The Last Ship Review: Air Drop (Season 5 Episode 6)
The Last Ship has almost always excelled at offering us complex antagonists, and we see that clearly on The Last Ship Season 5 Episode 6, “Air Drop.”
This season’s villains have reasons for doing what they’re doing, and they’re definitely interesting to watch. That’s true of Gustavo and it’s even true of Kelsey, who we get to see more of on this episode.
While that’s time I’d honestly rather see spent on the characters we’ve known since the beginning, it is interesting to see where she is now and understand a little more about her.
Having that time to focus on the villains doesn’t mean we aren’t clearly focused on our heroes, though. It says something about Chandler that he’s always willing to put himself in the thick of things, regardless of his current status or everything else he’s been through.
He’s also confident in the mission, despite its inherent risks.
Chandler and team join members of the marines to be airdropped into Cuba, where they expect — hope — to meet with friendly faces. It’s really enjoyable to see the team interact on the plane and to see them paired with marines, which creates an entirely new dynamic.
Poor Miller. He tries so hard, doesn’t he? I love the humor we’ve gotten to see out of him over the past several episodes.
The camaraderie and the humor are nice and help to balance things out a bit. These are all likeable characters and they’re all ones that exemplify what it means to be a hero, even in their few flayed moments.
There’s something especially satisfying about Sasha’s “hoorah” when it’s nearly time to jump.
Almost everyone makes it off of the plane, but before Chandler does (and a few others) the plane is hit with a missile that no one sees coming.
It’s not that easy to take Tom Chandler down, though.
Side note: if you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, you might note this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a character played by Eric Dane involved in a plane crash.
Chandler survives, but not easily. It’s an incredibly visceral experience to watch him cauterize his own wounds like that.
So many members of the team have experienced serious injuries this season but powered through, barely even letting it take any time away from their ability to fight. It’s yet another reason this show feels so inspiring to watch. It’s powerful to watch how often they can overcome.
When the team realizes Chandler’s survived, there’s a feeling of renewal — one that’s met with Sasha’s own reaction at seeing the man she loves.
I do have to say, I continue to feel slighted by missing details of how their relationship has progressed. That’s not the focus of the show, not by a long shot, but I never felt quite caught up to these two falling in love. I’d have liked to see more of that progression of the recent seasons.
Overall, it’s a solid episode that gives us a lot of great moments and shows us much of what this show can do best.
Other thoughts:
- Those execution scenes are brutal, and I’ll be okay if we don’t have to see more of them.
- Swain has been a nice addition to the season. There’s also a little parallel of Kelsey’s smirk when she gets that text message and Swain when he sees it come through.
- I continue to love seeing Kara in this leadership position. It’s one of my favorite things about this season.
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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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.