The Last Ship Review: Legacy (Season 3 Episode 11)

As much as I think many of us have been enjoying The Last Ship Season 3, there’s been something missing. An element that adds an extra layer to the show, gives a bit of comic relief, and leaves us feeling inspired.

That something, that someone, is the fan favorite character who, for a while there, we weren’t even sure if we’d see again.

And all we’ve been asking since the season premiere is: where the heck is Tex?!

On “Legacy,” we get the answer to that question, and man, is his return everything we could have possibly asked for. In our recent interview with Jocko Sims, he said Tex comes back with a bang, and he wasn’t kidding. He really, really does.

We see Tex in trouble at first, being beaten and threatened as we find out that Kara has called on Tex for help (smart woman!) and Allison and her minions are on to him.

But if there’s anything we know about Tex, is that he should never, ever be underestimated.

In a bloody altercation, he gets exactly what he needs to break free and make his way to Kara, where thankfully, he arrives just in time.

I talk a lot about how satisfying it is to watch this show and see the “good guys” prevail. It’s always good for the soul to see Chandler and his crew save the day (or at least live to fight another day). These heroes are nearly perfect, always working for the greater good and making sacrifices when they need to, and at the same time, being total badasses when fighting the obvious villains.

And when it comes to Tex, I think it’s even more satisfying to see him prevail and help out, because he doesn’t quite fit the mold.

He’s not in the Navy, but he’s still willing to fight and work toward the greater good. He’s the common man. The tough guy with the witty remarks who plays by his own rules and is a bit rough about the edges. The guy who you can always depend on, and sometimes, the character we can identify with the most.

Seeing him reunited with Kara is beautiful and perfect, and seeing him step up as a leader to try to SAVE THE COUNTRY is pretty much the best thing ever.

Tex: Hang on to your asses. We’re going back to St. Louis.

Meanwhile, Chandler and his team are doing exactly what I mention above — dealing with the very obvious bad guys, and trying to get rid of Peng once and for all. Again, it’s just satisfying to see this guys work together and go in as heroes, literally with guns blazing.

It isn’t Vulture Team who finally defeats Peng, though. Sure, that would have been a good way to end it, but the better way? Takehaya being the one to kill him himself.

Takehaya is heartbreaking in this episode. Peng has been leading his group to not only wipe out the Japanese people as a whole, but also to wipe out their culture. It’s despicable, terrifying, and incomprehensible.

After it’s all said and done, Takehaya chooses to remain on Japanese soil, where he’ll eventually die from the virus, along with his wife.

Let’s not forget, we thought this guy was so purely evil in the beginning of this season. It was easy to paint him as the villain (what he was doing was also pretty despicable) but his motivations and his later actions redeemed him.

What happens at the end of the episode feels a LOT like a road we’ve been down before. It still makes for a good story, but it really does feel all too familiar.

While Chandler is away, back home he and the The Nathan James are being described as the enemy, and then home they’ll be returning to won’t be anything like the place they left.

The country is literally being dissolved. No central government. No military. No place for the crew. But Chandler isn’t willing to give up so easily.

Slattery: We lost our country, Captain.
Chandler: Not yet.

What did you think of this episode of The Last Ship? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Last Ship airs Sundays at 9/8c on TNT.

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