Violet recaps Season 1 Episode 8 of The Last Ship, titled Two Sailors Walk Into a Bar, where the Russians are holding Chandler and Tex so that they can get Dr. Scott! Following the recap, both Violet and Josh share their thoughts on the episode.
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Episode Recap of The Last Ship, Season 1 Episode 8: Two Sailors Walk Into a Bar
- The Russians bring Chandler and Tex aboard their ship. Chandler meets Quincy’s wife and daughter. Ruskov tries to inquire of Chandler about Dr. Scott’s progress, but he merely states his name, rank and serial number to be compliant with the Geneva Convention when Ruskov asks him anything. Meanwhile, back on the Nathan James, Dr. Scott explains to Bertrise how she is helping with the development of the vaccine.
- Ruskov calls over to the Nathan James, and threatens to torture and kill Chandler and Tex, and blow up their ship, unless they send Dr. Scott, along with her work and relevant samples. Slattery insists on talking to Chandler to confirm that they do in fact have him. Dr. Scott announces that she has the vaccine. She volunteers to go to Ruskov.
- The Russians lock Tex and Chandler in a cell together. Danny plans a rescue mission which he wants Cossetti to be involved with. Dr. Scott is given a gun which she hides in a secret compartment at the bottom of her case. The Russians come pick up Dr. Scott, but they do not find the gun. Little do they know, the life vest she was wearing contains a tracking device. The extraction team makes its way to the Russian ship.
- When the Russians bring Chandler and Tex out so that Dr. Scott can confirm they’re alive, Dr. Scott immediately kisses Chandler – secretly passing him a razor and a note she had been carrying in her mouth regarding the extraction plan. She then goes to see Dr. Sorenson, who she realizes is infected, and is the one who added the human gene, thus weaponizing the virus. He doesn’t understand the damage he’s done. She informs him that she’s already come up with the vaccine and doesn’t need him.
- Ruskov is unhappy to hear that he’s wasted so much time and resources on Sorenson, since he’s not needed for the vaccine. Ruskov volunteers one of his men against his will to be the first to test the vaccine. The man is placed into the enclosure with Sorenson, who breathes on him.
- Ruskov comes to talk to Chandler and proposes that they work together, but Chandler merely states his name, rank and serial number again. Later, Chandler and Tex lure their guard to their cell, slit his throat with the razor, and escape. They fight off a couple more Russian soldiers in the hallway and take their guns. The extraction team arrives on board, finds Chandler and Tex, and sets up explosives throughout the ship. They also pick up Quincy’s wife and daughter along the way and escort them to the extraction point.
- Meanwhile, Dr. Scott waits in the lab to see if the vaccine works. Ruskov finds out that Chandler and Tex have escaped, and sends one of his men to retrieve Dr. Scott. She pretends that she’s getting another dose of the vaccine from her case, but pulls out her gun and shoots the man in the shoulder, then the head. Just then, the extraction team finds her.
- Chandler realizes that their cover is blown, that the Russians are waiting for them, and they need to find another way off the ship. They try to sneak off the boat a different way, but they are spotted, and gunfire breaks out. Meanwhile, explosives start going off, and everyone is able to escape in the rescue boat, as the Russian ship blows up. Sorenson was able to get out of his holding area, and is dressed as a Russian soldier.
- Quincy is reunited with his family. Cossetti, who was hit, dies before they make it back to the ship.
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 1 Episode 8 of The Last Ship: Two Sailors Walk Into a Bar
I liked this episode, for the most part. The sense of urgency was actually real for once. The Russians had their captain, and they were going to do all they could to get him back. I don’t know why they felt they had to blow up the entire ship, presumably killing everyone on board, to do it though. Hasn’t there been enough loss of human life in this world? It seems more like they should have been trying to kill Ruskov than an entire ship full of people. Who’s to say that they’re all of the same opinion as Ruskov? The Russians soldiers actually seemed pretty scared of Ruskov. Even the guy that came to fetch Dr. Scott for Ruskov, he seemed pretty scared about what Ruskov might do to him if anything went wrong. You know, before Dr. Scott shot him in the head. Maybe they could have actually worked together, or at least co-existed in peace, if they just got rid of Ruskov. We’ll never know now.
I like how they didn’t let the audience in on the extraction plan, and made it a surprise to us. Although it was pretty obvious (or I thought so, at least) that when Dr. Scott immediately kissed Chandler upon seeing him that she was just passing something to him that was in her mouth. Tex’s reaction was priceless though! I think the kiss was a way for the show to dispel any notion of a romantic relationship between Chandler and Dr. Scott, and reaffirming his dedication to getting back to his wife and family. I also feel like this episode they may have suggested a romantic connection between Dr. Scott and Slattery, considering that things with he and his wife weren’t very good when he had left. I’m still rooting for Tex, though!
At the end of the episode, before the Russian ship blows up, we see that Sorenson has escaped from his lab, and is dressed in uniform. Is this suggesting that this is not the last we’ve seen of Sorenson? Was he able to escape the ship before it blew up? Were others able to escape as well? How many others? Will Sorenson spread the virus around some more? If everyone on the Russian ship is now dead, then I don’t know what the point of us showing him out of the lab was. So I’m thinking we’ll see him somewhere down the line.
This episode felt kind of like a turning point in the show. We now have a vaccine. Those pesky Russians are out of the picture (or are they?). Dr. Scott has shot and killed someone (I wonder how that will affect her going forward). Quincy has been reunited with his family (Will he still be treated like a bad guy?). What happens now? I’m definitely curious to see!
Josh’s Thoughts: The Last Ship, Season 1 Episode 8: Two Sailors Walk Into a Bar
COMING SOON
Scenes from The Last Ship, Season 1 Episode 9: Trials
Here are scenes from next week’s episode of The Last Ship, titled Trials:
