Last Resort (New TV series - Spoilers!!)

I wonder how long it will take before Petty Officer Cortez is outed as the CIA agent working against the crew and for elements within the US government. I also wonder if Cortez and the CIA know about the rare earth minerals the drug lord on the island is trying to acquire.

Also I wonder how things are going to go stateside with the government and the good and bad guys playing their secret chess game back in Washington. Obviously everyone back at home has interest in getting to the crew alive, but for what purpose?

It also looks like Pakistan is going to enter the fray next episode and if they are in it for revenge for getting nuked or also after what is on the island, or both. If Pakistan is after what is on the island, does that have a connection with why they were nuked?

63dot said:

and eventually maybe the Chinese? (see 2:17 in video). There's definitely something there that the whole world is interested in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n0fGJu3gnI&feature=related

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So just like I guessed China the sleeping giant is going to enter the fray (along with US, Pakistan, and Russia) next week and they are going to go on the island.

What is so big about the island that they would go that far?

If the Chinese got that far they could have destroyed or captured the sub, but obviously they are on the island for a reason? Rare earth minerals as only Sam, the French lady, and the drug dealer know about so far, or maybe the CIA mole Cortez, or maybe the Navy Seals who are hiding the secret of why they killed the hostage they rescued for the USA but then killed on NATO or UN orders that somehow superseded the original American order. It could be pure chance that Pakistan, Russia, and now China came upon this area of the ocean and came in contact with the island or people related to it, but I hope the writers tie all these loose ends up.

Also the arms dealer family (father, daughter, son) back in DC may have something to do will all this before it's over and I haven't figured out yet if they are in bed with the corrupt secretary of defense or if they are good, or if they have their own evil agenda, too. My guess is that those in the inner circles of power in some nations are aware of the importance of that particular island even though it's small. In history, relatively small places like Corinth, Jerusalem, and Sicily have been disproportionately fought over and this island could be the next strategic gem.

After looking up what rare earth minerals could be for, from Vaneck.com site, I could see a valuable resource if we are talking stuff used for cellphones and hybrid cars, especially if said rare earth mineral is only on that island:

WHAT ARE RARE EARTH/STRATEGIC METALS? HOW ARE THEY USED?
Rare earth/strategic metals are industrial metals that are typically mined as by-products in operations focused on precious metals and base metals. Compared to base metals, they have more specialized uses and are often more difficult to extract. Currently, approximately 49 elements in the periodic table are considered rare earth/strategic metals. They include such elements as cerium, manganese, titanium and tungsten. Strategic metals are used in a variety of technologies including jet engines, hybrid cars, steel alloys, wind turbines, flat screen televisions and cellular phones. Rare earth metals, a subset of strategic metals, are a collection of 17 chemical elements that are essential in many of today’s most advanced technologies, with particular applications in electronics.

To guess, the submarine could be stranded in the Bonin Islands chain, kept by Japan after WWII. Maybe there was a deal struck after the war where Japan would do something beyond terms of a peace treaty and in return get those remote islands. All other remote islands were stripped from Japan after the end of the war. Why would Japan keep those islands and of what importance is it that they should maintain them? My best guess is that even back then they were seen as a resource and now the sub is on one of those valuable islands in a time where a rare earth mineral could be made strategic with both cell phones and hybrid cars all the rage.

Being that Last Resort is from the Lost people, they are going to make a far flung connection that explains all the killing and sheer greed and the crux of the story won't be something obvious.

These last three shows were filmed after they knew that this season was going to be it, and we have had quite a break from the last episode.

I hope they wrote in all the resolutions to:

1) will they get off island?
2) what will happen to local druglord of island?
3) how will the romances go? and will xo Sam hook up with French lady or get back with kidnapped wife?
4) what is the secret trace mineral on island that is priceless and holds a lot of power to who controls it?
5) will sub and crew get restored to USA and seen as American heroes, and will USA remain under dictatorship or change due to any actions of sub and crew?

jav6454 said:

It is said that the last two episodes have been modified to give fans closure and close many of the story lines in the series. I hate ABC for doing this to this series.

