No time to watch all 10 episodes of first season of The Last Ship before the Two-Hour Premiere on June 21st? No problem. We’ve got you covered with almost everything you need to know to start Season Two, plus a few hints on what’s to come!

Previously on  The Last Ship – From Executive Producers Hank Steinberg, Steven Kane and Michael Bay. 80% of the world’s population has been infected or killed by a deadly virus. The U.S.S. Nathan James, remained isolated, protected and unaware on radio silence for four months during a covert mission to the arctic. Unknown to Commander Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) and the crew, the “real” mission was being carried out by Dr. Rachel Scott (Rhona Mitra) and her partner Quincy Tophet (Same Spruell) to find a primordial strain of the virus in order to develop a cure or vaccine before the entire world dies. No pressure there Doc.

When the expedition is attacked by rogue Russian forces in search of the cure, the secret is out. With the horrifying news that the world isn’t the one they left and Dr. Scott knew this all along, her icy personality and secrets she’s kept make her the least popular person on board. But once the gravity of the situation sets in, the Captain and crew realize that in a world gone to hell, the Nathan James is the safest place for Dr. Scott to conduct her work to find a cure—that is IF they can keep the ship afloat, running and out of harm’s way.

Landing at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to refuel and resupply, the crew battle Al-Qaeda escapees with the help of the candidly humorous Tex (John Pyper-Ferguson). Just when things look slightly better, the Nathan James is cornered in the bay by Ruskov (Ravil Isyanov), a rogue Russian Admiral in search of Dr. Scott and the cure. Unknown to all, Quincy Tophet has secretly been working for Ruskov, who hold’s Quincy’s family hostage. Those situations never work out well.

Quincy is eventually caught, but not before he threatens to infect the entire crew in order to give Ruskov what he wants. After that move, he quickly takes Dr. Scott’s place as least popular on board. Using information squeezed from Quincy, the Nathan James stealthily escapes Ruskov in a risky move that nearly proves fatal for everyone when LT Danny Green (Travis Van Winkle) becomes too overprotective of LT Kara Foster (Marissa Neitling) during their attempt to disable the Russian ship. The two have been in a secret relationship and when it comes to life or death—love gets in the way. Realizing the danger to those around them, LT Green painfully walks away from the relationship and the hearts of Fosteen shippers everywhere sunk.

As the crew battle the elements, short supplies and onshore dangers, the mission continues to work toward a vaccination. When monkeys for testing a potential vaccine are secured alongside the take down of a cruel drug lord, El Toro (José Zúñgia), hope for a vaccine looks promising, but the desperate scare of an unrelated illness by LT Green forces Chandler to rethink how things are done. He decides to set aside secrecy and openly share the success and failures of the mission with the entire crew. A small band whose enlistment is up, led by Cossetti (Tommy Savas) and fueled by paranoia from Quincy, decides to abandon the mission, but in learning the whole truth, they all re-enlist and redouble their commitment to saving the world and whatever families they may have left. Despite the change of heart, Cossetti is shunned for his disloyalty.

When Dr. Scott discovers that a human strand of DNA has been added to the virus, making it virtually unkillable, frustration sets in, but luck favors the dedicated on television. When an S.O.S. from an adrift vessel is answered and Bertrise (Hope Olaide Wilson) is rescued, it’s determined that she is naturally immune to the virus and holds the key to the vaccine everyone has been praying for all along. With good comes bad as Tex and Chandler are captured by Ruskov in Bertrise’s rescue. Hostages put XO Slattery (Adam Baldwin) in a difficult position of following his Captain’s final orders to continue the mission without a rescue attempt. Fortunately for the two, Slattery is as stubborn as he is loyal.

