The Last Ship 4x08 "Lazaretto" - alas, another shocking twist, I guess!

There is some innate charm to be fooled by yet another "dead hallucination" trope that almost makes me want to go back to the previous episodes and wonder if I could find that one slip up that ruins the illusion, but usually the execution - at least in scene blocking - is usually done well enough that you'll never spot the flaw. The problem however, might be the execution on the page when it comes to moments like these. The real question was if the show even bothered to signal towards it, or was it such a twist that left no clues behind to even prompt a closer look? Was there any particular need for Kristos to be a nostos hallucination? Or that the show had signaled strongly that Giorgio, the black sheep of the family, would remember blood is thicker than water? In both those cases, neither of these seemed particularly earned.

As the flashbacks start to accumulate over the course of the episode, the case is made more clear they emphasize Paul Vellek over any other character, despite the presence of all the Vellek children. It's also made incredibly clear it only ever concerns Kristos and that Giorgio and Lucia are merely set dressing. The crux of the twist relies solely on the final scene where Paul Vellek brews up some nostos tea and we learn that the favoured son was roughed up and killed over what seems to be his lunch money. The wrinkle is supposed to play out that Paul Vellek had this particular disdain for his son going back to America to study that it basically forced some wedge between them, but now he lavishes the figment of his son with all the praise he can give - and receives some in return. Sadly, even for a show that rarely lingers on the characters, The Last Ship somewhat fails to deliver when it does attempt to try to explore the nuance and depth of the situation and merely rely on those moments to deliver; they ultimately feel flat because there isn't much substance behind it.

Giorgio's turn/not-turn feels unearned in a similar fashion. Fortunately his actor has had the opportunity to develop Giorgio over the course of the season at least, allowing some depth to be found in the moments that were asked of him over the course of "Lazaretto". The show is also intentionally vague about how much or why Giorgio even bothers to basically fumble his mad scientist father's even plan to Fletcher, so it makes it confusing to parse whether or not Fletcher is being played (and in turn is just a bad spy) or Giorgio is some kind of genius. It remains to be seen whether or not the whole theatre played between the elder Vellek and Giorgio in front of Fletcher was a ruse, as the final moment lingers on Giorgio having to reconcile his father asserting he is of the sharpest mind (and greatest persecution complex) and a man who relies just as much on nostos as the people he wants to turn docile. Having a pacifist "hippie" scientist play the antagonist in a show facing off against the US Navy (or any branch of the US armed forces) seems to be an interesting choice nonetheless; definitely a charged one at that.

• Not much to say about the Nathan James aspect of the episode, as it was pretty straightforward. Though I did like Sasha annoyed at the fact it was boys only entrance to the food testing grounds.
• Not sure what to make of the janitor scene to be honest, as it just seemed pointless to the whole affair.
• And the unfortunate part of Jeter's injuries seem to continue to run the course, proving to be even less insignificant of a plot beat when his incapacitation comes up. No one is particularly slowed down or injured in the wake of his gut deciding to spit up more blood.