Warning: SPOILERS for the tenth episode of "The Last Ship" ("No Place Like Hom") to follow. Ye be warned.
When last we left the U.S.S. Nathan James:
- After a wild test trial on live, human subjects, Dr. Scott's vaccine is A-OK and ready to go! And not only can she vaccinate against the virus, she can cure people who have previously been infected...
- ...which is a good thing because, back in America, Commander Chandler's wife was contracted the infamous Red Flu and probably contaminated the entire Chandler clan.
- Foster is pregnant with Danny's baby.
- There's a new group of bad guys in town. We don't know much about them, but their leader (actor Titus Welliver) was a bad guy on "LOST," so you know he means business.
- Mr. Chandler (the commander's father) is working on a radio - and he's calling out for the Nathan James! He overhears a public service announcement for a place called "Olympia," that promises a disease-free community - a safe zone. Could such a place exist?
We begin tonight's episode with an almost-hallucinogenic sequence showing Chandler's wife, complete with nasty boils on her face, staring off into space at the family cabin. She, as we already clarified, was infected with the virus last episode. Mr. Chandler sits at the table, desperately calling out for his son's ship. It doesn't appear to be going well for him. Meanwhile, Chandler's son cries out, "Mama, please don't fall asleep!"
On board the Nathan James, the entire crew is being vaccinated. No more haz-mat suits for them, by the looks of it. Quincy and Bertrice help with the vaccinations. Quincy injects his chess-playing pal, Bacon, with the vaccine. While Dr. Scott is trying not to become boastful, Commander Chandler suggests that she "enjoy the moment." She vaccinates him and there are smiles all around. Let's see how long that lasts, eh? Cue that short intro video that finally makes sense. Boom.
Tex is sick. Not in the sense that he was on his death-bed last week... in the sense that he spilled his guts to Dr. Scott in the last episode, telling her, "You make me want to love again." "I actually said that!?" Tex wonders aloud. Actually, it turns out that he's speaking to a dog. There's the Tex we've all come to tolerate and accept. He's a love-sick pervert, but he's OUR love-sick pervert.
Mike and Jeter brief the crew about what to expect once they reach land. The fact of the matter is: they don't know what to expect once they reach land. Their task is to transport Dr. Scott and her equipment to a workable lab at Fort Dietrich where she can mass-produce the vaccine. Ay ay, sir. Promptly, the crew heads to the deck, where they gather for a post-vaccination group selfie. Oh. Wait. They're just trying to see if their phones have service. But it looked like they were going to take selfies. It really did. Apparently, Quincy's wife and daughter are too poor to afford cell phones or something, because they're just hugging, not looking for service. Cheapskates.
Chandler, Mike and Dr. Scott, along with Foster and a few others, gather satellite imagery to survey the land on shore. They're looking for Fort Dietrich to see if they've got a clear path to drive to the new lab. The highways look pretty clear, but they spot a giant red X spray painted on a nearby parking lot. Scott sees it as a warning sign to stay away. Rightly so, Doctor. Rightly so. They scan north a bit and find that the science base at Dietrich has been completely destroyed. Wiped out. Everything, including the lab equipment is wasted - but that's the only area in the vicinity that was taken out! Chandler believes the lab was targeted and deliberately destroyed. "Who would have done that?" Scott asks.
Back on land, Mr. Chandler is driving his sick daughter-in-law around town, headed for Olympia. He is stopped by a gun-toting group of men, who say that Olympia cannot help them. Reluctantly, Mr. Chandler obliges and puts the car in reverse. But wait! This is a CHANDLER we're talking about. "Get down," he says to his two grandkids. He throws the car back into Drive and rams it through the wooden barrier, past the militant group. One of the men removes his mask and asks if the men should go after the car. "No," says the Man in Black (Welliver). "They'll be dead soon."
The crew members inside the Nathan James' radio room have caught on to another radio signal. It's on a loop, but was updated today - and there's something that Commander Chandler needs to hear. The voice on the loop, a woman in Baltimore, says she is aware of the Nathan James' mission and has secured the facility they require. She asks the Nathan James to reply on channel One Six. There is no immediate response, but that might just mean that they're still too far outside of range to be picked up on land. Time will tell.
Mr. Chandler hears the same loop from the radio in his car. He relays the news to the commander's wife, who looks incredibly sick, and urges her to hang in there. Her husband is alive!
