The Last Ship season 5 episode 8 review: Who died; a Command Center battle

Last Ship season 5 poster

Tonight, The Last Ship season 5 delivered its best episode to date in episode 8. Yet, at the same time it also delivered its deadliest. Over the course of the hour, a number of notable names were lost as Gustavo’s men tried to overtake the Command Center and create a public spectacle in the process.

Their objective seemed to be very simple: Get most of the American people to flip on their President and join his side. They tried to get POTUS to admit to betraying his people, and when he resisted, they threatened to murder some of the people who mattered the most: Key officers in the Command Center.

While eventually, Chandler and many other members of the Navy were able to set up a last-ditch attempt to save their people, there were some lives lost still in the process. The most notable one, at least among the good guys, was Admiral Meylan — one of the very people who Gustavo’s people threatened to kill unless the President agreed to admit treason against his country. Meylan actually survived that, but he died while helping POTUS escape later on in the episode. To the public, the Commander-in-Chief needs to be portrayed as a hero, even if that is not actually the case in reality. Sometimes, things have to be done for the sake of the greater good. (In actuality, the President sobbed a great deal in this episode and it was Chandler and the military who carried the day.)

Meanwhile, this episode also brought us the end of Kelsey, who really was just a pawn in the larger scheme of things. She was influenced and set up to do things that were not a part of her original makeup as a person and, while she may have been used in betraying Alisha and much of the country, she’s still responsible for some of her own actions. Her death feels somewhat inevitable given her role in the story getting to this point. Yet, her death also was not a deliberate one; at the time it happened, Slattery had surmised that she wasn’t someone they really needed to worry about so much as the ones controlling her.

For now, the Nathan James and the United States have their victory … though it also may be a temporary one, given that there are still two more episodes to go.

CarterMatt Verdict

Few shows are really capturing the horrors of war quite like The Last Ship at the moment, and season 5 episode 8 showcased what the series does best in terms of compelling, non-stop action. Yet, it also proved that within this the true horrors of war and how succeeding can come at a heavy cost in terms of both life and perception.

Related Be sure to get some other news on The Last Ship, including a preview for what’s next

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