Despite Ruskov’s threats, a brilliant rescue is executed with precision with Dr. Scott first volunteering to surrender in order to get word (and a weapon) to Chandler. While aboard the Russian vessel, Dr. Scott meets Neils Sorensen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), the man responsible for adding his own DNA to the virus making him immune, but also a carrier of the much more deadly version. Not willing to leave with innocent lives behind during their escape, Chandler and the assault teams rescue Dr. Scott, Quincy’s wife and his daughter, despite all Qunicy has done to put everyone in harm’s way. As well as the rescue went, good karma requires a stiff price. Cossetti, shot during in the escape, dies on the return trip, but is redeemed in the eyes of his ship mates for his valor. In the confusion, Neils Sorensen, dressed as a Russian sailor slips into obscurity.

With almost everyone safely aboard and a vaccine ready to go, the last step is to test. LT Foster, Tex, CMC Jeter (Charles Parnell), LCDR Garnett (Fay Masterson) and PO3 Gibson (Felisha Cooper) are selected from nearly an entire crew of volunteers. Despite each becoming gravely ill, only Gibson succumbs to the virus and passes. Dr. Scott and Quincy struggle with what could have gone wrong, but in a bit science wizardry decide to combine Neils’s DNA with the primordial strain. The last-ditch effort works and the rest live proving the vaccine not only works, but will cure anyone that is already sick. As everyone sets their sites for home, hope once again rises.

That hope seems at first legit as the Nathan James arrives in Baltimore at the request of Amy Granderson (Alfre Woodard), the mother of LTJG Alisha Granderson (Christina Elmore). Just when things look to be hopeful everything takes a sideways turn. The arrival home introduces us to Chandler’s wife, children and father who have survived this long, but are all sick by the time the ship reaches port. Worse yet, warlord Thorwald (Titus Welliver) seems intent on assassinating Granderson after he figures out what news the Nathan James brings to shore. Things turn bleak again when Granderson’s troopers turn on Chandler and crew. After a firefight leaves Jeter wounded, Chandler learns he has lost his wife to the virus, though his father and children are rescued and vaccinated.

But like any good series that’s kept us on the edge of our seats for a season, the worst is saved for last. The crew learns the true horror. Amy Granderson, and her elitist few, are murdering the sick to fuel the city’s coal plant and keep the lights on. To the shock of Alisha and Dr. Scott, Amy’s plan is to keep the cure for herself. As the season closes, the crew of the Nathan James is scattered in multiple locations with Granderson’s state troopers in control of the ship after a hostile take over. Season Two will start with almost everyone separated and in deep trouble.

The Cast:

• Commander Tom Chandler (Eric Dane): Captain of the U.S.S. Nathan James, Chandler is a man of integrity, honor and fortitude. He is a sharp commander respected by his crew. Since accepting the reality that his mission may be only way the world survives, he’s worked feverishly to help Dr. Scott develop a vaccine and in the process he’s inspired his crew to do greater things than they thought possible. As the season draws to a close and both the vaccine and returning home become a reality, he desperately wants to find his wife and children who have been in limited contact from his father’s cabin. After he and his men win a gun battle with Granderson’s state troopers and he is finally reunited with his children and vaccinates them, he learns the painful news that his wife did not make it and the world has become a place of cruelty and survival of the fittest. After the group escapes, he is last seen witnessing truckloads of bodies headed to be burned in order to power the city. No radio contact can be made with the Nathan James now which is now under siege.
• Dr. Rachel Scott (Rhona Mitra): Having persuaded the military to send her to the arctic to find a potential cure, as things deteriorate, her icy personality doesn’t win her many favors by those around her. Having worked desperately to develop a cure, she remains the only hope of humanity as her theories about the primordial strain of the virus and its human manipulation prove correct. After finding Bertrise, she conducts vaccine trials upon volunteers and despite setbacks, develops a vaccine that can potentially save millions of lives. To her horror after arriving in Baltimore, she discovers that Amy Granderson is poisoning the sick and plans to keep the vaccine for herself and her elite few. She is last seen in Granderson’s custody.
• XO Mike Slattery (Adam Baldwin): A former cop with a bit of swagger, sarcasm and grit, Slattery is the Executive Officer of the Nathan James. A highly capable and savvy officer, he’s also a man of honor and the true right hand supporting his Captain. Despite reservations about the mission, he proved a believer in the cause as the realization of a cure becomes possible. Never trustful of Dr. Scott, she earned his respect risking her life to save the Captain from Ruskov. Having lost his son to the virus and currently estranged from his wife, Slattery is dedicated to the mission at hand: protect his crew and save the world. When the state troopers in Baltimore attempt a hostile take over of the ship, Slattery is last seen at gunpoint on the bridge.
• CMC Hugh Jeter (Charles Parnell): The senior enlisted sailor aboard the Nathan James and very much the Captain’s gauge of the crew. A man of faith and very much the glue that holds the Nathan James together. Jeter believes in the cause and the divine intervention that has put the crew of the Nathan James at the center of saving the world. Having struggled with the death of his family at his own hands in a car accident years earlier, he believes more firmly than ever that God has given the mission of finding a cure to his crew and his Captain. Selected for the vaccine trials, he survived the test. Wounded when a gunfight erupts between the crew and state troopers in Baltimore, Jeter’s fate is unknown.
• LT Daniel Joshua “Danny” Green (Travis Van Winkle): Navy SEAL and Head of the Naval Mountain Warfare Unit aboard the Nathan James and a capable leader, LT Green is respected by officers and his men alike. Often accompanied by his loyal dog, Admiral Halsey, on missions, Green is a sharp, capable officer and a natural leader. Highly skilled in combat, he has proven himself multiple times and was instrumental in saving his Captain from Ruskov’s hands. Secretly in a relationship with LT Foster that nearly cost the entire crew their lives in the escape from Ruskov, LT Green abruptly ended the relationship, but learning that LT Foster was pregnant with his child brought them back together with no more secrets to the crew. He is last seen trying to get the wounded Jeter back to the Nathan James.
• LT Kara Foster (Marissa Neitling): Officer in the C.I.C. and an expert marksman. Feisty and intelligent, she has proven herself a solid officer and capable member of the crew. She volunteered for Dr. Scott’s vaccine trials not knowing she was pregnant with LT Green’s child at the time. She survived the test and helped ensure that a successful vaccine was established.
• LTJG Alisha Granderson (Christina Elmore): Communications Officer that was assigned to the Nathan James just before it left on its original covert mission by her mother, Amy Granderson who may be the highest ranking member of the U.S. Government still alive. Quiet, reserved, but also viewed as a solid leader to those she commands, she’s a valuable member of the Nathan James. As the ship reaches Baltimore, she learns that her mother leads the government in power. Shocked, perhaps more than most, she is horrified at the truth that her mother is the ring-leader of the elite few that are murdering the sick en masse. She is last seen with her mother under guard.
• Quincy Tophet (Sam Spruell): Dr. Scott’s research partner for 10 years, but secretly worked for Ruskov who held his family hostage. He resented Dr. Scott for her secretive approach to finding a cure and after threatening the crew when his traitorous relationship was exposed, he found himself a prisoner. Despite nearly inciting a mutiny aboard the ship, with his family rescued, he worked alongside Dr. Scott to finally develop the vaccine against the virus. Wounded by a gunshot in the hostile takeover of the ship, his status is unknown.
• Tex Nolan (John Pyper-Ferguson): Former private security subcontractor guarding high-value prisoners in Gitmo. Cheerful, level-headed and always able to fire off a witty remark in nearly any situation, Tex brings a life and vibrance when he joins the crew on their mission to save humanity. Highly trained and an excellent combat tactician, Tex quickly becomes an invaluable member of nearly every off-ship excursion. Admittedly “sweet” on Dr. Scott, Tex would love nothing better than to win her favor. But despite their shared love of Mark Twain and his persistent efforts to connect with her, it may never be as there are subtle hints of sexual tension between Scott and Chandler. As the season winds down, Tex volunteers for the vaccination trials and despite becoming gravely ill, survives, proving the vaccine works. When the Nathan James finally arrives in Baltimore, he decides to “move on to take care of other things” but not before giving Dr. Scott a determined kiss to let her know how he’s truly felt. As the chaos of the final few minutes elapse, Tex is roaming the city alone.

