The Sympathizer
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Theprevious episodeleft us with little doubt about the Majors fate.
The General wants him dead and tasked the Captain with pulling the trigger.
The General refuses to give any direct order, saying: Do as you see fit.
You know what is to be done.
Back in the car, Bon is driving, a symbolic switch-up as hes emerged from his mute depression.
So they begin to tail the Major, observing his daily activities and dropping by his house.
The Captain struggles with seeing the Majors family from afar, especially his newborn twins.
She tells them the Major is selling candy to make more money: He wants to get rich.
Like a real American.
The Major makes his plea to the Captain in English before enveloping him in a hug.
The code-switching perhaps emphasizes the Majors newfound commitment to the American Dream.
If you fully commit to this land, you become fully American, the Major says.
But if you dont, youre just a wandering ghost living between two worlds forever.
The scene (and sentiment) is quite maudlin.
The North Vietnamese commander reading the Captains letter scoffs at the sentimentality, and Im also tempted to.
Another thing thats increasingly unclear is how much time has passed since the evacuation.
You start to wonder: How did the Majors wife already bear twins?
(I suppose the same can be said of the Generals liquor store.)
Anyway, enough of my complaints about realism.
But remember, the Captain is the narrator here, as both an overt and omniscient figure.
Hes as reliable (or unreliable) as we want him to be.
Silly, because no one would clock heterosexual Claude as CIA in the wild?
The Captain is on edge at the longevity party, although its unclear exactly what hes anxious about.
Upon the partys arrival, Sofia also wonders, Are you sure you guys are refugees?
Its a valid question!
Is it CIA money?
The Captain gets the idea of planning the murder on Independence Day from the Major himself.
The Major is excited to celebrate.
Did you pick that on purpose?
Bon asks of the bag.
I thought it might put him at ease, the Captain responded.
Theres a slapstick-like quality to the murder plot before its usurped by the menace of the Captains task.
The original plan goes horribly.
Bon intervenes, setting off fireworks to cover up the sound of the Captain killing the Major.
But thats not enough death for one episode.
It contains boiled eggs, as briefly foreshadowed in the second episode.
The CIA and Southern army had captured a Northern agent responsible for crafting bombs from wristwatches.
You know the CIAs nickname for a penis thats been through that process?
The Watchman agrees to confess and asks for three hard boiled eggs for breakfast.
Here, the Captain is complicit in the Watchmans suicide as an aide.
Claude has a new job for him … in Hollywood.
Technically, though, he is.
The off-kilter atmosphere feels a lot like a bad acid trip.
Bright lights, vacant eyes, a woman with whipped cream on her private parts.
It briefly takes him back to Vietnam before his homeland reverie is interrupted by the ghost of the Major.
Love it or leave it, the Major says.
The Major is dead, but its the Captain who has to contend with his wandering ghosts.
