omnione

- Hmm...Chandler executing Shaw had a "jumping the shark" feel to it. I'm guessing Oliver will pardon Chandler, if not already, for that act. I can't imagine the real life Navy likes the idea of a CNO executing anyone without due process even if we're talking about a fictional post-apocalypse. But for me, part of the draw of The Last Ship was a relatively more optimistic post-apocalypse story where the world is salvageable due to a last ship of people who hold true to a moral and ethical code. I guess season 3 will be partly about Chandler finding himself again rather than following the common apocalypse cliche of getting darker are more brutal. - Again, the White House has some really, really, unbelievably crappy security. Try to jump the fence at the real-life WH and you'll be put down before you run 10 yards. In this show, the WH is conveniently protected by a few glorified rent-a-cops to avoid the bad optics of Navy taking down Army beyond the football field. That security resembled Storm Troopers with their blind firing tactics. - The storyline was mostly predictable given the trailer. - Not sure why you hold the prisoner exchange on the plane in close quarters. Wouldn't it seem more logical to hold it right outside the plane and not even leave Tex on board? - Hate that they killed Tex. He provided a different flavor to the inherently rigid NJ crewmembers. The only "free agent" in the crew is Wolf, but he doesn't provide the same twist like Rachel and Tex outside of martial arts. - Also found it odd how Kara's mother and child survived while Chandler's father did not. - I think the climax of this season would've resonated better if there had been fewer China episodes with the NJ finding about the Shaw plot earlier. That would've provided more time to flesh out the story rather than trying to hurry through it without sufficient detail in a few episodes. Ideally, a story like this reminds me of a plot from 24. I think the writers had a good idea that was too big for a summer series. The battle and action scenes were exciting enough, as usual. I also like the general idea of showing a c**** in Chandler's figurative armor. He has seemed invincible so far but now he has to face the post-apocalyptic world head-on. The pacing was good. I'll be back next season but the powers that be need to make the NJ's adventures more plausible. I don't consider the show as having a subtle approach to plot development, but it seemed like Shaw subtly dropped hints about next season. She didn't want to kill Chandler until they reached their final destination for some reason. There were references to a more savage world out there. Earlier in the season, Shaw told Oliver said there was a plot bigger than the both of them. I'm guessing season 3 will focus on a different continent. Can't see them having another season where a faction takes over the U.S.

Thoughts: 1. Kara crying hysterically while running into the sea after the supposed destruction of the NJ was cringe-worthy. 2. Danny reuniting with Kara seemed too coincidental especially when the rest of the team was traveling in one group. I think the show was better when Kara and Danny's relationship wasn't a liability to the crew on a weekly basis. 3. You figure that the the remaining armed forces could tell the difference between a Chinese ship and the Nathan James. Also, I can't buy the incompetence of verifying the NJ's destruction by having some random Jeeps look at the destruction from afar late at night. You figure that a competent crew would've found about the Henan earlier in the day, leading the food storage facility being put down on lockdown. 4. I do agree that too much time was spent in China/SE Asia if the goal was to have the NJ retake America. We're starting to see the budgetary issues here because we haven't seen enough of this ruined America to support the regional leaders coming to power. Season 2 did a better job by showing the run down SE and Baltimore. This storyline could have worked in a full 22-26 episode order. Too much detail was left out by trying to condense the conflict into a shorter summer series. We needed more episodes to see the NJ crew working with local resistance leaders (like season 2) to illustrate the regional leaders' deception. I found it ironic when the other Captain Neyland pointed out that the whole endeavor was impossible. He was right, no single crew can take down a government by themselves. The show's lack of explanation makes it sound like the crew is omnipotent. 5. These warlords have a lot of power, but have the worst security. I realize that 90% of the population is dead, but President was captured by people going through the backdoor with the exit strategy being a single pickup driven by a teenager. This week, you can approach a major base with a small team without being detected. 6. Chandler must be the spiritual predecessor of Captain Kirk. I don't know much about the armed forces, but it seems a big risk to have the CNO go on so many life-threatening missions without much damage. I realize it's the post-apocalypse, but still. 7. I think the inherent issue is that the writers want a relatable America in turmoil. The problem is that the protagonists typically work on water. The writers want the NJ crew to leading the charge in salvaging the world despite the crew not really much of a terrestrial force by nature. I still enjoy the show for the action, tone, characters, general premise, and general plot. But I feel the Michael Bay-ness of the show is starting to show up in the writing. That forces me to have to turn off my brain a little like during his other works.

The train would have still needed to stop anyway. Otherwise, the train and its human cargo would derail and kill a bunch of people anyway. Sasha would've had to snip the connection without detonating the bomb. I don't know anything about bomb design or sniper techniques, but that strategy sounds impossible especially in the heat of the moment.

I pegged Shaw as leading the coup after episode 8 when signs of a conspiracy were mentioned. The showrunners made it a bit too obvious by making Rivera too much of an antagonist with Shaw being relatively reserved. I think part of Shaw's plan was to take out Chandler. Chandler is a threat to her "presidency". Perhaps she's teaming up with Peng to help eliminate a rival. She helps set Chandler and the NJ up thousands of miles away while she takes over operations in the U.S. Par for the course in this show means that Chandler has to survive return and kick some behinds. Enter Kara Green being written into a domestic-based role. I also had the same issues about the ambush. I agree that the ships should've had time to react better. My first theory is that there were moles on the other ships too (possibly implied by the episode 10 trailer). But it seems like a stretch that such moles could delay the ships' countermeasures to that degree. I remember that seemingly random scene on the deck where Eric Miller ran into a friend who managed to get transferred off the destroyed third ship just a week before the attack. Still, such a plot is a style similar to a 24 storyline and atypical for this show thus far. But it could explain how the NJ was the only ship to react and respond to the ambush in a manner consistent with basic naval principles. Peng's motives for wiping out Japan, Vietnam, and Korea seems like basic global domination motives so far. Wipe out the rivals to take over their land and resources. Shaw probably isn't too concerned about Peng targeting the U.S. I imagine that the surviving Americans are immune to the green mist. The U.S. probably has enough nukes to keep Peng at bay should he want to expand his influence. Overall, I do like the approach to this post-apocalyptic world in this show. Many post-apocalypse movies and shows depict a ruined and irreparable world ruled by anarchy and warlords. In this show, the world and its advances in technology is salvageable but the rebuilding process is problematic. I had light concerns about the rebuild process being too smooth and quick, taking the significance away from the NJ truly being the Last Ship. Now, the NJ seems like the last ship once again with the coup in America on one side, Chinese forces hunting them from the other side, and fellow sailors taking over the ship (per ep 10 trailer).