Episode 6 of The Sympathizer sees the Captain and the General at the army training ground, revealing the General’s substantial funding and plans for a suicidal recon mission. Despite the Captain’s pleas, Bon insists on volunteering, declaring, “Life is a suicide mission.”
The General refers to his army as “charity” while the Captain is shocked by the delivery of arms. The General hints at wanting Sonny dead, prompting the Captain to inform Man about the mission, hoping to save Bon. The Captain meets Congressman Ned Godwin to uncover more about the funding, then suggests to Sonny that he investigate the funds to prevent unnecessary deaths.
A heated argument with Bon over his mission participation ensues. The General takes the Captain to a hot spring, lamenting his losses and expressing distrust toward Lana. The Captain requests to accompany Bon on the mission, but the General wants him to stay. In a hallucination, Man tells the Captain, “You belong there. You’re American.”
At Ned’s fundraising event, Professor Hammar reveals his racist authorship, shocking the Captain. He takes snapshots of documents detailing donations to the General’s cause and meets Sonny, confessing he’s a communist spy before killing him.
In a pivotal scene, the Captain lies about mailing the documents to the LA Times, instead of burning them. Man’s brief message, “request denied,” fuels his agitation. Sofia, knowing the Captain killed Sonny, provides an alibi and advises him to leave. The Captain visits Lana one last time before joining Bon on the mission, hallucinating the Major and Sonny on the flight.
Episode 6 delves into the Captain’s identity crisis and divided loyalties. His conversations with the hallucinated Man underscore his subconscious grappling with his American and Vietnamese identities. The Captain’s frantic justification of his actions reveals his internal conflict:
“I’m a hero of the revolution. I infiltrated the army. I worked in their ranks for three years, enduring risks untold… The real danger was the contamination of one’s mind with capitalism, with Western culture.”
Despite this rich psychological exploration, the episode struggles to evoke empathy for the Captain. His emotional turmoil feels dispassionate, distancing us from his plight.
The biggest narrative misstep is Sofia’s reaction to Sonny’s murder. Her decision to protect the Captain lacks clear motivation, undermining the scene’s logic.