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It's all a little rushed and that's sad.

1) For now, they are still stuck on island with no way out.
2) The druglord has taken a liking to French lady and is jealous of the xo Sam who he knows the French lady likes
3) Sam, not knowing wife is still alive, is warming up to French lady who obviously has no issues with both attracting Sam but also forming alliance with druglord and this can't end well
4) So the rare-earth mineral is a lucrative, potentially billions in worth, future of fuel replacing fossil fuel so it is the most valuable possible substance on earth! The druglord is willing to let Chinese overlord of island in on the rare earth for a billion dollar cut of the action.
5) There may be a coup of the USA's corrupt government in next week's episode but at the same time the chief of boat may launch a coup against the sub captain who he believes may have gone off deep end firing on USA early in season and later forming and alliance with the Chinese who seem to have the upper hand in the whole tense situation

jav6454 said:

When did number 4 happen? Also number 5 is so-so.

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At the very end, the druglord approached the Chinese diplomat and actually handed him a vial which I would assume was conclusive proof that the rare mineral was on the island. The druglord asked told the Chinese man about something that was there and he could give him a billion reasons (my guess being that's what would be the Chinese guy's cut if he went in on it) and the Chinese guy seemed to get the gist of the conversation, and he simply said, "Just give me one reason". It's then that the druglord handed him the vial that has the prove of that rare earth mineral on that island. He told him to "test it himself" but it's unclear how exactly you can test that one vial. I can't see how a rare earth mineral could be a replacement for fossil fuels but apparently we are led to believe the Chinese guy would somehow know that this vial is important and somehow somebody would know how to convert this substance into a sort of fuel.

In the last two episodes they can't leave that hanging, if we are indeed talking about the fossil fuel replacement, and assuming people will still need cars in the future, it's the only relevant issue about this whole series that would have lasting historical impact and at least the sorts of cash that would make the submarine look like a rowboat by comparison.

If they could tie it in, it could help explain why Russia, China, Pakistan, and the US seem so interested in that one island. There should also be an explanation to the covert special operations mission to Pakistan and how that could relate to the submarine and/or the rare earth mineral on the island.

If you control the submarine, you are like a floating armed nation. But if you have that submarine and the assets of billions in "new fuel", then this whole show can go a million places besides just a small island, a submarine, and an increasingly shrinking and restless crew.

jav6454 said:

Ok, I just saw it. It was yesterday's episode (which I didn't catch till today).

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I so wish they had at least one more season.

The evil druglord "probably" isn't as interested in having French lady as girlfriend as much as having her be his conscience like he mentioned. As a simple druglord, he doesn't need anybody to be his conscience since if he doesn't want one, then that's OK for the part.

But as a world leader in energy, much like the Saudi royal family who control billions in oil, the druglord needs to be refined since he's not dealing drugs and supplies to an island's populace and a few stranded sailors, but providing this new replacement for fossil fuel to the world. With her by his side, he would be much more legitimized as a shepherd over billions in energy and being in contact with every major world leader.

My guess is that this is a rare earth mineral or element is something which is plausible to provide cold fusion on the cheap and for some reason only found on that island.

For the island's production, it wouldn't cost much but provide so much affordable energy that it could one day replace fossil fuels around the world and lead to more wealth and power than anyone could imagine (as the French lady told the xo).

Politically, the fallout would be huge in that many of the world powers would not have to rely so much on the Middle East. Of course, to protect the rare supply on the island, the submarine could be just the first in line along with what could be the entire Chinese military leveraged by what could be a new Chinese billionaire on the island.

In essence, the island would be the new Saudi Arabia.

I can see at least an entire second season be based on that. There could be a power struggle between the captain and the drug lord. The xo, still not knowing about his wife being alive, could be in competition with the drug lord for the French woman for both love, and securing a foothold over the druglord and his stash of rare earth minerals.

