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Characters present in TNT's series The Last Ship.

Caution: due to each season featuring major cast changes, UNMARKED SPOILERS abound.

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    Main Characters 

Admiral Thomas Chandler

Played By: Eric Dane
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chandler2c_tom_0.jpg

The Captain of USS Nathan James, the titular last ship of the US Navy. Chandler is a skilled and respected skipper with the trust of his crew. Initially ignorant of the Nathan James 's real mission, he steps up to the plate when the world goes all to hell.

After helping spread the Red Flu Cure through the United States and the world, he is promoted to Captain and is appointed President Michener's Chief of Naval Operations and also acts as the de facto head of the US military.

  • The Ace: Virtually a necessity for a man commanding one of the most powerful warships in the world; Chandler is a skilled naval tactician, a crack shot, and fluent in multiple languages.
  • Affectionate Nickname: Tex teasingly calls him "Commodore". This is actually appropriate, at least in Season 3: in the US Navynote , an officer holding the rank of Captain (O-6) who commands multiple ships, such as a destroyer squadron, is formally referred to as a Commodore, just as a ship's CO is always addressed as "Captain," regardless of their actual rank.
  • Break the Believer: A heroic example. After three seasons of being a nigh undefeatable Iron Woobie, Chandler at last succumbs to his doubt and despair following Tex's death. What makes this even more heartbreaking is that he had just spent the earlier episode reinforcing Oliver's resolve when the latter was starting to waver.
  • Broken Ace: By the end of Season 3, all the emotional trauma he'd been holding at bay hits him at once, leaving him reeling and unable to function.
  • The Captain: Very much so; it's his job, after all. He actually holds the rank of Commander (O-5) for the first two seasons before being promoted to Captain (O-6) in Season 3. He actually turned down a promotion to Admiral, saying that his current rank and title suit him best.
  • Disappeared Dad: His frequent absences and ten-minute retirements eventually take their toll on his family life. By Season 5, his children actually prefer being away from him even when he makes an point of staying home to be with them.
  • Heroic BSoD: Suffers a big one at the end of Season 3, after losing his father and Tex and personally shooting Allison Shaw rather than having her stand trial for treason (which would almost certainly have ended with her being executed anyway). Considers himself a hypocrite for killing her after having previously lectured Rachel Scott about taking the law into her own hands with Sorenson.
  • Omniglot: He is fluent in Russian to the point where he can converse with native speakers and read untranslated books. He also demonstrates an understanding of Italian (even comprehending native speakers going full speed), although he's yet to actually speak the language on screen. In Season 4, he’s picking up some Greek.
  • Rank Up: Gets promoted to Captain and named Chief of Naval Operations by President Michener. He is later promoted to Admiral.
  • Refusal of the Call: It's mentioned in Season 5 that people wanted Chandler to run for President but he refused.
  • 10-Minute Retirement: Multiple throughout the series.
    • He decides to resign his commission in Season 2, reasoning that it's more important to stay at home and protect his children rather than go back out to sea with Nathan James'. He spends a day fixing up his house before his father (a retired Army officer) reminds him that he joined the Navy to serve the greater good. In all, Chandler's retirement is so brief that he never had the chance to tell anyone, aside from his family, that he was resigning.
    • In Season 4, he retired to Greece with his children but Vellek's machinations force him to return to the Navy.
    • In Season 5, he retired again and took up a teaching position at the US Naval Academy. But a surprise attack on the US forces him back into action.

Admiral Mike Slattery

Played By: Adam Baldwin
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The Executive Officer of USS Nathan James. Loyal and dutiful, solid and dependable. He's also a former homicide detective with the Chicago Police Department.

Beginning in the third season, he is promoted to Captain and takes command of Nathan James. In Season 5, he's been promoted to Admiral and placed in command of the US Navy's first carrier group since the Red Flu.

  • AB Negative: He wears a patch saying that he has type O- blood, meaning that he is a universal donor. He is of particular interest to the pirates because of this.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Already fairly aggressive in nature, though usually friendly. He's pushed over the edge and becomes practically deranged when fighting to take back Nathan James in Season 2.
  • Big Damn Heroes: After commandeering a rocket artillery truck deployed to sink the Nathan James, he fires the shot that sinks the Achilles.
  • Combat Pragmatist: This guy does NOT fight fair when cornered. He kills the head of Granderson's security force by slamming his head into a pipe and burying a fire ax in his chest.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Slattery is well-aware that he comes off as a serious, plodding, unimaginative officer to people who don't know him and uses it to his advantage. He's actually highly intelligent and just as cunning as Chandler and easily maintains the upper hand against Ruskov and others (like Granderson's security forces) in Chandler's absence.
  • Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Averted. He is (or at least was) a Reservist who was a homicide detective for his day job and knows that using fear and pain is generally counterproductive, so he uses logic when interrogating people instead. He's good at it, too.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Invoked and played for laughs when describing the effects of his experience with nostos:
    "I feel calm. At peace. I love everybody. It’s terrible."
  • Number Two: A solid 2nd in command to Chandler, with each providing a logical counterpoint to the other.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: Discovers in the pilot episode that his son died from Red Flu while he was at sea. He buries his grief deep for three seasons, but it comes back with a vengeance in Season 4, when a Sardinian woman gives him a hit of nostos as improvised anesthetic while she treats his stab wound.
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner: "Cheers, asshole."
  • Rank Up: Promoted to Captain (O-6) and given command of Nathan James when Chandler is appointed CNO. He is later promoted to Admiral (O-10) and given command of the US Navy's first post-Red Flu carrier group.

Sasha Cooper

Played By: Bridget Regan
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Officially a US diplomat representing American interests in Asia. She is actually an intelligence asset operating under diplomatic cover and a former sailor with the Office of Naval Intelligence.

She and Chandler had a past relationship and still share an obvious chemistry that everyone can see and they rekindle their romance in the time skip between Seasons 4 and 5.

  • Action Girl: She's very skilled with a gun and accompanies the away team on missions.
  • Combat Pragmatist: A necessity of she wants to win fights with men who have size, strength, and reach advantages over her. She frequently ambushes male opponents with quick strikes to the throat and/or groin, then taking advantage of their momentary incapacitation to get the drop on them with heavier weaponry.
  • Cunning Linguist: She's shown fluency in Mandarin, Japanese, Tagalog, and Korean. It's part of her job, after all.
  • Friendly Sniper: She takes on the role of sniper whenever the crew has to send out a land team. She's quite cheerful about it and has a slight smile on her face whenever she's looking through the scope.
  • Happily Adopted: In Season 5, she has lived with Chandler for most of the Time Skip, and handles the stepmom role well.
  • Honest Advisor: She's very comfortable with telling Chandler exactly what she thinks, whether he likes it or not. (Usually he doesn't.)

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Hugh Jeter

Played By: Charles Parnell
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_shipcmc_jeter.jpg

The Command Master Chief, senior enlisted man aboard USS Nathan James, there is no one on the ship who doesn't pay him the utmost respect. He's a devout Christian and leads religious services aboard the ship.

  • Cool Old Guy: Not so old that he should retire, mind you, but the Master Chief has been at sea longer than most of his Sailors have been alive. It really comes out with Ensign Swain, whom Jeter calls "sir" (Swain is an officer, though he does everything Jeter tells him to do), but his "sir" sounds an awful lot like "son," which is all the more meaningful since Swain is a Red Flu orphan.
  • Dented Iron: Suffers a broken rib that punctures one of his lungs while the ship rides through a severe storm halfway through Season 4. He ignores the very-painful injury, coughs up blood when nobody is looking, and acts like nothing is wrong. When he finally sees Doc Rios about it, he ignores Doc’s orders to rest and insists on maintaining his post.
  • Father Neptune/Master Chief Rock: Oldest sailor on the ship, a leadership figure to the crew, and well respected, with his counsel listened to by the ship's officers. Under certain circumstances, he can even put his foot down with the Captain and XO.
  • Rank Up: As of Season 5, he has advanced from the Command Master Chief of Nathan James to being the most senior enlisted sailor in the US Navy as Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: He leads the services on the ship, and brings his Bible when he goes to the vaccine trials.
  • Survivor Guilt: He was in a car accident that killed his entire family while he survived. He continues to carry the guilt with him even though he was legally proven to have not been at fault.

