What Happened:
Following last week's intense oil rig showdown (the results of which produced many casualties), Chandler decides to end his fight with Ramsey once and for all. Using Valerie to control the Valkyrie network, Chandler feeds the submarine crew false intel on the Nathan James's whereabouts in an effort to ambush their enemies.
Fearing for the safety of the civilians on the ship as the crew prepares for battle, Chandler orders Slattery, Tex, and Danny to bring them back to land. Once off the ship, the trio and their civilian charges come across a family of people infected by the Immunes. Despite the family's misgivings, Rachel treats their illness with her contagious version of the cure. Once all is said and done, the now-cured family informs their saviors of a weapon the Immunes are planning to use to take out the Navy: a missile launcher.
Back on the ship, Chandler is able to successfully lure Ramsey's sub to Quarantine Bay, where an intense firefight ensues between the two crews. The vessels appear equally matched until Slattery, having taken the missile launcher from the Immunes, uses the weapon to sink Ramsey's sub, bringing the fight (and the lives of the sub crew) to an immediate cessation.
What Worked/What Didn't Work:
The decision to eliminate this year's villains prior to the finale was an interesting one. Going into this installment, the penultimate episode of the season, I was expecting the action of this episode to serve as an opening act to an epic season finale battle. In this sense, this episode was a little bit of a letdown. Ramsey and the sub crew were simply eliminated too quickly for the action of this episode to have carried any sort of weight or impact. What was supposed to be an epic final battle between the crews just fell flat. A more prudent option for the show's writers would have been to draw the action out for a little while longer.
Although getting rid of Ramsey so quickly was not the best decision, I do feel as though doing so opens up several avenues for the show as it heads into next week's finale. Based on the preview for the next episode, it seems as though the crew will be forced to contend with a new type of villain: the civilians they are sworn to protect. The crew certainly has their work cut out for them as they try to prove to the populace that Ramsey's propaganda was based on lies and that they are heroes. I, for one, am looking forward to finding out what goes down.
The CGI included in this week's fight sequences represents a vast improvement over previous episodes. Particularly, the missile launch and torpedo sequences were not nearly as cartoonish as they have been in the past.
Overall Episode Grade: 7.5 Anchors Out of 10
Well, folks, this is it! It all comes down to this! The epic season finale we've been waiting for all summer! Next week's episode promises to be a real treat! Let's hope it lives up to the hype!