I can't think of anything besides that holy grail of science and economics, cold fusion, to be written into the script as an ongoing sub plot.

Now the captain is in onto the rare earth mineral and when he compared it with panning for gold, the Chinese diplomat retorted that gold is cheap. If anything the mineral gives the captain some serious leverage.

Initially the navy seal and female bar owner are going to run off to Australia, but probably not after navy seal sees the issues on the island come to a resolution.

In the USA, patriot conspirators including the Speaker of the House, arms dealer lady, Admiral Shepard, several four star officers and others are preparing to take down the president's illegal regime but plan appears to get foiled and Speaker kills himself.

On the island the COB with some agreement from XO and a lot of the crew are prepared to relieve the captain of his command. COB means well but he is unaware of the captain siding with the patriots stateside. COB and some crew members simply want to go home and stop having to deal with druglord and Chinese diplomat.

Druglord is willing to partner with Chinese diplomat and initially let him onto the rare earth mineral. The Chinese diplomat definitely wants in on the rare earth mineral (lucrative replacement for fossil fuels) but also wants the partnership with captain who could protect the island.

Next week should tie in everything nicely.

One loose end which didn't seem to get addressed was the XO's kidnapped wife which even the XO doesn't know about. He thinks she's dead and it appears he is getting more and more attracted towards the French lady on the island. She is playing the druglord but he may or may not know, but he still needs that front person for his PR that he sees in her.

Excellent ending, good guys win but not everybody lives. I don't want to spoil it and people could watch it end on abc.com online.

jav6454 said:

Just riddle me something, do we get any loose ends or plots that are left to the viewer? I hate those. Also, abc.com is still not showing that

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COBs (master chief petty officer) mutiny originally successful and they capture and replace captain and XO (second in command) but captain has a secret loyalist within mutiny and they get out and scuttle the sub onto sandbar...mutineers are not all on board with going back home since at least one of the leaders of mutiny wants to cash in on rare earth mineral back on the island...mutineers attempt to launch at USA but since sub gets scuttled by captain onto a sandbar, they can't launch anything...somehow XO has change of heart and works with female lt. (Grace) to help take it back from mutineers...jets come in an blow up sub with only the captain on it who won't leave it just in case the Chinese or anybody else decide they want to come on board and steal technology...a few mutineers and maybe a good guy or two are already dead on the sub, too

arms dealer lady gets close enough to assassinate the dictator president in USA

XO gets back home and reunited with wife who he finds out is alive at the very end of the show who was rescued by rogue navy seal for a lot of cash

French lady stays behind on island even though she has really started working a relationship with the XO and show didn't last long enough to form a true triangle in the relationship

Navy seal petty officer king stays behind on island with bar owner lady and probably decide to go back to her other home in Australia

Drug lord leaves unhurt with his thugs (loose end for sure)...I was expecting a showdown between him and captain where one of them would end up dead...because the whole entire season pitted these two masters of the island against each other but it would have required more seasons

Chinese diplomat gives up on submarine capture which captain scuttled on sandbar, but Chinese prospectors who landed from three ships are working the rare earth mineral and are apparently the first ones in on the claim...the navy seal petty officer King has a chance to kill Chinese diplomat but decides the fight is for somebody else and that he would rather be with lady bar owner (the other loose end)

The producers couldn't fit all the bad guys getting killed so dictator president is killed but drug lord and Chinese party on island end up OK

SEASON TWO ANYBODY?