Quincy and his wife are arguing. Their daughter, Ava, is sad. She doubts that, after all that's happened, her parents will ever be the same again. Quincy tells Scott that he doesn't blame his wife for her unforgiveness.
The radio room has found a connection with Baltimore - it's a "Mrs. Granderson," allegedly. Could it be Lt. Granderson's mother? You remember, right? The same Lt. Granderson who unnecessarily and pointlessly revealed that she was a lesbian in episode one and hasn't really done anything since? The video finally kicks in and she is revealed to be an African-American woman who doesn't look inherently evil. She is the vice chair of the President's defense policy board and was aware of the risks and danger associated with the Nathan James' mission and the pandemic on the American homefront. As such, she had her (lesbian) daughter transferred to Chandler's crew (presumably to keep her safe from the virus?). She reveals that there has been a breakdown in infrastructure and a tremendous loss of life and the U.S. government is practically non-existant. Chandler informs her that the ship can be at Baltimore in a matter of hours. He allows Lt. Granderson to enter the room and speak with her mother. A joyous technological reunion, to be sure.
We transition back to a hideout resembling a post-war shantytown. It is the headquarters of the militant group we have encountered several times now. They have intercepted a radio call and are aware that a Navy ship will be making port in Baltimore in the next few hours. They recognize the name of the ship, the Nathan James, as the ship the radio loop has been hailing for weeks. They refer to Mrs. Granderson on a last-name basis, noting that "Granderson" is sending out a welcoming party for the ship. "Well, if they're having a party... then let's party," the Man in Black says.
A small group of Chandler's men reach shore with guns at the ready. They are greeted by a caravan of SUVs with badges saying they're from the remaining Maryland government. (Why am I always so skeptical of every person on this show?) Danny informs the man that the Navy crew is not sick. Danny checks their badges and they seem legit. The two groups greet each other, but, unbeknownst to them, the militant clan is holed up in a nearby building with sniper rifles pointed their direction. The Man in Black watches through binoculars as Chandler and a second landing crew reach the shore. Chandler, Tex and Scott greet the government officials. Another SUV pulls up. It's Granderson. Her presence seems to shock the Man in Black and his lackey. The lackey is ordered to take the shot and assassinate Granderson, but Chandler is blocking his vantage point. Granderson is warned to get back into the vehicle by one of the government officers. The lackey misses his window of opportunity and can't take the shot.
The caravan makes its way through a disease-ridden area of town. They see homeless people scavenging for food and stumbling through the streets as they make their way to a gigantic glass building - the headquarters for Granderson's government operation and a place far enough away from the city to avoid contamination. Granderson refers to "the enemy" as "Warlords," who have killed more people recently than the virus, itself. Furthermore, they raided the national archives and attempted to steal actual copies of the Constitution. Mrs. Granderson asks if the Nathan James truly had the materials to produce a vaccine and Dr. Scott does her one better by informing her that they don't just have the vaccine, they have the cure.
Mike is informed that the government had also tried to secure Fort Dietrich, but Thorwald got there first. Thorwald is the Man in Black, so now he's got a name, whether I spelled it right or not. Thorwald is former Baltimore P.D., turned self-proclaimed leader of the Warlords. Mike asks about his family. They were headed for a place called Deer Park. There was a bit of fighting at Deer Park, it turns out, but there were some survivors. Elsewhere, Mrs. Granderson shows Chandler and Scott a secure lab in the building. Scott should be able to carry on her work here. She gets a rousing slow-clap from the scientists.
The Warlord lackey informs Thorwald that the Nathan James came back with a cure. Thorwald says the only way to prevent the cure from being manufactured in bulk is to confront Granderson head-on. They plan to attack the lab.
Tex watches is awe as he oversees Dr. Scott working in her lab. "Look at her," he tells Chandler. "She's in love with a toaster." (Line of the night.) He wrongly assumed that once Scott had the cure, she'd "let loose a little." "This is her letting loose," Chandler says to a slack-jawed Tex.
Tex tells Scott that he's leaving. He's moving on. She seems confused and warns him that it's dangerous out there. He says he's got things to do. Scott references a girl whose picture Tex keeps in his locket. She offers to shake his hands. The disappointment is palpable, but Tex extends his hand, as well. "Ah.. you're a special woman. You know that?" Tex says. He pats her on the shoulder and turns to leave, but then thinks the better of it. He whips back around and plants a big old juicy one on the doctor. She doesn't seem to resist much. Then Tex leaves her in the dust. 'Atta boy.