Welcome Back:

• LT Carlton Burk (Jocko Sims): Head of Boarding Parties and Tactical Teams. Burk is tough, sharp and has worked hard to cross-train members of the crew not initially intended for combat or boarding. Proven in battle and tested, Burk helps Chandler locate his father and children and as the horrors of Baltimore come to light, he is with his captain.
• LT John “Gator” Mejia (Michael Curran-Dorsano): Navigator of the Nathan James. Reliable and good at his job, Gator was critical in the escape from Gitmo and Ruskov.
• SN Eric Miller (Kevin Michael Martin): Takes the place of LT Franklin “Frankie” Edward Benz (Kevin Phillips) on LT Green’s tactical team when Frankie is exposed aboard the Italian cruise ship and takes his own life to avoid the horrors of the virus. Unsure of himself at first in the role, Miller slowly grows in confidence as the season progresses. His quiet and easy-going demeanor make him a fan favorite. He volunteered for the vaccine trial and survived the test.
• Bertrise (Hope Olaide Wilson): Sole survivor from a Jamaican craft trying to escape the virus. Unique because she is naturally immune to every known version of the virus. Dr. Scott uses her blood to create a working vaccine.
• LCDR Andrea Garnett (Fay Masterson): Chief Engineer aboard the Nathan James. Wounded during the Al-Queda attack at Gitmo, she recovered and has worked feverishly with LT Andy Chung to keep the ship running despite low supplies and limited spare parts. Selected for the vaccine trial, she too survived.
• LT Andy Chung (Andy T. Tran): Took on the role of Chief Engineer when LCDR Garnett was wounded at Gitmo and despite frustration and setbacks, was vital in securing the mission’s success. When the cooling intake filters were damaged from the coral reef, he worked tirelessly to keep the ship running and ingeniously devised a plan of lowering Dr. Scott’s samples to the bottom of the ocean to keep them cool when electricity to cool the lab was lost.
• HMC Doc Rios (Maximiliano Hernández): Ship’s doctor that helped Dr. Scott with her vaccine trials and in general has helped maintain the crew’s health during several crises and injuries.
• CS2 Bernie “Bacon” Cowley: (Amen Igbinosun): Forced to play chess with Quincy in return for Quincy’s help in developing the cure, Bacon is instrumental in inciting the crew to become divided as he listens to speculation and lies Quincy spreads. Bacon ultimately re-enlists along with his fellow shipmates once they learn the truth about the cure and Dr. Scott’s work.
• PO3 O’Connor (Paul James): Swayed by Quincy’s lies, O’Connor too looked to leave until the truth was shared and re-enlisted along with his fellow shipmates.
• Cruz (Ness Bautista): Wounded at Gitmo and saved by Dr. Scott.
• Ashely Chandler (Grace Kaufman): CO Chandler’s older daughter. Reunited with her father and vaccinated in the final episode of Season One.
• Sam Chandler (Aidan Sussman): CO Chandler’s younger son. Reunited with his father and vaccinated in the final episode of Season One.
• Jed Chandler (Bill Smitrovich): CO Chandler’s father who watched over the CO’s family in his cabin during the outbreak of the Red Flu. Also vaccinated by the CO when the two reunite in the final episode of Season One.

