Intense hide and seek between the Achilles and Nathan James. Masterfully written contrast between crews and fascinating views of both surface and submarine warfare.
Minor presumptions and deductions by characters that moved the plot conveniently. We'd still like to know a bit more about what made the Ramseys take such a radical turn.
We held our breath for much of this episode and we’re fairly certain we’re not alone. The quiet can create the most tension of all and The Last Ship delivered in spades.
The Last Ship — With the revelation that a formidable submarine, the Achilles may be hunting them, CO Chandler (Eric Dane) and the entire crew of the Nathan James must put their years of training to the ultimate test against a foe intent upon killing them. At the same time, XO Slattery (Adam Baldwin) must decide if their only surviving prisoner from the hospital ship Solace, Juan Carlos (Carlos Leal), can be trusted with the political asylum he’s requested or if a second, smaller game of cat and mouse is being played with words instead of torpedoes.
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Meanwhile, aboard the submarine, Achilles, brothers Sean Ramsey (Brían F. O’Byrne) and Ned Ramsey (Nick Court), must decide if they can trust Niels (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) after things went drastically wrong aboard the Solace. Not one to shy away from creating havoc, Niels offers to help destroy the cure and preserve the rights of those chosen to survive the greatest plague man has ever known. With one crew disciplined through years of Navy training and one decidedly not, the two ships match wits and technology in a deadly game of hide and seek. With potentially the fate of the world in the balance, only one ship can ultimately win this week on The Last Ship!
Two ships, two crews and two completely different worlds.
As if there weren’t enough differences between a Royal Navy Astute Class Submarine and an Arliegh Burke Class Destroyer, the most striking distinction was the difference in the crews themselves. Writer Mark Malone took care to contrast the two societies and their very different approaches to similar situations as they opposed one another in their hunt or be hunted chase.
The crew of the Nathan James, as expected, exhibited a calm and disciplined approach to every challenge despite the imminent danger the sub presented. On the flips side, the rowdy and argumentative Achilles crew created a completely different environment. Anarchy reigned. Though Sean Ramsey was clearly in charge, no one kept their opinions to themselves and despite the call that a chain of command still existed, few seemed to respect it completely.
“There’s still a chain of command here!“ ~ Crewman
“Enough! I don’t want to hear any more of your bloody squawking, all right? Now, what are the options?” ~ Sean
The differences in attitude were stark, but the differences in philosophy were made even greater throughout the episode’s quiet exposition. We’d been hoping to learn more about Sean and Ned, specifically what drove them to their elitist views. The short answer from this episode is that they are a little off their collective rockers. But just enough on point to take advantage of their good fortune and settle into a deep belief that they had clearly been selected by a higher power to survive and rule the world.
“I had myself My moment of revelation. I did. It came to me there weren’t no luck in it. This here, this plague and all, ain’t no accident.” ~ Sean
While the crew of the Nathan James worked feverishly to spread a cure to save the world, Sean and Ned Ramsey seemed hell-bent on destroying that cure and in so doing, preserving the rightful existence of those chosen naturally to survive. Two philosophies couldn’t be any different and excellent writing this week contrasted not only the mindset of two crews but of two world views at the same time. Weaving all of it into the larger story as two ships battled for survival was well done on all counts.
Everyone has an Achilles.
If there was a highlight of the episode, it most certainly would be the tense cat and mouse game between the two ships. Make no mistake, a Royal Navy Astute Class Submarine is a deadly creation designed to kill silently and efficiently. It was not a fluke an Astute Class sub was chosen as the nemesis for the Nathan James. Ask U.S. Navy personnel who have been pitted in war-game scenarios against Astute Class opponents and they’ll tell you that in the right hands, an Astute Class is quiet and lethal.
As the Nathan James worked to emit no sound, the crew of the Achilles yelled and screamed at each other until decisions were haphazardly made. That distinction was also the difference. CO Chandler has proven time and again that he is an excellent commander. Sound tactics and good writing gave us a glimpse of what it’s like to be hunted by a stealthy predator beneath the waves and the ride was a heart-in-throat thriller.
Given the Navy’s close involvement with this show, we can only assume that the tactics and dialogue were realistic. The two ships evaded until the Ramsey’s ultimately lost their patience and in that moment we saw the difference between a seasoned captain and one that’s not.
“He’s not a Royal Navy captain. He’s a wild card.” ~ Chandler
As an audience, we know Chandler’s assumption was right. When things became dangerous, it was the Ramsey’s that lost discipline, fired first and ultimately fled. In truth, the Nathan James did everything about right, but was still fortunate to escape. The Achilles, had she been commanded by someone who was Chandler’s equal, would have been far more dangerous, but Writer Mark Malone gave us a stark contrast between the two captains and two crews. Both were dedicated to their cause, but ultimately lack of discipline proved to be the weakness of the Achilles and we enjoyed a wild ride watching it play out.
Everyone on my ship is like me.
To ask the Ramsey brothers, natural immunity to the lovely germ that destroyed the world wasn’t luck at all. It was the selection of rightful heirs to the world. That kind of fanatical elitism will be hard to combat within anyone who has become a devout believer in the philosophy. To be cured will not equal selection to those that believe they’ve been “selected” to inherit the Earth.
As the crew of the Nathan James came to the painful realization that immunes may more common than first thought, and that those same people have already conquered Europe, the problem immediately exploded into much deeper conflict than any of them could have imagined. The road ahead will be much bumpier than any of them could have dreamed if this show is indeed taking the turn toward a global movement to rule the world by an elite few who feel they have been chosen by some higher power to do so.
