When last we left the U.S.S. Nathan James:
- We found out that Quincy was being blackmailed by the Russians, who had at least one member of his family (his wife) on-board their ship. Quincy is now in hot water, as it were, with the American crew.
- Using a tricky sequence of maneuvers, Commander Chandler and his crew outsmarted the Russians and escaped the harbor practically unscathed.
- Foster and Danny had a little falling out, ending in Danny telling her that he loved her - and demanding that she stay away from him.
- There is some freaky dude (Quincy's scientist buddy?) on-board the Russian ship and he seems to be immune from the virus.
Flashback!! Commander Chandler starts off the episode by saying goodbye to his family in a rural American city. Where's the picket fence? Seems like he was living the American dream before setting sail with the Nathan James. Two cute kids and a lovely wife.
But that was then and this is now! Chandler is back on the Nathan James, his family a distant memory for which he longs to return. It's his anniversary. (However, lest we forget, we saw his these three two episodes ago. They were in good health and hiding out at a family cabin.) Chandler is listening to the radio, trying to assess the situation back on the mainland, but he says it's all just "a lot of static." Mike comes in to talk to Chandler briefly and they discuss the loss of Mike's son, who died from the virus. "There's still a chance," Chandler says, "for all of us." Cue the intro.
A couple of crew members are shooting some hoops. The basketball goes overboard. The game is over. And the crew no longer has any balls. Speaking of which, downstairs, Danny, a coward of a lover, tells Tex to stop checking out the female officers.
Dr. Scott tells Chandler that she needs three strains of the virus: primordial, Egyptian, and the strain she extracted from the cruise ship. She needs Quincy's help and Chandler very reluctantly gives his permission to let the scoundrel back in the lab. Confronted by Dr. Scott, Quincy, bad haircut and all, gets upset and refuses to work with her.
The lights flicker and the power goes out. There's a fire in the engine room - and if they don't get things back up and running, Dr. Scott is in jeopardy of losing everything in the lab. In fact, somebody hit the "Jeopardy!" music because it's time for a commercial break.
Well, they got the power back up, but they're reserving their resources and using them very carefully. Water, for instance, will be reserved strictly for cooking and drinking until the situation has calmed down.
Mike plays "bad cop" with Quincy, explaining that he was a homicide cop on the South side of Chicago and he knows effective interrogation methods. Quincy isn't impressed. "Anything that doesn't serve a purpose is gone," Mike says. Quincy makes two requests before Mike leaves: sunlight and someone good to play chess with. Mike takes Quincy to Dr. Scott, to whom he lofts up a bunch of scientific mumbo jumbo. Looks like he's willing to play ball, after all.
Chung, one of the engineers, tells Chandler that the circuit breakers are completely worn out and the engines will not cool down. It's going to take a week to fix. They estimate that they've got 3,000 gallons of drinkable water remaining. Chandler informs his officers that they need to find a place to make port so they can get some fresh water and repair the broken engines. While they plot out their strategy, Chandler warns that on "day three, people start to die." Things aren't off to a great start, as, several scenes later, crew members complain that it is hot outside, but even hotter inside. They joke about sleeping outside, standing up, if necessary.
Flashback: As Chandler stares out into the stars, he remembers telling his children that, wherever they were, he would be looking out into that same sky. Sounds familiar, like a song I once knew as a child. "No matter what, we'll always be together, ok?" he tells them. His waxing melodramatic is interrupted by Dr. Scott, who gleefully announces that she's made a breakthrough and her vaccine prototype is ready to test.
[As our episode hits its half-way point, there's a Kirby Heyborne sighting! He's in a new Dish Network commercial. So nice to see him pushing non-alcoholic products again. Just like the good old days.]
The relay switch has overheated and the breakers on the final generator are now beyond repair. Scott warns that if her samples go over 41 degrees, they will spoil and no longer be usable. Chung suggests that they throw the samples overboard to keep them cool in the depths of the ocean. They drop the samples into the water and the temperature dramatically settles in at 40 degrees. Everyone lets out a collective sigh of relief.
Chandler is concerned that, without winds blowing in to generate enough power to steer the ship, the crew might be in grave danger. Jeter, a religious man who doubles as a preacher on the ship, gives the commander a pep talk about faith and hope, assuring his leader that the crew trusts him and his vision. In the adjacent scene, Jeter leads a sermon with a circle of crew members, and, miraculously, a wind begins to blow and Chandler's faith is rejuvenated. The crew launches a trio of parachutes into the air, which somehow gets the propeller to the ship spinning. The propeller generates power and all is well, it seems.
The crew has now been two days without water. One monotonous crew member sends out a tedious radio broadcast searching for help. Jeter reports that 10 more shipmates have fallen ill. Chandler laments that the ship's course has taken more time than anticipated. Scott attends to sick members of the crew and Foster awkwardly asks to sit by Danny and Tex.
In what undoubtedly takes the cake for the episode's dumbest line of dialogue, Lt. Granderson identifies three seagulls as "low, slow-flying objects." Mike astutely points out that "birds mean land." Chandler hoists his binoculars and spots an island straight ahead. Land, ho! Looks like the Nathan James will be getting some much-needed H2O.
After a commercial break, we return to what appears to be an episode of "Baywatch." Or is it the long-anticipated reunion of Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters? It's hard to tell exactly what it is that we're watching, but it looks a heck of a lot like Spring Break. All we're missing is a sand volleyball court. The entire crew has gone ashore and they're passing around blue Solo cups. If red cups = alcohol, blue cups have got to mean fresh water. Geez. Did Jeter teach them about the Word of Wisdom or something or were they all just really dehydrated?
Hula party with Tex! Danny thinks about approaching Foster, but she's found a strapping new boyfriend, by the looks of it. Jealousy ensues. And so does an acoustic concert around the fire, apparently. These hippies are way too peaceful. I miss the Russians.
Meanwhile, back on the ship, Quincy comes to the realization that he didn't get invited to sing Kumbaya with everybody else. But he does get to play chess with a very unhappy Black guy named Bacon.
And that's it. We end the episode with Scott thanking Chandler as he listens to the radio and thinks about his family. No big cliffhanger. Just a giant beach party and the loneliest chess match of all time.
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What we learned:
- Tex likes chicks.
- Dr. Scott has a vaccine prototype that's ready to test.
- Chandler misses his family.
- The crew is partying on the beach. And that never ends well.
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Your thoughts? I felt like this episode was a real let-down after last week's show, which I thought was a real step in the right direction. Was that episode kind of lame, or was it just me?
Well, hey... As was teased at the end of the night, there are other people on the island. SHOCKER. Like, who didn't see that one coming? At least that will give us some action to look forward to next week. Looks like the natives aren't going to take very kindly to strangers. And, lastly, what did you guys think about that Kirby Heyborne commercial? Leave a comment below - if you dare!! - and we'll catch you next Sunday for a new, hopefully better episode of "The Last Ship."
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