Last Resort 1.03 - "Eight Bells"

If you've been listening to the podcast, you know that I've been pretty excited about Last Resort since the spring, and that I really enjoyed the pilot almost a month ago when I watched it online.  There's a US Navy nuclear sub.  It's ordered to fire a nuclear strike on the Pakistan, but the method of transmission of the order is a little wonky.  When they attempt to verify the order, another US sub attempts to destroy them.  The same sub later launches the nuclear strike meant for our protagonists.  The pilot ends with Captain Chaplin commandeering a remote island outpost and launching a nuclear warhead towards the US to warn them that he will not allow this crazy event to be swept under the rug.

The second episode was a bit of a step back.  The US Navy sets up a blockade around the island.  Russia sends a special forces squad to try to capture a state-of-the-art US sub, but they're defeated by the crew of the Colorado.  The COB (the top enlisted sailor on a submarine) is locked up after mounting a campaign to undermine Chaplin.

"Bells" is chiefly concerned with the crews' interactions with Serrat, the local crime lord who is nervous about the sudden shift in power on the island.  He's kidnapped three sailors, and the female captive ends up trading sexual favors (off-screen) with Serrat to keep him from killing the others.  Her sacrifice is ultimately in vain, as Serrat kills one of the three when Chaplin is late in getting Serrat what he wants (in this case, the procurement of some unknown cargo from outside the blockade).  These events lead Chaplin to free the COB in exchange for a pledge of "loyalty" until the Chaplin's eventual court martial.

This episode was definitely an improvement over last week for me.  The fact that the writers were willing to have Chaplin fail (in addition to the previously mentioned sexual violence) show that they're interested in neat, tidy conclusions to weekly problems.  Last Resort isn't a cable drama, but it's creator is most famous for his work on cable, and it looks like he wants to bring as much of that flavor to this world as he's allowed to.  I've always been a fan of sub movies, and I really like Andre Braugher, so I'm hopeful that this is the beginning of a major uptick in the quality and drama of Last Resort.