If there is anything that sums up this episode, it the quote from Sid Phillips, who said that during his time on Guadalcanal, sometime the only thing he could do was “pray and hang on.” And so viewers watched as the characters hung on through the episode, either enduring prolonged shell fire, or wave after wave of attacking Japanese soldiers.
A few things of note:
- This episode featured another gruesome scene. After the shelling, Basilone et al walked up to a crater and viewed the remains of a direct hit. Body parts every where. The scene channeled the Band of Brothers Breaking Point episode where Luz walks up on the mangled limbs of Wild Bill G and Joe Toye (who managed to survive the blasts). In both scenes, there is a moment where the “walk up” characters just don’t believe what they are seeing and are just lost in the moment.
- The previous gruesome scene from The Pacific, Episode 1? The men had just arrived on Guadalcanal and were marching out to a new position. On the way (from Leckie’s perspective), they passed a set of dead marines tied a few trees. I didn’t catch this the first time, but upon a second viewing, you can see bloody crotches and a severed head with a penis shoved in its mouth.
- Basilone running out into no man’s land to push over the stacked up Japanese bodies was unbelievable. I’ve read some about this experiences on the island, but didn’t remember this. Amazing.
- Even in episode 2, you can see the building of characters that will drive the series. The exchanges between Peaches (Leckie) and Runner are pretty funny, the friendship between Basilone, JP, and Manny. And we know this building up will get torn down as the characters begin to die off.
The Pacific is off to a great start. Guadalcanal is over. It looks like we’re headed back to the states to get our introduction to Eugene Sledge and watch Basilone get his Medal of Honor. Tune in.
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