The Last Frontier Season 1 Episode 4 Review: American Dream, Alaska Style

Well, OK. So this one wasn’t the wild ride we’ve come to expect, and I know I’m not the only one feeling that. 

The Last Frontier slammed the brakes a bit this week, trading the throwback action for something slower, moodier, and — dare I say it — kind of procedural. 

“American Dream” doesn’t have the cliff dives or snowball smackdowns (though we do get a beer-can to the face, because of course we do), but it does peel back some layers, especially with Frank, Sidney, and their slippery not-so-dead problem, Havlock.

Now, about those new faces. Gus Birney and Rusty Schwimmer show up as Vivian and Kitty — a mismatched duo of escaped prisoners who seem to have wandered in from an entirely different show. 

And look, both of them are giving it everything they’ve got. Schwimmer chews scenery like she’s in a Coen Brothers flick, and Birney’s wide-eyed confusion almost makes you root for her. Almost. 

But as colorful as they are, these two don’t have much of a shelf life. They’re here to stir the pot, maybe toss in a body count, and let the cast have a little fun playing opposite them. 

For me, though? It’s a detour that doesn’t really click. This show’s at its best when it’s unraveling the mystery, not running down killers of the week.

Frank and Sidney keep the show’s pulse steady, and honestly, thank God for that. 

They’re the eye of this blizzard. Do blizzards have eyes like a tornado or hurricane? Surely, they do. Well, while the town descends into chaos — fugitives running wild, half the locals acting like it’s open season — these two are quietly holding the line. 

You can tell they’ve hit that rare stage of partnership where words aren’t even necessary anymore. He gets a call, gives her a look, and she already knows what he’s thinking.

Frank’s focus is still on the job, but the emotional weight’s starting to show. You can hear it when he talks about protecting the community — not as a duty, but almost as penance. 

Sidney calls him honorable, and she means it. It catches him off guard because he doesn’t think of himself that way, but she sees it. Where she comes from, people run when trouble brews; out here, Frank stays. 

His version of heroism isn’t overt — it’s practical, exhausted, and built on a sense of home. He even admits you don’t have to be friends with your community, but you learn to rely on each other because, eventually, you’ll need help. 

It’s a quiet truth, and it’s not so far from how Havlock operates. Both men build networks. Both depend on loyalty to survive. The difference is motive — one does it to protect, the other to manipulate.

The line between them is thinner than Frank would probably admit, but I think Havlock chose Frank because he understands him and sees a kindred spirit.

And when you look at how they treat the women in their lives, the similarities are even easier to spot. Frank looks at Sarah the same way Levi once looked at Sidney: with that mix of awe, regret, heartbreak, and storybook love that comes from loving you worry might fall out of your reach.

Meanwhile, Sarah’s trying to return to normalcy, which lasts about five minutes. Her boss wants her to sit with a trauma counselor before she’s cleared to go back to work, and she’s not having it. 

She’s still wired on fear and guilt, not reflection. The best part of the scene? The counselor is played straight — calm, methodical — while she’s itching to get out of the chair. 

When she finally storms off to find Luke herself, it feels inevitable. She’s not the type to wait for permission when her family’s in danger. 

And then there’s Luke, who continues to test the limits of my patience and my admiration. It turns out, the kid’s not totally useless. (Yes, I said it.)

For all his teenage logic and questionable timing, flipping that truck to save himself and Kira was a pretty gutsy move. He gets a few points for that. But then he loses every last one when he bolts into the woods instead of finishing the job. 

Romero’s still upright, gun nearby, and Luke’s out there running through the trees like this is The Hunger Games. Minus ten kudos. The boy needs survival lessons from literally anyone. 

And while Luke’s busy proving Darwin was right, Levi’s off showing us why he’s the show’s most fascinating contradiction. 

In one of the episode’s best little moments, he sits by a fire with a group of rough locals — the kind of guys who think cruelty is a personality trait — and you can see his disgust simmering the moment they shove a dog away. It’s a sweet golden lab with those big, soulful eyes. I mean, come on.

And when Levi finally turns on them after they fall lock-step into his carefully laid plan, the violence feels righteous. “Let’s start by feeding the dog,” he says, and holy hell, what a line. How can you hate a guy worried about a handsome pup sitting in front of a shiny, empty bowl?

The guy is dark, brutal, and weirdly tender. No wonder Sidney fell for him. That single moment did more for him as a character than half the exposition ever could.

Sydney’s story deepens here, too, and it’s one of the best things about the slower pace. We finally get an honest look at her past with Havlock — or fine, Levi, as we’ve now learned to call him. The struggle is real.

Their flashbacks don’t just fill in blanks but reshape everything we thought we knew about her. It wasn’t some simple mission gone wrong. It was a full-blown love affair built on lies and cover stories that got far too real. 

You can see how it happened — two people playing pretend for too long, forgetting where the act ended and the truth began.

Frank’s watching all this unfold with that steady, haunted patience of his. You can tell he doesn’t quite know what to make of it — the woman he’s learning to trust being the same one who once trusted the man they’re now hunting. 

But the show doesn’t turn it into melodrama. It’s kept quiet and grounded. These are two people who’ve seen too much and don’t have the energy to pretend otherwise anymore.

And Frank proves his instincts are sharper than anyone gives him credit for. When he figures out Vivian’s little sleight-of-hand con — calling in her own arrest to score a deal and slip away with the money — it’s not just a win for him. It’s foreshadowing. 

Sidney keeps warning that Levi’s go-to move is misdirection, and Frank just showed he can see through it. That’s a very good sign for his future with Havlock — assuming either of them makes it that far.

Sarah and Ted’s excursion adds a different texture. I didn’t have him as the high school paramour on my bingo card. Their road trip is personal and a little awkward, but probably just what she needs right now. 

He’s her past, but he’s also a reminder of the comfort she desperately wants to have with Frank and Luke. 

Their scenes together are all about what’s unsaid — her guilt, her fear, and that gnawing belief that she’s destined to lose the people she loves. 

When she finally admits she’s been hiding something from Frank, it’s heartbreaking, because we know it’s coming from love and panic in equal measure. 

If this were another show, I’d be worried about how Frank would take this reveal. Whatever is on that SD card could have saved time and lives. But Frank will understand. He’ll probably blame himself for getting Sarah messed up in all of this in the first place.

The episode ends where it should, with the promise that everything might be falling apart again. Luke’s crash, the reveal that Havlock’s still five steps ahead, the Russian connection heating up — it’s all steering us back toward the show’s sweet spot. 

The Last Frontier Season 1 may have eased off the gas for a bit, but “American Dream” proves it hasn’t lost sight of where it’s going.

It’s not as flashy or feral as the early hours, but it’s an important gear shift that reminds us these people are more than their turmoil. They’re just regular folks trying to get through the day like everyone else.

They’re just having a spectacularly chaotic and unfortunate week.

Are you still with me? Don’t be shy! Drop your thoughts about the latest story developments in the comments below. And stick around for some of our other reviews. We’re covering a lot of shows you love!