S02.E07: Alone and Unafraid

[HalcyonDays]

Episode synopsis: While XO Slattery struggles to evade the sub in the water, Chandler and the land team infiltrate the Immune compound. Danny poses as one of Ned's workers and discovers that Niels, a.k.a. Patient Zero, is now working for the Ramseys. Meanwhile, Captain Chandler manages to encroach on Sean's inner circle, which includes an important government official, Jeffrey Michener. Has Michener been brainwashed by the Immune propaganda along with the rest of the camp? Or can he be an ally?

[Dowel Jones]

Another good action episode, I'd say.  The kitchen fight scene was well choreographed and filmed.  One of my pet peeves of cinematic fights is that the participants so often stand there waiting for the punch or the kick, with the oh-so-predictable results.  Meanwhile, the sub crew, having memorized Nuclear Subs for Dummies, fails yet again to get ahead of the game.  I'd like to see that entire command deck dissolve into a British pub brawl. 

 

It strikes me as counter-productive for a putative leader to dress and comport themselves as lower class rubble, when their persuasion would work much better if they would show up clean shaven and reasonably well dressed.  Maybe the Immunes are all high school dropouts and that's what works. 

 

Nitpick production note:  If you're going to have the XO say something like "We have to launch the helo", the next overhead shot of the ship should show the helo on the heilpad, maybe.

 

Doesn't the Captain realize that the mega-bad plan is to rid the world of any non-Immunes?  At the end there he implied that he didn't quite know what they were up to.

[thuganomics85]

This episode was fun in a "good guys get a much needed victory" kind of way.  Really, I know Chandler said that the bad guys were better prepared then they thought, but they honestly handed them their asses pretty soundly, so clearly Sean and crew are way behind them in the ass-kicking department.  The kitchen fight scene was great and everyone had their moment, but I think I'm awarding the gold star to Ravit for "death by multiple stabs by forks."

 

That said, as soon as Tex saw Niels, he really should have found a better way to keep his distance from him, just in case the guy recognized him.  Or, at the very least, fake an accent or something.  Granted, it's more then likely things would have gone to shit anyway because of Green having to take out the henchmen, but I expected Tex to be a bit smarter then that.  Good thing the baddies can't shoot for shit!

 

So, the "President" really is drinking the Immunes' Kool-Aid and everything, so the plan now is to try and find some way, to convince him otherwise.  I don't know, guys!  I don't think I've ever trusted a character played by Mark Moses!

 

Burk and Ravit have their first "kiss, but it's not love!" moment, with her distracting him, so she could snap his nose back in place. Still counts!

 

Wolf is an excellent sniper, so we can that to list of things he excels at.  I'm starting to think he can do anything!

 

Scott is working on the airborne cure, but seems to have a problem be able to make it work over a long distance.

 

Usually find Jeter to be one of the more reasonable ones, but I thought his suggestion about maybe moving Scott off-ship, was head-scratching.  I mean, yeah: there is always going to be danger on that ship.  But I'm with Slattery, in that it is still way safer then putting her on land.  All it would take is one ambush or well-timed assault, and the Immunes could have her.  I think the ship being destroyed or taken over by them, is less likely then any land attack.

 

At this point, I think the guys in the sub are going to kill themselves, before Nathan James gets the chance.  I do appreciate them finding a way to get one of them to say "yellow-belly wanker", so we don't forget that they are totally British. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

I'm surprised when the sub surfaced or when the sub started actively pinging with sonar the Nathan James wasn't launching anti-sub missiles (they kept mentioning ASROCs -- why not fire one or two ?).

 

That ploy by Niels to infect children with those stuffed bears was really freaking evil, like Dr. Mengele-level evil.

 

I'll forgive the helicopter travel shenanigans -- that helo got inland to the rally point in seconds after launch from the NJ.

 

I know the Brothers Ramsey are trying to build a new civilization of the Chosen, and there are lots of really important jobs to clothe, feed and house all the followers, but is skimming the pool really the priority ?

