Episode 4 begins with a flashback of young Ray coming home from school in trouble. His father established the law that “discipline is your anchor,” setting the stage for Ray’s lifelong struggle with authority and expectations.
Back to the present, the recruits are practicing breathing techniques in the pool. Cameron can’t help but fantasize about drinking mai tais on the beachfront with Nash, a brief sweet escape from the chaos around them. Meanwhile, Captain Fajardo contacts Sullivan. Sullivan is still staring at the uncertainty of his reenlistment paperwork and isn’t ready to turn in his paperwork just yet. Sullivan’s distraction trickles down to the pool, and he vehemently tells Ray that he’s a failure. Ray swirls around and begins counting his breaths to calm his panic attack, but is called by the sergeant, highlighting how high pressure this environment is.
Afterwards, Ray heads to the medical office for a medical examination, where he meets a female new employee. Chemistry sparks and hilarious banter provides rare light moments. Back at the pool, Ray demands a do-over, but Sullivan shuts him up, saying, “There are no do-overs in combat.” Later, when Ray is removed from fire watch, Cameron becomes involved in Sullivan’s surveillance, but Sullivan reprimands him, saying that mistakes are clearly not an option.
Meanwhile, Sullivan is off base, drinking coffee with his lawyer and thinking about life. He is troubled by the events in Guam and is considering whether to re-enlist. Cameron and Hicks plan a prank to start a competition with Sergeant Knox’s platoon. Cameron steals toilet paper while watching the fire and makes it seem like he is responsible. When Cameron tells Ray of his plans, his anger and competitive nature flares up.
The day of the inspection arrives, and although Ochoa struggles, Cameron’s platoon makes good progress. A snake appears and Captain Fajardo kills it, but then Sergeant McKinnon becomes enraged and throws everyone’s equipment away to clean up. McKinnon also finds Nash’s diary and forces him to read aloud his unfiltered thoughts about the platoon, calling Cameron “not Marine material, a bit of a fagot, but at least he’s reading,” a humiliating but revealing strain of character.
Sullivan spends some time with Fajardo in his office. He decided not to re-enlist, much to her disappointment. Another flashback with Ray and his father reinforces the theme of resilience: “Keep any shit inside your head and get over it.” That night, the platoon sneaks out to retrieve stolen toilet paper. Hidden in a dumpster with the loot, Cameron confesses his loyalty to Ray. I would rather fail than see a friend fail. At that moment, Sullivan was forced to confront himself. “Don’t you think you belong here?” he asked Cameron and himself.
In the end, Sullivan chooses to re-enlist and Ray passes swim week. But the final shot shows an NCIS agent sitting in a diner with a file on Sullivan, suggesting the investigation is quietly progressing, hinting at trouble.
Continue your mission and find out what happens next in episode 5 here.
Source: Gayety – gayety.com
