The Last Ship Review: In Medias Res / The Pillars of Hercules (Season 4 Episodes 1-2)
The Last Ship is back with a bang for Season 4. Did you expect anything less?
While Tom Chandler is in Greece with a new love interest, spending his days fishing so his family and friends can eat, the crew of the Nathan James is on a mission to get seeds that could save the world.
The virus is no longer infecting humans. Now, it’s managed to render crops inedible, and those who survived the red flu are now starving because of it.
When we meet back up with the crew on The Last Ship Season 4 Episode 1, “In Medias Res,” they’re working to find where the seeds are hidden, and it doesn’t take long for their mission to turn deadly.
The Last Ship certainly knows how to keep us on our toes, and this premiere is no exception. It doesn’t take long for the crew to find themselves back aboard their ship, heading into unsafe waters.
Kara, amazing as always, insists on returning to her post, and much of the team is back together again. They’re just missing their captain, who they haven’t heard from in over a year.
Chandler is tired of being the hero, and you really can’t blame him. At first, it looks like he’s living the life in Greece. He’s with his kids, he has a new love interest and new friends, and his days are spent fishing instead of fighting to save the world.
It’s a relief to see him living that way, and he deserves it. But as Alex reminds him, he can’t run from his destiny.
I’m actually surprised we don’t see Tom reunite with his crew somehow by the end of The Last Ship Season 4 Episode 2, “The Pillars of Hercules.” But I have no doubt that’s coming. Especially since even in Greece, where he’s gone to get away from everything, he still manages to lose someone else close to him.
Alex is killed when Georgio sets his boat on fire, and Tom isn’t able to save him in time. But the rules of his world mean he still has to fish for Georgio if he wants to be able to take care of his family.
Jackson Rathbone is just as creepy as a villain on this show as he is as a vampire on Twilight, by the way.
Georgio is clearly intrigued by Chandler, who he knows as “Nobody,” especially after he watching Chandler fight one of his men and win. He wants to Chandler to work with him, and he doesn’t exactly give him a choice.
It turns out, Georgio is involved in something much more complicated than simply controlling the waters.
It’s almost unsettling the way Chandler follows him along. He knows he basically has to, but something in him seems to have given up, or become complacent. This definitely isn’t the Tom Chandler we knew before.
Especially when we watch him beat the ever-loving hell out of the next person he fights.
That scene is about more than Tom’s strength and ability to win a fight. It’s even about more than just his pent-up rage. It’s turning point for him. It’s like he comes alive in that moment.
Back on the James, the crew finds themselves under attack, and once again on their own as they navigate the Mediterranean Sea.
Unfortunately, even with the focus we get on Chandler, much of premiere feels too rushed. There’s so much depth, and there are so many possibilities, but with such a large cast and so many new characters introduced each step of the way, it’s impossible to spend time really exploring everything they’re dealing with.
Instead, those moments are glossed over.
We get Burke’s line asking Danny if it’s ever going to end, following his brother’s severe injury in the explosion. We see how great it is for Danny and Kara to be able to work together. We watch new attractions form. But because it’s such a big show, we barely scratch the surface.
My other complaint is that the red dust feels a bit far-fetched. The red corn we see in the opening scene looks like something from a horror movie because it looks like it’s bleeding (seriously, I can’t get the image out of my head), just as humans bled when it was the red flu. I’m just not sure I buy the way that’s all happening, and I hope we get more explanation of it soon.
What did you think of this episode of The Last Ship? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, and don’t forget to give the episode your own rating!
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The Last Ship airs Sundays at 9/8c on TNT.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.