S05:E07: Somos la Sangre

[ottoDbusdriver]

Quote

Pinned down after days of fighting, Vulture team must find their way into a secretive enemy camp.

'Somos la Sangre' translates to 'We Are the Blood'

A CGI Iowa-class battleship even makes an appearance in the promo below -- I guess the cloaking device finally burned out.
 

Edited October 21, 2018 by ottoDbusdriver

[mxc90]

It's the last season so let's send off the original cast members with a bang! Poor Miller. Sasha's moment will be her mirror will refuse to answer her "Mirror, Mirror on the wall" question and depression will ensue.

The South Comm security is beyond terrible. They should have held Kelsie somewhere off site or not keep her on the same floor of the command room and at least check the gurney (what was the rush for traitor Kelsie?). 

Is it normal to call for one ambulance and have 4 people step out of it like a clown car?

Must have been some serious pillow talk for Granderson to give Kelsie the complete layout/details of South Comm.

Edited October 22, 2018 by mxc90

[ChiliCrab]

That was some stupid security protocol at the command center. Like Granderson-level stupid. You’re whole top level command is inside and you take her inside and indulge her. The one time Slattery decides to play good cop, it ends up in an armed take over.

Only Sasha can come out of the rubble of a bombed out house looking like she just walked out of the hair and makeup trailer on set.

Danny Green not only got himself some grenades, he also got himself a tank. I didn’t think he’d know how to operate a tank but everyone seems to be an expert at everything in this show. I kind of have a soft spot for Danny. I’ve always felt bad that he’d been relegated from tactical team leader to just one of Sasha’s team members so it was nice to watch Chandler listen to him for a change. 

Nathan James might run out of missiles by the time they catch up to that battleship if they keep firing everytime Chandler ‘hears’ its presence.

Did Tavo meet those guys while he was working at Disney World? 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Hah !!  Somewhere in Florida.
What a useless piece of information for the viewing audience.

Looks like Kelsie has recovered from the car accident.

Kelsie is a Gustavo groupie. Whatever.
And she is so dumb that she believes everything her boyfriend says.

The Marine leader said, and I quote: "Place is more secure than anything that has had security."  Really ?
Who writes this crap ?

Isn't a little odd that the lights were on in that 'secret' tunnel ?

How did Chandler have any idea that the Iowa-class battleship was about to fire from many miles away ?  Is he psychic now ?

Even after a 16" shell impact very close by, Sasha looks amazing.

How could Vulture team not hit that guy on top of the tank ?  But then Wolf guns him down first try from the tower.

Wolf is almost as awesome as Danny Green at the cool moves -- that pole trick was pretty cool.
But then Green ups the ante by jumping in the tank, and blowing open the gates.

Then Kelsie pulls a Red Reddington at the Communications Center.  How in the hell did she even get close to the front door in the first place ?
Does security suck that bad ?  Nobody searched her after taking her into custody.  FFS !
And then no one accompanied the ambulance crew up the elevator.  That whole sequence just came off as incredibly ham-handed.

After Camp X was taken, Sasha looked freshly washed up.  Did she stop by the hair and makeup helo after the battle ?

And the Iowa-class battleship is still .... somewhere.  Seriously, if they hadn't destroyed it, it certainly wouldn't have got too far.
I'm still curious how it up and disappeared like a fart in the wind last episode.

13 minutes ago, ChiliCrab said:

Did Tavo meet those guys while he was working at Disney World? 

How did they know that red shirt was a paramedic at the Communications Center ?  Did they look it up on the Internet that, much like the cell phone network, is still connected to Gran Columbia for some reason ?

Yeah, how did they even know that there was a working ambulance in that scrapyard ?
Better question -- why was there a working ambulance in a scrapyard ?

[Joimiaroxeu]

At first I wondered if Kelsi was hallucinating. It's a wonder she can feed herself.

Still wondereing how can a huge battleship hide in pretty much open water.

They really seem to be making an effort to show more of the brutal horrors of combat. I was stunned when Miller got half his legs blown off. They usually save that kind of thing for day players.

Meanwhile, Sasha's makeup stays perfect.

[mxc90]

1 hour ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Wolf is almost as awesome as Danny Green at the cool moves -- that pole trick was pretty cool.
But then Green ups the ante by jumping in the tank, and blowing open the gates.

