TV Show Review

TV Review: THE LAST SHIP: Season 1, Episode 3: Dead Reckoning [TNT]

Sam Spruell The Last Ship Dead Reckoning

TNT’s The Last Ship Dead Reckoning TV Show ReviewThe Last Ship: Season 1, Episode 3: Dead Reckoning comes dangerously close to actually being entertaining for more reasons than just “rocket goes boom”.

When we last saw the crew of the SS Nathan James, Commander Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) was ready to set sail from Guantanamo Bay with fresh supplies and the keys to a possible cure at hand. But a traitor on board, Dr. Rachel Scott’s (Rhona Mitra) partner Quincy (Sam Spruell) has led a Russian ship right into their wake. The Russians have the Americans pinned, and are demanding they hand over Dr. Scott, along with all her research. Why they would want to capture Scott and halt a potential life-saving cure is not clear, because I guess the writers couldn’t be bothered with coming up with actual motivation. What follows is a surprisingly engaging battle of wits between Chandler and the Russian commander.

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Dead Reckoning is easily the closest The Last Ship has come to being a good show. While there are still a fair amount of explosions, the most exciting scenes come when Chandler has to match military tactics with an equally impressive enemy. There’s more to their decisions than just announcing “Fire!”. They meet in person and get a read on each other. They attempt a compromise. When that falls through, they don’t just exchange bombs, but rather lay low and try to outsmart the other. Shockingly, this is infinitely more exciting than any explosion that has previously appeared on The Last Ship. There is even a twist regarding Quincy’s motivations, which ends up leading to a tough decision from Chandler. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the writers are looking to add some depth to our main character. After three episodes, it’s about time.

The Last Ship still suffers from testosterone overload, and I’m not ready to retire my alternative title for it, Macho Boomstick 3000. However, one must give credit where it’s due, and Dead Reckoning could potentially be a turning point for this otherwise unwatchable series.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of The Last Ship below in the comments section. For more The Last Ship reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our The Last Ship Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on TwitterTumblr, or “like” us on Facebook.

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Nick DeNitto

Nick DeNitto graduated with Honors from Adelphi University. He began writing movie reviews in middle school and has worked tirelessly to mold his own unique critical voice. He is currently affiliated with the National Board of Review and hopes that one day he is remembered as “The People’s Film Critic.”
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