Don't panic said:

pretty good sum up, except i think you overstate the overall role of the minerals and the island itself.
the chinese were always after the sub, not the minerals. the chinese ambassador did bring prospectors in (earlier), but the 3 ships were there for the randezvous with the sub, which the mercenary mutinees where giving the chinese for cash (not for the minerals, i doubt they knew anything about it).

the mutiny had two level: a 'patriotic' level, led by the cob and which eventually recruited the XO, where they just wanted to get back into the US fold and get home. and a mercenary sub-level, where they wanted to get money from the chinese.

once the second level became obvious, the cob and the xo went back on the captain's side

king not killing the ambassador was in the end not necessary, as he was going to go back 'in shame' for not delivering the sub to his masters.

the rare earth minerals subplot remains the only significant open-ended part, but it never got to be an important one (although it could have become one in a second season).
also i guess the fate of serat and the french lady remain unresolved.

overall, the episode story-end was clearly rushed up, but there was not much else the writers could do in one-two episode to wrap up things in a more balanced way.

at least the main story arch is complete, so it wasn't a waste of time but an overall enjoyable mini-series.

I can't but think it could have been very good if it was designed from the get go as a 20-episodes closed story.

i blame the miopy of the producers for this. instead of always going for the home run 10-season juggernaut, some stories clearly only have enough juice from one-two seasons. and it's obvious from the get go that is the case.
still a lot of nice show get cut after half a season because of medium ratings, but if they network already knew that there were only going to finance say another 10 episodes, they would, because a complete story even if short, has much more chances to reach a dedicated niche and make tons of money in later sales and reruns.

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So true. I guess they just had to kill off captain and make the sub the big prize.

I would have loved to have seen a standoff between the drug lord and the Americans over the rare earth minerals in a season two. The stakes, if this is something that can replace fossil fuels (or which there is nothing I have found), would keep this an ongoing battle. Fossil fuels is the real reason we went to war with a so-called band of terrorists so a fossil fuel replacement would have international implications.

I did want to see the drug lord bite the dust, and what a great actor they chose for the part.

Also if the XO didn't have his wife back, or even knew about her still being alive, a fight over the French lady between him and the drug lord would be a great main story, too. Show a human side from time to time of the drug lord and have the French lady genuinely like him for some of those aspects.

I could see the first season was going to build up the rare earth minerals, and the XO in a love triangle, but because it was cancelled the ending had to be rushed and make it localized to just the sub. It was good for what was a few shows to wrap it up but it really let down those of us who wanted something more significant and complex (more like "Lost").

Keeping the captain less heroic, fallible, greedy and what not and morphing him into the drug lord and fighting against him would make for a great series. I wanted to see him adapt from a captain with a limited scope to rallying for a leader position in a energy rich island nation. When the drug lord simply shot of the US sailors without even a hint of remorse, it set him up as the bad guy, at least a lot more than a rogue US president we didn't see or hear of much. The show would have been too limited to good guy versus bad guy.

Had the US president lived and somehow formed a long distance relationship with the drug lord, via CIA spy, then we could have had a two front war with some of the good guy sailors and arms dealer lady on on side and the drug lord and US president on the other side. To make things interesting there would be characters changing sides an maybe make Grace or the XO turncoats for one reason or the other.

Also a strong alliance between every angry COB and drug dealer would have been a great one, too.

I am so sad this (soap opera) had to end. I liked how the characters were beginning to develop.

jav6454 said:

I just hate that the US president was killed upfront instead of just arresting him and then an inside execution. Sounds like a more fitting punishment for all he did by trying to become the first US dictator.

Also, Chapplin deserved a much better ending, at least have the sub fire its missiles in defense against the Chinese or something.

On the rare earth minerals, there is potential, it could make a great 5 episode run where the knowing parties try to keep them out of wrong hands/keep island beautiful.

I would have loved to see the Navy Seal take out Serat.

As per Arm Dealer daughter, she should have been given bigger role in the ending events than just a shot. Oh well...

Great series anyways. Stupid ABC cancels them before they develop.

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I wish those, too.

What they could have done for arms dealer lady is have her five second scene end the entire series. The only problem with that is the president wasn't really established as a full on villain as much as the drug lord Serrat or the Chinese. If they had made Serrat a mole of the dictator president and also somehow have an unholy DC alliance with the Chinese, then the series could have brought him in better.

They could have made Serrat somehow end up on the submarine and die like the captain.

Serrat lives, oh well.