Lieutenant Danny Green

Played By: Travis Van Winkle
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The commanding officer (and eventual sole survivor) of a Naval Mountain Warfare Unit detachment that is attached to the crew of Nathan James. Although technically separate from the Nathan James chain of command, everyone looks to him for leadership when it comes to ground-based tactical decisions. He is in love with Lieutenant Kara Foster and they marry in the Time Skip between Seasons 2 and 3.

  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Gets in a pretty epic retort to Granderson in the Season 2 premiere, especially because he did knowing full well that waves of Maryland State Troopers would come after him while he was alone, with limited ammunition, and no body armor. Read the whole thing in the Funny tab.
  • Disappeared Dad: By Season 5, he's become estranged from Kara and rarely sees Frankie, even when he's at home.
  • Elites Are More Glamorous: Danny is not a SEAL but a member of the Naval Mountain Warfare Unit, specifically trained to fight in harsh conditions which is why he and his team were assigned to guard Dr. Scott in the arctic.
  • Forbidden Romance: He and Foster have been sneaking around the ship even though romantic connections are forbidden amongst shipmates. He breaks things off when he realizes that his feelings for her are preventing him from properly carrying out his duties.
  • Heroes Love Dogs: He's often accompanied by Admiral Halsey, the NMWU's dog.
  • Highly-Conspicuous Uniform: Danny is easily distinguishable from other characters because he wears a combat shirt and tactical trousers in desert (later woodland) camouflage as opposed to the Navy Working Uniforms and various coveralls the James' crew wears.
  • Perma-Stubble: He gets a few days' growth during the battle against Amy Granderson and her forces at Avocet. From that point on, his beard neither grows out any further nor does he ever shave it off. He grows a full beard in Season 4 for covert operations in Islamic countries.

Commander Kara Green, née Foster

Played By: Marissa Neitling
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An officer who works in Nathan James' Combat Information Center. She becomes the ship's new TAO in Season 2 after the previous TAO dies while retaking the ship. She is in love with Danny Green and they eventually marry.

Having given birth in the Time Skip between Season 2 and 3, she takes on a civilian role within the US government and becomes the Michener Administration's Deputy Chief of Staff before later rejoining the Navy in season 4.

In Season 5, she is promoted to Commander and becomes Captain of the Nathan James.

  • Action Girl: She doesn't get to show it off much since her primary responsibilities are in the CIC, but she's a crack shot and more than capable in a fight.
  • Action Mom: Her ass-kicking gets knocked up by a couple of notches whenever her baby is in danger or his future is threatened.
  • Eating the Eye Candy: She openly ogles Wolf in order to tease Danny. She's not alone, though, as Nathan James' entire female contingent is apparently talking about the Australian sailor.
  • Forbidden Romance: She and Green have been sneaking around the ship even though romantic connections are forbidden amongst shipmates. He breaks things off when he realizes that his feelings for her are preventing him from properly carrying out his duties.
  • Happily Married: As of Season 3, she is now Mrs. Danny Green. Sadly, they become estranged by Season 5.
  • Imperiled in Pregnancy: She takes part in the vaccine trials and is revealed to be pregnant as all the trial subjects take a turn for the worst.
    • In Season 2, she's captured by Granderson loyalists intent on harvesting stem cells from her baby without regard to whether or not she or it will survive. She kills the lead scientist with the syringe he was going to use on her.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: While President Michener valued her input she finds herself unceremoniously shoved to the side in the Oliver Administration as regional leaders try to grab more authority for themselves.
  • Mission Control: As the ship's TAO she's in charge of the weapons systems and is the main point of contact for teams out in the field.

Chief Gunner's Mate Eric Miller

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A member of the ship's boarding parties. He's given a significant promotion in the Time Skip between Seasons 2 and 3 in recognition of his work and sacrifice during the Red Flu Pandemic.

  • An Arm and a Leg: Suffers explosive amputation of his right leg below the knee during the assault on Camp X in Cuba. His left leg is later surgically amputated below the knee as well.
  • Butt-Monkey: He basically exists for all the other characters to pick on.
  • Took a Level in Badass: He gains confidence and becomes much more aggressive so that by the Season 2 premiere, he's one of three sailors who frees most of Nathan James by themselves.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Wolf Taylor RAN

Played By: Bren Foster
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An Australian sailor. He's a Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Team operator who was participating in a joint exercise in the US when the Red Flu pandemic hit. He joins Nathan James in Season 2 to help make up for crew losses.

  • Artistic License – Military: Senior Chief Petty Officers do not exist in the Royal Australian Navy as either a rank or appointment.
  • Awesome Aussie: Handsome Australian asskicker, pretty much the trope personified.
  • Badass Boast: Doesn’t make them himself, but others occasionally throw them out on his behalf.
    Chandler: Oh, I’m not to worried about tigers. I brought a Wolf.
    Kandie: "You are a weapon!"
  • Battle Couple: With Kandie.
  • Bayonet Ya: During the final battle for Cuba, Wolf straps a knife to the the barrel of his carbine (since it lacks a bayonet lug) and goes cold steel on some Cubans to lethal effect.
  • Elites Are More Glamorous: A member of the Royal Australian Navy's Clearance Diving Team, their equivalent of the US Navy SEALs.
  • Heartbroken Badass: Wolf was good friends with Ravit Bivas, and was reduced to tears when she was killed. In Season 3, when Val is killed and he finds out that the Red Chinese wiped out his Zephyr team in Hong Kong, his variant of Heroic BSoD involves spilling rivers of Chinese blood.
  • Highly-Conspicuous Uniform: He wears a tactical uniform in NWU desert camouflage despite operating in the woodlands of the Eastern United States.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He doesn't hold back when fighting hand-to-hand, beating his opponents into pulp to make sure they don't get up again.
  • One-Man Army: He rips through a team of Immune mercenaries aboard USNS Solace with only a punch dagger, saving Miller in the process.
  • Weapon Specialization: He carries a Steyr AUGnote  rather than the various AR-15 pattern rifles the Nathan James crew uses. He switches to an M4A1 in later appearances.
  • The Worf Effect: Meets his match in one of Chinese President Peng's senior operatives. They fight to a stalemate in their first meeting and Wolf nearly dies in their second match up before he breaks the man's neck.
    Chandler: How’s the other guy look?
    Wolf: I am the other guy.

Sergeant Azima Kandie

Played By: Jodie Turner-Smith
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A former soldier in the Kenyan Navy who now serves as the new VBSS operator for the Nathan James as of Season 4.

  • Action Girl
  • Ambiguously Bi: In her first episode, she flirts with both Alisha Granderson and Wolf Taylor.
  • Ascended Fangirl: Mentions In her first appearance that Chandler, his ship, and his crew are legends in Africa (and much of the world), and considers it the honor of her life to serve with them.
  • Battle Couple: Her playful flirtations with Wolf quickly become serious, though they keep their relationship separate from work.

     Crew of the USS Nathan James 

Lieutenant Commander John "Gator" Mejia

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The ship's navigation officer.

  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Exclusively addressed as "Gator" (short for "Navigator") by those with the privilege to do so and "Lieutenant" by those without it. The only way to know his last name is by reading the name tape on his uniform.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: He is certified as a Double Expert marksman but his job kept him out of any firefights until the season 4 finale where he takes out two attackers with a single shot each.
  • 10-Minute Retirement: Returns to civilian life after Season 4, but comes back aboard Nathan James for Fleet Week in the Season 5 premier. When the Colombians attack Naval Station Mayport, Mejia promptly volunteers to return to active duty.

Lieutenant Cameron Burk

Played By: LaMonica Garrett
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Nathan James' new TAO in Season 3. He's also Carlton Burk's older brother.

