THE LAST SHIP Season 2 - discussion, spoilers and general mayhem

[The Wormhole]

Hollywood logic: Name recognition beats common sense. They could easily transfer to a fully functioning Burke if one's available, but they've burned the Nathan James into our psyche's for two seasons now and they'll probably be leery about suddenly using the Oscar Austin or something...

Could always do the Star Trek thing: transfer onto another Arleigh Burke and rename it Nathan James and even change the hull number to 151 for some reason. Wouldn't make any sense at all following real world logic but for Hollywood you're acknowledging the other ship is damaged too far, but you're keeping name recognition and keeping things as familiar as possible.

No, I don't want this to happen, but it could.

 

[sojourner]

They've stuck pretty close to real world Navy policies so far. I doubt they'd do that.

Besides, it's bad luck to rename a ship.

 

[Star Wolf]

BTW, where's the rest of the Navy? Personnel may have all died from the red plague, but the US Navy has hundreds of ships, 72 of which are submarines. What the hell happened to them?

They were operating normally boarded a contagious sailor and it was too late before a strict quarantine went into effect. If we are to believe what happened to the survivor cruise ship in season one and the flashback to Ramsey assuming command of his submarine happened to everybody. Except the few like the Russian admiral who was not locked out by security and secrecy.

It's not beyond the realm of the possible that at least one American sub was deployed with a clean crew when the outbreak ramped up (in fact, it's statistically likely). If so, if somebody knew about they would probably tell the sub to stay out and survive till things blew over, and things just never blew over. So the crew maybe surfacing intermittently hunting for food and trying to get news. Probably in the Pacific.

Anyway, could happen. We just have to see if the writers think of it.

Now as for the rest of the ships we have a broke destroyer after two torpedo near misses and a flooded magazine. Assuming the fleet wasn't all at sea, and we saw ships docked in Norfolk, it makes more sense to trade Nathan James in for another just as Starfleet had done with Enterprise and Defiant, rather then whoever survived trying to jury rig repairs. But they will try to repair her and she will be fine just like Voyager.

Hollywood logic: Name recognition beats common sense. They could easily transfer to a fully functioning Burke if one's available, but they've burned the Nathan James into our psyche's for two seasons now and they'll probably be leery about suddenly using the Oscar Austin or something...

In its way mothballing Nathan James could be as effective as killing off a character like LT Burke. Hornblower was able to move his flag and Liberator didn't make it to the end of Blake's7.

 

[FPAlpha]

I could see them cannibalizing one of the other Burkes.

Pretty much it.. the show is quite good showing Navy procedures but they do not shy away from abandoning realism when it suits the story such as the Captain leading boarding actions.

I assume they will return to Norfolk and spend the last episode and possibly the first one of the new season doing repairs on the Nathan James while they set up the new season.

A ship that's received such battle damage as the NJ in this episode should be in drydock for at least a few weeks if not months and that's with a full compliment of Naval workers and engineers so it was either not that bad or they handwave it away and not mention it too much so they can keep the story rolling without having the NJ stay in Norfolk for the entire 3rd season.

For the new season i'd really like to see them start back the old US including building up the Navy. The tech is there, the knowledge is there and the only problem is the lack of manpower. They should not rely on a single ship for the entire run of the show as that would stretch credibility too much.

I also don't know if we need another sea based villain of the season again because that can get lame very quickly. I guess we'll find out next week in the season finale.

 

[Admiral2]

They were operating normally boarded a contagious sailor and it was too late before a strict quarantine went into effect. If we are to believe what happened to the survivor cruise ship in season one and the flashback to Ramsey assuming command of his submarine happened to everybody. Except the few like the Russian admiral who was not locked out by security and secrecy.

It's not beyond the realm of the possible that at least one American sub was deployed with a clean crew when the outbreak ramped up (in fact, it's statistically likely). If so, if somebody knew about they would probably tell the sub to stay out and survive till things blew over, and things just never blew over. So the crew maybe surfacing intermittently hunting for food and trying to get news. Probably in the Pacific.

Anyway, could happen. We just have to see if the writers think of it.

Now as for the rest of the ships we have a broke destroyer after two torpedo near misses and a flooded magazine. Assuming the fleet wasn't all at sea, and we saw ships docked in Norfolk, it makes more sense to trade Nathan James in for another just as Starfleet had done with Enterprise and Defiant, rather then whoever survived trying to jury rig repairs. But they will try to repair her and she will be fine just like Voyager.

Hollywood logic: Name recognition beats common sense. They could easily transfer to a fully functioning Burke if one's available, but they've burned the Nathan James into our psyche's for two seasons now and they'll probably be leery about suddenly using the Oscar Austin or something...

In its way mothballing Nathan James could be as effective as killing off a character like LT Burke. Hornblower was able to move his flag and Liberator didn't make it to the end of Blake's7.