[Artsda]

I love the action in these past episodes. All of them have been so intense. The kitchen fight scene and the entire last 15 mins was great. 

 

Love Tex's hate for Neils and the Duck Dynasty crack. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is no more the president than Justin Bieber.  Until he takes the oath, duly sworn by an officer of the Judiciary, he is a cabinet officer.

 

There really is no excuse for the NJ to not have immediately fired on the sub the instant the helo lifted.  TPTB make it super difficult to suspend disbelief sometimes.  XO, of all the characters, would have been entirely gung ho on taking it out.  

 

One small detail I loved was that the IDF girl's weapon went empty.  I thought they all had magazines with 500 rounds apiece!  Most shootouts in film/TV have such.  :)  I didn't understand how all of the baddies who engaged in hand-to-hand all ran out of ammo at the same time.  The fighting was done very well, though.  Kudos to the stunt director.

 

In the LZ, not one of the baddies decided to just shoot at the helo?   At that range, it would have been tough to miss.  Really tough.  Ugh.

 

Oh.  While I'm at it...I'm calling it now...We're gonna have super tense draaaaaaaama over whether it is OK for any NJ crew to fire on targets embedded within putative citizens of the USA.  Good 'ol Sean is going to make darn sure he retains control of the "Chosen."  His followers will make for awesome protection from assault.  

 

If we start a GoFundMe to kill the rat who caused all this, do you think TPTB would take care of that for us?

[ramble]

I love this silly show. It's entertaining & exciting & I get some military porn thrown in. I suspend my disbelief & just wallow in the fun.

The teddy bears of death were creepy & I was hoping to watch creepy Niels die a slow gut-shot death. He enjoys his ability to breathe death far too much.

I am throughly enjoying the new additions to team bad ass. Ravit was great in the kitchen fight. I agree that her use of cutlery to kill was impressive. Wolf, well Wolf could just stand & smile & I'd be happy. However, he is a crack shot sniper so I'll add that to his resume. I would like to see him show off his ninja skills again soon.

The less said about the sub of incompetence the better. I'm glad, for our guys sake, they suck. Ramsey as a cult leader doesn't work for me. I don't find him inspiring or enthralling, but if I simply dial up my entertainment brain side & dial down my reality brain side it's all good. I can enjoy the military & the pretty men & it's all very, very good.

[Donny Ketchum]

I could do without another look at Sean's blown-off ear and his cheek grazed down to the muscle, thank you very much.

[ZoqFotPik]

 

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is no more the president than Justin Bieber.  Until he takes the oath, duly sworn by an officer of the Judiciary, he is a cabinet officer.

That is incorrect, he became the President the moment everyone above him in the line of succession died. That's the whole point of the 25th Amendment and the Presidential Succession Act, to ensure continuity of the Office of the President. Also the Constitution does not specify who can administer the oath.

[ottoDbusdriver]

When POTUS was telling Chandler about watching Sean Ramsey's tapes and how they had been translated into other languages like Bulgarian -- again, how has all this happened in just 5 months ?  How have they been getting them to Bulgaria ?  Has the sub been making runs back and forth across the Atlantic for translated cult initiation video deliveries ?

 

Sean Ramsey is just not that charismatic to make people believers in his cause.

[xaxat]

They should just let the stunt coordinators, fight choreographers and military technical consultants write the show. Those scenes are much better than the actual immune cult plot.

[Mars477]

They should just let the stunt coordinators, fight choreographers and military technical consultants write the show. Those scenes are much better than the actual immune cult plot.

I don't know, whatever military consultant is talking to the show about how a guided missile destroyer conducts ASW is not doing his job right.

 

The cult stuff is seriously dumb, though.  It would not be possible to indoctrinate so many people that quickly into believing that they are some kind of chosen ones that will inherit the Earth, especially to the point where they find out there is a 100% efficacious cure being distributed and don't immediately change their minds and realize that murdering their neighbors is a bad thing.