  • An Arm and a Leg: He loses his leg in a terrorist attack on the US naval base at Rota, Spain.
  • Friend to All Children: Cameron’s soft spots show when kids are around, best seen with a little boy who is fascinated and intimidated by his prosthetic leg. Cameron tells the boy, "I’m a superhero!"
  • Passed-Over Promotion: He's not happy when Chandler chooses Granderson to be acting XO instead of him and is resentful of having to take orders from an officer who is technically junior to him. He keeps his mouth shut, however, and does as he is told.
  • The Bus Came Back: Returns to accompany his brother, Miller, and Master Chief Jeter to a War Bond fundraiser in Season 5, where his prosthetic leg and noticeable burn scars immediately attract the ladies’ attention.

Chief Warrant Officer Carl Nishioka

Played By: Ben Cho
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Almost exclusively seen in CIC, he is responsible for aiming and firing Nathan James' weapons systems. By Season 5, he's become the ship's TAO.

  • Sergeant Rock: He is the linchpin that holds Nathan James' CIC together.
  • Overranked Soldier: Inverted. The ship's TAO would normally be a lieutenant commander but Nishioka is a former enlisted man who received a warrant rather than a commission. He has authority over everyone in CIC but is still technically subordinate to the commissioned officers who defer to him and follow his orders.

Chief Culinary Specialist Bernie "Bacon" Crowley

Played By: Amen Igbinosun
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8_bacon.png

A member of Nathan James' galley crew immediately identifiable thanks to his sheer bulk, surly attitude, and smell (he's called "Bacon" for a reason). He's also the best chess player aboard the ship.

  • The Big Guy: Easily the largest sailor aboard. He also happens to be 20 pounds over regulation weight and is working with Tex to try and lose it on Slattery's orders.
  • The Bus Came Back: He wasn't seen for the entirety of Season 3 but rejoined the James' company in Season 4.
  • Camp Cook: In charge of the ship's galley.
  • Genius Bruiser: As mentioned above, is the best chess player on the ship and he's also big enough to be a credible threat to multiple armed police officers. Also independently orchestrates his own plan to overcome the boarding party and free the crew.
  • Gentle Giant: Bacon is actually a pretty nice guy when he doesn't have a reason to be scary, especially when dealing with children. This is especially prominent when he's distributing food to the refugees rescued from the trawler El Alemein.
  • The Pig-Pen: Not that he's unhygienic, but working in the galley all day means that he acquires the aroma of whatever's on the menu that day, hence his nickname.
  • Real Men Cook: Apparently one of the best chefs in the the US military. He's also a hulk of a man who doesn't hesitate to go up against multiple opponents.
  • Scary Black Man: Is treated as such by the Maryland State Police boarding party. His response doesn't exactly ease tensions, but it helps to set up the eventual revolt against the boarders.
  • Supreme Chef: His culinary skills are such that he used to cook for the President of the United States at Camp David. He's only aboard Nathan James because he needs time at sea in order to advance in rank. He also accidentally gives Doctor Scott inspiration for her plan to aerosolise the cure.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Ray Diaz

Played By: Adam Irigoyen
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The leader of a group of teenagers who survived the Red Flu pandemic because they were isolated at a summer camp. He's an artist who's working on a comic book about a superhero who wanders the plague-infested land helping those in need. He's eager to fight and prove himself but quickly learns that leadership in battle comes at a heavy cost.

He enlists in the navy and joins the crew of Nathan James in the Time Skip between Seasons 2 and 3 and is often seen at the ship's helm.

  • Conveniently an Orphan: His parents died from the Red Flu, which made it a lot easier for him to enlist despite his young age.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Kathleen "Cupid" Nolan

Played By: Jade Chynoweth
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Daughter of the late Tex Nolan. In Season 4, she enlists in the Navy and joins Nathan James as a helo door gunner.

  • Embarrassing Nickname: Miller gives her the callsign "Cupid" because of the effect that she has on Diaz.
  • Jumped at the Call: In the Season 4 finale, she's the first volunteer for the mission to board the Triton.

     US Government 

President of the United States Howard Oliver

Played By: John Cothran, Jr.
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/holiver.jpg

Formerly President Michener's Vice President. He was tasked with traveling around the world to try and reassert American influence in international affairs. Prior to that, he was the Mayor of St. Louis, where he ran a highly successful quarantine that was credited with saving 100,000 people.

  • Bus Crash: Possibly, as one of the new Navy ships glimpsed in Season 5 is the USS Howard Oliver and the U.S. Navy typically doesn't name ships after living people. On the other hand the few people who do get ships named after them while they're alive are usually former presidents, so it's a little ambiguous.
  • Puppet King: This was obvious even before Shaw and the regional leaders launched their coup de tat. As of "Eutopia" however, it's now pretty much official.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Even after the coup, he keeps trying to assert his rightful authority over the government and keeps on pointing out that many of the junta's orders and decisions are presposterous.
  • Rookie Red Ranger: He was traveling the world as Vice President, so he is quite out of the loop by the time he returns to St. Louis. The regional leaders know this and they quickly try to convince him to delegate more of the Executive Branch's responsibilities to them.
  • Unexpected Successor: He went from mayor of St. Louis to Vice President and then President of the United States in less than a year.

President of the United States Joshua Reiss

Played By: Steven Culp
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Oliver's successor following Season 5's Time Skip.

  • Green-Eyed Monster: Not hugely so, but he does seem a little jealous of Chandler's fame and popularity, especially since people wanted Chandler to replace Oliver, not him.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He's a bit abrasive, but wants to do right by the country.
  • Sadistic Choice: The Colombian assassination team that attacks SOUTHCOM forces him to come out of the panic room by murdering hostages until he opens the door. They then try to force him to confess to a laundry list of ridiculous conspiracy theories about the Red Flu, Red Rust, etc. by holding Admiral Meylan at gunpoint. When this fails, they break him by stringing him up from a balcony. Nobody blames him afterwards, given the duress he was under.

Lieutenant General Anita DuFine

Played By: April Parker Jones
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Commandant of the Marine Corps in Season 5.

     Civilians 

Bertrise

Played By: Hope Olaide Wilson
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A Jamaican girl the Nathan James picks up from a drifting fishing boat. She is naturally immune to the Red Flu and proves to be a vital part in Rachel Scott's continuing research.

In Season 2, she stays aboard the ship, rather than disembarking at Norfolk, and is seen working as Dr. Scott's assistant.

  • Tag Along Kid: Played with. She can't contribute much to the running of the ship but her naturally immunity to the virus means that she becomes a vital part of Dr. Scott's research. She also later demonstrates an ability to be cool under pressure and willingly donates a dangerous amount of blood because it might save those who are dying.
  • The Watson: Part of her work with Dr. Scott is to be this.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: She's last seen standing next to Mason on Nathan James' helipad in the Season 1 finale. The Season 2 premiere picks up immediately afterwards but she's nowhere to be seen and is mentioned in one line and then forgotten about. She pops back up four episodes later without explanation.

Kelly Tophet

Played By: Alice Coulthard
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Quincy Tophet's wife. She was held captive aboard the Vrenya as leverage over her husband.

  • Ship Tease: There are hints of an attraction developing between her and Chandler.

Ava Tophet

Played By: Jade Pettyjohn
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ava_tophet_large.png

Quincy Tophet's daughter. She was held captive aboard the Vrenya as leverage over her father.

  • Tag Along Kid: She's more of a plot device than a character, existing as a living MacGuffin to motivate her father. Ruskov does mention that all Ava does is make as big a nuisance of herself as possible while aboard the Vrenya. Once on the Nathan James her only appearance after her rescue is to comment on the deteriorating state of her parents' marriage.

Ashley and Sam Chandler

Played By: Grace Kaufman (Ashley), Aidan Sussman (Sam)
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Tom Chandler's children. During the first three seasons, they were staying at their old house in Norfolk, under the protection of their grandfather, while Tom is at sea trying to restore order in the world. In Season 4, they relocated to Greece.

Dr. Milowsky

Played By: Bruce Nozick
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_ship_season_2_episode_10_23_6917.jpg

A scientist who'd been sequestered aboard USNS Solace. He chooses to stay aboard Nathan James after being rescued from the Immunes, believing that he can be the most productive by helping Dr. Scott directly. He also serves as an additional medic despite being a researcher rather than a healer.

