In “We’ll Get There,” the crew of The Last Ship puts all their faith into Tom when their water supply runs out and puts all of them in grave danger.
Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
The crew of the USS Nathan James has already survived a plague, a terrorist attack at Gitmo and a crazy Russian who wanted to steal Rachel. But when all of their generators go down and their water supply dwindles, they find themselves facing a whole new threat.
The trouble with this threat is that there was no face they could put on it. There was no ship to fire weapons on or even a virus in a tube that could be studied. After the crew did their best to fix the mechanical issues, there was nothing left for them to do. They were days away from running out of water and even Rachel’s invaluable research was in danger. One mechanical problem had put not only the ship in danger, but the whole crew.
The Voice of God?
It seems like every episode of this show takes an interesting turn at some point and in this episode, that turn happened when Tom took a huge leap of faith and his crew followed. He knew that Rachel’s research was just as important as keeping his crew alive and he took a chance when he decided to stop the ship so that they could drop the box with her samples to the bottom of the ocean to keep them cool.
It was the worst catch-22 ever. The ship had to stay still to keep the samples from getting ruined, but every moment they sat dead in the water meant more time they would all go thirsty. But rather than complain, the crew followed Tom and it was Jeter who gave them all a voice. He said that he had faith in their captain and knew that Tom had a voice inside him, one that was telling him what to do.
Tom’s instinct has been right so far, but even I began to wonder if it was wrong after it took so long for the wind to arrive and for them to find the island with the much-needed water. Those scenes were written and played so well that I felt like I could feel the heat and thirst right along with the crew. When they saw those seagulls, I wanted to cheer with them and it made for another one of those fantastic “movie moments” this show has delivered so well.
Back to Normal
Once again, Tom made the right decision and got his people to safety. When it was all over, they even got the chance to relax and have a little fun. I’m glad we got to see that because, no matter how exciting the scary moments are, we need those moments in between. It was also a good chance to get a peek into some of the character’s personalities and personal lives. Though I did have to roll my eyes a bit at the looks shared between Danny and Kara. Was he really surprised to see her hanging out with someone else after what he said to her following the last mission?
Will Tom be able to keep up his streak of making the right decisions? Something tells me there will come a time where his faith may steer him wrong, but I hope it doesn’t happen for a good, long while.
My favorite bits:
Tom listening to radio transmissions and hoping his wife might be on the air.
Tex: “It’s the end of the world, nothing wrong with spreading a little love around.”
Tex pointing out that Rachel was a civilian and therefore not subjected to the “no fraternization” rule. I love that he just assumed that she would go for him because they were both civilians.
Quincy claiming that the plague was the best thing that ever happened to her. Ouch.
Tom: “Diplomacy is not necessarily your strong suit.”
Finding out that Mike used to be a cop.
Mike telling Quincy all about keelhauling.
The look Mike gave Rachel when he delivered Quincy to her.
Finding out that Rachel had a vaccine prototype.
Jeter: “I am here for a reason.”
Jeter telling Tom that he had a voice inside, perhaps the voice of God.
The sight of those chutes going into the air.
Thinking I’d never been so glad to see seagulls, and I wasn’t even on the ship.
Quincy getting his chess opponent. The best part? His name was Bacon. Something tells me those two are going to eventually become friends.
What did you think of this episode of The Last Ship? Are you a believer in Tom?
The Last Ship airs on Sunday nights at 9pm on TNT.
(Image courtesy of TNT)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
