The Last Ship 4x09 "Detect, Deceive, Destroy" and 4x10 "Endgame" send the season out with a bang

As much as I have been down on the current season of The Last Ship, there is always something to be found in the finale that draws me back. It's fair to say that not unlike other shows, the finale (or end of a storytelling arc) draws everything to a climax and makes you see that it is the show at its best, because it is happening in front of you. In the case of The Last Ship, the action usually reaches a particularly strong climax by the end of a season, and has never seemed to fail in that regard.

The finale of season four comes to a close with the Vellek clan still at odds with another until they've all die off, one by one. The particulars of Vellek's plan finally come in play, but it feels all too late to make much of an impact, especially with regards to both his motivations (seems Kristos was actually killed by a random act of violence, albeit framed really ridiculously), and as to the notion on how Paul Vellek would manage to propagate the cure even if his plans had been found out at the last minute. The latter especially would've made the scenes where the elder Vellek insist on reaching landfall as quickly as possible carry more weight.

Giorgio and Lucia though at least deserve some credit for having characters that carry themselves gracefully to the finish line that are their demises. There are some quiet moments such as the one they share as Giorgio realizes his sister is the truly competent one - overseeing naval maneuvers for four Greek ships being a far cry from her younger days. Giorgio also is the one to realize his father is not the only one in a nostos haze and in some ways does try to snap her out of it (only by ultimately dying), though the show is slightly reluctant to show what exactly happens for Lucia when she does drink that distilled nostos; it might as well be a whiskey flask if not for the paternal connection. I did enjoy the fact that Lucia was the most competent of the Vellek clan - at least when it came to directly opposing the Nathan James - as this season was sorely lacking in a worthwhile antagonist. The fact and realization that Paul and at times Lucia spend it in a drug haze makes their eventual downfall feel less satisfying. Especially in a finale where three Greek warships are quickly dispatched in no time flat.

One thread that surfaces back and forth through the season is Tom Chandler's reluctance and inner darkness, and it comes to a head when he confronts Paul Vellek at the edge of the Triton, ready to throw himself into the sea, if only to spite the Nathan James from getting their hands on his research (no one thought to just shoot him in the leg?). In the end, both men came to a bit of a stalemate as to how to take humanity into the future, and if peace should be gained at the cost of free will or not. It's not a strength of the show to particularly philosophize on that matter, especially when the show's through line is a very clear pro-naval stance, and the show has made pretty clear the antagonist is not to be sympathized with.

There is no real need for each season of The Last Ship to feel transformative, but by the season's end there is not much that makes the world feel different from the situation that they left behind after season three. The Red Rust threat was made to sound global, but it was never really fully realized except as a plot point to turn people's allegiances when required. The simple fact that food rationing was not ever shown as a real concern means that the stakes felt lacking in a way the other threats (e.g. the Red Flu, and numerous antagonists) ever did. As the Nathan James sailed into the sunset with the cure in hand, it felt empty and lacking, and given the preview for season five, it seems the threat will be deflated and replaced with what hopes to be a drastically more interesting situation, in terms of world building and stakes involved.

• Very interesting way to have regular side characters join in on the fight as the boarding party against the Triton. Especially Gator who just happened to also be an expert marksman. And cue the navigator jokes as well.
• Although Peter Weller at times felt wasted in front of the camera, there was some good direction from him behind it.
• The hallucination chasing scene with Paul and Kristos was extremely well done and I'd love to see how that was made, to be honest.
• Is it now a running theme for the Nathan James to just lose helo pilots? I wonder if that will be the case next season as well, unless it'll be Cupid (Kathleen Nolan) at the controls.
• As usual, Kara and Danny are the most interesting to watch and makes me happy they continue to live.
• And again, the master chief's injuries (punctured lung) completely deflate (pun intended) any danger on his behalf and ultimately go nowhere except being excluded from action sequences, I guess.