     Villains 

Gustavo "Tavo" Barros

Played By: Maurice Compte
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A revolutionary who has become president of Colombia in the aftermath of the Red Flu and Red Rust. Using ruthlessly Machiavellian means, he has absorbed Venezuela and some of his other neighbors into "Grán Colombia," whether they like it or not, and declares war on the United States in Season 5.

  • Axe-Crazy: Becomes increasingly paranoid, unhinges, and reckless as Season 5 goes on, butchering more and more of his own people on mere suspicion of disloyalty in almost-daily purges. Many of the victims are loyal followers, and it's implied that he has them killed because his wife's tarot card readings say they will be traitors.
  • Fauxreigner: He's not actually Colombian; he was born in America and worked as a janitor at Disneyland before fleeing down south during either the Red Flu or the Red Famine.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: He was a janitor at Disneyland before escaping to Colombia as Red Flu and Red Rust ravaged the world. After the epidemic subsided, he not only became the president of the country but also managed to absorb the battered neighbors into a powerful nation of "Grán Colombia".
  • Fluffy the Terrible: "Tavo" may sound like an intimidating nickname, but is just the Spanish equivalent of "Gus."
  • Hypocrite: He rants endlessly about how the US is imposing its will on Latin America, conveniently leaving out the fact that he is an American who is imposing his will on Latin America.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: The man knows how to make a good speech, and can rally a crowd of adoring followers. He also eschews the presidential mansion in Bogota for a relatively modest hacienda in the mountains, where he often hands out cash and gifts to his poor neighbors. He's also a ruthless, amoral dictator who casually orders assassinations, executions, massacres, and unprovoked invasions of his neighbors. He shows no remorse whatsoever for executing children, even going so far as to make his own son watch such an execution. His philanthropic facade is explicitly compared to that of Pablo Escobar.
  • Visionary Villain: He seeks to unite all of Latin America under a single government and become the next superpower in the post-Red Flu world.

General Hector Martinez

Played By: Rigo Sanchez
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Tavo's right-hand man, and a career military officer in the Colombian Army.

  • The Dragon: He is Tavo's chief military enforcer.
  • Not What I Signed Up For: Martinez is clearly uncomfortable with Tavo's purges, especially when he is forced to personally execute a young officer who is the son of one of his longtime friends (especially since there is no evidence the kid has betrayed them; Barros is just getting more and more paranoid). He becomes increasingly disillusioned as Tavo becomes more and more unstable.
  • Shoot the Dog: Tavo forces him to kill one of his loyal soldiers in order to prove his own loyalty. What's worse is that the kid's father is an old friend.

Conchita Barros

Played By: Cindy Luna
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_ship_season_5_episode_2_47_1ced.jpg

Gustavo Barros's wife

  • Lady Macbeth: Drives her husband to increasingly paranoid and irrational decisions based on her tarot cards.

    Former Characters 

Doctor Rachel Scott

Played By: Rhona Mitra
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rachel_scott_large.png

A CDC researcher who joins the crew in the arctic under the pretense of studying diseases that affect arctic birds. While that's partly true, her primary goal is to try and find a cure for the Red Flu, a highly infectious virus that is ripping through Earth's population. She eventually succeeds in this quest at the end of the first season and spends the second season developing a fast delivery method that can hit as many people as possible in a short time. She succeeds, again, aerosolizing the cure and later developing a "contagious cure" that can be spread through skin-to-skin contact.

She is murdered by an Immune cultist in the second season finale.

  • Anyone Can Die: And in the final seconds of the season, no less.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: She was quite an aloof character throughout the first season but she starts to open up, particularly to Tex, and occasionally shows that she's a very compassionate person beneath her shield.
  • Freudian Excuse: When she was a child, her mother contracted malaria. Her missionary father refused medical treatment, claiming that God could heal her and only He could determine who lives or dies. She was inspired by this experience (and a talk with one of the nurses) to become a doctor and make a difference in the world.
  • Hated by All: She's initially not well-liked by the crew, having kept them in the dark about the Red Flu pandemic until it was too late for almost any of them to contact their families. This is eventually dispelled after Chandler gets her to open up to the crew and they realize that she really is a good person.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After Chandler knows that she played a role in Niels' death, he calls her out for doing it since it gives him and the ship's crew a hard time to prove that they're not the bad guys in order to disprove the Ramseys' propaganda.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: Murdered Niels to improve the cure, even though she could have gotten what she needed without killing him. Her only regret after he died was that he died too quickly.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She puts on an impersonal face but it's to cover the stress of trying to save the world.

Ken "Tex" Nolan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tex_nolan_large.png

A private military contractor who was guarding a high-security wing at Guantanamo Bay. He is ultimately Gitmo's last survivor and joins the crew of the Nathan James. Dies at the end of Season 3 after saving Chandler once more.

  • Anguished Declaration of Love: He's completely besotted with Dr. Scott and gives her one of these while delirious during the Red Flu vaccine trials. He later berates himself for being so cheesy.
    Tex: "You make me want to love again!"
    (Later): "Jesus, did I actually say that?"
  • Anyone Can Die: Dies at the end of Season 3.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Tex is a nice guy. He's also quite possibly the deadliest individual alive.
  • The Bus Came Back: Parts ways with the crew in St Louis at the end of Season 2. When Kara finds herself in the deepest shit imaginable halfway through Season 3, she tracks down Tex for help, which is a major problem for the bad guys.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Tex never fights fair. If held captive, he will take punches for hours, seeming to break, until his captors let their guard down...
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He often plays the clown to cheer people up but he's also willing to put himself in danger to help his friends and is a stone-cold killer when the need arises.
  • Disappeared Dad: He hasn't seen his daughter in years and was on his way to try and find her before learning of the true nature of Avocet and turning back around to help Nathan James. He eventually reunites with her in Memphis.
  • Non-Indicative Name: Despite his nickname, he's actually from Nevada.
  • No Name Given: He's only known as "Tex" with his full name not being heard at any point during the first season. His first name is revealed to be "Ken" in the Season 2 finale.
  • Killed Off for Real: Takes a bullet to the chest while helping Chandler rescue his children and take down Shaw. He tries to convince Chandler to take her into custody with his dying breath, but his death pushes Chandler over the edge, and he cuts off Shaw's following Hannibal Lecture with a bullet.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: He frequently takes it upon himself to ease tensions and keep spirits up when things get really bad (even if he'd just been tortured for his captors' amusement).
    Chandler: [Gesturing towards Tex] Ladies and gentlemen, your entertainment for the next few days!
  • Private Military Contractors: Tex is a rare example where a contractor is given full characterization and is depicted as heroic rather than used a two-dimensional plot device.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Throughout the first season, he's seen going through stacks of gossip magazines.
  • Shipper on Deck: He's an unabashed romantic and isn't shy about it. He's the first one aboard the Nathan James to realize that Danny and Kara are attracted to one another and takes great pleasure in teasing Danny about it while simultaneously encouraging him to pursue the relationship despite the rules. He later starts teasing Burk over the man's attraction to Bivas.
  • Shot in the Ass: He takes a bullet to the rear while fleeing scared civilians who were being influenced by the Immunes. This after he had just warned the Sailors with him not to shoot anybody, no matter what.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Will Mason

Played By: Chris Sheffield
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7c6ae562ed4f1403ac2bdff67b440140.jpg

A comms officer aboard the Nathan James. It's his monitoring of civilian radio broadcasts that helps them find Bertrise, a girl who's naturally immune to the Red Flu and a vital part in the search for a cure. He also demonstrates an aptitude for tracking submarines and becomes the ship's primary sonar specialist in Season 2.

He's killed in the Third Season premiere by a mysterious Asian faction specifically targeting the Nathan James crew.

  • Cruel and Unusual Death: He's shot in the gut and takes a turn for the worse despite Doc Rios' best attempts to save him. Their captors, seeing that he won't survive, take Mason away and pump out his blood while his heart's still beating.
  • Mauve Shirt: He was a constant presence in the first two seasons and is given just enough characterization for the audience to care about him before being killed off in an especially cruel way.