The pole trick was good but Danny one upped Wolf by making the dead body in the tank instantly disappear after he shot through the opening. The man is a true magician.

[Dowel Jones]

I may have to lay a hedge bet off on Team Colombia here.  The guys at SouthCom seem to have a collective IQ in the high double digits. 

Did the US lose very single warplane and pilot/crew over the past year?  Attacking that fortified position with just a few lightly armed troops was just plain stupid. Bomb or shell the shit out of the place before you storm it. They could have sent a few heavy mortars and shells in that parachute package, and that would have changed the game considerably. 

Ensign Cyber needs to be a bit more reactive, instead of staring at the video playback and muttering "Oh, shit."

Since the NJ has a helicopter, why not send it up on a recon mission?  They don't have to fly right over the battleship to ID it; as long as they can get a visual from 20-30 miles away they'll know where it is. From the map squiggles it looks like the NJ and the battleship are north and south of Cuba, and they're never going to see each other that way.

By the way, the Canadians called; they want their Camp X name back.

[Raja]

8 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Yeah, how did they even know that there was a working ambulance in that scrapyard ?
Better question -- why was there a working ambulance in a scrapyard ?

Remember the original premise the gigantic kill off many times of what Thanos did but in Walking Dead numbers working equipment just stored should be just everywhere

6 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

 

Did the US lose very single warplane and pilot/crew over the past year? 

That just reminded me of Independence Day when they were calling for all pilots and I was sitting there wondering where did all the squadrons of F-18's come from where as presumably all the pilots not killed in the first attack and working in other duties at the time being available. Given the world of the Last Ship it is easier to throw 4 stars on your surviving ship captain's  then it is to find a cadre and train a generation of fighter pilots.

 

At least my time in tanks as we transitioned to the newer 4th generation models tells me that at least in that case it is much easier to operate a new tank than an old one.

 

I am hate watching at this point. Why am I defending this show,? Maybe it is one of the few MilPorn shows not devoted exclusively to Navy SEALs.

[preeya]

When did Chandler morph into John Wayne?

[Netfoot]

10 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Isn't a little odd that the lights were on in that 'secret' tunnel ?

No more so than the ventilation ducts on  NCC 1701 Enterprise always being lit.

[parandroid]

10 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Then Kelsie pulls a Red Reddington at the Communications Center.  How in the hell did she even get close to the front door in the first place ?
Does security suck that bad ?  Nobody searched her after taking her into custody.  FFS !
And then no one accompanied the ambulance crew up the elevator.  That whole sequence just came off as incredibly ham-handed.

As Raja mentioned, above, at this point, we all appear to be hate-watching this. There are so many things wrong with this season and this episode, that my guess is that they hired a bunch of newbie writers from the Disney kids channels and put them to work. How else do you explain a prisoner, who is known to have caused catastrophic damage to military targets, to be allowed into the building at all - let alone have a glimpse of secure facilities? Things are so bad, that I'm starting to wonder if this is an experiment to test our intelligence.

Not that the show was of the highest quality before, but it was watchable. Did the adults in the writers room leave for a different show?

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I would personally have executed the sister who withheld the new information on Kelsie.  

Withering fire prevented any forward movement into open space whatsoever.  Our guy decides he has to save his comrade who is laying smack dab in the field of fire.  Never mind the numbers are already horrid.  He's gonna do rescue.  He is spotted and his buddy is raked and killed.  He screams at the corpsman to come with him even closer to the range of fire.  And...no more fire.  

On the good guy side, magic ammo clips.   It's like the never-ending buffets in Las Vegas!   Showdown at the Golden Corral!  The best was when Sasha gets up to make a run somewhere and, without looking, fires to her left and slightly rear.   Had there been anyone there in the first place, they all would have been wiped out.  

The helo is probably the most valuable asset short of the NJ herself.  We gonna waste it saving ONE casualty?  The helo did create the most ludicrous moment of all.  She comes in like a bat out of hell with a deadly spray on the bad guys.  Cool.  The bad guys, who were fully engaged with the good guys, all stand up in unison shooting at the helo.  Zero cover.  And not one of them is hit by the ground forces with which they are engaged.  In fact, not a single good-guy round is heard nor seen being fired.   That was so sporting of us.

Can someone, anyone, explain to me how Camp X was the headquarters for the assault on South Command?  Absolutely all exposition placed the operation right out of Colombia.  

Not one sub in the entire USA fleet is operational.  After how many retrofits of the NJ?  Not a single subcrew could be mustered?  Not even for recon of the ghostie ship?  

Cuba is with us!   Cigars for everyone!

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Withering fire prevented any forward movement into open space whatsoever.  Our guy decides he has to save his comrade who is laying smack dab in the field of fire.  Never mind the numbers are already horrid.  He's gonna do rescue.  He is spotted and his buddy is raked and killed.  He screams at the corpsman to come with him even closer to the range of fire.  And...no more fire.  

Because in TV-Land, the phrase "Cover me!" means "Make me bulletproof!"

[Ebau]

Is everyone at SouthComm suddenly devoid of common sense, allowing a known terrorist a pleasant little stroll through the command center? Who's bright idea was that? And, as an ex-cop, you'd think Slattery would know that you never feed the bad guy until he gives something up. Any episode of any cop show ever aired on any network at any time in history follows that canon. I guess there's no post-apocalyptic L&O to provide guidance for our beleaguered military leaders. Nevertheless, I think that "high double digit IQ's" is a generous estimate, D. J.; "room temperature IQ's" would seem more like it, based on what we've seen in this episode. And who invented the pill that, within seconds of being ingested, causes a grand mal seizure (minus all that messy emesis, urine, and stool, natch), followed by NO post ictal phase to speak of, and a spectacularly rapid recovery (i.e. hair and makeup touch-ups)? Speaking of which, I've never had a roof fall on my head, but I have had a blanket thrown over me and, let me tell you, even a little light-weight piece of cloth managed to fuck up my ponytail, but good. Aaaaaaaannnnd scene!  

And now it begs the question as to exactly from whom did Gran Colombia get the blue prints for SouthComm, so that they were able to recreate that building to such exacting dimensions? Is there yet another traitor in our midst who provided Tavo et al. with this extremely sensitive intel? And how come Chandler suddenly has better hearing than my Great Dane? (No play on words there; I really do have a Great Dane, but I wouldn't mind also having an Eric Dane around the house, just for giggles and 'gasms, but I digress... again.).

Truth be told, Wolf and his Magic Pole Trick was worth the price of admission, by my measure. And, fo course, Green jumping into the tank and blasting open the gate was admittedly satisfying on a purely visceral level. Besides, who here doesn't harbor a secret, deep-rooted fantasy of pulling the trigger on a big-ass gun and blowing something to smithereens? Oh, well; shite and shinola notwithstanding, at least the show manages to keep us coming back for more week after week. Cheers!  

Edited October 24, 2018 by Ebau

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

And now it begs the question as to exactly from whom did Gran Colombia get the blue prints for SouthComm, so that they were able to recreate that building to such exacting dimensions? Is there yet another traitor in our midst who provided Tavo et al. with this extremely sensitive intel?

I've long suspected General Kincaid, the Chief of Staff of the Army. He got shot during the raid on the command center though so maybe not unless Tavo is cleaning up loose ends.

[Ebau]

2 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

I've long suspected General Kincaid, the Chief of Staff of the Army. He got shot during the raid on the command center though so maybe not unless Tavo is cleaning up loose ends.

You may be right. Wasn't he the main nay-sayer in earlier episodes this season? If I am remembering events correctly, he was the one who opposed most every idea proposed, wasn't he? Or am I blowing smoke? In any event, your hypothesis may very well be proven correct over the next few weeks.  

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Wasn't he the main nay-sayer in earlier episodes this season? If I am remembering events correctly, he was the one who opposed most every idea proposed, wasn't he?

Yep, that's exactly why I've been suspecting him. He was almost too obvious in the way he was always trying to shoot down (?) everything. Have to wonder though what would've made him turn against his country after reaching such heights of success in the military.

[raven]

On 10/22/2018 at 11:22 AM, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Cuba is with us!   Cigars for everyone!

 

On 10/22/2018 at 7:55 PM, Ebau said:

Truth be told, Wolf and his Magic Pole Trick was worth the price of admission, by my measure. And, fo course, Green jumping into the tank and blasting open the gate was admittedly satisfying on a purely visceral level. Besides, who here doesn't harbor a secret, deep-rooted fantasy of pulling the trigger on a big-ass gun and blowing something to smithereens? Oh, well; shite and shinola notwithstanding, at least the show manages to keep us coming back for more week after week. Cheers!  