From a dramatic standpoint, sure, but you still run into an aspect of the name recognition problem. TNT has spent two years associating Nathan James with the show title "The Last Ship." Activating a second ship belies the title, or at least fudges the concept, and the powers that be won't want to do anything that might make viewers tune out. I'm not saying that would automatically happen, but producers are a superstitious and cowardly lot, so they would do nothing to risk it happening. A great example is the sitcom "The Last Man On Earth." Remember the reaction when other men showed up?

Horatio Hornblower and Blake's 7 are different cases because in neither case was the focus of the series one particular ship. The Hornblower stories are about Hornblower. He could fly his flag all over Home Fleet and the focus of the series would never change. Blake's 7 is about Blake's 7. As iconic as Liberator was, it obviously wasn't irreplaceable in the minds of the series' writers. (Heck, even Blake himself was expendable.)

I could see them cannibalizing one of the other Burkes.

Pretty much it.. the show is quite good showing Navy procedures but they do not shy away from abandoning realism when it suits the story such as the Captain leading boarding actions.

I assume they will return to Norfolk and spend the last episode and possibly the first one of the new season doing repairs on the Nathan James while they set up the new season.

A ship that's received such battle damage as the NJ in this episode should be in drydock for at least a few weeks if not months and that's with a full compliment of Naval workers and engineers so it was either not that bad or they handwave it away and not mention it too much so they can keep the story rolling without having the NJ stay in Norfolk for the entire 3rd season.

I'm saying handwaving will be involved. NJ has taken hits that would have laid up a real life Burke for ages...or sunk her outright. (Case in point: The USS Cole got a hole blown in her by an IED in a motor boat. Real life ASW torpedo warheads are a lot more powerful.)

For the new season i'd really like to see them start back the old US including building up the Navy. The tech is there, the knowledge is there and the only problem is the lack of manpower. They should not rely on a single ship for the entire run of the show as that would stretch credibility too much.

Maybe, but like I said...

I also don't know if we need another sea based villain of the season again because that can get lame very quickly. I guess we'll find out next week in the season finale.

Need, no, but I personally prefer seeing NAVAL KOMBAAAT to rifle teams squaring off, as exciting as such battles can be.

 

[The Wormhole]

I assume they will return to Norfolk and spend the last episode and possibly the first one of the new season doing repairs on the Nathan James while they set up the new season.

A ship that's received such battle damage as the NJ in this episode should be in drydock for at least a few weeks if not months and that's with a full compliment of Naval workers and engineers so it was either not that bad or they handwave it away and not mention it too much so they can keep the story rolling without having the NJ stay in Norfolk for the entire 3rd season.

Depending on what kind of a cliffhanger they have in mind for the finale, there could easily be a several months long gap between seasons 2 and 3 during which the Nathan James is laid up for repairs. The matter is acknowledged in a way which won't slow down the storytelling.

I also don't know if we need another sea based villain of the season again because that can get lame very quickly. I guess we'll find out next week in the season finale.

The show is primarily an action/adventure show and that means we'll need bad guys for the heroes to shoot at. Having a "big bad" for the season gives something to build up to towards the end

 

[Scout101]

Yep, just lay up in Norfolk for a few months and strip one of the other destroyers that have to be there. No more sonar repairs, just grab their sonar.

Transferring to another ship would make more logical sense, but since it's the end of the season, they can just say *3 months later* and magically show everything up and good again.

 

[Admiral2]

So, after beating the bad guys and getting the contagious cure spreading the Michener Administration sets up shop in Defiance and the Cap'n's offered a promotion. I was worried this would be an anti-climax but I think this ending worked.

Of course, I was wondering what they could possibly do for season 3 since the finale was looking really happy... then that happened.

A- for good ending but hurting my favorite character.

PS: Both the dog and the helo made appearances in this episode. Yay!

 

[sojourner]

Pretty good episode. Now Defiance should be safe from the VC.��

One thing I would have done in they're situation- have flyers prepared to handout at each stop explaining how the cure works and how to spread it. Dropping them from the helo would have been useful too.

 

[The Wormhole]

Excellent episode, we had it all. Exciting fights, celebratory fun, even some genuine emotional moments like Tex re-uniting with his daughter and the Master Chief meeting with his in-laws. My main complaint is the cliffhanger, it felt tacked on strictly for the purpose of reminding everyone the show's not ending, there's still more to come. And while I personally don't believe they're actually going to kill Dr. Scott off, I'll admit at this point it could easily go either way.

I can't help but wonder if when Michener was talking about the state the rest of America was in if this maybe isn't an indication of what we might expect next season. Specifically the mention of how there are warlords apparently trying to seize control of the bigger cities. You don't suppose one of the has access to a boat...?

So since they have actually acknowledged in dialogue the Nathan James is going to be spending several months in dry dock, and final scene notwithstanding, I assume next season could be several months, if not a year later? At the very least, long enough so that Lt. Foster's baby will be born, therefore they don't have to worry about having the actress wearing a fake pregnancy belly.

And if indeed they do jump ahead in time we can see Chandler in his job as Chief of Naval Operations. I am curious, what does this mean for his rank? I doubt they'll keep him a Commander, but will he actually be an Admiral or will they settle with making him a four-striped Captain?