Petty Officer 1st Class Cruz

Played By: Ness Bautista
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/167890.jpg

A member of the ship's boarding party. He's severely wounded at Guantanamo Bay but survives. He, Miller, and O'Connor are responsible for freeing the bulk of the the crew when Nathan James is hijacked. He is killed in action while trying to rescue the Nathan James crew being held hostage by Takehaya.

  • Mauve Shirt: After a brush with death early in Season 1, he became a fairly prominent recurring character for the next two and a half seasons before dying during a raid to rescue his shipmates.
  • Red Shirt: Averted. He nearly dies in his first appearance during Nathan James's visit to Guantanamo but goes on to make a full recovery.

President of the United States Jeffery Michener

Played By: Mark Moses
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/presmich.jpg

Formerly the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Miechner was originally sent to Florida to establish safe zones. After an outbreak killed almost everyone at the safe zone he was at, he wandered Florida until he was found by the Immunes, and proclaimed as the President of the United States.

  • Despair Event Horizon: Went through this offscreen some months earlier, as a result of the virus killing everyone in the safe zone he was running, because of his actions.
  • Driven to Suicide: Slashes his wrists after his Heel Realization. Chandler and the medical staff save him.
    • He tries again after his secret gets out, and this time he is successful.
      • Averted. Shaw indirectly reveals that he was in fact murdered in order to stop his opposition to the regional leaders.
  • Due to the Dead: In season 5, the Navy named a new Wasp-class amphibious assault ship in his honor. It's not an aircraft carrier like most presidents get, but they probably can't afford to build new nuclear powered carriers after the pandemic.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Chandler manages to win him over from the Ramseys.
  • Heroic BSoD: After losing his entire family, he was driven mad by despair and wandered Florida trying to find an answer as to why he wasn't getting sick. This made him suggestible to the Ramseys' claim that the naturally immune were somehow "Chosen" people.
  • Mercy Kill: He did this to his daughters, who showed symptoms after his son died.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: He blames himself for killing everyone in the safe zone he ran.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Had his son brought from Michigan to Florida, in violation of CDC protocols. Turns out his son was infected, and all 20 thousand people in the safe zone died.
  • President Personable: He's actually a decent principled man who wants to do the right thing, it's just that he's fallen in with Sean Ramsey's crowd.
  • You Are in Command Now: With pretty much the entire Federal government dead, Michener is legally President of the United States (originally he was 12th in line of succession).

Alex Rivera

Played By: Nestor Serrano
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_ship_season_4_episode_1_13_cdfe.jpg

The US Secretary of Foreign Affairs. In truth a loyalist to the Mitchener administration seeking to undermine Shaw and the regional leaders before they can orchestrate their coup de tat. Is killed in "Eutopia" via drive-by, conveniently during said coup de tat.

  • Good All Along: For all of his apparent antagonism, it turns out Rivera was in fact a loyalist to Mitchener and the US as a whole, and that his seemingly controversial actions were in fact part of a counter-conspiracy to prevent the regional leaders from initiating a coup de tat.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He openly dislikes Allison Shaw but occasionally has to grudgingly admit that her advice is sound and that it's best for the President to heed it. And his mistrust of her was actually very, very justified.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Executed via drive-by shooting so that Shaw can seize power.

Jacob Barnes

Played By: Devon Gummersall
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cokni2gvyai5mjc.jpg

An American reporter based in St. Louis, the new post-plague capitol, and one of Michener's fiercest critics. Later aids Kara and Tex in liberating President Oliver, but ends up getting captured and executed afterward.

  • Ambition Is Evil: A mild version. When first introduced he cares largely about his own career, which puts him at odds with the Michener Administration and allows the regional leaders and Allison Shaw to easily turn him into a patsy. He quickly changes his tune once Kara confronts him with the truth about Shaw's plan.
  • Intrepid Reporter: Played straight, albeit in a rather unfavorable light.
  • Jerkass: He criticizes Michener largely because it increases his own profile, and doesn't seem to care that his actions might end up destroying the already-fragile post-plague government.
  • Redemption Equals Death: In an attempt to redeem himself from his attacks on Michener and inadvertently aiding the regional leaders in their coup, Barnes aids Kara and Tex in liberating Oliver by interrupting his speech (which would have formally broken up the US into the regional territories) and causing enough commotion for Secret Service to take Oliver off the stage and into Kara and Tex's ambush. This comes at price though, as Barnes ends up getting captured not long after, from which he is summarily executed.

Val

Played By: Tania Raymonde
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c5e21206b0b59a8c510b0877f34a2f48.jpg

A computer genius who bought into the Ramsays' proselytizing about the crimes of Nathan James and her crew. She single-handedly set up the "Valkyrie" network that allows messages to be passed along by using cell phones' Bluetooth antennae as relays. She quickly switches sides and joins Nathan James after seeing that the crew are just people trying to do their jobs against overwhelming odds.

She's killed in a plane bombing, intended for Chandler, in the Season 3 premiere.

  • Break the Haughty: She's very sure of herself and her belief that Nathan James is the enemy. Chandler shows her that her beliefs are wrong, Granderson's outright hostility shows her that her snarkiness can only go so far, and experiencing naval combat firsthand shows her just how dangerous the situation really is.
  • Playful Hacker: She's snarky to mask her fear and nervousness.

Colonel Jed Chandler

Played By: Bill Smitrovich
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Tom Chandler's father, a retired Army officer. He and Tom's family were hiding out in a remote cabin before being exposed to the Red Flu. They headed to Olympia in a desperate search for a cure and in the hope that Tom would be able to link up with them at a major meeting point.

In Season 2, he's settled in Tom's Norfolk house in order to continue to take care of his grandchildren in an environment they're familiar with. He is killed offscreen by Shaw's minions in Season 3.

  • Character Death: Dies off-screen when Shaw's thugs kidnap his grandchildren.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Judging by what we've seen of Colonel Chandler, Shaw probably lost a lot more mooks than she anticipated kidnapping the Chandler kids.
  • Retired Badass: Despite being of advanced age and just recovering from the Red Flu, he's able to scuffle with Avocet operatives and shoot one dead in order to protect his grandchildren. Then again, he's a retired infantry officer.
  • Survivor Guilt: He blames himself for the death of his daughter-in-law and the guilt weighs heavily on him because he swore to protect his son's family.

Dr. Quincy Tophet

Played By: Sam Spruell
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Dr. Scott's colleague, although he has nefarious reasons for being aboard Nathan James.

  • Evil Brit: Subverted; he's actually a Punch-Clock Villain.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Once his family is secure he no longer has any need to work against Nathan James and throws himself into helping Dr. Scott search for a vaccine/cure.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He rips open his gunshot wound and pushes away all attempts to help him while pretending to be the only one who knows where the primordial strain is hidden.
  • The Mole: He was originally working for the Russians because his family was being held hostage.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Andy Chung

Played By: Andy D Tran
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/andy_chung.png

Second in command of Nathan James' engineering section. He's easily flustered and constantly doubts himself even though his superiors are confident in his abilities. He dies of massive brain trauma after being injured during the events of "Valkyrie".

  • Cargo Ship: In-Universe. He's the only one to notice that the ship's engines are making a strange noise and notes that "She's not purring".

Lieutenant Ravit Bivas

Played By: Inbar Lavi
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2e4p1_e1436230430573.jpg

A member of the Israeli Defense Forces. She joins USS Nathan James in Season 2 to help make up for crew losses. She dies after being caught in a natural gas explosion during the events of "Valkyrie".

  • Badass Israeli: Definitely. She is a munitions and explosives expert, can fight men twice her size without breaking a sweat, and is a crack shot to boot.
  • Combat Pragmatist: She does many nasty things to a mook with a couple of forks.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Easily the smallest military character but she can punch hard enough to knock Wolf back.

Chief Turbine System Technician Michael O'Connor

Played By: Paul James
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oconnor.jpg

A gas turbine system technician with Nathan James' engineering section. It's his actions during the Maryland State Police's hijacking of Nathan James that allows the crew to retake the ship. In Season 3, he's transferred off Nathan James and has served on both USS Shackleton and USS Hayward.

He is killed while trying to stop a British intelligence operative from escaping off of the James in Season 4.

