‘The Pacific’ Recap: ‘Part One’

1/17/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

James Badge Dale as Private First Class Robert Leckie in ‘Part One’ of ‘The Pacific’. (Photo Courtesy of HBO.)

When we think of the Second World War, certain images come to mind. The vast majority of which, relate to what happened in the European Theater of the war. For D-Day was a huge turning point in the war, one wrought with sacrifice and failure and yet… the Allies overcame and pushed forth. Suffering more struggles along the way on the road to Berlin and knowing that so many Americans made that push and fought with everything they had in epic battles in Fortress Europe, is why our minds drift to that part of the war. It’s also why a fair chunk of stories about WWII, focus on those campaigns and that includes the wildly popular series we just finished exploring, Band of Brothers.

But it is important to remember that the Second World War was more than Easy Company and Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and while those are important moments and important people fought those battles, they were part of a grand puzzle playing out around the globe. For while Major Dick Winters and his men defeated the Nazis at Foy, there were other young men battling the Empire of Japan in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. And they weren’t alone since the U.S.S. Enterprise stood strong at the Battle of Midway, among many other stunning battles. Because this was indeed a world war, where Americans fought on two fronts and while there are less stories out there about the Pacific theater, there are impactful one’s worth highlighting. Such as the sequel to Band of Brothers, The Pacific.

A story that not only explored what combat looked like in the Pacific Theater from the Marine perspective, keeping in line with offering stores from specific divisions from the war effort, one that will continue via Masters of the Air, but found a way to quickly separate itself from its predecessor. To give it a specific flair storytelling wise. One that turned out to be both intimate and dark. For ‘Part One’ and the majority of the series, focused heavily on three key soldiers in this segment of the war. Private First Class Robert Leckie, Corporal Eugene Sledge, and Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone. Which is what allowed for this story to be far more intimate in nature. For now, we weren’t just going to follow a company and highlight one member of it at a time, we would really see what individual experiences looked like in the war.

Jon Seda as Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone in ‘Part One’ of ‘The Pacific’. (Photo Courtesy of HBO.)

Which in turn allowed for this opening chapter, to take us to the beginning of everything. Mere weeks after the stunning attack on Pearl Harbor on December the 7th, 1941. Wherein we learned what motivated Leckie to sign up and do his part, and how eager men like Sledge were ready to fight but could not, since Eugene suffered from a heart murmur that disqualified him from service in this tale. Which truly gave us perspective on how important it was for young men to sign up and do their part and make their families and their country proud by fighting true evil in the last great war. Not to mention, this opening chapter does a fine job of really showcasing those precious moments before they went off to fight. Where family dinners had more weight and where something as simple as finding someone to write home to was critical.

All of which did indeed offer a different style to the show, one that was further enhanced by the combat we were witness to. For while the European Theater felt hauntingly poetic now and again in Band of Brothers, it was nothing but a visceral nightmare in The Pacific. For the Japanese Army was known for its cunning and its strength and fearlessness and that was put on display here in full. Allowing for the viewer to feel the unease that Leckie felt when he was stationed on Guadalcanal and feel the terror, he experienced at seeing waves of Imperial forces come spilling out of the jungle in an effort to overwhelm American forces and keep the island in Imperial hands. Giving rise to a raw and visceral fight that was utterly intense and morally unsettling. Since those early days featured the raw need for revenge that Americans sometimes harbor, as we did post September the 11th.

But what mattered most here, is that this premiere let it be known that this show, would offer up a vastly different story about a vastly different segment of the war. In a manner as honest and as earnest and its predecessor and well, just like that… we are now embroiled in a dark and powerful and winding journey. One that will give us insight into more of the impact of war upon a person’s psyche and the seemingly impossible odds these men were up against. For the Japanese Empire believed in victory at all costs, and that stark truth will also help hammer home the most important message of all. That glamourous and heroic moments were far and few between in this war… for World War II like all other wars… was pure hell on Earth. And no one that took part in it would ever be quite the same. Until next time.

Watch ‘The Pacific’

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