‘The Last Ship’ season 3 premiere reaction: Show exec on key Rachel Scott decision
We’ve had a long-standing rule when it comes to most scripted television here at CarterMatt for some time: Unless we see a character buried in the ground, the vast majority of “deaths” in season finales don’t stick. Therefore, going into the season 3 premiere of “The Last Ship,” we were more or less certain that Rachel Scott would find a way to live. Why wouldn’t she? She was essential to the crew of the Nathan James, and while she was shot, we have certainly seen so many TV characters survive with worse injuries.
Unfortunately for Rachel, it was just not meant to be and tonight, her character was officially declared dead. We wanted to irrationally still believe even after all of this that she could be alive somehow, but executive producer Steven Kane put these theories to rest thanks to what he had to say to TVLine:
“Rachel was just so beloved and she did so much for the world by coming up with the cure, it was a hard decision to make … A lot of shows kill off characters way more quickly than we do and with more blood, but we felt that the challenge for Chandler and the world with Rachel gone was that much greater, and her shadow cast across Season 3 would give her in some ways more of an immortality.”
Ultimately, we do now think that she’s gone, and while we are sad about it, we also have to applaud Kane and the team for doing a bold, risky move that many other showrunners out there would hesitate to do. After all, you run a great risk of upsetting fans when killing someone off, but we do think it is a far more viable course of action than doing a fake-out, and having viewers believe that no series regular could ever be killed.
What do you think: Was killing off Rachel a great move, or a silly one? Share below, and head over here to get some other TV news on all we cover, sent right to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: TNT.)
Micaela D'Angelo-Melling
November 11, 2016 @ 9:45 am
Rhona and her character were the life of the show and the reason it was so popular. After hearing of her characters death I refuse to watch the show any longer After hearing that season 3 finished and they announced a season 4 I can only hope they were bought to their senses and are bringing Rhona back.
Rosemary Turner
September 12, 2016 @ 5:29 am
Now that Season 3 is over I hope you reconsider and bring Dr. Scott (Rhona Mitra) back for Season 4
Helga
September 6, 2016 @ 4:24 pm
I always thought it strange that people would quit watching a show when a person is killed off. Now I get it. It’s not the same show. It was about her, her interactions with the crew and hope for the future. Now it’s just a ship full of people fighting hear and there, and everyone saying we need Dr. Scott.
DulceBleu
August 29, 2016 @ 5:23 pm
The current season…nervy, bold, dynamic, utterly gripping, but not the same (not for the better), without Dr. Scott. We need her. More importantly, Tom needs her!
Rob
August 5, 2016 @ 12:13 am
Just about to watch last episode of Season 2 and saw this by accident. I won’t be watching any longer if they killed off the MAIN character! What a stupid move. The show won’t last now.
Ryshius
July 26, 2016 @ 7:50 am
Stupid decision!!! Won’t watch the show anymore.
anna2556
July 10, 2016 @ 8:13 pm
I can’t speak for other viewers, but I stopped watching after I found out she was dead. Sorry, but that casting shadows crap just doesn’t fly for me. She and Chandler had great chemistry, and her dedication and genius were an asset for the storyline. She didn’t solve everything in a snap, and she didn’t do it without help, so the idea that her absence makes things more interesting is bull.
mgc94520
July 3, 2016 @ 11:21 am
Dr Scott was the only interesting character on the show. There is no reason to watch anymore.
mgc94520
July 2, 2016 @ 7:19 am
She was the core of the show. I will not watch until Rachel is back on the show.
fairyslipper
July 1, 2016 @ 5:30 pm
Very disappointed. NOT GOING TO WATCH ANYMORE UNLESS THEY BRING HER BACK.
caskett ology
June 27, 2016 @ 11:15 am
BOOOOOOOO; I don’t get it. It makes no sense and I can longer watch but GOOD LUCK PRODUCERS!
Shirley
June 26, 2016 @ 6:23 pm
she was endemic to the show, not just a regular character. what a stupid move, not a courageous one by the writers!! i–and most of my friends–will not bother to watch it anymore!!
