by Gus Constantellis
“Last Resort” is moving along at a great pace and has yet to lose its sense of adventure, tension, and character. It still has a wonderful plot and is building excellent story lines and characters as each episode progresses.
“Eight Bells” in particular focused on the retrieval of three of the USS Colorado’s sailors, and the struggle Kylie has been facing to reveal the truth behind the US order to take the submarine down.
The episode has some incredibly tense and satisfying moments. The death of one of the soldiers was unexpected, but the way his fellow soldier called him out as the one to die was unprecedented. This storyline should continue to be very emotional in episodes to come.
However, some of the other plot lines in “Eight Bells” felt extraneous and confusing. It may be time for the show to step back and focus on one or two storylines in an episode, or it could get tough to keep track of them all in the long run. The series should also spend more time establishing the culture on the island and going deeper into the lives of its inhabitants. The show is bridging the gap between mystery and confusion with the established culture on the NATO island. For example, what did the main conflict between the islander and her father even mean? What was her brother becoming? And why does she still live on the island?
A big question for this series was how it would sustain itself for multiple episodes. It has since proved any doubts wrong, easily maintaining its sense of craziness and tension. This episode’s submarine scene and the twists and turns of the escape were riveting. It would be very interesting to learn more about the Perseus systems and how they work exactly.
Kylie’s storyline, as always, was the most interesting, because of the lengths the USA is taking to cover up their attack on the USS Colorado. Kylie is also the strongest character on the show thus far. She is not only a tough female character with a sharp wit, but is also complex, and in this episode, extremely sympathetic.
“Last Resort” is reminiscent of “24” because it is both so stressful and entertaining to watch. If the show keeps its core storylines going, sharpens its structure and delves more into character background, then it will definitely remain worth watching.
Gus Constantellis is a contributing writer. Email him at entertainment@nyunews.com.
