Recap: THE LAST SHIP – Nostos
Episode 404:“Nostos”
Written by Jill Blankenship
Directed by Kenneth Fink
[photos courtesy TNT]
Slattery (Adam Baldwin) is on the move with the seeds. Kara (Marissa Neitling) goes back to the Nathan James to get them up to speed. Chandler (Eric Dane) takes charge of Vulture team and Fletcher (Jonathan Howard) doesn’t like it one bit. It’s right back to the action!
Chandler suggests they split up to find Slattery and Fletcher thinks they should stay together. Green (Travis Van Winkle) settles it fast, they split up. That smirk on Chandler’s face was just priceless, but Sasha’s (Bridget Regan) cold stone glare at Chandler was better.
On Sardinia, we find out the true leader is Lucia (Sibylla Deen) and Giorgio’s (Jackson Rathbone) father. Dr. Paul Vellek (Peter Weller) basically tells them he wants the seeds. Seeing as he and Chandler had a insightful moment before the big fight in the last episode, it really gives this villain more depth. He’s scarier than Giorgio and Omar (Anthony Azizi). Alas, Omar joins forces with Giorgio to find the seeds as well. Slattery is still on the move and he reveals his wound. Yikes, that is not just a flesh wound! He’s bleeding bad!
Now, I’m going to pause to reflect on a few things that are bothering me. It is 16 months after the events of last season. Chandler’s father died. Um, who’s watching his kids? If he’s decided not to be a soldier anymore until this point, why wasn’t he with his children? Why was he just hanging out on Greece for MONTHS? Maybe these questions will get answered…I hope. Let’s continue…
Chandler, Fletcher, and Sasha make up part of the split Vulture team. Ha! How did THAT happen? Awkward! Green and Miller (Kevin Michael Martin) are part of the other team. Nathan James sends a chopper in to help, but the bad guys fire on them and they have to leave. Chandler gets super bossy with Sasha and even I’m getting irritated. Dude, Sasha’s a badass, she doesn’t need you telling her what to do, she KNOWS! Just as I’m screaming that at the TV, Sasha turns to Chandler and says, “I KNOW!”
Slattery finds sanctuary in a nice lady’s home after passing out when he arrives. He’s given “nostos”. I’m thinking this is that tea everyone is addicted to and I’m right. Omar (who followed Slattery’s blood trail) comes banging at the door just as Slattery starts to trip out on the tea he was given.
Back on the Nathan James, they discover a Greek warship heading their way. They work to find out if the ship is hostile. On the Greek warship, Lucia is on board determined to find the Nathan James. This is intriguing. This means that Vellek is extremely powerful if he can control the Greek military and their assets.
Slattery is tripping out…bad. It’s incredibly sad as we watch him interact with his wife, son, and daughter. We never knew too much about what Slattery lost in the epidemic. This sort of backstory episode is all-telling. He lost a lot. He manages to make his way to the top of a cathedral and using a mirror and Morse code, he signals the Nathan James. The Nathan James then advises the Vulture teams of his location.
Since Omar wasn’t too far behind (he killed that nice woman that helped Slattery, btw), he and Giorgio and their thugs head straight to the cathedral. It’s on! All out gunfire, but the team makes it up to the top to wait for the chopper to pick them up. Giorgio kills Omar. Yup, I wondered when he was going to get rid of him. If he gets rid of Omar, he can keep the seeds and his money, which is what Vellek wants.
Slattery continues to hallucinate, and it begins to include meeting Chandler. It also includes some heartbreaking scenes with his son. (Yes, I cried when he reaches to catch his son, and tells his team he wants to go back.) During these hallucinations, the gun fighting continues as they wait for the chopper to come for them. After some slick maneuvering by the Nathan James, they manage to outwit the Greek warship and get their team safely back on board. Those scenes that merged the hallucinations with real life were simply amazing.
When Chandler boards the Nathan James, it wasn’t exactly what I imagined. It was…sad. The music didn’t help or maybe the tone of Slattery’s backstory just took away from the grand entrance I was expecting. Jeter’s (Charles Parnell) salute (in slow motion) seemed to make it all the more sadder.
Well, now what? They’ve got the seeds, evaded the Greek warship, Slattery’s safe, and Chandler’s back. It’s only episode 4! Where do they go from here? I know Slattery only had one shot of that tea, but will he have withdrawals? Is Chandler staying? Is he captain? They have plenty of time to answer all my questions and I can’t wait!
The Last Ship airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on TNT.