May They Rest In Peace:

• LT Franklin “Frankie” Edward Benz (Kevin Phillips): Good friend of LT Green and valued part of Green’s team. Exposed to the virus on the cruise ship in the first episode, Frankie took his own life to avoid the horrors of the disease and prevent any risk of bringing the virus back to the Nathan James.
• Darien Chandler (Tracy Middendorf): CO Chandler’s wife who contracts the disease while on a run for supplies and dies before she can be reunited with her husband.
• PO3 Cossetti (Tommy Savas): A key player in several of the enlisted’s choice to leave the ship after having been manipulated by Quincy, Cossetti along with the rest re-enlisted once the truth about Dr. Scott’s work toward a vaccine was revealed to the crew. Initially shunned by some for his disloyalty, he was killed rescuing the CO Chandler and Tex from Ruskov and redeemed himself in the eyes of his shipmates for his heroic service.
• PO3 Maya Gibson (Felisha Cooper): Hopeful of finding her boyfriend if the Nathan James returned home, Gibson volunteered for the vaccine trials. She was the only member of the trials that is killed by the test that ultimately proved successful.

Good Riddance:

• El Toro (José Zúñiga): A vicious Nicaraguan drug lord, holding civilians as servants and two young girls as his sexual conquests, who is captured by Chandler, Green and Slattery during their search for monkey test subjects. He is subsequently killed by his former hostages.

Who’s Still Around:

• Niels Sorensen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach): Modified the virus with his own DNA in reckless attempt to create a cure. Instead, he created a nearly indestructible version of the virus that killed 4 billion people and made himself a carrier of the virus without symptoms. His whereabouts are unknown after the destruction of Ruskov’s ship though he escaped his quarantined lab in the confusion and may be at large.
• Admiral Konstantin Nikolajewitch Ruskov (Ravil Isyanov): Pursued the Nathan James across the globe with Niels Sorensen in search of Dr. Scott and the primordial strain in order to develop a cure. Possibly killed when his ship was destroyed during the rescue of Chandler and Tex, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see him again—and this time out for blood.
• Amy Granderson (Alfre Woodard): Mother of LTJG Alisha Granderson and highest ranking member of the U.S. Government still alive in Baltimore when the Nathan James finally reaches the U.S. She had her daughter, Alisha, reassigned to the ship just before it left on its covert mission in order to save her daughter from the virus. Secretly she has led her state troopers and elite few to murder the sick en masse to burn their bodies to power the city. Her troopers force a hostile takeover of the Nathan James.
• Thorwald (Titus Welliver): Former State Trooper and now warlord over part of Baltimore opposing Amy Granderson. Takes a hard line toward the infected, even executing one woman he encounters. See’s Granderson as the prime enemy and hopes to assassinate her if he can. Last seen giving food and supplies to refugees from Granderson’s iron rule, Thorwald may be ruthless, but not the evil warlord he’s been perceived to be.

Who’s Coming (Minor Spoilers Ahead):

• Dr. Milowsky (Bruce Nozick): A virologist and genetic engineer, who is rescued and joins the crew of Nathan James to assist the medical staff in a recurring role.
• SCPO Wolf Taylor (Bren Foster): An Australian naval officer that joins the crew in Norfolk, VA as a recurring role.
• Jeff Michener (Mark Moses): A U.S. government official concerned about the prevention of the spreading of the plague that has crippled the world
• Ned Ramsey (Nick Court): Sean’s brother. Together the two are a British duo whose plans will affect the U.S.S. Nathan James’ mission.
• Sean Ramsey (Brian F. O’Byrne): Ned’s brother. Together the two are a British duo whose plans will affect the U.S.S. Nathan James’ mission.
• LT Ravit Bivas (Inbar Lavi): A bright, capable Israeli soldier who can potentially excel at undercover missions.
• Valerie (Tania Raymonde): A genius hacker who has managed to remain undetected, living off the grid ever since the pandemic began. She could be an incredible asset to CO Chandler and the team if she can be trusted.
• Oliver (Tomas Oscar Andren): TBA
• Declan (Craig Robert Young): TBA
• Ian (Mark Rhino Smith): TBA

What’s Ahead in Season Two: The Cure Works, but Will It Fall Into the Wrong Hands? And What’s Become of the World at Large?

