The Last Ship Season 2 Episode 6 Review: Long Day's Journey
Elizabeth Harlow
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On The Last Ship Season 2 Episode 6, CDR Chandler's vendetta against the submarine crew has him chasing a group of mercenaries into Florida after Rachel's mentor, Dr. Hunter, is murdered.
On board the Nathan James, Dr. Scott attempts to complete Hunter's work to aerosolize the cure.
Meanwhile, Sean is putting his plan for the American Immune into action, despite Ned's objections. The discord between the brothers is mirrored in the tensions onboard the Achilles. Ned's interference with Sean's orders may turn out to be a breaking point.
It was made clear tonight that when it comes to The Immune, Ned is a mere opportunist. He's willing to go along with Sean's rhetoric because it makes his own goals easier to achieve. For him, the pandemic was an opportunity to raise his station in life.
His desire to sink the Nathan James is pragmatic – if the cure is disseminated, then being immune loses it's status, and the material benefits that go along with that. He's willing to go along with his brother because Sean's charisma has increased their power. But Sean has drunk his own Kool-Aid,
Ned: How many of them are going to go for your "we are the chosen" act?
Sean: It ain't no act. Ned. It ain't no act.
While Ned is content to rule their little corner of the world, Sean's belief system drives him to constantly seek more. He needs more survivors, more power. The more immune that follow him, the more validated his own doctrine becomes in his mind.
I think that for him, and a lot of his followers, this is a coping mechanism for dealing with such an intense situation and the survivors guilt many are experiencing. For Sean, destroying the cure has become a holy mission, and nothing will get in his way.
Sean: I am culling the herd, Ned. And the pure will have a chance to join us. Those who refuse my beneficence will die along with the crew of that Navy ship. Now, you have a choice to make. Do you want to help me? Or do you want to join our beloved mother in the grave?
Ned: Well...Now that you've come to mention it...do you think Beyonce is immune? I mean, it's possible. Five percent and all that. I think she'd look rather good on my arm. Don't you think?
Of course, having Sean and Ned blow up all the secure labs and destroy all other samples of the cure also served to refocus the mission of the Nathan James. Once again, Rachel is the only scientist with the means to manufacture the vaccine.
Dr. Hunter's work tweaks the story enough that it's not just a case of "second verse same as the first." Creating the vaccine in a powder form will be more effective, but it also creates new problems for Rachel and her team to solve.
I absolutely loved that her breakthrough on the problem came from her discussion of roux with Bacon. The best scientific discoveries are crazy like that (for example, penicillin). Turning the kitchens into a lab and having poor Bacon try and keep up with their science jargon added some nice levity to the situation.
She may have cracked the code with cornstarch, but I imagine she's still going to face an uphill battle distributing it. Outside of the logistical problems, she'll have to convince CDR Chandler to provide her with the necessary resources. And he's facing challenges of his own.
After rashly following the mercenaries trial and going undercover at the Immune's rally, Chandler and Burk discover that cabinet member is still alive, and he's naturally immune. This is definitely going to lead to some moral dilemmas on the captain's part.
The storytelling was excellent tonight, but the highlight for me was just shy of two-thirds of the way through: while the SFU changes for the undercover mission, we finally get to see some skin! I am in full agreement with Lt. Bavis' assessment of that situation.
Take off your clothes.
Lt. Ravit Bavis
We're almost at the halfway point for the season now, and I can't wait to see where the story lines with Ned, Sean, and now Michener are heading. I'm looking forward to more from the crew, too. Watching the lower ranked crew members (and the actors who play them) grow in their roles is a treat.
Watch The Last Ship online and share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Elizabeth Harlow was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in October 2018.
