Robert Downey, Jr. Is a Little Too Good at Playing a Racist on ‘The Sympathizer’
We ended last week’s episode of The Sympathizer on a potential murder. But before Captain (Hoa Xunde) and Bon (Fred Nguyen Khan) kill Major Oahn (Phanxinê), they need to double check a few things. Does the General (Toan Le) still want Major dead? Yes, duh. The bigger question, though, is how Bon and Captain plan on pulling off a homicide without leaving any trace.
Captain pitches armed robbery, but Bon shrugs him off. Bon has something to admit: He wasn’t just a regular paratrooper in the war. He was actually in the F-6 program—which specialized in killing and torturing—and never told Man (Don Nguyen) or Captain. Captain is frightened to hear this, although he’s also relieved that he and Man aren’t the only ones harboring secrets.
Before they can kill Major, though, Captain and Man will need to hatch a solid plan that they can both agree on. The pair stalk the Major at work, where his wife visits him with their new twin babies Spinach (named after Popeye) and Broccoli (named after…literally just the vegetable). This really makes Captain feel terrible. He’s killing this new dad to cover his own ass. Nevertheless, Bon and Captain persist, visiting the Major’s home to plot how they’ll sneak in and perform the kill. They’re caught scheming by the Major’s mother (Kieu Chinh), who invites them to tea and demands they attend her upcoming birthday gala.