As the first season came to a close with a cure in hand and the horrors of warring factions in a world where survival of the fittest seems to be the new norm, the main characters are all in peril or scattered to the wind. Logic would assume that in some way all those problems need to be addressed and this crew brought back together in order to oppose those that would exploit the cure only for themselves. But who can be trusted? With 80% of the world’s population gone, nothing will ever be the same again, but the dedicated crew of the Nathan James, who are all now immune, could certainly be a positive force toward establishing some normalcy again if they can survive to mass produce the vaccine.

WonderCon 2015: EP Steven Kane Talks The Last Ship Season 2

“Season One was about finding the cure. Season 2 is about getting the cure out there. Seeing what’s left of America. How can we fix it? How can we get, on a practical level, the vaccine manufactured and distributed, communication systems up and running so that people know that the cure is out there?

What else is out there? Is the rest of America like Baltimore? Is the rest of America completely fine? They don’t know. It’s a discovery. We harkened back to a different time in our history when the country was fractured—and that was the Civil War.

The ship heads south. They discover a country that’s really in flux and lawlessness bounds. There’s no federal government so people try to survive the best they can. There are new enemies out there, foreign and domestic and so it’s just new challenges for them which is a lot of fun.” ~ Executive Producer Steven Kane

Interview Credit: TV Goodness via YouTube:

What Are We Hoping to See in Season Two?

Season One focused heavily on life aboard the ship amidst a week to week crisis to find a cure. With the advent of a cure and the crew returning home, we hope that we’ll still see quite a bit of the story revolve around things taking place aboard the Nathan James, but we realize that building a world beyond the ship is necessary for the story to evolve. The challenge we hope to see play out will be to balance time on the ship with time ashore. How can the show involve more of the world and still live up to its namesake? We’re anxious to see the answers.

Season One was also focused on the larger plot and much of the main thrust of the season was to find a cure. While character development arcs weren’t ignored during that time, we’d like to see the series dig deeper and reveal more complexity and layers to the group we’ve seen display considerable bravery during the worst the world has to offer.

We’ve seen Chandler as a CO, but we also want to see him as a leader outside of his ship. Eric Dane has done a fine job portraying the stoic Captain, but how will the introduction of his father and children change his character as the second season unfolds? How is Chandler the son and father different from Chandler the CO?

Deeper layers were also hinted for Dr. Scott, Tex and XO Slattery. We’d love to see some of those characters enter into arcs where we’re able to see deeper into who they are and how this world may have changed them for good or bad. Rhona Mitra played Dr. Scott with an icy demeanor and fiery passion when both were needed. She was driven by a singular purpose. How does her character change and evolve within the confines of a new world?

The same can be said for Adam Baldwin and John Pyper-Ferguson. Both of their characters have become fan favorites for their spice and humor, but what lies deeper beneath them? We’re itching to know the answers behind these two characters. And how will things change for everyone when no Navy officially exists? Can LT Green and LT Foster carry on a relationship now that nothing is what it was? We think so, but are also interested in how that may change the way these two characters behave knowing they have each other in harm’s way at times and a baby on the way.

The second season should be an interesting mix of character growth, new challenges and a larger world with larger stakes. As good as the first season was in creating tension, drama and outstanding storytelling, the much larger world opens up limitless possibilities for where this series goes next. One thing is for certain, we’ll be watching. Will you?

The Last Ship 2-Hour Season Premiere airs SUNDAY, June 21 at 9/8c on TNT

The Last Ship Resources:

IMDB Full Cast and Crew for The Last Ship
Wikipedia: The Last Ship (TV Series)
Wikipedia: List of The Last Ship Episodes
The Last Ship Wiki