 

The kitchen fight was cool, although I feel like certain bits of fight choreography were skipped over or edited out to make the finishing moves seem more sudden than they should be.  The helicopter was disappointing, since that kind of helo can mount a M240B general purpose machine gun that should have been used to lay down fire support.  At the very least it would've had a crew chief and a small party of armed sailors to lay down some suppressive fire. 

 

Here's hoping that Ravit and Wolf (still, Wolf?) don't disappear into the ether next episode.  I like having them around.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Mars477

[Raja]

 

 

The cult stuff is seriously dumb, though.  It would not be possible to indoctrinate so many people that quickly into believing that they are some kind of chosen ones that will inherit the Earth, especially to the point where they find out there is a 100% efficacious cure being distributed and don't immediately change their minds and realize that murdering their neighbors is a bad thing.

 

 

In Lucifer's Hammer in that apocalypse after a comet strike the cult stayed together because they were pariahs to the other survivors and themselves after turning to cannibalism as their baptizing rite. I thought they would head in the same direction with the chosen ones cult members intentionally infecting those who were in quarantine as their baptism into the faith and them being murderous and not just survivors guilt is what held the chosen ones cult together. I think big brother is a true believer, little brother is just a psychotic killer who wasn't caught by the Royal Navy when screening their submarine crews. The pirate ship crew submarine is  pathetic so what if they were not a crew before the epidemic like the Nathan James' they were still sailors and mostly NATO and a Warrant Officer who found himself third in command of a warship wouldn't trade in a functional uniform for a dirty tee shirt.

[Dowel Jones]

Just how is everyone sure that this guy really is the HUD Secretary?  Show of hands, how many here actually know who the real life HUD Secretary is?  While it's necessary  for the plot development, I think most anyone could step up and claim title in the chaos after a worldwide plague.

[MissLucas]

 

That is incorrect, he became the President the moment everyone above him in the line of succession died.

So this works like the classical transfer of royal power - 'The king is dead, long live the king'? Interesting. I just wish this show had created a somewhat cooler replacement POTUS in the vein of Laura Roslin.

[Human]

Just how is everyone sure that this guy really is the HUD Secretary?  Show of hands, how many here actually know who the real life HUD Secretary is?  While it's necessary  for the plot development, I think most anyone could step up and claim title in the chaos after a worldwide plague.

*Raises hand* Julian Castro.  In my experience, most people are at least vaguely aware of the names of many of the cabinet members, even if they couldn't pick out their faces in a line up.  

 

I think that's why they showed the video of the HUD secretary interacting with other known members of the cabinet, so that the public had a way to verify this information in some way even if they didn't know what the HUD sec looked like.  

[Tarasme]

I liked it.

 

For me, great fight scenes (though I agree about odd edit choices) with both the kitchen and the survivor camp.

 

I'm willing to hand waive Tex's inability to blend in front of Niels because I LOVE TEX. Have they made JPF a regular yet? No? My anxiety level directly correlates to the chances he'll get killed off.

 

I'm a girl that likes justice- justice girl, but with regard to Niels I'm willing to be vengeful excruciating dismemberment girl. In fact, I think I'll now envision a scene where surgically masked doctors (I don't need my beloved Rios or Scott bearing the burden of executing said torture) remove every single Phalanges, Metacarpal, Metatarsal, Fibula, Tibia, etc etc etc- cauterizing after each removal and keeping him tranfused until he's a head. A head with a lot of pain. They can then keep the head alive for as long as it behooves them to do so- it might serve as a deterrent to other sadistic pricks in the post apocalyptic age. Dread Pirate Wesley levels of pain and public humiliation for Niels please.

 

As much as I enjoyed the hour, I really need Adam Baldwin to be given more to do. Pronto please.

 

 

...The cult stuff is seriously dumb, though.  It would not be possible to indoctrinate so many people that quickly into believing that they are some kind of chosen ones that will inherit the Earth, especially to the point where they find out there is a 100% efficacious cure being distributed and don't immediately change their minds and realize that murdering their neighbors is a bad thing.