And finally, I got to say, after watching three seasons of Defiance it is really jarring seeing the St Louis Arch in a different setting, even if it is its real world setting. Although that shot of the Arch and the Nathan James almost felt like a crossover for a moment.

 

[sojourner]

I thought he said 3 months in dry dock?

 

[jbny67]

My main complaint is the cliffhanger, it felt tacked on strictly for the purpose of reminding everyone the show's not ending, there's still more to come.

I had the exact opposite feeling regarding that scene.
I was actually waiting for it. Kind of.
Starting from the scene where they were pulling into the port at St. Louis.
I think I've been so conditioned by TV & film writing and the way things almost always seem to play out, that with each moment from there on, as the tone became more and more uplifting, I was waiting for something bad to happen.
I thought it was going to happen during the scene where they were greeting & curing the people waiting for them.
I kept expecting a shot to ring out or something along those lines.
Then to cap off the scene at the inaugural ball, when two of the main characters got engaged, I just knew it was coming soon.

Could be just me, but I knew it was coming

 

[sojourner]

I thought for sure the president was a dead man.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

That was a fantastic finale. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen to leave us with a cliffhanger after twenty straight minutes of happiness. That was a really emotional episode between Tex and Master Chief reuniting with their families and Dr. Scott and the Captain dancing around their feelings. The show has been consistently good so far, so here's hoping it can keep it up in season 3.

 

[Relayer1]

I've still got a few episodes to watch from season two, but I'm pretty disappointed. Season one was great, but this one has had a poor plot, poor villains, poor casting and very little to interest me. It's fast burning the goodwill from season one. I'm glad the finale's good.

I've normally bailed way before this point. Season three better raise it's game...

 

[Star Wolf]

^
Since the real life Secretary of the Navy made a cameo that puts the show more or less in real time so besides the local warlords or going overseas which was teased I guess we are going to have an election drama. Why the Navy gets involved is something I haven't figured a reason for.

 

[DWF]

I was surprised that the show had been renewed since I had heard no news of it, this ep. though felt like a series finale. That was a shocking cliffhanger though. Oddly enough seeing the St. Louis arc made me think of Defiance.

 

[The Wormhole]

I've still got a few episodes to watch from season two, but I'm pretty disappointed. Season one was great, but this one has had a poor plot, poor villains, poor casting and very little to interest me. It's fast burning the goodwill from season one. I'm glad the finale's good.

I've normally bailed way before this point. Season three better raise it's game...

Season 2 was certainly not as good as season 1. I think maybe the increased episode count (even if it was just three extra episodes) may have necessitated them to pad certain things out, or maybe it's just the "sophomore slump." I have noticed a lot of shows in recent years that have great first seasons have lesser second seasons. The good news is most of those shows come back swinging in their third, so I have hope for next year.

^
Since the real life Secretary of the Navy made a cameo that puts the show more or less in real time so besides the local warlords or going overseas which was teased I guess we are going to have an election drama. Why the Navy gets involved is something I haven't figured a reason for.

Well, if they actually do keep Chandler as Chief of Naval Operations that could give him legitimate reason to stick around as the political drama unfolds. Meanwhile, promote Slattery to Captain of the Nathan James and have the ship head out to see to fight bad guys. They'd definitely be changing the show's dynamic, but it could be an interesting development.

Of course, Chandler really didn't seem thrilled to be given a desk job when Michener talked to him, so I get the feeling it's only a matter of time before Chandler gets the Nathan James back and returns to sea.

 

[Admiral2]

Of course, Chandler really didn't seem thrilled to be given a desk job when Michener talked to him, so I get the feeling it's only a matter of time before Chandler gets the Nathan James back and returns to sea.

"They gave her back to me, Scotty..."

Let's just hope they don't spend twenty minutes of dead air showing us Nathan James's rebuild.

 

[FPAlpha]

Nice tearjerker of a finale.. the crew really did need a moral victory on their main mission and they got it, that was a beautiful scene in St. Louis (laughed out loud when whatshisname got kissed by the attractive women and his stupid look got even more confused ),

I was sad for Tex' wife (girlfriend?) but then many of the crew have lost close relatives so it's not uncommon but it was nice that he was reunited with his daughter.. i have feared that Tex was going to be written off the show.

As to the final cliffhanger scene:

Spoiler: Cliffhanger

Really left me cold as soon as i saw he only shot her in the right shoulder. If they were serious it would have been a headshot and they would have shown it. Now she will be found on time (maybe barely to add more drama), bullet will be removed and she gets to stay with the Nathan James and Chandler (still rooting more for her hooking up with Tex, woudl be a much more fun couple)

.

The show seems to progress naturally which is a good thing.. the Nathan James will need months of repairs and the President promotes Chandler to be the Chief of the Navy where he can do most good by rebuilding the Navy and its structure, the XO is more than capable to command the Nathan James. This being a TV show it probably won't take long until circumstances mandate that the Nathan James sets out again with Chandler at the helm but what the heck

It was a good ride and i'll be looking forward to next season.