Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of Obliterated.
The Big Picture
Created by the team behind Cobra Kai consisting of Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald, the action comedy Obliterated serves high-octane action packed with brief spurts of comedy and a bunch of highly likable characters, who are each misfits in their own ways. The 8-part-series focuses on the messy attempts of an elite Navy SEALs squad to thwart a nuclear threat hovering over the city of Las Vegas, while they also must tackle the after-effects of alcohol and drugs in their system, much like The Hangover. Following a cat-and-mouse chase, the series does throw a few twists that may need some decoding to fully understand the events that pan out.
Obliterated tells the story of an elite special forces team who thwarts a deadly threat to Las Vegas. After their celebratory party, filled with booze, drugs and sex, the team discovers that the bomb they deactivated was a fake. The now intoxicated team has to fight through their impairments, overcome their personal issues, find the real bomb, and save the world.
Release Date November 30, 2023
Seasons 1
Streaming Service(s) Netflix
What Is ‘Obliterated’ About?
When the audience is first introduced to the pivotal characters comprising an elite group of government agents, they are already on a mission to block a nuclear weapons deal happening in the heart of Las Vegas. Interestingly, the job at hand turns out to be relatively easy for the group consisting of the team leader and CIA officer Ava Winters (Shelley Hennig), Navy SEALs Chad McKnight (Nick Zano) and Trunk (Terrence Terrell), bomb disposal expert Haggerty (C. Thomas Howell), Marine Corps sniper Angela Gomez (Paola Lázaro), computer expert Maya Lerner (Kimi Rutledge), and Airforce helicopter pilot Captain Paul Yung (Eugene Kim).
The team quickly neutralizes the Russian arms dealer, Ivan Koslov (Costa Ronin), and gains possession of the nuke he was going to sell to an American black market operator, Maddox (David Costabile). Having conquered one of the most important missions in U.S. covert operations history, the elite soldiers head out to indulge in the many pleasures offered by Sin City, unbeknownst that the nuke in their possession was a fake. Koslov’s second-in-command, Vladislav Litvin (Ivan G’Vera), intends to hold the city hostage under the threat of a nuclear explosion to seek the release of Koslov.
By the time Ava and her team realizes that the threat is still potent, they are already under the heavy influence of alcohol and drugs and now, they must race against time to stop the nuke from detonating. Unfortunately, contrary to their usual missions, the elite squad realizes that they may struggle more than usual, thanks to their intoxicated state, especially considering that the bomb disposal expert, Haggerty, has passed out. The team finds itself battling all kinds of weird challenges, including those posed by random hallucinations and prolonged hunger. Moreover, they are pitted against deadly enemies who have all the resources in the world and seem to be in their proper senses.
What is Lana’s Real Identity and Her Motivation in ‘Obliterated’?
After the first few episodes, it becomes clear that there are two factions looking to get their hands on the nuke, apart from Ava and her team. On one side, Ivan Koslov’s trusted right-hand man, Vladislav Litvin, is looking to seek Koslov’s release by holding the city under threat of a nuclear attack, whereas the mercenary Maddox, who shows interest in buying the weapon, is part of an organization that intends to bring America to the path of greatness once again by attacking Las Vegas, a city which reflects everything wrong with the country. Maddox’s intentions pose greater danger as he wants to send a clear message to everyone by nuking Sin City.
Lana was arrested by Ava’s agency when she was found handcuffed at Koslov’s base in Episode 1. At the beginning, Ava appears to be a stranger who was picked up by Koslov during his time in the city. While trying to look for the real nuke after being fooled by Koslov initially, Ava lets Lana tag along considering she might have some intel on Koslov and his intentions, which could lead her to the nuke. Later, Lana requests Ava to let her be part of the team and help her become part of something meaningful for once. Thereon, Lana helps Ava in multiple ways in her attempts to find Maddox and the nuke in his possession. In fact, it’s Lana’s crucial involvement in the interrogation of Koslov that makes the Russian gangster reveal Maddox’s location — a pawn shop being used as a hideout.
But it’s when Ava reaches the pawn shop and finds Maddox nearly dead that she realizes the real identity of Lana, who’s actually Anastasia Koslov, the sister of Ivan Koslov. Ivan and Anastasia’s father was killed in an airstrike by the U.S., resulting in deep hatred for the country in the siblings’ hearts. When Koslov’s place was hit by Ava and her team, Anastasia quickly took up the role of the victim, but she was actually running the whole show from the shadows, having infiltrated Ava’s team.
Does Anastasia Successfully Obliterate Las Vegas?
The last action sequence of the 8-part series follows the entire team coming together to take down Anastasia Koslov and take back possession of the deadly nuke that stands to obliterate Sin City in a matter of minutes. With Maya failing to find Hagerty, it appears that Yung may have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save everyone in the city, including his daughter, by flying away with the nuke to somewhere remote. But Anastasia had one final card up her sleeve – she had taken the precautionary measures well in advance to ensure that she couldn’t stop the nuke from exploding even if she wanted to. She had already offloaded the real nuke somewhere else, on her way to the Citadel. However, thanks to the genius of Eva and the technical prowess of Maya, they quickly zero down on the location of the nuke – it appears that Anastasia had hidden the nuke inside a slot machine, which now happens to be at the Plaza Hotel.
A few technical maneuvers from Maya yield the final location of the nuke, and Yung readies himself to take the nuke away somewhere remote. While Yung is busy bidding goodbye to his teammates, who are in awe of the bravery on display by their trusted pilot, Hagerty finally makes an appearance after spending the entire past day roaming the streets of the city, even finding his true love on his way. Thankfully, Hagerty’s new wife also happens to be at the scene and sings Michael Bublé to motivate her husband and help him find his rhythm. Once the tune sets in, Hagerty doesn’t take much time before defusing the bomb successfully.
At the end of Obliterated, Ava Winters and her squad of elite soldiers have managed to neutralize the biggest threat on American soil after braving a night full of adventures and uncertainties. The closing moments of the series witness the team resuming their party from where they left off. Ava and McKnight also consummate their relationship despite many ups and downs throughout the course of the eight episodes. Obliterated closes on a happy note for the team that has been through thick and thin throughout the entire journey. Thankfully, all of them appear to have finally regained their senses and seem to be partying responsibly this time (hopefully). After all, they may need to put their boots back on if duty happens to call!
All episodes of Obliterated are available on Netflix.
Watch on Netflix