 

I understand this sentiment, however, in an effort to excuse the production team for taking this plot direction, I don't want to underestimate the need for lost people to belong. I think it's human nature to abhor being alone and without direction, particularly in the face of cataclysm. Anything or anyone that offered camaraderie, purpose, and the ability to meet basic needs would be very popular when there's nothing left. Plus- I don't think the extermination of the non-chosen is front and center in the literature. The red necks accompanying Green for Grim Bear of Death delivery seemed shocked though not dissuaded when Green informed them of the reason for their mission. 

Edited July 27, 2015 by Tarasme

[Mars477]

I understand this sentiment, however, in an effort to excuse the production team for taking this plot direction, I don't want to underestimate the need for lost people to belong. I think it's human nature to abhor being alone and without direction, particularly in the face of cataclysm. Anything or anyone that offered camaraderie, purpose, and the ability to meet basic needs would be very popular when there's nothing left. Plus- I don't think the extermination of the non-chosen is front and center in the literature. The red necks accompanying Green for Grim Bear of Death delivery seemed shocked though not dissuaded when Green informed them of the reason for their mission. 

Honestly I wouldn't mind it if Slattery died.  Fuck Adam Baldwin.

 

And the thing is, the military now has a secure base of operations AND a cure.  They should be advertising this fact by every means available, including but not limited to radio, emergency broadcast, and dropping leaflets from the air.  At which point the Immunes could either flock back to a known quantity and long standing institution, the US Navy, or continue following some random foreigner with his foreign militia.

[Tarasme]

Honestly I wouldn't mind it if Slattery died.  Fuck Adam Baldwin.

 

To each his own. I love me some Adam Baldwin.

 

 

And the thing is, the military now has a secure base of operations AND a cure.  They should be advertising this fact by every means available, including but not limited to radio, emergency broadcast, and dropping leaflets from the air.  At which point the Immunes could either flock back to a known quantity and long standing institution, the US Navy, or continue following some random foreigner with his foreign militia.

 

 

Understood. I think its easier to join up with people in front of you immediately offering to ease your need of food, shelter, protection, etc. than to throw in with a disconnected warbly voice on the emergency radio or a mangled pamphlet trampled underfoot. Right now, Sean's got numbers and- however it happened- lots of boots on the ground gettin' his job done and his ideology preached.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Tarasme

[HalcyonDays]

Loved the kitchen fight seemed and to me, it seemed actually realistic.Grab whatever weapon you can and unleash on the enemy. Damn, Ravit going stabby with the forks and Chandler with the big kitchen knife going stab!stab! stab! Awesome scene, really well done.

 

Tex trying to 'hide' from Neils was hilarious, and his conversation before with Danny about how Danny is white bread or something and Tex stands out was a nice touch.

 

The British Sub of Dysfunction needs to stop with all of the fighting amongst the 'wankers' - it's getting tedious.

 

With the kool-aid drinking POTUS, can an American enlighten me to this - at what point do you run out of people who can step into the role and instead hold an election to get a proper leader for what's left of America. I mean, could the 50th in line just step in? 12 seems too much down the chain of command to me.

 

And I'm still slightly confused over why kill everyone except the immunes. Is this some weird attempt at an Immune Religion of something. Don't know what the end game truly is, but if one wants to restart society, I'm not sure I want to have only the Kool-aid drinking sheep to be the ones in it. (Oh, and loved Chandler making the kool-ad reference. The writers on this show I bet hate Scientology).

 

Again, love this fun entertaining show. The hour flew by so fast.

[iMonrey]

 

It would not be possible to indoctrinate so many people that quickly into believing that they are some kind of chosen ones that will inherit the Earth, especially to the point where they find out there is a 100% efficacious cure being distributed and don't immediately change their minds and realize that murdering their neighbors is a bad thing.

 

I get that in a post-apocalyptic world people are going to cling to whatever they have left - God knows we've seen this scenario played out endlessly in the movies. The problem here is that while the people in the cult may be immune to the disease they surely have friends and family who are not, so denying them a cure just so they can be part of some master race doesn't seem very likely to me.

