THE LAST SHIP: Phase Six
Patriotic naval maneuvers with discernment for teenagers and adults.
Should You Watch It?
THE LAST SHIP makes a strong first impression. Its solid cast portrays courage and patriotism well, while the action is exciting, tense, and tastefully shot. The pilot also offers a strong moral worldview with overt Christian content, including an extended Christian funeral scene for a sailor.
The costs are brief but real. The episode contains four obscenities and light profanities, intense battle action, disease victims, a suicide, and a scene involving a lesbian sailor discussing her “girlfriend.” There is also a heterosexual couple kissing secretly in a closet.
If you are choosing for teenagers or adults, this is rousing viewing with discernment. Younger children should sit this one out. The practical answer: WORTH WATCHING — TEENAGERS AND ADULTS.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESCommander Tom Chandler and the crew of a U.S. naval destroyer believe they are conducting weapons testing in the Arctic. Before they can return home, they discover that two scientists aboard are working on a vaccine for a pandemic that has wiped out most of the world’s population.
The crew is ordered to remain at sea while the scientists pursue a cure. Then rogue Russian soldiers attack, putting the vaccine and everyone aboard in grave danger.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this pilot is a very good, energetic start with some limitations. The cast is a major strength. Eric Dane makes Chandler a lively hero without going over the top, and Rhona Mitra gives the lead scientist a feisty, sparking presence.
Jonathan Mostow handles the action with style, tension, and aplomb. The battle sequences are exciting without becoming graphic or bloody. The episode also establishes several compelling angles for the series, especially the tense conflict between the lead scientist and the commander.
The Worldview
The pilot presents a strong moral, patriotic worldview. It portrays courage, duty, sacrifice, and service to others positively, especially through the naval crew’s response to a worldwide pandemic and the danger surrounding the vaccine.
It also contains strong Christian content, including an extended Christian funeral scene for a sailor. That Christian undertone is marred by a brief pro-homosexual portrayal involving a lesbian sailor discussing her “girlfriend.” The episode also includes betrayal, which adds moral conflict to the story.
The show’s concern for protecting life and serving others aligns with the biblical call to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Its patriotic emphasis also invites reflection on the responsibilities that come with authority and public service.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong moral worldview with very strong patriotic elements and a strong Christian undertone that includes an extended Christian funeral scene, marred by brief pro-homosexual portrayal of a lesbian sailor discussing her “girlfriend”; four obscenities and light profanities; strong violence includes intense, yet not graphic or bloody, battle between machine gunners on a Russian helicopter and other Russian soldiers aiming fire at scientists and American assigned to protect them, extended gunfire and several missile-based explosions, disease victims from deadly virus, sailor comes in contact with virus panics and shoots himself dead, nuclear missile shown going off in the distance; no sex scenes but lesbian sailor briefly discusses her “girlfriend” and heterosexual couple secretly kisses in closet; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, betrayal.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The crew faces danger while trying to help people suffering from a deadly disease. What does loving your neighbor look like when service requires sacrifice?
Mark 12:31 · Philippians 2:4The pilot includes an extended Christian funeral for a sailor. How can grief and hope exist together when Christians face death?
1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 · John 11:25–26The crew must respond to threats, authority, and betrayal. What makes courage different from recklessness?
Joshua 1:9 · Proverbs 14:16The story places patriotism alongside a global crisis. How should Christians think about serving their country while remembering that their ultimate citizenship is in heaven?
Romans 13:1–7 · Philippians 3:20The Final Word
THE LAST SHIP offers teenagers and adults exciting action, a strong cast, courage, patriotism, and Christian content. Brief profanity, intense violence, and a homosexual theme require discernment. For the intended audience, the answer is WORTH WATCHING — TEENAGERS AND ADULTS.
