Watching this installment of The Last Frontier (Episode 6: “The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie”) felt like settling into a storm: the familiar landscape of the Alaskan wilderness is covered with shadows and tension, and the characters are maneuvering through the darkness — both literal and metaphorical. At its core, this episode plays up the urgency and stakes built in the previous chapters, using the blackout in Fairbanks as a ticking-clock device that ratchets up suspense and forces characters into reactive, unsteady positions. It’s a strong move by makers Jon Bokenkamp and Richard D’Ovidio, filled with interesting character beats and pleasing technical craft, though it doesn’t quite escape a few structural clunks that have been hovering in the show’s background.
The blackout itself is handled with flair. As the town is plunged into darkness, marshals, CIA operatives, and civilians alike scramble for answers. The show uses limited communications and failing technology to create a palpable sense of isolation: when radios go silent and phones die, you truly feel how cut off things are. This visual and narrative setup gives longtime viewers of the series those moments of high tension where you hold your breath, wondering what will happen next. For the lead, Jason Clarke’s Frank Remnick, you can sense the wear in his voice, the frustration of someone who’s used to being in control but now finds himself in circumstances where control is slipping. His performance anchors this episode in a way that makes the bigger, sometimes grander plot moves feel more human.
Meanwhile, we have Simone Kessell as Sarah Remnick giving a quietly strong turn: tasked with her roles as nurse and wife, she spots something in the ER that doesn’t sit right, and the scene where she confronts that suspicion is one of the leaner, better-drawn moments of the episode. It’s not overacted, it’s grounded. And then there’s Haley Bennett as Sidney Scofield, pushing hard to claim possession of the crucial evidence, an archive or memory chip or whatever “Archive 6” has become in this story. Bennett brings a cool, focused intensity to Sidney, and you can appreciate how much the script gives her to play with: she’s balancing loyalty, fear, ambition, and survival all at once.
On the writing front, I liked that the episode doesn’t just rely on explosions or chases, though there are a few of those, but also on uncomfortable silences and the idea that sometimes the worst threat is not what you can see in the dark but what you suspect is there. That suspicion scene in the ER hits the right note: someone you know, someone you trusted, maybe sliding into something you don’t expect. The pacing here feels tighter than in some earlier episodes, with each beat leading into the next without too much filler or diversion. The cinematography matches: the snow, the cut-to black, the department store lights failing, the harsh white hospital corridor tinged by emergency lighting — all of it together gives a strong sense of place and peril.
One of the best aspects is the way the show uses the town of Fairbanks itself almost as a character. The remote Alaskan setting has always been more than a backdrop; it’s part of the story’s DNA. In this episode, the power outage transforms the familiar into the unreliable. That adds to the suspense in a way the show hasn’t always managed when it leans toward big reveals or sprawling conspiracies. Here, the big conspiracy (involving the plane crash, the fugitives, the CIA, the “Archive 6” file) is still looming, but the episode is willing to slow down and show us the human cost: a town in blackout, marshals scrambling, a wife and son waiting, an agent trying to compartmentalize everything.
There are strong directorial touches — some scenes with almost minimal sound, other moments where a single flashlight or emergency lamp becomes the only thing you see for seconds, and these build tension without over-reliance on gimmicks. The editing is brisk when needed, and the calmer moments give space for characters to breathe. I also appreciated how character arcs moved forward: Frank is less the invincible marshal and more a man caught between protecting his town and protecting his family. Sidney’s arc has edged from operative to player. Sarah is no longer just peripheral; she’s central in her own right. These developments help the show feel richer than pure chase-thriller fare.
That said — and here come a few criticisms — the episode isn’t without its flaws. While the pacing is tighter, I did feel at times that the logic of certain moves was a little too convenient. For example, the blackout conveniently knocks out communications just as Sidney is about to act, or just as someone is vulnerable. It works for drama, yes, but it tips toward the contrived. Also, though I like how Sarah’s ER scene plays out, it is a little predictable: the “someone you trusted is suspicious” trope is executed well, but it is still familiar enough that it didn’t surprise me. In a show that has already leaned heavily on twists and identity reveals, this one didn’t feel entirely fresh.
Another small gripe: the window we get into some of the more minor characters continues to feel narrow. The core players, Frank, Sarah, Sidney, and Havlock (played by Dominic Cooper) get dimension, but some of the supporting cast still feel underused. Given the show has introduced multiple fugitives, CIA operatives, locals, law-enforcement types, and a full town in peril, occasionally the episode feels like it’s juggling too many threads. That juggling slows down impact. And in a ten-episode arc, that matters because you want each chapter to feel both self-contained and propulsive; this one leans closer to “propulsive” but sacrifices a bit of self-contained clarity.
In terms of tone, the episode succeeds in being serious without feeling grim for the sake of it. There are moments of levity — a deputy cracking a nervous joke in a darkened hallway, a child asking why the lights went off — that remind you this is still a show about people first. That human touch keeps the larger thriller-machinery from swallowing everything. However, there were moments when the show’s ambition showed. The railway between the personal (family in peril, trust being tested) and the geopolitical (CIA black ops, conspiracy files, fugitives) sometimes strains. Episode 6 narrows that gap better than some prior entries, but the tension between the small and the large plot still rubs against the show’s more grounded aspects.
What makes this episode especially engaging is that it puts its characters into a state of flux. Nothing is stable: relationships shift, alliances waver, everything can tip. That instability is what gives the episode energy. And because we’ve seen prior episodes build up a good deal of background (the plane crash, the fugitives, the Archive 6 mystery, Havlock’s games), we feel that weight here. The stakes feel earned. When Frank makes a decision, when Sidney acts, when Sarah moves — we believe that every move has consequences. The town being plunged into darkness isn’t just visual flair; it sets up real danger: unprotected citizens, confusion, a law-enforcement apparatus stretched thin. The script uses that well.
On the technical side, sound design, lighting, and visual framing all contribute. The swaying from day to night, the sudden shutdown of power, the emergency lights flickering — all of that cues you into the tension. Action sequences (while fewer in number than earlier episodes) benefit from this setting. They feel more contained but more intimate. I liked that less became more. You don’t need a massive chase in a snowy wasteland; a chase in a dark hospital corridor with only a flashlight can be just as gripping.
In closing: Episode 6 of The Last Frontier is a step forward. It sharpens the show’s focus, leans into the setting, and forces its characters into tighter quarters — figuratively and literally — which in turn gives the narrative more tension and urgency. It doesn’t solve all its issues: some plot mechanics still feel convenient, some character threads still under-cooked, and the broader conspiracy thread remains heavy and diffuse. But for those following this manhunt drama, this entry delivers more of what works: character, atmosphere, setting, and less of the excess. If the series continues in this vein, I’m optimistic about where it heads.
Final Score- [8/10]