What I’m Watching: Last Resort

Last Resort: Season 1, Episode 9 “Cinderella Liberty” (C+)

Starting with a flashback to events on a fateful day in this show’s history helps to fill in some important blanks and to frame the conflict in a new way, positioning James as a crucial factor in helping to resolve everything. The U.S. government continues to demonstrate that they are extraordinarily incompetent by allowing its boat full of spouses and family members to be hijacked by Pakistani militants, forcing Marcus into another impossible situation with many lives hanging in the balance. Having the Pakistani admiral aboard the Colorado try to compare himself to Marcus, fighting against oppressors for what he believes in, is somewhat interesting, but this show has taken too long to get to a truly satisfying point. The ever-increasing lawlessness near the island is becoming too much to bear, and so many innocent lives are being lost due to organizational pompousness. Paul isn’t an overly unfortunate casualty, but Christine kissing him with Sam watching from one hundred feet away wasn’t something that needed to happen. Kylie could be doing a whole lot more than sitting around at a family function at home, getting into arguments with arrogant businessmen over what’s happening with the Colorado. Grace finding the firing key and bringing it to Marcus means that she’ll now be able to help figure out the mole’s identity, something which will be crucial to Marcus’ continued well-being. Hopefully, James being completely honest with Marcus and Sam about what happened with Dr. Mills and his SEAL operation can enable them to finally get the upper hand in this situation.