‘The Pacific’ Recap: ‘Part Three’

1/19/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Zoe Carides, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Claire van der Boom, and James Badge Dale as Mama Karamanlis, Baba Karamanlis, Stella, and Private First Class Robert Leckie in ‘Part Three’ of ‘The Pacific’. (Photo Courtesy of HBO.)

When it comes to the life and the career of a soldier, the everyday person… knows nothing about it. We only know what popular media tells us, and if we go off of that, then soldiers, especially ones involved in war time, are nothing more than complex killing machines. Who can endlessly take care of business and put their emotions away. For that is seemingly what is expected of them, since it is war, and the enemy must be defeated. But while that brings about some gritty storytelling, the kind that tends to feature powerhouse actions sequences, that is… only part of the story. For we often forget that soldiers are people, not machines, and they require everything we do, and that is why the next episode of The Pacific is of note.

Simply because the third chapter in this story, humanized soldiers like never before. All by having Leckie and Basilone make their way to Australia. Melbourne, to be more specific. For the top brass knew that every man that fought at Guadalcanal was in rough shape, and the only right thing to do was pull them off of the front lines, and give them a chance to relax, heal and get their head on straight and that alone… was revolutionary to see. Because we just don’t see or hear about top tier brass giving their men a break, but here it was… in all of its glory and that allowed for some incredible storytelling to come to life. The kind that first, let us know how much a break like this does for a soldier’s soul. Because so many were happy to enjoy a drink once again, a home cooked meal and the company of a welcome distraction.

Not to mention, this downtime also allowed for rewards to come into play, and an exploration of how the war effort worked back in America in the 1940s. For Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone’s work in the last episode did not go unnoticed. In fact, his work was so incredible and so brave, that John was to be awarded with the Medal of Honor. The highest honor that can be bestowed upon a soldier, but that also meant… he had a new role to fulfill. Because America loves war heroes, loves to meet them, as though their bravery will be infectious and inspire. So, John was tasked with a return home, to tell tales of Guadalcanal since that was big news, and to drum up war bond support. So that more money could flow into the cause and fund the effort through and through. Something we don’t really think about anymore regarding war, but this was fascinating to see play out.

Ashton Holmes and Isabel Lucas as Private First Class Sidney Phillips and Gwen in ‘Part Three’ of ‘The Pacific’. (Photo Courtesy of HBO.)

But of course, there was more to this story than mere vignettes on life in between combat, this was also a cautionary tale regarding a soldier’s duty. Because Leckie met a woman named Stella during his drunken travels, and he was smitten by her beauty and her grace and that prompted him to shoot his shot, because why not? But it turned out, Stella was interested as well and just like that… they embarked on a powerful love affair. The kind where Leckie was invited into her home to stay during his recoupment, because Stella’s mom and dad loved him. To the point where they even invited him to the funeral of a local soldier that didn’t survive combat, and of course, the connection between Stella and Leckie was incredible to say the least, akin to a love at first sight scenario, one that would and should end in happiness.

However, despite being free from duty for a bit, and enjoying warm meals and seemingly endless lovemaking, the war was still raging on and eventually, Leckie had to return to active duty. Which meant leaving for days at a time to train and get his body back in combat shape and eventually, it meant redeployment. Which led to a harrowing breakup and a reminder, that a soldier’s duty is first to his country and that… is tough to reconcile. Sometimes for even the soldier. Since Leckie’s response was to get drunk and show some anger we’ve never seen him exhibit. Because this was all so much to process and so much to weigh upon him. But while we wait to see how long it takes for him to really understand his duty and figure out a way forward, we can revel in the majesty of another incredible episode.

One that truly showed us a side of war we’ve never seen and properly reminded us of a soldier’s humanity. All so that we stop seeing them as mindless killing machines, and come to understand, they’re human beings too, with needs, emotions, and complexities. They just know how to turn off some of that to do what must be done, and even then… what they take part in never goes away. Which is why they deserve proper care when they get home. But that’s another topic for another time, and now that we’ve finally seen another side to the story, one that we rarely do in this medium, the time has come to return to the heart of the Pacific Theater. Where war awaits, and it will be interesting to see how quickly these Marines can just re-adjust to being in the thick of the madness that was World War II. Until next time.

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