Dr. Vellick counts on the goodness and morals of the US navy to rescue people in a life threatening situation as a way to get a spy on board to steal the seeds. He knows that the goal of the crew of the Nathan James is to save lives at risk to their own, as they've proved all along.
The title of this episode refers mainly to Fletcher, how he struggles between his allegiance to his country when faced with a decision to betray the U.S. and rest of the world. This episode also deals with the crew's confusion about Captain Chandler's allegiance to the mission of saving humanity.
Dr. Vellick wants to re-engineer humans genetically along with curing the red rust affecting crops, to ultimately control the world. Captain Chandler has an idea to capture him so he can help the U.S. fix the red rust crisis more quickly, but unfortunately it is not his decision to make unless circumstances change. During their mission to get the seeds to the U.S., the Nathan James rescues victims on a sinking fishing trawler.
Here's 2 Greek symbols and References to Homer's Odyssey: Captain Chandler tells Doc Rios how Lucia called the nostos plant "fleeta", which is a feminine word for "fleet", as in a group of warships under one commander. Maybe this is foreshadowing?
"Nostos", the weed that was changed by the virus that caused Captain Slattery to feel like he was back home again with his family, was used in Homer's Odyssey - it's a Greek word and theme that means "homecoming", as in when a hero is returning home by sea after war.
In the first episode of this season, Captain Chandler said that he was confused about revenge and justice, but there's proof that he does not let feelings like revenge interfere with his decisions like Captain Meylan does, as when they discussed capturing Dr. Vellick to bring him back to the states so they could save lives more quickly, Meylan lets his own revengeful feelings for Vellick get in the way of using the mad doctor to save lives. Meylan even condemns Chandler for itching for a confrontation with Giorgio, when maybe that is what is needed to solve some of their problems. Chandler tells Slattery that he seen a side of himself that he didn't like, but it's evident that he has not lost his way or his morals, and he is still the same man that previously saved the human race. When Slattery replies to his statement by saying, "Welcome to the human race", he means that it is normal for a good decent person, like Chandler has always been, to be so scared and confused when he had feelings of revenge - issues that would not bother someone evil.
It's great to see Captain Chandler back on the Nathan James, because the current CO, Captain Meylan, who is filling in for Captain Slattery, is not willing to take the risks needed when it comes to saving the world like Chandler is. When he rejected Chandler's plan to capture Dr. Vellick to bring him back to the states so they could possibly cure the red rust more quickly to save more lives, it made me think back to season 1 where if Meylan would've been in Chandler's place, that there would now be nobody left to save.
In season 4 it's ironic that Captain Chandler took a break from the Nathan James and the actor who portrays him, Eric Danes, had to take a break from filming due to personal issues. Like Sgt. Kandie says in this episode, it was his destiny that brought him back, and maybe that similarly applies to real life because The Last Ship would not be the same without Eric Danes. Additionally, maybe since there was a time limit for Eric to get back to finish filming, it caused him to take care of a problem that otherwise might have become worse if not addressed quickly - I hope that's the case, anyways, for the sake of Eric's health.
I love the fact that, in addressing similar real life current issues, the Nathan James takes on villains that are "morally and unethically dangerous" like Fletch mentioned, because in real life these days, there are not many organizations left that are so noble.
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