Leckie was again the center of the episode, and James Badge Dale has surpassed my wildest expectations. Before entering a new war zone, we see a map of the Pacific, and we slowly get closer and closer to the destination. The island is big up close, but nonexistent on the large map. The Marines were sent from Cape Gloucester to New Britain to Pavuvu, islands that become the Marines' personal hells but aren't recognizable from far away. The disconnect from the big picture and the harrowing swamp conditions contrast wildly as Leckie and the others struggle to overcome their own psychologies.
We see the toll of war on the Marines as they, like Leckie, break down. (I have no clue what their names are.) One shoots himself in the head, making sure to take his uniform off first, and another chokes a wounded Japanese soldier to death. I'm guessing that was a violation of the UCMJ, but everyone knows the circumstances and what it can make people do. The mental fatigue is wearing on them, and it's scary to see what they can do.
Sledge is featured in a very brief scene in the beginning, accidentally hitting "Bob" instead of the Japanese dummies. When ix going to arrive in the Pacific? I would rather have an episode focused on him going through training instead of single insignificant scene in each episode.
Score: 9.0/10
