Mutiny abounds on “Damn The Torpedos”, with two separate plots on Marcus’s life percolating on the island.  One is essentially dispatched with this week, as Cortez pretty much talks herself out of carrying out her orders to assassinate Chaplin.  I like the focus on her, but I have a bad feeling that her cozying up to the big guy bodes ill for her immediate future.  Whatever happens, I hope she plays a big role in the finale, as she’s been the only female character I’ve always been happy to see more of.

The other coup is brewing under the COB’s direction, with an assist from a slightly dim-witted hillbilly lieutenant played by the guy who plays Boyd Crowder’s slightly dim-witted hillbilly lieutenant on Justified.  He may be Ryan Phillipe’s little brother too, but I think that’s more of a season finale type of reveal.  Anyway, COB’s essentially swung right back to where he started in the first episode, but the Chinese presence on the island is a big enough shift that I can buy it.

I don’t believe that Sam is really turning on Marcus, but it’s set up for later twists, so we can roll with it for now.  They throw us a little action sequence to start this plotline off, but honestly watching the XO and COB yell at each other is much more interesting than watching them mudwrestle.  In other Sam news, he’s rocking thick beard, as manly mourning men are wont to do, and Sophie’s totally into that, because France. I’m paraphrasing there, but really only a little.  Sam seems taken by her relaxed, continental approach to banging the recently widowed, so I fully expect that next week will feature them getting all 9 1/2 Weeks with mangoes and Chinese ramen packets and rare earth metals and junk (whatever, prudes, try one dab of Yttrium on your perineum and then come back and judge me).

But he’s not the only suitor seeking mademoiselle’s affections. Julian’s attempt to seduce Sophie doesn’t have much juice to it, though.  For one, neither are among the most interesting characters.  But the bigger issue is that he’s hatching a scheme for a scenario that we know can only come to pass if the show ends.  I’m sure at this point they aren’t wasting time on plotlines that won’t pay off in the final two episodes, but that doesn’t make soil samples any more gripping.

Substantially better is the main submarine conflict.  Yes, firing on a US ship is a new line for Marcus to cross, but it’s not a huge step up from what we’ve seen before (and the effects are actually a step down).  Still, Braugher and hot sub-on-ship always make for watchable TV.

Don’t think I buy the natives hugging and smiling at Marcus after the supplies come in.  I  just don’t see how it could be lost on them that he is the reason they had trouble getting food and whatnot in the first place.

The other big coup d’etat this week brewing in Washington.  I was ambivalent about this before, but that was before I found out that they’re end goal is to put Ernie Hudson on the throne.  I love my country and all, but from time to time it saddens and sickens me to think that it’s 2013 and we haven’t elected a Ghostbuster president.  The beauty of fiction, though, is that sometimes it shows us what we could accomplish if we just sat down for a minute and really thought it through.

So anyway, now I’m squarely on the side of Kylie’s rebels.  Well, I’m still holding out hope that their elaborate plan to Occupy D.C. results in nuclear armageddon two weeks from now, but if there has to be a world, Winston is definitely the man to lead it.  Kylie herself seems to be having some doubts, which she assuages by making out with some guy I got the impression I was supposed to remember, but for the life of me could not.  Stupid month-long hiatuses will do that to you.

But hey, it’s not like that’s a problem Last Resort will ever have to deal with again.