Chandler is granted access to Mrs. Granderson's radio room. He calls out in search of his father, in Clearwater, Virginia. There is no response for quite some time. There's even a commercial break in between to prove how long he goes with no answer. But then, finally, he gets through. His father is heard, coughing, on the other end. The commander asks if the family is still at the cabin. Mr. Chandler says they are making their way toward Olympia - in Baltimore. Enthralled, the commander demands to know his father's exact location. Mrs. Granderson's team knows where they are. They're on their way! The Nathan James' crew is handed civilian clothing so they blend in better. They make their way to an auto shop and get out of the car in search for Chandler's family. They find a sick man who apparently stole the radio from Mr. Chandler. The man says the Chandlers were headed to Olympia, but several police officers object when the commander demands to get back in the vehicle and head for the safe zone. "Olympia's for sick people," they say. Jeter clarifies that the crew is immune, but the cops pull their guns on Chandler. Jeter takes action and he and Danny shoot down the opposition. Jeter is shot in the shoulder, but appears to be ok. Chandler tells Danny to take Jeter back to the ship and inform the rest of the crew that they're getting out of Baltimore. He, however, stays behind with another officer. They follow a stream of sick people to a road that leads directly to a building that says "Olympia" on it.
Back at the base, Mrs. Granderson gets off the phone and tells her daughter that "everything is under control." Lt. Granderson tells her mom that she wants to go look for her girlfriend, Sarah. The mother responds, saying that any search for Sarah would be futile at this point. She lived in Wisconsin, after all. She interrogates her daughter about Commander Chandler, asking what kind of man he is, whether the power has gone to his head and whether he will still follow orders. "Orders from who?" the daughter asks. "Mother, what's going on?" Mrs. Granderson stares back, hesitantly. Oh freak. I knew she couldn't be trusted.
Dr. Scott has noticed some discrepancies in the lab protocols. Something seems wrong. While the lab records say that the medicine they've been using has been prolonging the lives of their patients, Scott says that some of the chemicals they are using are highly toxic. The scientists starts to stammer...
Chandler and his partner (a young, African-American who is
not Jeter, but looks like him), mozy on over to Olympia, strolling on in with their civilian jackets and bright blue camouflage pants. Absolutely inconspicuous, I tell you. They're blending right in. There is a team of workers in haz-mat suits and gas masks that is patting down the sick people, NSA-style. And then there's some creepy little girl in a gas mask and a tiara just wandering around the place. What is this? A costume contest? This place is an abandoned hockey arena. They're using the arena floor as a makeshift hospital, by the looks of it. (Think Louisiana Superdome, circa Hurricane Katrina.) Chandler is pacing around, looking for his family. He hears the voice of his daughter and finally finds his loved ones. They're all sick. He injects his kids with the cure and asks frantically where his wife is. Apologetically, Mr. Chandler breaks the unfortunate news: Chandler's wife passed away. While fighting back tears, the commander injects his father, then breaks down into an emotional family hug.
On the ship, Mike is planning how the crew will distribute the cure once its ready. Norris, the Baltimore official who has been leading Mike around for most of the episode waltzes into the room and... BLASTS A GUY TO HECK! What the?!? He just busted a cap and blew away one of the crew members! He's holding Mike, Quincy and Foster and gunpoint. He demands that Mike drop the anchor and open the doors to the Hilo Bay where the cure is being held. Mike vehemently refuses to comply. Quincy is looking tentative. Do it, Quincy. Do it, you nerdy man, you! Get him! Quincy bolts for Norris and... gets shot in the hip! Quincy is down! Norris reiterates that he's not joking around and will gladly pick off Mike's crew one by one if necessary.
This is his ship now.
Mrs. Granderson is shown injecting herself with the cure. She has called in Dr. Scott. Scott has some questions for her about their treatment of the sick people in Baltimore. Granderson gives Scott a quick history lesson, explaining the destruction of the Black Death and the Plague. She says she understands how Scott is feeling right now, but she warns that the crew of the Nathan James has seen nothing of the devastation caused by the Red Flu. Tex is shown wandering the streets with a semi-automatic. Chandler is shows carrying his kids out of Olympia.
