To be quite frank, I went into this episode of The Last Ship with a bad attitude. I wasn’t in love with the previous episode. The introduction of President Oliver, Michener’s replacement, didn’t do much for me (I would have rather seen them continue Michener’s storyline rather than kill him off). The new developments regarding the cure and the Chinese government’s use of a gas to neutralize its affects also left a little to be desired (it just feels like a retread of past plotlines; can we please give the virus stuff a rest already?). Compared to the rest of the season, episode 8 was not the show’s strongest installment. However, this week’s episode, which saw chief of Staff Allison Shaw (played by the deliciously wicked Elisabeth Rohm) reveal her plans for a White House coup, reinvigorated my interest in the show. I think we saw this big reveal coming from a mile away (fans have been guessing her true nature on message boards all season), but Rohm just played the part of turncoat so well in the final scene of this episode that you can’t help but forget the predictability of it all.
I also enjoyed that this episode set up an intriguing storyline for Kara. With the reveal that there is a coup underway, the character is put in the dangerous position of having to dismantle these malevolent forces from the inside. All this political intrigue is a lot more interesting than the Nathan James/virus plotline, which just feels so stale at this point. As the season continues to wind down, let’s hope we get more House of Cards-style backstabbing and less chit chat about viral outbreaks and dangerous gases.
Overall Episode Grade: 8.5 Anchors Out of 10
