Escaping the Show Hole, one review at a time.

The Last Frontier Review

THE LAST FRONTIER

Service: Apple TV+ First aired: Oct 10, 2025 Genre: Thriller, Action Episode length: ~45–55 min
First-Three-Episode Verdict

Review Scores (how we rate) Watch trailer →

Critics: 4.6 / 10
Hers: 8.0 / 10
His: 7.5 / 10
Poster for The Last Frontier

The Last Frontier crashes a prison-transfer plane into the Alaskan wilderness, where the survivors scramble, including a super spy with secrets that can blow up far beyond the crash site.

He Said / She Said

SHE SAID
8.0 / 10

“This was gripping right away. The premise is instantly interesting, the Alaskan setting works, and the actors playing Frank and Levi (Havelock) really click. I was invested in episode one. My only hesitation is that I am a bit tired of political-intrigue shows, and one character feels miscast for the cynical CIA vibe, but if I am going to watch this kind of show, this is the one I want. Looking at the critic comments, I do worry that the show might have started with a bang, but it will lose that ‘umph’ somewhere in the middle. I’m hoping not!”

HE SAID
7.5 / 10

“It takes a tried-and-true manhunt formula and gives it an Alaskan twist, which is genuinely interesting. The plane-crash sequence is strong, the tension keeps building, and the characters have some complexity. It can feel a bit slow in spots, and the ‘super villain’ vibe can get borderline cartoon-ish, but overall it still hooked me.”

Critical reception (so far)

  • “The show squanders its strong premise, with slow or disjointed middle episodes that lose momentum.”
  • “It’s watchable action-thriller entertainment but not particularly smart, tight, or convincingly grounded”
  • “Over-the-top coincidences may test your believability meter.”

What it’s about

A prison-transfer plane goes down in the Alaskan wilderness, leaving a scattered group of survivors and a dangerous new reality: multiple convicts are now loose in the wild.

The urgent twist is that one of the “prisoners” is actually a highly trained super spy with sensitive intelligence on the line, and the manhunt becomes a race to stop secrets from detonating far beyond Alaska.

Overall vibe

Gritty, tense, and fast-moving, with a constant feeling of threat. The show leans into dread, unease, and that “next bad thing is coming” rhythm, while keeping the mystery simmering around who’s really the villain and what’s really going on.

It plays like a manhunt thriller with spy-drama wiring: survival pressure on the outside, government secrets on the inside.

Episode-by-episode (1–3)

Episode 1
Blue Skies

A prisoner-transfer plane crashes in Alaska and the survivors are immediately outmatched by one terrifying reality: a super spy is now loose.

Episode 2
Winds of Change

The manhunt expands as the search narrows toward ‘Havlock’, the most dangerous target. Frank struggles to get the answers he’s looking for and his wife is kidnapped by Havlock.

Episode 3
Country As F**k

Frank and Sidney try to determine what Havlock’s plans might be while secrets and twists start surfacing.

Content warnings

  • Violence
  • Child-related danger
  • Adult themes
  • Emotional distress

Who will love it / who should skip it

Will love it if:

  • You like spy thrillers and government-secret conspiracy vibes
  • You enjoy manhunt stories with rising tension and constant pursuit
  • You want a bingeable “next twist” show with a strong hook
  • You like wilderness settings that add real atmosphere
  • You can handle a larger-than-life “super spy” antagonist energy

Should probably skip it:

  • You need high realism and believable coincidences
  • You hate political intrigue or CIA-adjacent plotting
  • You prefer character-driven drama over chase-and-reveal structure
  • You want equal focus on a large ensemble (this starts to narrow)
  • You get pulled out by soap-opera-level connections