After almost a year hiatus, TNT’s The Last Ship returned for its fourth season, and it was certainly an exciting premiere. Just like the crew of USS Nathan James proves to be one of the few forces of good in a depleted world, the show appears to be one of the few non-PC shows left on primetime. One of the biggest examples comes from the latest enemies they face who bring along some horrifyingly realistic methods.
The August 20th premiere “In Media Res” features the Navy crew hunting down sources for a seed immune to a virus that has devastated crops worldwide. Unfortunately, a Middle Eastern terrorist group known only as OMAR attacks the ship and crew at every turn. Yes, that’s right. This show is actually willing to offer up Middle Eastern men as part of an evil organization when not even our own media can. Then again, for a show that was willing to paint Israel as an ally, it only makes sense to provide an eerily recognizable Middle Eastern enemy. With scenes like this, however, things get a little too real.
Warning: graphic footage
People who are willing to sacrifice children to complete their goals are practically the epicenter of all evil, but this is something that sadly isn’t limited to an hour-long drama. Outside the United States, explosions just like these fictional ones take the lives of scores of people in the name of Islam by groups like ISIS or Boko Haram. It’s a scary, disturbing reality but a reality nonetheless.
Meanwhile, back in the US, we’re subjected to producers and actors who refuse to depict any kind of Muslim or Middle Easterner in an unfavorable light, even if it’s relevant. Heck, Homeland spent a whole season turning a terrorist sympathizer into a “angry kid” and still managed to blame right-wingers as the evil ones. At least there are still shows like The Last Ship that dare to call a spade a spade when the truth is so much more frightening than fiction.
