Episode 8: The Last Patrol - In-Depth Discussion

[shanghai_jim]

Comments

[foofighter0234]

I have decided that Malarkey needs a hug. Many many hugs. Losing a friend is one of the toughest things a person can go through; losing three (Buck, Skip, Penk) is even worse.

Also, Jackson needs to SLOW DOWN. Running into your own grenade = doing it wrong.

Webster's characterization? I HATED IT. They totally fucked up his character. I mean, I've read Parachute Infantry too many times to count, and believe me, the miniseries!Webster is not the same as ParachuteInfantry!Webster.

[cleopancake]

I mean, I've read Parachute Infantry too many times to count, and believe me, the miniseries!Webster is not the same as ParachuteInfantry!Webster.
Sorry to bother you, but I haven't read the book yet, could you explain this briefly? :s

[shanghai_jim]

I think the contrast between the narrative voice Webster uses, and his chracterization in the movie, is deliberate. It gets on a lot of people's nerves, and the narrative voice certainly gets on mine, but to me, the narration is the older, cynical Webster from Parachute Infantry, while Webster-in-scene is the guy who wrote the letters home: arch, observant, hungry for recognition, and most of all, young. I much prefer Webster-in-scene to Webster-narrator, as I consider the tone of Parachute Infantry a turn-off. I've never been able to get through the whole book.

[foofighter0234]

Webster-in-scene is much more to my liking.

[tylerdurdenmiko]

Winters decision is a pivotal moment for him - I mean he's always been on the brink and even when following orders he knows aren't "right" and he wants to do the right thing, I think this is a great Winters moment.

god, why did Jackson have to die?? I mean reading about the real guy, he had been around since Holland, but just shows up in this episode, so he's not such a baby.

As for Malark, wow, his character has done a 180 from the beginning of the series. He went from almost a Luz-joking Irish solider to a hard, worn out solider. I'm amazed he didn't end up like Buck mentally, or maybe he did and just trucked through it?

[foofighter0234]

The switch in Malark's character is amazing. In Currahee he's the happy go lucky one, and by Carentan, when he sees Speirs gun down the prisoners-BOOM, no more happy go lucky Malark, and it's crushed in The Breaking Point.

Malark is tough; if he was cracking, he would have asked for help.

[shanghai_jim]

He certainly was a baby: he was sixteen when he joined up. A sixteen-year-old child who fought in North Africa with the 82nd, survived, then joined the 101st, who Babe credits with helping save Guarnere's life. Who died in a pointless patrol at twenty, a veteran of the entire European theater.

I get emotional about Jackson.

[foofighter0234]

He certainly was a baby: he was sixteen when he joined up. A sixteen-year-old child who fought in North Africa with the 82nd, survived, then joined the 101st, who Babe credits with helping save Guarnere's life. Who died in a pointless patrol at twenty, a veteran of the entire European theater.

Holy shit. That's as if my little brother fought in the war! ;_;

[shanghai_jim]

From their postings on the HBO website and WildBillGuarnere.com, I get the feeling that neither Erik Jendresen or Bruce McKenna were very happy with the additional material introduced by Eric Bork into this episode. As you’ve all probably seen the original treatment of this episode, it was originally written much closer to RL than it is; Webster was on the safe side of the river, watching, and his foil was Cobb, and Jackson screamed “Kill me, kill me!” which is much more in keeping with his real-life history.

Considering that Bork is also cited as co-writer on "Points", I think he's responsible for Webgott.

[skyearth85]

Bork I love you

[shanghai_jim]

OK, I found the post on WBG.com where McKenna vents (a little) about Bork (and by inference Tony To, who directed this episode):

The original draft of Ep 8 (By Erik Bork) focussed more on LT. Jones. I switched the point of view to Webster because it was more dramatic to view the exhaustion and changes in the men from the pov of one of them who had missed Bastogne

Re: Solar vs celestial

[skyearth85]

°o° thanks!!! I'm going to read it :)!

[skew_whiff]

Webster points out to the officers that they've got two translators and only need one. Now, to my mind, it seems really ambiguous as to whether he's trying to get Liebgott on his side by helping him get out of patrol duty, or whether he's trying to weasel out himself. Now, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it's the first interpretation which is correct, but it seems kind of vague - and I've got to wonder, was that a deliberate authorial decision, or am I just being too cynical?

[please_project]

From the look on his face when Speirs tells Liebgott to 'sit this one out', i initially thought he was trying to get out of it himself.
Although, it appears to me that he only does it becuase he hears the guys bitching, so i suppose it could be either depending on which way you look at it.

[oddsbobs]

I always thought he was trying to get Liebgott out of it, but then someone pointed out the other possible interpretation. Now I have no idea what to think... it depends on whether I'm feeling optimistic or pessimistic the day I view it, I guess.

[standardtrip]

I think he was doing it for Liebgott simply to get back in the group, as right before he asked he overheard the others talking about him wanting to get out of things. Sort of a 'prove you wrong' thing to me. Then again, him wanting to get out of it is totally possible.

If it was book!Webster, I might have picked the latter option as my main answer, but series!Webster just seems to want to get on their good side and therefore wants to do something for Liebgott.

[standardtrip]

About Malarkey: this time around, I tried to pick up all the bits that showed just how bad he was taking the death of his friends. Most notably was his reactions to Jones saying they 'dodged some mortars'. Malarkey just 'hmms', pauses, then continues. His noise is a bit distasteful, which could just be because of Jones. But it's his pause that gets me. Was it the mention of mortars that made him get that look? The pause is just long enough for, well me at least, to sense that his mind went automatically to his friends. His eyes seem to move around a bit, which happens to me when I think of something in the past. Yet again, it could have just been him looking over Jones. He then snaps himself out of it and continues talking, showing that he doen't want to think about them right then, or at all.

There were plenty of other moments like that. Multiple people mention Malarkey's current condition and try to give him a break. His blank face in the shower is another good moment. Did anyone else spot any others?

[shanghai_jim]

I always note the way the shot is arranged as Jones and Webster do their we're-clever-and-kind conspiracy speech outside the showers and Malarkey just walks by. The framing has him almost out of frame, as if a nonentitiy, and he doesn't even look at them. (Of course, Malarkey rarely looks at Webster. It's as if he resents him for being alive and whole and back, when Skip or Guarnere or Toye aren't.)

[foofighter0234]

It seems like he harbors a lot of resentment towards Webster for him being there and Skip and Bill aren't.

[shanghai_jim]

I just thought of something: Don wrote his book just last year. He's had seven years of seeing series!Webster save series!Malark from the patrol. I bet that just pisses him off.