LOL @ you both.  I did like Wolf walking up the wall - he made it look so easy!  I'm sure I could do it (not).

I'm not going to go on about the sheer stupidity of letting Krazy Kelcie in but I will rant about giving her a sandwich.  A sandwich???? Are you f-ing kidding me??? How about a knuckle sandwich?  Gosh I hate that character trope - sad life! desperate and crazy! who knows what she'll do! stringy hair and wild eyes!  please die and put me out of my misery.

Aw, Miller.  Poor guy.  I don't know if Miss Debutante is going to want to nurse him back to health.

I did like seeing the helo ladies and their wild flying maneuvers.  I guess every crazy damn thing is on the table in this final season.

[ramble]

On 10/22/2018 at 6:55 PM, Ebau said:

Truth be told, Wolf and his Magic Pole Trick was worth the price of admission, by my measure.

First, I completely agree with you and second, the “magic pole” wording made me giggle completely inappropriately. Thanks! I was spoiled about the wall climb when I stalked looked at real Wolf’s social media and saw his video of it. Still, surprising no one at all, I found it frelling hot. That and Danny’s joy at getting to drive a tank were the highlights of an otherwise ghastly episode. The stupidly at stupid headquarters is too stupid to stupid mention. Stupid idiots. And then there’s poor Miller. This whole storyline of war and more war frustrates me. Aren’t there only a small percentage of humans left on the planet? Why kill the ones left so willy-nilly? I would have rather had a new plague. Ugh! *think about the wall climb, think about the wall climb* Aww, that’s better. 

[Strahan]

OMG, that thing with the invasion of the comm center was downright painful.  Even regular small town cops will strip you of possessions when they take you into custody, but the military at one of their prime bases doesn't?  Also if they had an inside man, why waste time with the silly ID card trick?  Obviously any insider will have their own ID card as we saw you can't get past the front door without it then you don't need to waste time setting up a long con on Granderson.  Being that she shown up on her own accord, my first action would have been to drag her the heck away from the building until she's been thoroughly searched.  I also like how they treat the building like it's just a regular building you'd find along the street - i.e. she can just stroll up and walk right in.  The real SOUTHCOM building is on land that is fenced in with guards at the entrances.  I find it really hard to believe she'd make it past that unchallenged.

I also agree about the sister; well, not executed but she should definitely be locked up for a long time.  She didn't seem to bat an eye at the fact Kelsi is responsible for the surprise attack.  I think this goes a little beyond just "being lost".  I also like how when Slattery tells her "she's in with some dangerous people" the sister is like yea, when hasn't she been.  As if whatever came before is on the level of the thousands dead at her hands this time.  She should be considered culpable for anyone who died from the time Kelsi bounced from the sisters house to meet with the Colombians as she sheltered her.

I'm also surprised NJ sent so much ordnance at a location that they had no clue was actually occupied.  I guess if supply issues are no long issues no big deal, but if they had the helo in the air, I'd have rather sent it to spot for the NJ.  While the poor guy would've probably lost any chance of saving his legs, that's an acceptable price to pay to be able to send the battleship to the bottom.  More weapons on target would be obviously far preferable to firing blindly.

With writing like this, it's probably good this is the last season.  Writing has gone to crap and the ratings are reflecting that.  Sad, I liked the show when it started.  

Edited October 29, 2018 by Strahan

[TV Anonymous]

On 10/22/2018 at 9:15 AM, Raja said:

At least my time in tanks as we transitioned to the newer 4th generation models tells me that at least in that case it is much easier to operate a new tank than an old one.

Your 4th generation tank, did it allow you to drive it, load the cannon and shoot the cannon, all by yourself? That was what Greene did.

[Raja]

Generally in battle carry you have a round loaded and the computer set. From there it is a simple matter to figure out the manual safety and the other commander controls are straight forward to fire from his position. As is the loaders blast door and an open breach to slam the next shell in. The big difference between an experienced armored crewmen and random soldiers is how fast and smoothly as a team that they can move and fire follow up shots. Greene's biggest problem would be figuring out how to get into the driver's compartment