joseonth Reviews

The Pacific: Home (2010) Season 1, Episode 10

A difficult, fitting finale

[8/10 · 17 August 2013]

The final episode of "The Pacific" is difficult not in subject matter - narratively it's formulaic to a fault - but in contrast to the prior episode, on Okinawa. We have (arguably) the darkest and ugliest episode, follow by the most sentimental and rosy. Sledgehammer suffers the earliest reactions to PTSD, postwar, while Leckie sweet-talks his way into his old job and into the arms of his sweetheart across the street. Incidentally, I found the Leckie and Vera scenes to be an appropriate conclusion. And dare I say, endearing? Cliché they may be, but wasn't this the era that invented such cinematic clichés to begin with? Also, the Vera-Leckie angle is satisfying, considering that Leckie was probably the only really engaging character in the whole series.

Many rightly consider "Band of Brothers" the best television miniseries, ever; it's a tough act to follow, and "The Pacific" doesn't really try. Instead it endeavors to show a side of of the Second World War not often portrayed in mainstream entertainment, and not just in a geographic sense. Although wildly uneven in tone, taken as a whole "The Pacific" effectively captures the brutality of the Pacific Theater, particularly the psychological pain of its combatants.

The Pacific: Iwo Jima (2010) Season 1, Episode 8

A Different Review of Iwo Jima (1.8)

[8/10 · 15 August 2013]

I agree with the previous reviews decrying the Iwo Jima episode as a tad melodramatic. I disagree about its merits as both a series and the episode in particular, however. The sheer brutality, macabre reality of this series is notches beyond the romanticized military history portrayed in much of "BoB"; this is not, I should stress, a negative comparison of the series in terms of entertainment quality. "Band of Brothers" is a remarkable feat of cinema and fictionalized history, perhaps the best ever. Admittedly, "The Pacific" is in many ways an ugly, disgruntled, not entirely satisfactory little brother. To my mind, entirely mirroring the reality Is it sappy at times? Sure. It's also entirely disgusting, vivid, and revolting in its reenactment of the brutalizations brought about by modern war. The highs and lows are what make "The Pacific" a series worthy of consideration beyond naive comparisons to "BoB". It doesn't fit everyone's expectations... which is not an adequate indictment of a remarkable bit of fiction.