 

The only people I can see willingly buying into this agenda would be people who were already social outcasts and weird loners who now find themselves in some sort of enviable position. Of course, the problem there is that by their definition it's going to be hard making those kinds of people behave in a herd mentality because they would be so poorly socialized.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure what they're trying to do here. Seems to me the priority would be spreading the word about the cure, not trying to infiltrate some weird cult thing and play espionage.

 

Episode nitpick: when Green was spying on Niels and the guy caught him, he yelled back and pretended like he was taking a leak. Why didn't Niels hear him through the window? That must be some awfully sound-proof glass in that window.

Edited July 27, 2015 by iMonrey

[ottoDbusdriver]

With the kool-aid drinking POTUS, can an American enlighten me to this - at what point do you run out of people who can step into the role and instead hold an election to get a proper leader for what's left of America. I mean, could the 50th in line just step in? 12 seems too much down the chain of command to me.

 

Per Wikipedia, there are 18 positions in the Presidential line of succession, though there are currently only 17 eligible because the Secretary of the Interior is a naturalized citizen.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession#Current_order

[BungalowSummer]

Regarding the Chosen Ones immunes, I gather that some of them were found basically wandering around alone with PTSD after the deaths of everyone they knew. They were already isolated and primed to join a cult that was providing them with food, shelter and community. Sean Ramsey's real inspiration was to deliberately create new cult candidates by weaponizing Neils. So he sends Neils into a mall sheltering survivors, waits for 95% of them to die and scoops up the immunes. The Teddy Bears of Plague Death are merely an extra-ghoulish twist to the strategy, presumably because Neils can't be everywhere at once.

 

With it all, I don't think the average Chosen One member or even the foot soldiers suspect that Ramsey is deliberately infecting people. Some may suspect something fishy, but they're not about to jeopardize a safe haven.

 

I agree that it's completely inexplicable that Slattery didn't fire on the sub the second the helicopter took off. Also agree that the kitchen fight and the escape were the best scenes in a while. I just wish Ned Ramsey had been killed in the firefight. (Oddly enough, his facial wound is the same as Pope's gunshot to the face an hour later in Falling Skies.) I really don't like the whining POTUS, either. It's going to be hard to watch the NJ crew show deference to their Commander-in-Chief while trying to deprogram him from cult craziness. As for Neils, I vote for keelhauling him.

[MissLucas]

With it all, I don't think the average Chosen One member or even the foot soldiers suspect that Ramsey is deliberately infecting people. Some may suspect something fishy, but they're not about to jeopardize a safe haven.

They certainly played it this way in this episode. However when Niels found the first group of chosen ones they deliberately let him sleep in an infected sleeping bag in order to test him. And that group had only a very loose hierarchy if any IIRC.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

HUD guy perhaps has the title "president."   He most definitely does not have any of its power.  The presidency is the only political office requiring an oath, which is expressly written within the constitution itself.

 

http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/2/essays/85/oath-of-office

 

I would dearly love for the show to seriously confront the nature of governance.  At what point would the USA cease to exist?   I believe we are already there, as the Congress literally can no longer assemble.  No congress, no USA.

[Joimiaroxeu]

HUD guy perhaps has the title "president."   He most definitely does not have any of its power.  The presidency is the only political office requiring an oath, which is expressly written within the constitution itself.

Well who would be able to swear him in if all the Supreme Court justices are gone? The succession rules would seem pointless (to me, anyway) if there can't be a president because no one's available to swear him in.

 

Ditto the comments upthread about that fight scene in the kitchen. Fantastically choreographed and filmed.

 

I know this show asks the viewers to swallow a lot of implausible stuff but it's still got a long way to go before it'd become as bad as The Last Resort.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Joimiaroxeu

[raven]

 

Tex trying to 'hide' from Neils was hilarious, and his conversation before with Danny about how Danny is white bread or something and Tex stands out was a nice touch.

I laughed when he told Neils that Neils was creeping him out because Neils kept asking it they'd met before.