Chief Warrant Officer Rodney "Sunshine" Pointer

Played By: Wiley Pickett
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sunshine_4.png

A veteran helicopter pilot who flies an old Huey off of Nathan James in Season 4.

  • Break Out the Museum Piece: This is his opinion of the Huey he flies, grumbling about how hard it could be to find a working Seahawk.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He is shot in the penultimate episode of Season 4, and with his helo facing an impending crash, he angles it so that Cupid has a chance to jump to safety.
  • Noodle Incident: No one knows how he got his call sign.
  • Retired Badass: He was brought out of retirement to help in the Navy's search for a cure for the Red Rust.

Captain Andrea Garnett

Played By: Fay Masterson
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garnett.png

Originally the Chief Engineer and third in command aboard Nathan James. She finds out in Season 2 that her husband and daughter died from the Red Flu.

She's eventually promoted and becomes the Executive Officer of Nathan James. In Season 5, she is promoted to Captain and takes command of the aircraft carrier Jeffrey Michener but is killed in a surprise attack on the US.

  • Heroic BSoD: She's severely traumatized by finding out that her family died in the pandemic and can only stand still in her quarters while staring at the bulkhead.
  • Put on a Bus: She is conspicuously absent from the James in Season 4 but helps the crew obtain resources off screen.
  • Outliving Ones Offspting: Like many aboard the ship, she had no idea if her family survived the pandemic or not. Her worst fears are realized in Season 2 when she sees her husband and daughter's names among the long lists of the deceased.
  • Rank Up: Promoted to Commander and made XO under Slattery in Season 3.
  • Wrench Wench: She's the be all and end all of all technical matters aboard the ship. For the first two seasons she's rarely seen wearing anything other than her well-worn engineering coveralls.

Lieutenant "Doc" Rios

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doc_rios.jpg

The ship's corpsman. He provided assistance to Drs. Scott and Tophet during development of the cure/vaccine for the Red Flu.

He is commissioned as an officer in Season 3 and finds himself having to continue Dr. Scott's research upon discovering that the cure doesn't seem to be working in certain segments of the population.

He is killed while providing medical aid to Captain Garnett during a surprise attack on the US.

  • Combat Medic/The Medic: His primary role is to be Nathan James' on-board medic, although he'll occasionally go ashore to treat wounded while under enemy fire.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Kills Toshiro with a pair of scissors to the brain stem.
  • Remember the New Guy?: The pilot featured a different corpsman treating the injured but Rios is treated as having been the ship's one and only medic from episode 2 onward.

Lieutenant Commander Alisha Granderson

Played By: Christina Elmore
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_shiplt_alisha_granderson.jpg

Nathan James' communications officer, and frequently seen as the ship's Officer of the Deck. Her mother was a high ranking government official prior to the pandemic. She's promoted to full lieutenant in Season 2 due to her actions at Avocet.

In Season 5, she is stabbed to death by her live-in girlfriend who turned out to be a mole for Gran Colombia.

  • Badass Boast: Not the most outwardly tough character, but she reveals an edgy side after the events aboard the "Valkyrie" oil rig.
    Granderson: "I'm not worried. As soon as I think you're not on our side...I'll kill you myself."
  • Broken Pedestal: Alisha was already at odds with her mother due to her sexuality, but the elder Granderson is completely knocked off her pedestal when Alisha discovers the true nature of what's going on at Avocet.
  • The Cast Showoff: She has an excellent singing voice.
  • Have I Mentioned I Am Gay?: While she mentions in her sexuality in contexts where it's a natural part of conversation (talking about how she hasn't heard from her girlfriend when the outbreak starts, etc), conversation all that happens. Apart from some Belligerent Sexual Tension with Val, she doesn’t get another love interest until Season 5.
  • Heroic BSoD: Completely shuts down out of shame over her mother's actions.
  • Twofer Token Minority: She's a black woman in a white male-dominated profession. Plus she's a lesbian.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Not her, but her unnamed girlfriend. We still don't know if she got through the outbreak or not.

Admiral Joseph Meylan

Played By: Emerson Brooks
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Commander of US Southern Command. Originally the Captain of the destroyer USS Hayward, of which he was a plankownernote . He joins the Nathan James for the duration of Season 3 after Hayward is irreparably damaged by a Chinese missile barrage. In Season 4, he remained aboard James as her XO due to budget cutbacks limiting the size of the US Navy.

In Season 5, he is a four-star Admiral and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

  • Anti-Villain: Briefly In Season 3, due to misinformation from Shaw.
  • "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: To Octavio: "I won't be the last one who dies today."
  • Heel–Face Turn: Has no hard feelings over the mutiny once he knows what’s really going on, and is happy to serve as Slattery's XO in Season 4.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Throws himself in front of a Colombian assassin's SMG to shield President Reiss.
  • Hero of Another Story: His introduction includes a brief discussion of how he anchored Hayward at a small west coast town during the plague and set up a quarantined safe zone that saved thousands of lives.
  • Rank Up: Following the three-year Time Skip to Season 5, he is now a four-star Admiral in charge of US Southern Command.

General Kincaid

Played By: Thomas Calabro
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/don_kinkaid.png

Army Chief of Staff in Season 5. He tends to disagree with Chandler, Meylan, and Slattery, but respects them and works alongside them regardless.

  • Killed Mid-Sentence: One of the first casualties of the attack on SOUTHCOM, he stumbles across Octavio's team in the lobby and is shot in the head.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite his disagreement, he carries out the plan to the best of his ability. His objections are all valid points that must be considered.

Commander Carlton Burk

Played By: Jocko Sims
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/25065_003_0298_r__730x487.jpg

Nathan James' Liaison Officer. He is in command of the ship's Visit Board Search and Seizure Teams. By Season 5, he has been promoted to XO of Nathan James.

He is shot through the chest by a spear gun and quickly dies of his injuries while conducting reconnaissance in advance of a final invasion against Gran Colombia.

  • Combat Pragmatist: Forced to go unarmed against a mook loaded for bear, he first uses a frying pan as a melee weapon before literally throwing everything he can get his hands on. He eventually uses a meat tenderizer and a mop handle to lethal effect.
  • Heart Broken Badass: He's devastated by Bivas's death, although the relationship was mostly one-sided and never went beyond playful flirting.
  • Heroic BSoD: After witnessing his brother get critically injured by a juvenile suicide bomber at Rota Naval Station, the normally-friendly Burk becomes extremely suspicious and hostile towards civilians around the Mediterranean. During the El Alemein rescue, he is clearly thinking about the incident and looks like he's trying to restrain himself from shooting everyone.
    • Has another one in Season 5 while attending a War Bond fundraiser, but it gets recognized by two old Vietnam vets in attendance, who take him aside and get him back on track.
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: A very minor example. He starts using green laces on his boots because his previous set frayed and it's now impossible for him to order regulation black replacements.

    Former Villains 

Admiral Konstantin Nikolajewitsch Ruskov

Played By: Rasil Isyanov
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/admiral_ruskov_large.png

A renowned naval tactician who literally wrote the book on modern naval warfare. He went rogue after the Russian government collapsed and roams the seas for his own gain. He and the crew of the Vrenya continually hound the Nathan James throughout Season 1.

  • Bad Boss: Shows little respect for the safety of his crew members.
  • Insane Admiral: Chandler mentions that Ruskov used to be a greatly respected sailor. After the pandemic hit, however, Ruskov's become unhinged and kills crewmembers without blinking just to make a point. Chandler and the crew of the Nathan James being able to repeatedly outfox him and severely damaging the Vrenya sends Ruskov over the edge.
  • Starter Villain: Turns out to be this after Amy Granderson is introduced. Ruskov is merely homicidally insane; Granderson is homicidal and quite sane.

Amy Granderson

Played By: Alfre Woodard
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amy_granderson.jpg

LTJG Alisha Granderson's mother. She was a high ranking official in the US government and highest-ranked known survivor. Although she initially comes across as well-meaning, it quickly becomes apparent that she has her own agenda: saving only those she deems worthy to survive and letting others die in order to ensure that America has a new golden age once the pandemic runs its course.