Joshua Roppolo
June 25, 2016 @ 1:18 pm
Bad move! I’m so dissapointed and even more so am worried that it will hurt the ratings for season 3…. And Eventually prevent the chance for a season 4. I feel that there were other options for Rachel (ex…. She could haven taken by Asia for most or some of season 3 preventing her from helping with the mutation/ weaponization of the new strain of the virus in Asia.) I do understand that a story line for season three had to be established in order to get Tom Chandler back on the Nathan James with his crew, I just hope that in creating a new plot for season 3 they didn’t get rid of key characters!
anna2556
July 10, 2016 @ 8:17 pm
Plus, in the novel, one side effect was sterlization (that one chick was pregnant prior to exposure, so that could be explained away). They could have played with that a bit or, as you mentioned, possible mutations. I think the ratings being nearly halved shows that most viewers disagree with this “creative” choice.
waynet102
June 25, 2016 @ 2:21 am
What a let down, she was a great part of this show. Hope they can bring her back
Cincolo
June 22, 2016 @ 1:51 am
Bad move. Her death was senseless. This new girl is on the scene too soon, and it’s making out to be soap operaish. To me these 2 new episodes had an entirely different feel than the first 2 seasons. The only immortality Dr. Scott is going to have is all the fans wishing she was back on the show. Maybe the execs will see this and bring her back–perhaps have her be in hiding with Chandler also believing she was dead, or maybe the angle could be the Prez handed her over the Chinese and they’re keeping her as their scientist slave. Lol!
Deblee
June 21, 2016 @ 9:07 pm
Bad move, i loved her as a character she bought something unique to a show i probably wouldn’t of bothered watching without her in it. I may record now but it won’t be at the top of my to watch list
Rachel
June 21, 2016 @ 8:27 am
I think it was a bad decision too. I dont mind the death of a beloved character, it can be a great plot device. The producers/writers have seemed to dismiss her death giving us no satisfaction after almost a year long wait. So very disappointed on the decision to kill the character and further disappointed that her death served no purpose in the plot. Did Rhona upset them?
Afzal Ballim
June 21, 2016 @ 5:30 am
Have to concur with everyone else – a really stupid move and not “bold” at all. A science show with a bit of military presence becomes a macho gun slinging show with all the interesting female characters killed off.
TrevorAGreen
June 21, 2016 @ 5:17 am
Lame, lame, lame. I’m trying to watch but I just can’t focus. For me this was a science show with a navy action setting that was a barely bearable wrapper around the science and viral apocalypse fantasy. Rhona Mitra the actress and Dr. Scott the character were the lynch pin. This feels like the xfiles without Mulder. Why does the show still exist? I don’t have any problem with these actors they just don’t deserve to have their show sabatoged like this.
You don’t kill off the main character. Especially when it is Rhona Mitra.
sgbelverta
June 21, 2016 @ 3:07 am
Dr. Scott gone, Tex gone, Bacon gone, Will Mason bleeding out, Val gone, Ray led off to God knows where. These were all of the characters that had interesting relationships. I don’t want just an action show. And I don’t feel any chemistry between new actress Bridget Regan and Eric Dane. They killed off Lt. Bivas last season, and she was a gem. Sigh……
Janet Hendrickson
July 18, 2016 @ 6:17 am
So done!!!
Sarah
June 20, 2016 @ 11:28 pm
She was by far my favorite character on the show. Glad I missed the premiere. Learning that she was killed off fizzed off any interest in continuing to watch the show. I might have stuck around if the writers were smart enough to introduce another strong female lead before killing her off or at least drawing it out so I had time to process her death. Not this cliffhanger that was so sudden and unexpected that I figured they wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill of their most interesting character in that manner. Just wow and not at all in a good way.
Kris Write Stuff
June 20, 2016 @ 10:04 pm
It was a bad move to kill Rachel off. Dr. Scott is a core character on the show, is the civilian voice and represented the importance of how everyone, Navy and non, need to work together to come through this tragedy. She added spice, science, a different voice and belief system to the show. She was the voice of reason in some cases, the person that kept everyone focused on the greater goal. And now, that voice is gone. The dynamic between Rachel and Tom was off the charts. Their relationship was one that I wanted to see develop more. How do you plan a story with a disease possibly mutating and not have the doctor on that can solve it? Sorry, Doc Rios was around, but he was hardly an assistant to Rachel. I am no longer watching the show.
Rhonda Largo
June 20, 2016 @ 4:20 pm
Silly, silly, move. I’m not going to watch, for me the interesting smart person is gone. So am I.
Erin Blaisure
June 20, 2016 @ 11:51 am
Silly move…………she was one of the reasons I watched the show……..I’m a fan. If she is, indeed gone, so am I.