 

And thank you for the names, I was going to call them Duck Dynasty and Patient Zero.  I don't think I know any names but this is my fave background show right now - it's fun, tense, explosions!fights!shootouts!miliary stuff! and characters I like.   Captain Kirk & Adam Baldwin.  The kitchen fight was great and flying, burning bears was a fun visual.

 

 

I really don't like the whining POTUS, either. It's going to be hard to watch the NJ crew show deference to their Commander-in-Chief while trying to deprogram him from cult craziness. As for Neils, I vote for keelhauling him.

 

No chit, I was wondering why he would want to be POTUS, the big crybaby.  I wouldn't mind seeing his "leadership" challenged either.  Neils is just despicable all around. 

Edited July 28, 2015 by raven

[TimWil]

Brian F. O'Byrne's cockerny accent continues to make my ears bleed. That is all.

Edited July 28, 2015 by TimWil

[millennium]

Am I alone in my sincere belief that this season blows?

 

How can this show be taken seriously?  The British bad guys are so freaking ridiculous that the Benny Hill theme ought to be playing in the background of every scene on the sub.   The action scenes on land in Florida -- just as in Baltimore  -- are so drawn out, with multiple storylines converging to create one big muddled mess, that the net result is major league tedium.   In this past episode, I was already checking the clock at ten minutes in.  

 

Chandler's tight-ass, no-nonsense, stone-face demeanor is really getting old.   Forget the cure -- put Rhona Mitra to work on an aerosolized sense of humor that can be used on the captain and crew of the Nathan James.  

[Human]

I don't think this show is meant to be taken seriously.  It's a Michael Bay flick, after all.  

[Raja]

Well who would be able to swear him in if all the Supreme Court justices are gone? The succession rules would seem pointless (to me, anyway) if there can't be a president because no one's available to swear him in.

 

 

By tradition a Supreme Court Justice, or other judge in the sudden death cases, does it. But President Coolidge was sworn in by his father a local Notary Public upon the death of President Harding

Edited July 29, 2015 by Raja

[Frost]

Just caught this episode last night.  I agree the kitchen fight was awesome!  It's interesting that it could be considered typical for a show's hero to kill lots of bad guys by shooting them (or maybe a sword fight in a historical show), but I don't think I've ever seen where the hero goes all stabby like Chandler did.  It was shocking and brutal.  I'm glad they went there because usually TV deaths are too 'clean'.  These might be bad guys, but they're still human beings and killing them should be shocking.  Especially since outside of the inner circle, the cult followers don't seem to be in the know.  Some of the guys that died could have believed they were trying to rescue the POTUS from kidnappers.  I doubt the show would go down that morale quandary path but it does add layer of interest to a summer popcorn show!

 

I'm wondering about baby brother.  He seemed like the more psycho one of the two brothers but now I'm not sure.  He wasn't eager to distribute the diseased bears to a bunch of kids, even though he did send out the one.  He seemed creeped out by the whole thing.  I wonder if he'll be the one to actually take out his older brother in the end.

 

Evil doesn't seem like a strong enough word for Niels.  I'll have to troll through a thesaurus.  He was downright tickled at his huggable bear creation.  "Whoo hoo!  I can give cuddly bears to little kids and imagine them bleeding through their eyes in just a few days!  How cool is that?!?!?!"  That's about as depraved as a person could get. 

[Rambler]

There really is no excuse for the NJ to not have immediately fired on the sub the instant the helo lifted.  TPTB make it super difficult to suspend disbelief sometimes.  XO, of all the characters, would have been entirely gung ho on taking it out.  

 

The story reason is the Nathan James had to travel an extra hour to the mouth of a river because the navigator guy said that the land around there would prevent the sub from detecting the NJ. If a landmass was blocking the sub from detecting the NJ then presumably the opposite is also true and the NJ can no longer track the sub.