Doctor Niels Sorenson

Played By: Ebon Moss-Bachrach
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An infectious diseases researcher who was isolated aboard the Vrenya while conducting his own research. He's the one who is responsible for the pandemic, having modified the Red Flu virus (which originally only affected arctic birds) and accidentally turned it into a hyper-infectious disease that humans have no immunity to. He's immune, having injected himself with the original modified virus, but he is so infectious that all he has to do is breathe on someone and they'll be infected as well.

  • Asshole Victim: Ends up getting used as a human shield and shot in the gut. For obvious reasons, no one around him is remotely sympathetic. And then Rachel Scott kills him in order to make a better cure. Most of the Nathan James crew expresses jubilation after his death and don't believe that Rachel should be punished.
  • Big Bad Ensemble: Joins with the Ramseys in the second season and goes around infecting people For the Lulz.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He looks disturbed when Sean Ramsey threatens to gut his own brother when Ned questions Sean's plan to stay in America.
  • Four Eyes, Zero Soul: In fact, his glasses become symbolic when Rachel disposes of them last after killing him.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Has his immunity reversed by Rachel, allowing the virus to kill him painfully in a matter of minutes.
  • Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: To start, it's his experimentation with the original Red Flu strain that turned it hyperinfectious, resulting in the deaths of billions. He also made no attempt to quarantine himself and let the Red Flu spread. Then he hooks up with the Ramseys and uses his knowledge to identify the labs manufacturing the cure to try and show his value to the Immunes, resulting the labs' destruction and the deaths of hundreds of researchers. Then he comes up with a plan to test the efficacy of a Red Flu delivery system through gel packs inserted into teddy bears that he intended to be distributed to young children.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His attempts at researching the virus and making a vaccine went horribly, horribly wrong.
  • Patient Zero: Dr. Scott even calls him this in one episode.
  • Typhoid Mary: He is an asymptomatic carrier of the Red Flu virus, infecting anyone who comes in contact with him. He leaves a path of dead bodies in his wake when he starts to wander the United States.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Although he's usually more pathetic than sympathetic.

Sean and Ned Ramsey

Played By: Brian F. O'Byrne (Sean), Nick Court (Ned)
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Sean
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Ned

Former Royal Navy submariners. They are naturally immune to the Red Flu and decided to use their resources to amass a group of immunes to set out and eradicate all attempts at creating a cure so that only who they consider to be the "chosen" will be able to reign supreme. They make HMS Achilles, an Astute-class submarine their base of operations.

  • Achievements in Ignorance: Chandler notes that he can't accurately anticipate Achilles' actions because none of the crew are legitimate Royal Navy submarine captains (men who've successfully passed the dreaded Perisher).
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Sean tells the immune community that he's only going to back a leader from America because he's British.
    • Ned doesn't like to be around Niels, calling him creepy, and considers Sean's self-appointed mission to be a fool's errand undertaken to avoid having to confront what happened to their family and friends back home.
  • Evil Brit: Sean is shown from the start to be not so much evil as psychologically broken by the trauma of losing almost everyone he cares about. As Ned points out, Sean's immune cult is really just his attempt to avoid facing that loss. As for Ned, he doesn't like what's going on, but his brother is all he has left.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Sean reveals himself to be a silver-tongued orator when speaking to a group of immunes in Florida.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: They were originally just a couple of low ranked sailors on a Royal Navy submarine and, thanks to their immunity to the virus and Sean's charisma, became the leader of the Immune movement which conquered much of Europe. Ned comments that they could easily live as kings back home.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Slattery and his away team commandeer a rocket artillery truck controlled by the Immunes, then sink the Achilles with it.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Once Sean realizes that Chandler and his crew are formidable opponents, he begins a smear campaign against them.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Sean is the blue to Ned's red.
  • Overranked Soldier: Inverted. Sean was a mere Sub-Lieutenant when the virus wiped out the crew of Achilles despite clearly being in his 40s (his actor is 48). Sean takes command of the boat and starts wearing the uniform shirt of a Lieutenant Commander (also claiming the title for himself in his propaganda), but this is still one rank too junior to take command of a submarine.
    • Fridge Logic: Given Sean's age and his original position as the Achilles' coxswain, it's likely that he's the British equivalent of a mustang, a former enlistee who ended up being promoted to commissioned officer level.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The crew the Ramsey brothers assemble for Achilles and their raiding parties are made up of survivors from various European militaries who do not get along. Not only is there no clear chain of command (Sean's apparently only in charge because the whole thing was his idea), they don't practice proper noise discipline, and they drink and throw darts on the bridge!
  • Sanity Slippage: It's repeatedly and disturbingly hinted that Sean is going through this over the deaths of his friends and family.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: At least as long as he can distribute videos that make him look like a messiah.
  • Villainous Breakdown: With Achilles sinking, Sean is reduced to holding a gun on the crew trying to escape while screaming that they are the "Chosen".
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Ned points out that Sean is running away from his grief and the knowledge that they survived the plague while all their friends and family didn't. Unfortunately, Sean's alternative coping method is to create an Immune-supremacist movement that slaughtered most of Europe's non-Immune population and is planning to do the same to America.

Kevin McDowell

Played By: Patrick Brennan
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_ship_season_2_episode_13_26_c6ac.jpg

The Ramsays' chief proselytizer for their Immune Cult. He goes around the US looking for Immunes and whips them into a frenzy over the belief that they are somehow chosen people. He's extremely dangerous due to how convincing he is to people desperate for an explanation as well as being purely vicious when pushing the Immune agenda.

He's captured by the Nathan James crew in the Season 2 finale and convinced to tell his group to disband, although if he truly did so is left to be seen.

President Peng Wu

Played By: Fernando Chien
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/156070.jpg

The former head of MSS, China's state security services who seized power in plague-ravaged China (he's said to have killed everyone else in the president's bunker, including the former president, and waited out the plague surrounded by their corpses) and reconsolidated the country around its southern harbor regions. He's determined to hold and expand his power base at all costs and does what he can to thwart American attempts to regain influence in Asia, even entering into open conflict on more than one occasion.

He is accused by Chandler (and others) of hoarding supplies of the cure to make neighboring countries do his bidding. His actual plan is much more nefarious: to strengthen the Red Flu virus in a way that renders the cure ineffective, thus eroding American influence while also killing off the population of other Asian nations in order to give China unfettered access to Asia's resources.

  • Affably Evil: For a guy who wants to conquer all of Asia, he's really not that bad. As long as he doesn't want you dead...
    • Subverted after Chandler gets the better of him one too many times. He's fully Faux Affably Evil after that.
  • Big Bad: Actually in a Big Bad Duumvirate with Allison Shaw.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: He doesn't just want to conquer other nations, he wants to wipe their people and their cultures from the face of the Earth, even personally destroying historical Japanese artifacts. This puts him beyond even Amy Granderson, who only believed in killing the weak and the useless.
  • President Evil: Oh, yes.
  • Seppuku: He's stabbed in the belly by Takehaya but decides to finish the job by himself.
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Not only does he regularly order large numbers of elite troops to Zerg Rush small numbers of targets, he orders an entire city be burned to the ground in an attempt to neutralize a single pirate.
  • The Triads and the Tongs: Never explicitly confirmed as a member, but his accent, tattoos and methods all fit the bill.
  • Uriah Gambit: What do you do when the head of the United States military breaks into your mansion? You send him after your enemy, then deploy your goons to wipe out both of them! It didn't work out like that.
  • We Have Reserves: His standard tactic is to send in swarms of soldiers in the hopes of overwhelming his opposition. Thus far, Nathan James's crew has been successful in gunning down every soldier Peng's sent after them.
  • Worthy Adversary: He's impressed by Chandler's abilities as a military commander.

Kaito Takehaya

Played By: Hiroyuki Sanada
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takehaya.png

An officer in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force who became a pirate after the plague and had taken advantage of the fledgling new world order to terrorize the South China Sea. He has a vendetta against the United States because the cure that Japan received was ineffective against the virus, causing false hope and thousands upon thousands of deaths. He targets the crew of Nathan James after discovering that direct blood transfusions from those immune to the Red Flu functions as a cure.

