What Happened:
After learning of the propaganda being spread about them by Ramsey and his people, the crew of the Nathan James gets to work to figure out how these messages are being transmitted. It is determined that the Immunes' broadcast signal is coming from an oil rig. In the hopes of hijacking the signal to set the record straight, the crew travels to the rig. There, they come across a young woman named Valerie Raymond, aka Valkyrie, who is managing the network set up to disgrace Chandler and the crew.
While trying to convince Valerie that Ramsey is not all he's cracked up to be, the crew comes under heavy fire from a group of civilians whose rage with the crew was ignited by Ramsey's video. The civilians hit the crew with RPGs in an attempt to take them out.
As the crew tries to help one another escape the chaotic situation unfurling around them, Ravit, Burke, and Wolf try to shut down all the valves on the rig to prevent a gas explosion. They are clearly struggling as fires and explosions rage around them. Their fate is left in question until a later scene that reveals everyone was able to get off the rig. However, the crew was not able to accomplish this without injury. Chung, one of Chandler's men, succumbs to his injuries and dies, as does Ravit. Also, Rachel must operate on Chandler after realizing that he was hit by shrapnel.
The episode closes with the crew mourning the loss of their fallen comrades. Valerie watches on as their memorial services commence. Following the ceremony, she approaches Chandler and makes a remark about how he got her off the rig when he could have left her behind. Chandler tells her that his actions weren't totally from a place of compassion. Rather, he and the crew need her help to take down Ramsey.
What Worked/What Didn't Work:
I won't say that it was nice to see the crew get put through the wringer in this episode, as the reality of war is quite ugly. However, in regard to storytelling, it was good to see the characters faced with such high stakes this week. Rarely do we see these characters suffer so much and sustain such grievous injuries as we did in this episode, despite the violence and horror that should be associated with the apocalyptic situation in which they find themselves. It was great to see the show's writers play up the fact that the crew's predicament and the premise of this series is one of bloody horror.
Although the violence and action featured in this episode was top notch, Ravit's death was something this episode could have done without. Killing this character off so soon represents such a wasted opportunity. There was plenty of story to mine in the relationship between Ravit and Burke, especially considering the way Danny and Kara's relationship has fallen by the wayside this season. Ravit had so much potential. It is too bad to know that potential will never be reached as a result of the character's untimely death.
It was great to see Rachel and Chandler start to mend fences this week after their brawl in the last episode. Rachel saving Chandler's life represents a major step in the right direction. Although it is interesting to see these two in conflict, they need to kiss and make up sooner rather than later. They certainly have a long road ahead of them, but hopefully this episode marks the start of something new between these two comrades.
Overall Episode Grade: 8.5 Anchors Out of 10
Only time will tell if the crew can lick their wounds, pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and do what needs to be done to take down Ramsey. They better act fast! Time is running out! There is only one more episode left until what promises to be an epic season finale!
