TV Review: THE LAST SHIP: Season 3, Episode 2: Rising Sun [TNT]

The Last Ship Rising Sun Review. The Last Ship: Season 3, Episode 2: Rising Sun puts the action back into the show with the second hour of the season premiere. We saw Tom Chandler (Eric Dane) defying orders from the POTUS in order to learn more on what’s happening in Asia and President Michener’s (Mark Moses) connection with Chinese President Peng Wu (Fernando Chien). He also is on the pursuit of his former crewmembers from the USS Nathan James after the enemy kidnapped the team as prisoners of war.

With Tom deciding to stay to uncover the truth, he teams with Sasha (Bridget Regan) and Wolf Taylor (Bren Foster) to find out more on President Wu and his motives. Tom and Sasha form an instant connection but sometimes her position puts a strain in their partnership. Throughout most of the episode, we learn a bit about what Sasha is really after, which raises the question on where her true loyalties lie. Sasha does seem that she still wants to help Tom after they encounter Jesse (Dichen Lachman), a friend of Sasha’s who has worked as a pilot for Doctors Without Borders before the virus hit. Jesse initially refuses to help them after what happened to Vietnam, putting a blame on Sasha who justifies that she had nothing to do with the deadly situation there. However, she becomes reluctant enough to help out in their fight against Peng.

With a new member on board, Tom goes onto the path to look for clues on President Peng’s true motives while he finds the rest of his old crew. We got to witness one of the most action-packed scenes on the series with the standoff between Tom and Peng’s men. After traveling by car to their destination, Tom and his group encounter a surprise when he spots Peng’s men and decides to go on the prowl with a sneak attack. We see a bit of confidence in Sasha, which sets up as a possibly good plot between her and Tom.

One of the good relationships on the show that has continued to stay strong are both Lieutenant Danny Green (Travis Van Winkle) and his new wife Lieutenant Kara Foster (Marissa Neitling). It was hard seeing them on opposite sides of the world as Green is In Vietnam to help with the relief effort in Asia while Foster is living at home with their son in St. Louis. It’s going to be an interesting arc for this couple as they go through being newly weds and parenthood. While it’s nice that she continues to work with the Nathan James, we hope these two reunite in order to raise their family together. Their commitment in keeping their family together is their strong point in this relationship to ensure a good future for their son.

Mike Slattery (Adam Baldwin) and the rest of the crew end up kidnapped and now they must survive long enough for Tom and the rest of the crew to get them out. However, these Vietnamese bandits are up to something sinister after they take some blood from one of the crewmembers and use the cure in his veins to possibly sell. It was tough seeing them struggle as they are put in a tough spot against their captors waiting for a sign of hope.

The episode ended up having one of the most action-packed sequences we’ve seen on the show so far when Tom and his group were under attack by Peng’s men. Tom was clever enough to outsmart him by launching a sneak attack on his new enemies. With Tom back on the Nathan James, the show seems to be returning to it’s roots with the engaging battle and the dire situation that his former crew members are in. It will be interesting to see how all these storylines are woven together.

‘Rising Sun’ was the perfect way to start the season after the first half of the premiere. Eric and Bridget prove to be a powerful duo to watch on screen and hopefully we see more of their chemistry as the season progresses. The other storylines feel like moving pieces that have all scattered but will eventually come together once Tom reunites with his friends. The start of the new season has proven that this show still has legs and won’t stop anytime soon.

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