It's mission accomplished. Sort of.

By the end of The Last Ship Season 4 Episode 4, everyone was back on board the Nathan James.

But all was not right.

This episode provided much-needed focus on Mike Slattery, loyal No. 2 whose only fault is that he's not Tom Chandler.

That's nothing that should be held against him. There are few mythic figures left in this post-apocalyptic world.

As the title suggests, Slattery spent this episode under the influence of the hallucinogenic local tea. He's haunted by the memories of his family taken by the Red Flu.

It was heartbreaking seeing all that Slattery has lost in the process of doing his duty for the US Navy and indirectly the world.

Still, his instincts were sharp enough to formulate a plan to contact the James and facilitate his extraction: breaking a mirror and locating a high point in order to send out a message in Morse code.

I really feared that Slattery was going to be killed off which would have been a real mistake. But I should have known better. Only the characters whose names you barely remember get written out. That and those who have outlived their usefulness, such as Rachel Scott.

I mean, that firefight in the cathedral should be enough to convince anybody that the crew of the Nathan James is pretty much bulletproof, especially this early in the season. Meanwhile, the bad guys were piling up like cordwood.

Not helping this mission was the palpable tension between Sasha and Tom. She's just not happy that he went off for a legitimate cause: to take care of his children. But he never wrote, and he never called which couldn't have helped the situation.

Tom's not blameless here, however, falling back into command mode and usurping Sasha's authority. He and Fletcher also spent the mission sizing each other, like the alpha males they are.

Sasha has, rightfully, moved on. But even though Tom has been with Cali and Lucia since he left the ship, it doesn't seem as though he's let go of Sasha.

Circumstances didn't allow this new dynamic to be explored much, as the away teams were reacting to events more than acting. Fortunately, the two squads of bad guys kept getting in each other's way with neither making friends with the locals. 

I'm not sure if Giorgio has taken Omar permanently out of play or just pissed him off for the future. Having Vellek's team watching out for Omar would be a plus.

Let's talk about Dr. Paul Vellek. So, he's in charge. Peter Weller playing the main villain lends much more gravitas to the threat than the cartoonish Giorgio and Omar.

What is his plan? He and his smart son, Heggen, seem to be creating a kind of super-food for which they need the African flax seed.

Since he's willing to kill to accomplish that, I'm betting he's not doing it out of the kindness of his heart or for scientific discovery. Nah, he's going to hold the world for ransom.

Now that the seeds are ensconced on the Nathan James, what option does he have other than the military as hinted at by Heggen? Negotiations? What would motivate Tom and crew to give up the seeds after they worked so hard to get them?

With Slattery, Sasha and all the sailors with guns ashore, we got to see some other members of the James crew, such as Kara, Capt. Joe and the nameless Asian weapons officer. I hope Joe enjoyed his brief time in charge because now that Tom is back on board, he'll be fading back into the woodwork.

What's next? The biggest adjustment will be determining Tom's current role on the Nathan James. That comes down to the severity of Slattery's injuries. Tom is a civilian, right? Or is he technically in the Naval Reserve? Does that mean Capt. Joe gets command?

Then there's what Vellek will do to get back the seeds. The Nathan James is supposed to be answering a distress call from a suspicious fishing trawler on The Last Ship Season 4 Episode 5, so maybe Vellek is planning a trap using his pet Greek naval warship.

Also, how are the seeds going to be used on the Nathan James? I haven't seen any scientists on board. So, where are they taking the seeds?

To catch up on this season, watch The Last Ship online.

Aren't things going a little too smoothly?

Will the crew welcome Tom back, or have they moved on?

Why does Vellek want the seeds?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.