"You must try to see the situation from our point of view," Mrs. Granderson says. "There are people out there that would use this crisis to take what does not belong to them." Thorwald and the Warlords are shown. "They are the barbarians at the gate who want to send us into a new Dark Age. We have the power to stop them, to keep them in their place. It is my duty to help the right people first - the people whose survival will ensure the future of our entire society and all that we hold dear." Granderson's scientists are shown working in the lab. Scott asks if Granderson plans on protecting her elite few and leaving everyone else out to fend for themselves. "The virus does not discriminate. That unfortunate task falls to me," Granderson says.
Chandler is shown in a sick bay at Olympia. Sick people are being injected by men in haz-mat suits. One sick man reaches out for Chandler. He stops alongside the bed. "You're killing them!" Chandler says aloud. The men in masks tell Chandler to get out of the area. Gunshots are heard and Chandler books it out of there. The masked men call in a security breach as Chandler flees. It appears that his sidekick gunned down several security guards while the commander was investigating. Chandler and his family reach the outside gate and watch as two trucks with beds full of corpses speeds away. Mr. Chandler covers his grandchildren's eyes. Chandler realizes the sick truth: "They're burning the bodies to power the city." Legit chills right there.
Mrs. Granderson tells Dr. Scott, "In time, you'll see that this is the only way." Lt. Granderson is escorted into the room. She was caught trying to flee. She desperately apologizes to Scott, swearing that she had no idea that her mother was the spawn of Satan (my words, not hers). Scott tells Mrs. Granderson that she will not be able to replicate the cure with the doses she brought to Baltimore. The real good stuff is on the ship. And, as Lt. Granderson points out, the captain will never let them get it.
Commander Chandler attempts to call in to the Nathan James. There is no answer. The entire crew is being led out to the deck, just as Norris demanded. Quincy's family and Bertrice are among them. As they reach the deck, they look off into the distance and see three pairs of headlights shining right at them. It sounds like helicopters. Mike hears the radio call, but he is still being held at gunpoint by Norris as Foster holds a bloody Quincy on the ground.
"Nathan James, where are you?"
--
Here's what we learned:
- Chandler's dad and kids are alive (and now cured). His wife is dead.
- Lt. Granderson's mom is in some position of authority. The militant group, now known as the Warlords, want her dead.
- Tex took off to do his own thing.
- Jeter is hurt, but still alive. Danny is taking him back to the ship.
- Back on the ship, Quincy is bleeding out, Mike is being held at gunpoint and Officer Norris wants to take control of Dr. Scott's lab. The rest of the crew is standing on the deck and three helicopters are headed right for them.
- Chandler and his remaining family members are outside Olympia, which is NOT a safe zone. It's a freaking internment camp. Granderson has set up some huge operation to kill sick people and burn their bodies to power specific parts of the city.
- Mrs. Granderson is an absolute maniac. She's got her daughter and Dr. Scott held hostage, basically, and she is calling the shots.
--
Holy crap! I'll tell you what... For a show that started out a little slow, that finale was incredible. No joke, I got chills during a couple parts of it. Wild stuff going down on the Nathan James, ladies and gentlemen! What did you think of the finale? How did you like the inaugural season? What questions do you want answered in season two? The show has already been renewed for a second season, so we'll be back in a few months to see what happens! I'm not sure that I'll keep recapping the episodes like I have been because it takes a dang long time and only a few of us are actually reading it, but you can bet that I'll still be watching! Crazy show. I liked it. We'll catch you cats later for the continuing adventures of Commander Tom Chandler and "The Last Ship."
Back at Salt Lake Comic Con in
September 2014, I had the opportunity to spend some time getting to know actress,
producer, model and self-proclaimed “day brightener” Valerie Perez. Without
having any prior familiarity with her career, she graciously allowed me to
interrogate her with my journalistic curiosity. Her outgoing personality,
friendly disposition and upbeat sense of optimism quickly made her one of my
favorite guests at the convention.
Along with her classic Wonder Woman
costume, Perez also debuted a new, Marvel Comics-themed costume for the Salt
Lake convention: Gamora, of “Guardians of the Galaxy” fame. Perez said she had
a friend help her apply green body paint with meticulous detail in the early
hours of the morning so she could be ready for the event. “I love the colors, I
love the textures and I love being here with my Baby Groot,” she said, showing
off a miniature, potted version of the lovable wooden superhero that anyone
familiar with this summer’s blockbuster would appreciate.
