The Last Ship Review: 2×11 “Valkyrie”

Loss and grief leave us feeing empty and wishing for what might have been. The Last Ship pulled no emotional punches in an episode that left us reeling.

The Last Ship — In the midst of suffering and pain after the destruction of the New Orleans flotilla, the Nathan James finds itself, without sonar, blind and the target of even more lies from Sean Ramsey (Brían F. O’Byrne). In a crafty move, Ramsey takes his plea to the people in the hope of inspiring them to help him root out and destroy the Nathan James and their crew. But in an equally crafty play, President Michener (Mark Moses) sets everyone’s eyes on the mysterious network, code named Valkyrie, that Ramsey is using to broadcast to the masses. In a bold move, the crew identify the source of Valkyrie—an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.

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As tensions flair for the ground team when their association to the allegedly guilty Nathan James becomes known, Chandler (Eric Dane) launches his own assault on the rig to capture the network and use Sean Ramsey’s own channel against him by broadcasting President Michener’s message of truth. While the rig appears to be abandoned, the team stumbles upon the architect of Valkyrie herself, Valerie Raymond (Tania Raymonde), but before any real truth can be shared, a surprise attack from rogue survivors leaves nearly everyone reeling, dead or wounded. In an emotional and stunning turn of events, the very people the Nathan James was trying to save took the lives of four brave souls proving that nearly no one is safe this week on The Last Ship!

The Siren call of Valkyrie.

To borrow a phrase, Sean Ramsey (Brían F. O’Byrne) is just a little bit mental. Comparing himself and Ned (Nick Court) to brothers Moses and Aaron as leaders of their people with a bit of a God complex mixed in showed just how far down the scale of crazy Sean might be. Losing Valkyrie turned into a victory in Sean’s mind.

“Did you hear me? The network’s gone, Sean.” ~ Ned

“But the message is out there. My people have heard the siren call.” ~ Sean

Sean was right about one thing. His lies were convincing and they were believed. In fact, he might have been the most ardent believer in his own brew. Lip syncing your personal Koolaid is usually a sign that you’ve drunk a bit too much.

He was also right that Valkyrie was clearly effective. So much so that it ironically brought about its own downfall. The lies weren’t just being heard, they were believed by Immunes and survivors alike. Val (Tania Raymonde) didn’t just back the wrong horse, she put that horse well into the lead.

But the truth comes through when you put faces and names to those that lies are meant to destroy. As painful as this episode was to watch, no other way but sacrifice could have convinced Val of the truth than to see the pain and loss those lies could create first hand. That was a brilliant stroke by the writing team and Writer Steven Kane in particular. Both Tanya Ramonde and Eric Dane made us see it and believe it too.

“I thought I knew what was going on. There’s still a lot I don’t know.” ~ Val

“I wanted you to be here so you could see who we are.” ~ Chandler

Val needed a believable catalyst to push her toward the truth. Nothing could have worked more effectively than to truly understand the bitter losses suffered by the Nathan James and a Captain willing to sacrifice himself to save her. Hopefully that siren will sing a different tune in the future because of it.

Today we grieve.

The trend (we blame Lost for starting this—we also love Lost for this too) of TV these days seems to be to make us care deeply about characters and then yank them from us. While we didn’t expect every character to live through this entire series (we’ve lost a few already) we most certainly did NOT see this week’s heartache coming—at all. That’s a credit to the writing team.

It was also a risky move by Writer Steven Kane, but one with a tremendous character building payoff if handled just right. LT Bivas was quickly becoming a fan favorite and Inbar Lavi had a charm that resonated with fans of this show hungry for a bit deeper exploration of relationships in a post-apocalyptic world. What desperate fans weren’t getting from Chandler, Dr. Scott and even the one true relationship of Foster (Marissa Neitling) and Green (Travis Van Winkle), was starting to emerge between Bivas (Inbar Lavi) and Burk (Jocko Sims). No more so than in playful dialogue between them just before things truly went downhill.

“Get out of my head, Bivas.” ~ Burk

“No use, mate. She’s got you now.” ~ Wolf

“[Sighs] Yeah, I know.” ~ Burk

The Last Ship hasn’t succumbed to fan pressure by adding in unnecessary relationships just for thrills. They’ve taken the high road and focused on the things that make each character tick at a much deeper level. That’s left the shippers a bit frustrated at times, but with the deaths of Bivas and Chung (Andy T. Tran) we are left with that very bitter taste of what might have been. In this case, art imitated life.

We feel the loss of Bivas because we were beginning to care about her as character and we were just starting to get the good vibe of a relationship budding. In what can best be described as a harsh reality, we’re left with the only the sour feeling of what might have been. And in a beautiful final few moments we saw Inbar Lavi bring a bit of Hebrew culture into her final breaths by reciting the Shema, a prayer that is often said by one who believes they are about to die.

“Shema Yisrael .. Adonai .. Eloheinu .. Baruch.” ~ Bivas

Several possible translations exist for the Shema, but a common one is “Hear, O Israel! Adonai is our God—Adonai alone.” Once again, The Last Ship doesn’t shy away from religious context and Inbar Lavi portrayed the moment beautifully. Bivas will be missed and by Burk and Wolf most of all. The gravity and pain of the moment was seen clearly in the eyes and faces of Jocko Sims and Bren Foster who handled the scene with grace and grit. And if we ever have to exit a series, we’d be honored to have Steven Kane craft our parting moment.

What impact will these losses have on the crew? Time will tell, but we’ll be keeping a sharp eye on both LT Granderson (Christina Elmore) and LT Burk who were emotionally distraught at the losses of Chung and Bivas respectively. Mark our words. This moment will not be without future ramifications. It will be interesting to see where the writing team take Granderson, Wolf and Burk as they move through grief and try to come to terms with loss.