 

The real reason is they have to drag out this destroyer versus sub confrontation through the entire season or the people watching just for the military porn will start to tune out. Last season it was the NJ vs a Russian cruiser, this season it’s the NJ vs some renegade Brits in a sub. I’m calling it now, if the show is renewed, next season it will be the NJ vs a Chinese aircraft carrier :D

 

[KLovestoShop]

I just don't understand the whole character of Niels.  Why is he so evil?  I admit I didn't watch the first season too closely, but I can't figure out why he keeps aligning himself with all the nasty a-holes.   Is he trying to prove something?  Does he want to be King of the World?  

[Raja]

I just don't understand the whole character of Niels. Why is he so evil? I admit I didn't watch the first season too closely, but I can't figure out why he keeps aligning himself with all the nasty a-holes. Is he trying to prove something? Does he want to be King of the World?

Like the Chosen Ones death cult he has intentionally tried to infect people. He might just want to kill people like I think little brother Ned does.. He certainly isn't acting to hide his mistakes and falling deeper into the darkness like Baltar of Battlestar Gallactica.

[Bishop]

Chandler's tight-ass, no-nonsense, stone-face demeanor is really getting old.   Forget the cure -- put Rhona Mitra to work on an aerosolized sense of humor that can be used on the captain and crew of the Nathan James.  

I like Chandler's no-nonsense persona.  I don't want a happy, humorous crew of the Nathan James.  The war they are fighting is just too dire to have jokey personas all over the place, and frankly, I like that the Captain is the no-nonsense type.  Tex brings the perfect amount of humor and jest to the show, and his buddy relationship with Green has been a nice mix.  

 

 

I'm wondering about baby brother.  He seemed like the more psycho one of the two brothers but now I'm not sure.  He wasn't eager to distribute the diseased bears to a bunch of kids, even though he did send out the one.  He seemed creeped out by the whole thing.  I wonder if he'll be the one to actually take out his older brother in the end.

Those two brothers are going to be the death of each other. They are too opposite in their viewpoints.  Baby brother wants to leave the Americas and return home and big brother wants to conquer America.  They view their mission and their tactics very differently.  At some point, one of them is going to go.

 

Am I alone in my sincere belief that this season blows?

 

 

For me, yes.  I'm loving the 2nd season.  I don't need everything to be super realistic with all the boxes checked.  Just entertain me over the summer, and I'm happy, and the Last Ship is really entertaining.  Heck, it's better than a lot of crap in the movie theaters right now, and I don't have to pay to watch it.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Bishop

[iMonrey]

I don't think the season "blows," it's still fun to watch. The problem is that fun action scenes won't keep the show afloat indefinitely, and the premise is becoming more strained as it goes along.

[MajorMarket]

I like Chandler's no-nonsense persona.  I don't want a happy, humorous crew of the Nathan James.  The war they are fighting is just too dire to have jokey personas all over the place, and frankly, I like that the Captain is the no-nonsense type.  Tex brings the perfect amount of humor and jest to the show, and his buddy relationship with Green has been a nice mix.  

 

I'm going to take the opposite side (slightly).  While Eric Dane is a fine handsome man for the camera to linger on, he could arch his eyebrow or smirk once in a while.  He's at risk of gaining the nickname "Captain Dour" amongst his crew.

 

Aussie Wolf was mighty nice to watch in his cobalt blue v-neck t-shirt, picking off all of those baddies to allow Captain Dour and gang to escape the compound.  Lt. Green ("Plain Vanilla" as Tex nicknamed him) was great to shoo away the young girl from the Teddy Bear O'Death.

 

Like others have said, the kitchen fight scene was well done and fun.  The helo extraction was a bit hard to believe since there was no suppressing fire from the airship - and none of the bad guys could hit the darn thing.  Those bad guys need to spend less time skimming the pool and more time at the gun range.  Just sayin'.

 

Very happy to see evil Niels ("Dr. Evil Toothpick") get shot in the gut - I was hoping that the bad guy shooting at the getaway van would have hit Toothpick again since he was bundled in the back.  Now there's a friendly fire incident that one can get happy about.  They should have stabbed him at the evacuation point and left him.

 

Finally, I give this show a big pass since it is fluffy summertime TV - and it is from Michael Bay.  He is NOT known for his brooding intellectualism - by any means.

