TNT's The Last Ship - Episode 1.06 "Lockdown"
Panic begins to spread throughout the ship when Danny comes down with a mysterious illness that could be the virus. Losing faith in Rachel and her failing vaccine trails, Chandler now has to deal with a restive crew. If he fails to keep the crew together, the whole mission is in jeopardy.
The story of The Last Ship has primarily been about the people in charge who make the life-changing decisions that they then have to live with. It pains them that they had to leave the people behind in Nicaragua because there was nothing they could do for them. They, however, returned with hope that with the monkeys, Dr. Scott was much closer to a successful vaccine. Unfortunately, things aren't that simple. Yes, she did lead Chandler on a little bit about how much of a break-through this was. But dang, if that grand speech here wasn't enough to understand exactly what she's working on."Lockdown" very smartly gives voice to the people who have been blindly following Chandler all this time. Their service effectively ended after the four months in the Antarctic. And yet, they continue to serve because it's what their captain has asked of them. They simply don't know the full picture. That is a very different discussion to open because the audience knows as much as the lead characters do. So to take some time off to inform everyone else on the ship could seem like a very bad idea. It never quite reaches that direness. In fact, it was quite interesting watching the panic quickly escalate throughout the ship when it was feared that Danny had contracted the lethal virus.
And yet, this hour strangely is all about trust - a dynamic I thought was already clearly established between Chandler and Dr. Scott. But it becomes challenged yet again here. It does feel like a placeholder for a bit. That is a main relationship for the show. So I figured the two would patch things up eventually. The more excitable thing came when a group of soldiers asked to be let go of their duties. After liberating the people in Nicaragua, there's a go-to person for Chandler to be compared to if he refuses to let them go. He believes everyone needs to be here on their own free will. He tries being hopeful with the crew but that only brings about more pandemonium. In the end, he just has to be honest with them and then the crew decides to stay. It's a pretty simple solution that, however, keeps this episode from showcasing just how daring this series can be.
Some more thoughts:
- "Lockdown" was written by Hank Steinberg and directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan.
- So what was the grand lesson we were suppose to learn from the Danny-Kara relationship? Chandler clearly dealt with the issue and I'm still just confused by it as a whole.
- Quincy was manipulative and feeding into the pandemonium. Now, he'll have to deal with those consequences. Perhaps now the show can forget about him for a little bit.
- I largely liked the crew taking a stand plot because it allowed for those petty officers to actually start talking to one another and form bonds that we lately can enjoy.
- Tex continues to be a lot of fun.
