In Episode 3, the Captain and Bon visit the General to discuss the assassination of the Major. The General insists on results, pushing the Captain to act. On their way back, the Captain discovers Bon’s past as a member of a dangerous assassination squad. They spy on the Major, debating the ethics of killing him, especially after learning he recently had twins. Despite their doubts, they plan to murder him in a parking lot but are interrupted by the Major’s mother, who invites them to her 80th birthday party.
The Captain attends the party with Ms. Mori, meeting Congressman Ned Godwin, who awkwardly gifts the Major’s mother a knife, oblivious to its cultural significance. The Major explains his export business of selling expired American candies to Vietnam. The Captain, seeing an opportunity, plans to kill the Major during the 4th of July fireworks.
On the fateful night, the Captain hesitates, but Bon urges him on. They succeed in killing the Major, much to the General’s satisfaction, who then asks the Captain to write the Major’s eulogy. Back in the present, the communist officer questions the Captain about the egg story, leading to a flashback where the Captain manipulates a communist prisoner into choking on boiled eggshells.
In the present, the Captain reflects on the perils of being a spy. At the Major’s funeral, Claude reveals they found a coded message in the Major’s candy boxes, hinting that the Major suspected the Captain of espionage. It’s later revealed that the Captain planted the message himself. Claude takes the Captain to meet Niko Damianos, a filmmaker casting him in a Vietnam War film, further complicating his dual identity.
The narrative’s strength lies in its intricate portrayal of the Captain’s duality, heightened by his encounters with different versions of Robert Downey Jr.’s characters: Congressman Godwin, the oblivious American; Claude, the condescending CIA agent; Professor Hammer, the patronizing academic; and Niko Damianos, the casually racist filmmaker.
The cultural tensions are palpable, particularly in scenes like Godwin’s ignorant gift of a knife, underscoring the persistent disconnect between the Vietnamese refugees and their American counterparts. The Captain’s internal conflict intensifies as he grapples with his role in the Major’s death and the constant reminders of his mixed heritage, never fully accepted by either side.
The episode’s visual and narrative coherence, maintained through clever flashbacks and symbolic motifs, continues to impress. The Captain’s speech about his dual identity and his mother’s reassurance that he embodies the best of both worlds poignantly highlight his struggle.
