The Silent Service – Season 1 Episode 2 “Seabat Surfaces” Recap & Review

Seabat Surfaces

Episode 2 opens with Fukamachi on his way to confront the Sea Bat while Kaide heads towards America. The missile fired by America approaches the Sea Bat, prompting Kaide to order a rapid dive of the submarine to 1000 meters. As the submarine rapidly dives, America drops anti-submarine bombs weighing around 350 pounds. However, the Sea Bat’s speed causes the bombs to explode before reaching the submarine. 

America continues bombing the area where Sea Bat was last spotted, but Sea Bat descends 1000 meters in just a couple of minutes, making it unreachable by depth charges. The episode progresses, and we witness a high-level conference between the President of America and his military diplomats. The President understands the gravity of the situation and commands the 7th Fleet to combat the Sea Bat.

Ryan is under strict surveillance aboard Sea Bat to prevent any actions that might interfere with Kaide’s mission. The 3rd Fleet also waits for Sea Bat, ready to counter any torpedos that Kaide fires. As Sea Bat detects the presence of the 3rd Fleet, Kaide orders the activation of the first plan named Allegro Vivace, inspired by Mozart’s Symphony.

He turns up the volume of the tape recorder so much that the sound waves suppress the SONAR waves generated by the submarine. This makes the submarine almost undetectable, as the tracker can only catch the sound waves, and the technicians in the 3rd Fleet can only hear the music, making it hard to track the movement of the submarine. Commander Lancing of the 3rd Fleet cannot wait for SONAR to detect the Sea Bat’s location and orders torpedoes 1, 2, 3, and 4 to be prepared for launch.

As Sea Bat detects the sound of water in Key West’s torpedo tube, Kaide is certain that Key West might fire a torpedo. He orders the activation of plan 2, Andante Cantabile, and commands the controller to shift to battery propulsion and surface at a speed of 3 meters per second. By doing this, they hover directly below the Key West, rendering the torpedoes useless as they can only fire from the front and back.

Sea Bat continues to surface, quickly positioning itself right next to Key West, making it impossible for Key West to fire any torpedo without risking self-destruction. Meanwhile, Ryan is still restricted inside the Captain’s quarter, and Irie is given the responsibility of changing the symphonies of the tape recorder according to the plan. At the same time, Irie is also making sure that Ryan doesn’t try any weird stunts, but when she is busy changing the symphony. Ryan attacks him but is overpowered and handcuffed.

As for Kaide, he has neutralized Key West and is now advancing to take on the 7th Fleet. Captain Richard Boyce immediately detects the movement and is sure it is Sea Bat. He asks every ship in the 7th Fleet to be attentive and keep moving slowly. They set up an iron net that can entangle an entire submarine. Captain Richard is sure that his plan will work and thus orders all ships to stand by at the range of 200 yards.  

Kaide activates his final plan, Allegro Molto, and asks the controller to go slow and activate torpedo no. 6 and 8. Kaide fires them toward a ship named Okholohama City, but both the torpedoes miss the mark. Meanwhile, in America, the President is personally invested in the matter and is hell-bent on making sure that Sea Bat doesn’t come anywhere close to the American waters.

However, his diplomats are concerned that Sea Bat might have active nuclear warheads capable of causing destruction. The President orders a full-fledged attack from the 7th Fleet, and Captain Boyce stands by, waiting for the order to attack. As the 7th Fleet charges towards the Sea Bat, Kaide decides to surface the submarine, making it visible to the Americans. The USS Ronald Reagan, the flagship of the 7th Fleet, approaches Sea Bat.

Captain Boyce orders an increase in speed. Both ships are on a collision course, but Kaide remains unconcerned and orders the submarine to hold its position. Kaide takes the microphone and warns all the ships in the 7th Fleet that Sea Bat is carrying active nuclear warheads. He makes it clear that he won’t hesitate to use them, as he is not afraid of death.

Captain Boyce is convinced that Kaide is bluffing and orders the ships not to slow down. At the very last minute, Captain Boyce orders to turn the ship to the left, saving a massive accident. Kaide takes the microphone once more and declares the establishment of the nation of Yamato, declaring everyone on Sea Bat as citizens of the newly formed nation.

This declaration puts Mr. President in a difficult position, as attacking Sea Bat could be seen as an act of aggression against a sovereign nation, giving Kaide a pretext to launch the nuclear missile. However, Fukamachi and his team enter the scene to counter Kaide’s actions, setting the stage for a showdown between the two forces.

The Episode Review

In Episode 2, Kaide’s bold declaration of his own country adds an unexpected twist. This move not only surprises but also shows his political acumen. Looking ahead to Episode 3, we might witness Fukamachi launching an attack on Kaide, which could be seen as an assault on the nation of Yamato.

With the emergence of a new nation, we can anticipate several anti-American countries joining forces to support Yamato in its struggle.