[millennium]

I like Chandler's no-nonsense persona.  I don't want a happy, humorous crew of the Nathan James.  The war they are fighting is just too dire to have jokey personas all over the place, and frankly, I like that the Captain is the no-nonsense type.  Tex brings the perfect amount of humor and jest to the show, and his buddy relationship with Green has been a nice mix. 

 

I wasn't suggesting an Operation Petticoat reboot, but enough with all-grim all the time.   Even under the most dire circumstances, humor finds a way.   Tex, yeah ... but Tex is a cliche.  Even Tex's name is a cliche.

 

I suppose the British sub crew might be considered comic relief, buffoons that they are.   But somehow I don't think that's intentional.

Edited August 3, 2015 by millennium

[RustbeltWriter]

Is it written in Eric Dane's contract that his hair must never be mussed? Even if he is undercover posing as a bodyguard who has been living rough for half a year? It was ridiculous how he stood out as well groomed among the great unwashed.

[nitrofishblue]

I like Chandler's no-nonsense persona.  I don't want a happy, humorous crew of the Nathan James.  The war they are fighting is just too dire to have jokey personas all over the place, and frankly, I like that the Captain is the no-nonsense type.  Tex brings the perfect amount of humor and jest to the show, and his buddy relationship with Green has been a nice mix.  

 

For me, yes.  I'm loving the 2nd season.  I don't need everything to be super realistic with all the boxes checked.  Just entertain me over the summer, and I'm happy, and the Last Ship is really entertaining.  Heck, it's better than a lot of crap in the movie theaters right now, and I don't have to pay to watch it.

I totally agree. This is the type of show I enjoy. Just something to entertain me. I don't need everything to be exactly correct or what not. Please, just let me slip into my comfy chair and watch the action. Love Wolf (num num). I wonder if Tex will last longer on The Last Ship" or on "Suits" where he is the evil lawyer trying to get even with Louis. I like the Tex character on Last Ship. I am counting the days till the new season of The Walking Dead".

 

Edited August 3, 2015 by nitrofishblue

[JoeSchwike]

Just caught this episode last night.  I agree the kitchen fight was awesome!  It's interesting that it could be considered typical for a show's hero to kill lots of bad guys by shooting them (or maybe a sword fight in a historical show), but I don't think I've ever seen where the hero goes all stabby like Chandler did.  It was shocking and brutal.  I'm glad they went there because usually TV deaths are too 'clean'.  These might be bad guys, but they're still human beings and killing them should be shocking.  Especially since outside of the inner circle, the cult followers don't seem to be in the know.  Some of the guys that died could have believed they were trying to rescue the POTUS from kidnappers.  I doubt the show would go down that morale quandary path but it does add layer of interest to a summer popcorn show!

 

I'm wondering about baby brother.  He seemed like the more psycho one of the two brothers but now I'm not sure.  He wasn't eager to distribute the diseased bears to a bunch of kids, even though he did send out the one.  He seemed creeped out by the whole thing.  I wonder if he'll be the one to actually take out his older brother in the end.

 

Evil doesn't seem like a strong enough word for Niels.  I'll have to troll through a thesaurus.  He was downright tickled at his huggable bear creation.  "Whoo hoo!  I can give cuddly bears to little kids and imagine them bleeding through their eyes in just a few days!  How cool is that?!?!?!"  That's about as depraved as a person could get. 

The whole 'race at 4 knots to the river' was driving me nuts.  I get that the river mouth can screen them from sonar (disrupt the sonar, not disappear like a cloaking device, though).  But once the sub started actively pinging them, the hiding is over - Fire the ASROCs (even if you miss, you make the sub evade and throw off their firing solution) and launch the helo.  And at the very least, once they're pinging, no point in sticking with the 4 knots - full speed to get to the river mouth!  I understand the need for drama, but they could have changed the last part of the chase, still have drama (sub crew fighting over whether to launch torpedo or evade ASROC), show the ship move a little faster, and still take the same amount of screen time.  It's not like they have been worried about time-distance realism before...