the trio are caught up in a revolution in Paris.
  • Passpartout and Abigail are dragged into in a Suicide Mission Assassination Attempt against the President by Passpartout's estranged brother, who fully intends that they all die, partly because he's angry with Passpartout for leaving after their father's execution.
  • Passpartout's brother ends up shooting Fogg by mistake. He's only saved by the flask from Estella he had in that pocket.
  • The Gendarmerie chase the trio through the sewers of Paris, assuming them to be involved with the assassination plot and shooting to kill.

Episode 3:

• Fogg and Passpartout's guide stealing Fogg's watch and just blithely leaving them to die in the desert.

• The bandits who attack the party as they cross the desert, one of whom tries to drag away Abigail, forcing Passpartout to kill him to save her.

Episode 4:

• Passpartout drugging Fogg's tea. He clearly regrets it almost immediately, but it's too late. Because Passpartout gave into his anger for a moment, Fogg almost dies.

• Fogg's Mushroom Samba. He's having a great time; it's everyone else who's freaking out as he nearly dies from datura poisoning.

• Abigail using what Fogg told her while delirious in her article, without a thought for his privacy or that she's taking advantage of a sick man.

Episode 5:

• The chief administrator of a foreign occupying force sees nothing at all wrong with breaking open a grave and stealing jewelry from the bodies inside. Attempts by the deceased's family to have their stolen property returned are unheeded, forcing them to turn to crime to right the wrong. When the piece is restolen, the original thief is outraged as if they're the true victim. Yep, that's the British Empire for you.

• Fogg is sentenced to a dozen lashes for a crime he didn't commit, and is treated as if he's being naive for demanding a trial.
  • Everything about Fogg's captivity while awaiting his sentence is obviously calculated to make him suffer as much anticipation as possible. He's in a grimy cell where he can clearly hear another man being flogged, knowing he's next. Then he gets a good look at the man, in case he wasn't clear on the savagery of what's about to happen to him. He tries to remain stoic, but a few panicked tears still escape.
  • Fogg suffers one lash, even as his pardon is in the hands of the prison warden. He ends up slumped against the post, very pale and unable to stay on his feet, and spends the rest of the episode in a Heroic BSoD.
  • Also? As the episode ends, Fogg has no idea why any of this has happened to him. He doesn't yet know about Kneedling or that anyone's working against him. It's as if he's the victim of the world's most sadistic prank.

• Sick of Fogg dodging his sabotage, Kneedling finally cuts out the middleman and ambushes Fogg on the boat at gunpoint, planning to take him "for a walk"... in the middle of the Pacific.

Episode 7:

• Ambrose Abernathy, head of the Ku Klux Klan. Views African Americans as subhuman and sees nothing wrong with killing them for fun, views Abigail as essentially property that must be controlled by men and hates Fogg for not sharing his views, which are all the more horrifying for being Truth in Television.