“If there’s any absolute truth to being the man with the finger on the button, that’s it – they have to think you’re crazy.”
This is how Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) of the USS Colorado, a nuclear submarine, describes Ronald Reagan’s actions during the Cold War.
It’s a telling statement for ABC’s new political action thriller Last Resort, as it describes Capt. Chaplin’s decision to go rogue with the fully-armed nuclear sub.
When Chaplin receives orders to launch not just one, but four nuclear missiles on Pakistan for no apparent reason, he goes against protocol and asks for confirmation. The response he receives is the first clue that someone in the White House is no longer playing by the rules – their brother in arms, the USS Illinois, fires a cruise missile at the Colorado in an attempt to sink it.
News goes out across the world that Pakistan attacked the Colorado and that all members of the crew are dead. Pakistan is then hit with a couple of nuclear warheads in response to their alleged attack on the Colorado.
The U.S. government, at this point, is flat out lying to the world. Pakistan hasn’t done anything, and the U.S. has fired on their own fleet. The crew of the Colorado, save 12 members who died in the cruise missile attack, is alive and well. On the run and with nowhere to turn, the crew of the Colorado commandeers a NATO early warning station on a small island, Sainte Marina, to use its facilities to figure out their next move.
What do you do when the world thinks you’re dead and one of the most powerful nations in the world is after you? You get a little crazy.
There’s also a substantial amount of character drama to keep the tension building. Some of the Colorado’s crew doesn’t exactly agree with Captain Chaplin’s decisions. Leading the bunch is COB Joseph Prosser, played by the T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick. There’s nothing more than judgmental looks and disapproving statements from Prosser in the pilot, but it probably won’t be long before there’s some mutiny on the Colorado.
Last Resort’s premiere promises a season full of high seas suspense and political intrigue. It airs Thursday nights at 8/7c on ABC.
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