The Last Ship Season 4 Episode 6 Review: Tempest
Dale McGarrigle
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Well, that victory was short-lived.
After holding the African flax seed for one whole episode, the Nathan James lost them again, thanks to betrayal within on The Last Ship Season 4 Episode 6.
Let's start with the good news: Captain Slattery was still in charge of the Nathan James.
Big surprise, right? I figured it would be "All hail the conquering hero" and Tom would automatically take over again. But, no, straight off of detox from nostos, Slattery was the man again.
That's only fair. While Tom was off finding himself, Slattery kept the James crew together during hard times. He deserved to be in charge.
Besides, it was interesting to see their roles reversed. Also, Tom and Mike have worked together so long that there's a kind of telepathy between them. An example of that would be when they simultaneously decided on the strategy of Trafalgar, when Admiral Lord Nelson attacked the superior numbers of the French and Spanish fleets, splitting their numbers.
Still, it's safe to say Tom ended up making a large share of the decisions, even without the title.
Most of their combined strategies were wise but dangerous: using the storm to keep the opposition off balance, gambling the James wouldn't get shot at as long as the seeds were on board.
After jousting with Tom through The Last Ship Season 4 Episode 5, Captain Joe went back to his secondary role, although he remained a member of the James brain-trust. But that was to be expected.
It's ironic that while the James was battling the storm and the Greek Navy, the most immediate enemy was within.
I honestly thought Fletcher would choose comrades over country. But that wouldn't have done much to heighten the drama, would it?
Even if he was an ass, Harry was correct when he told Fletcher that an American in his position would have betrayed the Brits if ordered to by his president. That still couldn't have made Fletcher feel any better about what happened.
Granted, Harry did most of the killing, including Heggen and O'Connor. It was pretty brutal, considering he largely wasn't at risk. But Fletcher still killed Johnny, the security man, so he's hardly guilt-free in this scenario.
Another casualty may end up being Master Chief Jeter, who was spitting up blood after being injured during the storm. I hope not. There's been enough of a body count halfway through the season without taking out a fairly important character.
Should the Americans have expected a betrayal by one of their oldest allies, Great Britain? I think not, especially as isolated as they are in a troubled world.
And what are the Brits thinking making a deal with Vellek? He's already promised the first crop both to Omar's people (who I think are still in the picture minus Omar) and the Greeks. I'm betting he screws over all of them and sells to the highest bidder.
Worst of all, Vellek's children were back: vengeful Lucia and slimy Giorgio. Fletcher's punishment for betraying those on the Nathan James is apparent self-loathing and having to share a cruise with Giorgio, who seems to think that he recaptured the seeds all by himself.
While I enjoy Peter Weller's philosophizing Vellek, I haven't minded seeing little of his kids for the past two episodes. One-dimensional characters such of these are best in small doses.
I feel the worst for Sasha. She finally got over Tom's leaving her (and, not coincidentally, the James). She found a new love in Fletcher. And now he betrayed not only Sasha but the mission they had worked on very hard together.
She was so torn that she couldn't shoot Fletcher to keep him from escaping. I'm sure in part that was because if she shot him, he and the seeds were likely to fall into the storm-whipped ocean below.
At episode's end, Sasha was kicking herself for not having suspected Fletcher's actions. He had been a little off recently, but she probably just chalked that up to his being British. She has to be wondering how well she really knew him.
Frankly, Tom knew better than to offer his advice to her at episode's end, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
At least now the mission for the Nathan James is very linear: Find Vellek and the seeds and save the world. All other storylines have been shed.
After the pokey "Tom re-enlists" episode, I can't complain about a lack of action this time around: a dangerous storm, being surrounded by enemy forces, treachery from within. You just knew things weren't going to go smoothly for the James crew.
To catch up before the chase of Vellek resumes, watch The Last Ship online.
Did you think Fletcher would back out? How long before the Nathan James gets the seeds back? Will the body count continue? Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
