The Last Ship 4x06, "Tempest" / The Last Ship 4x07, "Feast" - as the action heats up, the rest of the show seems to cool.

There is a type of myopia in this season of The Last Ship that hadn't become entirely clear until this point. Part of the charm of the evolution of the show was that as it continued, the world building (one of the show's key strengths) followed along. But despite the fact it is in its fourth season, the show seems to struggle with it. Not to go back to the highs of the better regarded third season, but that season featured much more detail and use of setting and world building. It feels as if the fourth season wishes to return to the setup of season one, where it was the one last American naval ship against a singular enemy, racing to save humanity.

The problem I seem to have is what little world building that has come forth in season four cannot ever infer more than what it says and has little to no face value other than in the scene it resides in. For instance, there is only ever one mention of St. Louis and the U.S. government despite the fact that the world is again on the brink of annihilation, or that any little hints towards the state the rest of the world is in are so minimal that the world building feels clumsy and undercooked.

"Tempest" faced the Nathan James off with escaping an enemy that vastly outnumbers them in the Greek navy. Part of the exciting action contained in the episode is the cut between the ship enduring the waves of the storm as the crew works to survive it, while Fletcher engineers a plan to get the seeds off the ship. There is a confusing moment as the Nathan James charges the Greek naval line and no one exchanges fire. I suppose that regardless of discipline, if anything happened everyone would retaliate, safety of the world's last hope be damned. Regardless, by the end of it, Fletcher absconded with the seeds, so it seems that Nathan James is not as safe any more.

"Feast" helps bring the disparate elements of what little world building there is in season four to help elucidate Paul Vellek's plan for a Red Rust resistant crop. I am a bit reticent about the reveal, as part of it seems to veer too far in to the edge of "supervillainy" with the plan to also introduce nostos DNA into the proceedings so he can turn even the most violent and warmongering person docile. The show had previously done a much better job of turning away from outright "supervillainy", although I guess one could argue the entire conceit and premise of the show was based off a scientist trying to make the Red Flu in the first place. It will be interesting to see how the season will try to conclude, as it seems to signal the Vellek children moving into their places in the finale. Giorgio, the black sheep seems likely to rebel, whereas the fairly competent Lucia (despite the show's writing basically whoring her out to a man at nearly every opportunity) will remain in the foreground. Not sure about the last Vellek son, who hasn't done much but smirk pleasingly because he decided to follow his father in the same career path.

• Not quite sure why Jeter wants to hide his injuries sustained in "Tempest", except to create some artificial drama and then probably later to become incapacitated when the plot requires it.
• When the show wants to do small character moments, the show does deliver. Danny and Kara's small interaction in "Feast" is as loving as it is sweet and nice to see.
• It's always a shame to see background characters that have lasted so long get finally killed off, O'Connor being the notable casualty this season. But at least he went out with a fight.
• Omar returning felt a little silly even by the standards of this show. Shot in the back and returns healthy as ever a few episodes later? And then to be blown up.