Last Resort "Pilot" Review

One of the most memorable chapters in Leo Tolstoy's War & Peace involves the possible assassination of Pierre Bezukhov, the hero of the story. Moscow's been abandoned by the Muscovites and overwhelmed by French officers. The ancient, sacred and holy city, with its many cathedrals, burns as French soldiers’ loot stores and invade homes. The streets are chaotic. Pierre remained in Moscow to assassinate Napoleon but is distracted saving a baby from a burning building for a hysterical mother. The mother disappears. Pierre's in a state of bewilderment, and is soon arrested. Orders are given to execute the group of prisoners Pierre's with. They’re led to a post two-by-two to where a group of soldiers fires and kills the two prisoners. Pierre's life is spared. The first six were killed as a warning to the remaining six prisoners, which is a tactic the Tsar thought merciful.

Pierre's thoughts are wild throughout the sequence as he contemplates the oblivion his existence will plunge into. Most striking of all in Tolstoy's prose is the impressions the soliders make on Pierre as they walk past him, pale and frightened after what the act they've just committed against other human beings. The questions most integral to the narrative are, "Why?" and "What For?" Pierre's based heavily on the author. His feelings about war and murder are similar to Tolstoy's. For Tolstoy, the pale and frightened French soldiers were more influential to the war than Napoleon, the Tsar, Bennigsen, or any other general, with the exception of Kutuzov, who understood what was needed and when during the war effort. The armies dictate history more than a general seated on his horse above the battlefields, those people the historical books don't bother to remember; they were the driving force of Franco-Russo war.

Last Resort introduces the crew of the USS Colorado as the near and then pass the equator. The series' creators, Karl Gajdusek and Shawn Ryan, imagine an even more divided American government where an impeachment vote looms for the president and tons of staff choose to re-sign. The USS Colorado receives an order from the government to launch nuclear missiles against Pakistan. Capt. Marcus Chaplain prepares to execute the order but then questions why the order came from a remote outpost and not Washington. The government relieves him of his duty. Marcus' second-in-command, Wes, also questions the order. The government responds to their questioning by striking the submarine with a nuclear missile, and then they blame the attack on Pakistan, which starts a war.

I'm intrigued by the potential political commentary, specifically the questions raised by the two men who lead the USS Colorado. I'm not an overly political person, though, so I won't dwell on politics. The show intrigues me story-wise, too. I love the idea of three people altered the course of American history by not turning a key, and how that decision led the country it protects to attack him. It reminds me of Tolstoy's wave of soliders who affected the war far more than the generals in charge of their armies. Last Resort, at its core, is a story of a group of courageous people who will sacrifice their lives rather than give into a country's dangerous orders. That's compelling.

The "Pilot" is quite rote though, despite the epic cinematic feel of the episode. Gajdusek and Ryan introduce the world, the stakes, the characters, their personal stakes, the island, the power folk on the island, the enemies, and the war in the episode, with enough beats between the introductions to make them feel seamless and organic to the story, rather than a checklist of points to hit. Andre Braugher has terrific presence on the screen. Marcus commands the ship. Braugher commands the TV audience. Scott Speedman's a capable second lead, too. Marcus and Sam have a relationship where one or the other need simply look at them during a crucial moment to communicate what's on their mind.

The mysteries are the funnest part of the "Pilot." Mysteries abound in Last Resort. From the mysterious reason for ordering a first strike assault against Pakistan, to the presence of the soldiers who hold the crew at gun-point for not following orders, to Autumn Reeser's role in everything, and so on, plus the mysterious histrionics of the inebriated soldier, who promised to shoot every member of the island gang before they shot him, when footage of the war breaking out appears on the bar television; all are incredibly intriguing, and I want to find out what's what. A smaller mystery of the "Pilot," which is the disappearance of two crew members, is answered in the climatic final moments of the episode: they've been kidnapped by the most powerful man on the island.

The tropical island intrigue is barely explored in the pilot, aside from three or so scenes. The Hawaii locale not only guarantees a beautiful setting but a wealth of land to explore. LOST used Hawaii wonderfully over six seasons. Jean Higgins is the line producer for Last Resort; she line produced for LOST and helped make the show as dynamic as its scripts intended it to be. Initially, the conflict between the island natives and the USS Colorado team seems to be a matter of control and power. The USS Colorado team runs around in camo, and with guns, using them to get where they need to go, like inside of the NATO headquarters. Unfortunately, since I graduated with an English degree, I immediately think of the conflict as post-modern colonized vs. colonizer. Aside from the war between the government and the men who fight serving the country, the island stories should provide fireworks, post-modern nonsense or not.

Marcus Chaplain delivers an intensely stirring speech in the final act of the episode, in which he demanded no bombs be dropped on their island, because they've got 17 missiles which they'll use if forced to. The speech calls back to an early conversation between Marcus and Sam about appearing crazy enough to push a button that would devastate the world. Marcus is all about appearances. There's no doubt he's the hero of Last Resort, and I even detect a little General Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov in him (to bring the War & Peace commentary full circle). Kutuzov was criticized for failing to attack a vulnerable French army following the Battle of Borodino, and for abandoning Moscow to the French. Marcus receives criticism for failing to follow orders, and for retreating to a remote tropical island in the South Pacific.

Kutuzov absorbed the criticism but didn't give into the many voices who told him the decision to retreat was a mistake. Kutuzov reasoned the French would fall apart without any attacks. Their army was severed in half after Borodino; Moscow accidentally burned, the harsh cold of autumn and winter took lives, and the rations weren't enough to sustain the French. Also, he wanted to save a weakened Russian army from battle for as long as he could. The French withered away. The Russians perceived Kutuzov as a weak and cowardly old man, but Tolstoy saw a hero in him. Kutuzov died after he received the St. George medal for courage.

Last Resort's Marcus Chaplain isn't trying to save an army, just the men and women on his ship. A salient point the character hits in his speech to American is his reluctance to serve a country that'd harm its own. By the end of the episode, Marcus admits he's comfortable residing on the island for the rest of his life, to which Sam and Grace react with nervous expressions and narrow eyes. Marcus is a man of conviction who launches a missile to show he's serious about what he says to the USA government. I don't know where the story is going or how it'll end, but Kutuzov ended his life a vindicated general; to some, he was the man who saved Russia. Something tells me Marcus will have that in common with Mikhail Kutuzov.

All there is to do is watch each week and see how Last Resort unfolds. That's what I will do.

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