“Natural immunity, as it turns out, is a tad more common than I initially thought. Anywhere between 1% and 5% of the global population.” ~ Dr. Scott
“That’s how they took Europe. Now their mission is to destroy the cure wherever it exists, on a nuclear-powered sub that never runs out of fuel.” ~ CO Chandler
“Yes, but we had the flash drive. How the hell did they know where those labs were?” ~ Dr. Scott
The missing ingredient? Niels. His putting two and two together amongst the communications scoured from the Solace did the trick. As the missiles from the sub escaped and no communications back from the labs became evident, everything the crew of the Nathan James had done to spread the cure quickly felt as if it were coming apart at the seams. A task that seemed monumental, now seemed even larger.
The writing team has set an ambitious road ahead, but one that could ultimately have an incredibly high pay off if done well. How difficult will it be to save a world that consists of elitists that don’t want the rest to be saved? And what will happen when it’s discovered that Niels is not only responsible for recklessly causing the death of much of the world, but also now the cure as well? We don’t know, but we’re certainly curious to find out how the Ramseys, CO Chandler and Dr. Scott (Rhona Mitra) all react differently to that tidbit of news.
FINAL VERDICT: With a fanatical new enemy and much of their work to spread the cure undone, even small victories left us feeling small and adrift in the vast blue sea. If we know The Last Ship, this is the first shot in a much larger conflict that will make Baltimore feel like a minor disagreement.
The Nathan James and CO Chandler have their work cut out for them and a fascinating play of philosophies will likely collide throughout the rest of season. Even the small measures of distributing the cure may now be undone thanks to Niels and the Ramseys. The prospect of a global conflict is a considerable expansion of scope by the writing team, but a natural one for the story at hand. The entire world has spiraled into chaos and that world scope at some point would have to come into play.
Writer Mark Malone interjected that larger scope inside of the classic sub versus surface ship game of cat and mouse to build an episode that was as enjoyable as it was informative. Dialogue and situation weaved seamlessly between both the individual ship to ship conflict and the larger philosophies at play. In particular, we finally got enough of Sean Ramsey to peek into his mind. Clearly intelligent and with a distorted view of the world, Sean is a radical with a devotion to his higher purpose. That will make him difficulty to defeat. Ultimately Sean’s assessment of Chandler, as a leader that won’t surrender and must therefore be killed to be stopped, is exactly the conclusion that Chandler may ultimately come to about Sean himself. Two men with two very different world views are on the ultimate collision course and Malone set the pieces for that collision very well in this first confrontation.
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Veteran The Last Ship Director Jack Bender once again delivered a stellar episode. With a good script to work from he weaved three levels of conflict together exceptionally well. The world views, the ships and Slattery versus Juan Carlos were all handled with ease. Each got its moments to shine and all three levels ultimately came together in the end with the disturbing revelations about the immunes and their play to dominate the world. The sub versus ship confrontation was excellent on all fronts, but the layering of world views and the personal battle of wills between Slattery and Carlos made the episode that much more enjoyable to watch.
If there were stand out performances, it would have to go to the entire C.I.C. crew in all their roles throughout the conflict. Emotions ran high, but the environment was cool and professional despite obvious tensions with each new dilemma. The tension and apprehension of the conflict was captured particularly well by Chris Sheffield as Ensign Will Mason and Michael Curran-Dorsano as LT John “Gator” Mejia. Both held up the moment well without overplaying their parts. It was also good seeing Marissa Neitling showing her confidence as LT Kara Foster took more of a leadership role. All of them were complemented by a cool, calm and collected performance by Eric Dane.
The Last Ship has distinct challenges ahead that are now more clearly laid out than before. Just as Dr. Scott had to come to terms with the fact that Juan Carlos may not have the same rights he had in the old world, the entire crew and all of those fighting to ensure a cure saves as many as possible, will have to grapple with a fanatical element bent on destroying that same cure. We have no doubt that despite the global nature, the conflict will still focus on two ships, two crews, two captains and all the things that put them in direct opposition to each other. We can’t wait for things to get even more personal between the two groups in the weeks to come on The Last Ship!
Questions, Comments, Concerns and My Reaction on Twitter…
- Lovely little germ. Blessed with the gene. Great. They feel entitled.
- The plague was designed. Um. Yeah *thinks Niels* lol
- Only one thing I hate more than seeing a sub on sonar—is NOT seeing one. Amen to that one Captain.
- Ruskov’s dead! We’ll at least we can all agree on that. lol
- The Spaniard is either really smart. Or REALLY crafty.
- Arm torpedoes. Awe dammit. Only thing I hate more that NOT hearing a sub, is a quiet one WITH torpedoes. Ugh.
- Let’s see if he’s paying attention. Awe crap. Looks like it is.
- I won’t jeopardize the safety of your ship. I don’t trust him at ALL.
- You’d bet on me. I’ve bet on you so far. Am I the only one REALLY nervous right now??
- Lock it down. Ahead slow. This is for real. I’m afraid to make a noise too. @ChasParnell Shhh. #TheLastShip
- Wow. Bacon just saved their bacon. lol
- Looks like Juan was rather dedicated to his cause. What a bloody mess we’re in now.
- We’re going to have to open him up. You’re the most qualified. What??
- My heart just went through the roof!!
- You know it’s serious when the dive spills your beer.
- Virtually all of them were out of range before we fired. The ship is afloat. But my heart just sunk.
- Everyone on my ship is like me. #RUImmune2??
- At some point, Niels is going to die a horrible death. I hope. He’s gone from bad to worse.
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