''The Last Ship'' and the song ''Ghost Story'' is so moving to me because of Tom's confrontation with his long-absentee dad, Gideon.
And John Logan and Brian Yorkey's original book, which has since been totally rewritten, captured that conflict so wrenchingly.
Tom: ''I waited my whole life to meet you, and you were just going to leave without telling us. I think that's bollocks.''
Gideon: ''It's for the best.''
Tom: ''I can see how you never lost a fight. You just run away.''
Tom calls Gideon out on running away from being his father, just as Gideon had run away years ago from HIS father.
Gideon: ''Don't waste your life on old men and sinking ships. … I learned nothing from [my father].''
Tom: ''Like Hell, you're just like him. And I'm never going to be anything like you.''
As Tom runs off, Gideon grapples with the legacy of his gruff dad, pretending to hate him, but always seeking his love.
Then Gideon and Tom sing: ''You were my compass star. You were my measure. You were a pirate's map of buried treasure.''
Gideon finally admits: ''It's time that I confess [Dad], I must have loved you.'' And Tom joins in: ''I must have loved you.''
(Here's Sting's ''Ghost Story,'' from the cast album, sung so hauntingly by Michael Esper and Collin Kelly-Sordelet.) |
