The Last Ship season 4 episode 1 spoilers: The hunt for Tom Chandler
Within this article, we’ve got the first official scoop from the two-hour premiere, which you can see the first promo for over at this link. These synopses give you some insight into what’s coming, but it’s not our goal to just hand you those and then send you out to sea! We’ve got further analysis, including some context as to how these could fit into the picture of the series and Tom Chandler’s life.
Season 4 episode 1, “In Medias Res” – “Sixteen months after thwarting the coup in America, Nathan James must face yet another global disaster. The question remains, where in the world is Tom Chandler?”
The fact that this episode was penned by showrunner Steven Kane shows its significance — it may be fairly common for showrunners to write their premieres, but they understand the stakes to get the season off to a great start. Their singular vision serves in some ways as a guide.
With this episode, there is a substantial amount of story to address. The last we saw Eric Dane’s Chandler, he was leaving the Nathan James behind for a quieter life. He’ll be found in Greece, which is tied to the setting of some of the season 4 story — there will be action aplenty that takes place in the Mediterranean, which should give the plot its own rather-unique flair and culture. There is some more danger at hand as the virus has evolved, leading to a massive famine that is threatening to starve the entire world.
One of the things that we tend to enjoy providing is episode-title meaning, and within the premiere, it makes sense for the show to use a Latin phrase that originated nearby in Rome. “In Medias Res” translates to mean “in the middle of things,” often used in the context of throwing someone in right in the middle of the action in a story. One of its first recorded uses comes more than two thousand years ago via the satirist Horace.
Obviously, the goal for The Last Ship and for Kane is to place you right in the midst of the chaos and allow you the opportunity to determine if the Nathan James is going to either sink or swim.
Now, let’s move on to episode 4×02.
Season 4 episode 2, “The Pillars of Hercules” – “Having lost their only lead, the crew of Nathan James continues their search for an item that could save the world. Chandler immerses himself in a mission for revenge.”
In terms of analyzing the title here, there is less of a need to translate or interpret. As for the content itself, that is an entirely different story. Why would Chandler want revenge?
Think in terms of this: It will probably take something incredibly drastic in order to convince Chandler to dive back into his work as a leader and a fighter; with that, there could be something drastic, dramatic, and terrible that happens to him within the premiere. We don’t enjoy being the bearer of such bad news much of the time — in many ways, it is more of a double-edged sword. It could be a thrill to see Chandler become a man of action once more, but it could come at a heavy cost to his humanity.
Have any thoughts and theories of your own regarding The Last Ship season 4 and its first two episodes? Let us know in the attached comments! (Photo: TNT.)