"Part 7" was the end of the Peleliu-arc, the longest the miniseries stays in a certain place, and it was also a devastating culmination of the intense fighting in the previous two parts. Sledge and his buddies were again the focus of the episode as they came up against Japanese forces at the most inopportune moments, each time struggling to hold onto their humanity. Joseph Mazzello does amazing work and his blank, unforgiving stare even during battle tells it all. He can hardly imagine what he is doing and yet here they are, killing people and getting killed.
The plot was fairly simple and consisted mostly of individuals scenes rather than some kind of final objective. There were a couple standouts. First, Sledge notices that there are Japanese in a bunker right beside where they are hanging out. The Japanese are no less than 20 feet away with guns and grenades. They manage to kill a few in very close-quarters combat and eventually the situation is resolved with flamethrowers, a horrifying sight which confirms why the Geneva Conventions bans them against civilians. The second came after the fighting was over. Snafu is nonchalantly tossing stones into the blown-off head of a Japanese soldier while Sledge watches. It's a gross sight and perhaps more difficult to comprehend.
Just like Sledge had few appearances here in there in the beginning episodes, Basilone is now showing up once per episode with a brief scene. This week, he's struggling to get over what happened on Guadalcanal. He stateside now and won't go back, but his mind is in a completely different place where the horrors of what happened is still raging. Because Basilone's scene added to the theme throughout the episode, it was a nice addition; however, in a different circumstance, when the themes don't match up like last week, it doesn't work as well.
Score: 9.5/10