  • Anti-Villain: He's just a guy who wants what's best for his family and what's left of his people. His main fault is that he took out his anger on a potential ally instead of the real source of his problems.
  • The Atoner: He comes to the realization that the Americans weren't to blame for what happened in Japan and does everything he can to help Nathan James fight the Chinese.
  • Easily Forgiven: He kidnaps and tortures half-a-dozen crew members of the Nathan James, including bleeding Mason to death. But despite nearly working/bleeding the others to death, his former captives forgive him almost immediately and work with him to stop Peng.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His wife Kyoto and his unborn child. His wife convinces him to surrender when he is clearly willing to let the Navy kill him.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Realizing that the stop-gap measure of blood transfusions is no longer keeping the Red Flu at bay, he and his wife decide to return to Japan and spend their remaining days helping with the rebuilding effort while making arrangements for their son to be raised by people they trust.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Upon realizing the truth about his predicament, he immediately joins the Americans and dedicates himself to defeating the Chinese. The turn is so complete that the captives he'd tortured welcome his help and actually treat him with respect.
  • My God, What Have I Done?:
    • His Start of Darkness came when he volunteered to distribute the cure that came to Japan. He and his men diligently made sure that thousands of people received injections but fell into a Heroic BSoD upon realizing that the medicine wasn't working, and he blamed himself for the deaths that followed.
    • He begins to feel immense remorse for his actions after actually interacting with the US Navy and is starting to realize that his anger may have been misaimed.
  • Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: Even moreso than the Ramsay Brothers' crew of mercenaries. Takehaya's band of pirates is made up of survivors of the plague who come from all over Asia and from all walks of life. Toshiro, Takehaya's number two, says that he used to be a chef at a luxury resort in Macau before the Red Flu hit.

Allison Shaw

Played By: Elisabeth Röhm
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/allisnsh.jpg

The Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. In truth the head, or at least representative, of a conspiracy to transform the United States into a collection of totalitarian states headed by the regional leaders.

  • Big Bad: From leaking vital information to Peng so that he could ambush Chandler and the Nathan James at every turn to conspiring with the regional leaders to divide the United States into confederation of fiefdoms, Shaw is in fact the orchestrator of nearly every negative event within Season 3. And now, with Oliver under house arrest through coup de tat, she's effectively styled herself as the de facto President as well.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Starts to show her true colors towards Kara after President Michener's death. Once her plan is set into motion, she starts ordering Oliver around, threatens his family, and makes no bones about the fact that she is the one in charge.
  • Chronic Back Stabbing Disorder: It's eventually revealed that she wants to be the ultimate authority in the new United States and doesn't care if she has to use treachery and murder to achieve her goals.
  • Evil Chancellor: She presented herself as a trusted confidant of President Michener while simultaneously setting up a power play that would give herself and her cronies absolute power over what remains of the United States.
  • Make It Look Like an Accident: Murdered Mitchener and made it look like a suicide.
  • Manipulative Bitch: Plays everyone in the St. Louis White House like a fine violin.
  • Start of Darkness: Says that she saw what was needed to be done to survive when the man who ran her safe zone kicked out her family for the sole purpose of having more food for himself. This informed her ruthlessness in seizing power and territory for herself until she's the sole authority in the continental United States.
  • Shut Up, Hannibal!: Gets a very succinct one from Chandler at 1100 feet per second.

Dr. Paul Vellek

Played By: Peter Weller
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paulv.jpg

An American expat PhD working with Omar to steal the Red Rust-resistant seeds.

  • A God Am I: After demonstrating how his nostos cocktail can chemically strip someone of their free will, he declares that the “new era” of humanity will be so wonderful that people "will wonder why they ever bowed to any god but me."

  • The Dulcinea Effect: A rare familial example: Dr. Vellek views his son Christos as his ideological heir without whom he would never have been able to save the world. In reality, not only is Christos long dead, but when he was still living, he wanted nothing to do with his dad's insane projects, choosing to return to the US in order to pursue more lucrative and scientifically sound research.
  • Hypocrite: He constantly rails against mankind's violent tendencies, but he himself has a severely short fuse and is not above bullying his own children.
  • Large Ham: In his less-stable moments, he’s quite possibly Peter Weller’s hammiest role ever.
  • Lost Lenore: His quest to rid humanity of its natural aggression was inspired by the death of his favorite son Christos, who was murdered.
  • Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: He was blacklisted from the American scientific community for carrying out radical experiments in genetic engineering.
  • Tragic Villain: Beneath his massive superiority complex, Dr. Vellek is just a sick old man whose mind is badly addled by his drug addiction and grief.
  • Visionary Villain: Believes in advancing human evolution through artificial means.

Giorgio Vellek

Played By: Jackson Rathbone
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/giorgio.jpg
American-born pirate/mob boss controlling much of southern Greece and parts of Italy, and son of Paul Vellek.

  • Affably Evil: Unlike his father, Giorgio is good at manipulating people and inspiring loyalty.
  • Ambiguously Bi: Never lacking for attractive girls to philander with, he nevertheless practically screams Ho Yay at Chandler, who clearly doesn't reciprocate.
  • Blood Sport: He recruits the best fighters he can find to engage in bare-knuckle fistfights against men working for his associates. Whenever he feels like it, the fight can be to the death.
  • Bread and Circuses: His method of keeping the people he oppresses passive.
  • Butt-Monkey: He has far more bad days than good ones, and his bad ones are downright awful.
  • Oh, Crap!: He handles it well enough when Chandler and his team appear in his bedroom, but his smugness is replaced by sheer mortal terror a few minutes later when Omar, whom he had betrayed and shot in the back, shows up very much alive and very pissed off.
  • The Unfavorite: No matter how much loyalty he demonstrates towards his old man, he still receives less affection than his brother Christos, who apparently inherited Dr. Vellek's scientific abilities.
    Dr. Vellek: Rarely are sons better than their fathers. Most are worse.

Lucia Vellek

Played By: Sibylla Deen
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucia_vellek.png
Paul Vellek's daughter and Giorgio's sister.

  • Ax-Crazy: Whatever it is that's wrong with Dr. Vellek, Lucia inherited it, but she was able to hide it by taking concentrated nostos.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: While less openly-sadistic than her brother, she still proves just as dangerous.
  • Daddy's Little Villain: By the end of Season 4, she's become so violent and cruel that even Dr. Vellek is horrified by her.
  • Femme Fatale: Pegs a “10” on both axes of the Hot/Crazy Matrix.

Christos Vellek

Played By: Drew Roy
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/316222.jpg

Paul Vellek's eldest son and favorite child, and his supposed lab assistant.

  • Posthumous Character: Christos died years ago in an act of random violence. His appearances are only a side-effect of Dr. Vellek's nostos addiction.

Omar

Played By: Anthony Azizi
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_ship_season_4_episode_3_9_a925.jpg

  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Perfectly happy to wade into battle with whomever he might be fighting against.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Interrogates Mahmoud the Tuareg smuggler by skinning him alive.
  • Middle Eastern Terrorists: Omar is the leader of a violent Islamic fundamentalist organization. He's willing to be Vellek's hired help, but he damn well better get paid.
  • Oh, Crap!: When he sees the explosives Burk has left in Giorgio's mansion, his last words are "Oh shit" in Arabic.

Kelsi

Played By: Caitlin Gerard
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kelsi.png
Alisha Granderson's civilian girlfriend, who is using her relationship with Granderson to spy on the US military.

  • Cool Aunt: As far as Zoey knows, Kelsi is merely her beloved aunt.
  • Family Relationship Switcheroo: She got pregnant at some point in the past and gave birth to Zoey, then palmed Zoey off on her older sister so that she could remain independent. As far as Zoey knows, Kelsi is just her aunt.
  • Faux Yay: If her sister's comments are any indication, she is not actually a lesbian, but merely pretended to be one in order to get close to Granderson.
  • The Mole: She is spying on the US military on Tavo's behalf.
  • Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: With a little prodding from Slattery, she realizes that the Colombians will discard her (or likely her corpse) once they're finished. She confronts Octavio about it just as MCPON Jeter and Ensign Swain make their assault. Octavio unceremoniously uses her as a human shield, and she gets fatally shot by LTGEN DuFine.

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