Every time we’re called, we answer, HERE I AM.

We were left a bit shaken by the divide between Chandler and Dr. Scott (Rhona Mitra) over the death of Niels (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). On one hand, we completely understood Dr. Scott’s position and her desire for retribution for five billion deaths. On the other, we also understood that when exceptions begin to be made and rules of ethical conduct are ignored, the fabric of society begins to decay beyond repair.

But something can be said for the moment when one person saves the life of another. The consequences of Dr. Scott’s decision to kill Niels for a contagious cure may still hang in the balance, but her intention of saving the world from his tissue was certainly a noble one despite any of her less favorable actions beforehand. When needed in this episode, she answered the call just as everyone else did. In so doing, she saved Chandler’s life and quite possibly saved the connection between Captain and Doctor that had been severed when Niels dropped to the floor. He is as determined as she is and they both see it in each other—that drive to overcome anything to get the job done.

“Still gonna need to operate and remove this souvenir I found behind your liver.” ~ Dr. Scott

“That can wait.” ~ Chandler

“Actually, it can’t. The shrapnel can move and cut you.” ~ Dr. Scott

“I’m not going under. Not now.” ~ Chandler

“Stubborn as ever.” ~ Dr. Scott

“Says the pot to the kettle.” ~ Chandler

But before she could leave frustrated, he changed the direction of their interaction with a few simple words and a shared look.

“Rachel. Thank you.” ~ Chandler

Both Eric Dane and Rhona Mitra have slowly emerged this season as outstanding emotional ambassadors of the show with an equally minimalistic way of showing it. True to their characters, neither said much, but much more was heard in what wasn’t said between them through compelling and subtle performances. We heard the longer conversation loud and clear. What was torn between these two is also on the mend. Time will tell how long it takes to completely heal, but the stitches seem to be in.

As the episode closed, a much larger question hovered around what everyone will do from here. We have no doubt the characters we have come to love will answer the call so eloquently spoken by Jeter (Charles Parnell) as we said farewell to characters (and actors) we’ll miss.

“Every time we’re called, we answer, HERE I AM. We answer knowing that the world—the survival of our species—depends on our actions here at sea and fully aware that we answer at our own peril. And still we answer, HERE I AM.” ~ Jeter

Will Val see through the truth and answer the call? Just like Chandler, she’s had her life saved that day and that’s no small thing. We don’t know what she’ll do next, but we’re itching to find out.

FINAL VERDICT: The Last Ship delivered a blow that won’t soon be forgotten. Fan favorite characters are not sacrificed without risk. This show just proved to us that reality can be harsh, but the brave push on in the noble fashion this show has established.

Every show has a core set of characters that we know will always survive, but in recent years the trend has turned such that characters that are fan favorites are lost with regularity if it serves the larger story. Fans of The Last Ship got their first real taste of bitter loss during “Valkyrie” and because we were left with so much we’d have liked to see from the characters we lost, it hurt.

Observant fans would have noticed the solemn Fallen Comrade Table (also known as a Missing Man Table) focused upon during Jeter’s speech at the end. A military tradition, to honor on missing or fallen comrades, the Fallen Comrade Table has emerged over time to remember those who are no longer with us. Each element has specific symbolism, but at its core it honors the purity of answering the call to service and the bitterness of loss in service to that call.

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Though the narrative of the ceremony was unique, the well crafted script by Steven Kane honored those lost while also paying tribute to the meaning behind the service itself. Charles Parnell, always the rudder that guides the emotional and spiritual direction of the show was perfect in his delivery and Director Olatunde Osunsanmi deserves ample credit for a scene that captured well the emotional gravity of the moment with nods to nearly every cast member in turn.

All in all, it was a beautifully crafted moment by all involved. After an emotional loss and the chaos of returning from the rig, the quiet and reverent moment was a stirring reminder that the work wasn’t yet done. The Last Ship has done many things well, but in conveying the honor and sacrifice of the military, the show has far exceeded any expectations. What will become of this crew and their ship as they continue to battle misinformation and a lunatic in Sean Ramsey is currently unknown, but when they hear the call, everyone will likely rise to their feet—HERE I AM—and we’ll be watching The Last Ship next week to see what happens when they do.

Questions, Comments, Concerns and My Reaction on Twitter…

• You’re really full of yourself when you lip sync your own bullshit speech.
• Boy, saving the world comes with some very icy moments.
• No Commander. We take over the network. He’s being more presidential each week don’t you think? I do. 😉
• Signal’s a 100% .. from WHAT??
• Roger that Mother. We saw both those looks. Perfect name 😉
• Remember who we are as a people. We are still one nation. Let’s restore this great nation. Wow. Chllls…
• I will get it there or die trying. I’m irked over Dr. Scott, but I’d still follow Chandler to hell and back.
• This is all going a little too smoothly. That makes me VERY nervous.
• We’ve been waiting for #TaniaRaymonde all season. (Well, I have) lol Some gorgeous people have survived this virus. 😉
• Well shit! You got it all figured out. Aliens from planet BatShit Crazy! Hahahaha!! @RealEricDane
• Can’t believe they shot me in the ass! Well, at least they didn’t mess with the beard. @Johnny_Pypes
• WTF?? HOLY SHIT this is horrific.
• Aaron and Moses. Sean is certifiable.
• Damn you @mrstevenkane .. OMG .. this show is ripping my damned heart out. (That means you did well .. I care). But it HURTS!
• And still we answer HERE I AM. Dammit Jeter. I was already crying man..
• I was wondering when he’d ask about the bag.
• I was not emotionally prepared for this episode of #TheLastShip. OMG I was not prepared for that.
• Bravo @mrstevenkane. I know that world is your baby. I’m sure it hurt as much to write as it did for us to watch. Bravo.