REVIEW: ‘The Sympathizer’ Episode 1 — “Death Wish”

The Sympathizer on HBO marks acclaimed director Park Chan-wook‘s entrance into television as a writer-director and showrunner. While he’s worked as an executive producer on series like Snowpiercer and The Little Drummer Girl, this A24-produced series brings Park’s talents into long-form storytelling. Written with Don McKellar, The Sympathizer Episode 1 is directed by Park and drops the audience into a story of duality.

Known for environmental storytelling, as much as his narrative, the scenes of Vietnam aren’t ones bathed in sepia or shown as less than. Instead, the Vietnam we see is vibrant, alive, and stark against how American productions often show the country. The series opens with a title card, setting the tone for what we’re about to see. The war is one of duality. To the US, it’s the Vietnam War, and to the Vietnamese, it’s the American War. But most importantly, the series opening credit ends with “All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory.”

It seems only natural that showrunner Park has chosen memory as the vehicle to deliver his series. Opening on the Captain (Hoa Xuande), imprisoned and forced to write a confession an unknown number of times, we watch as he remembers. A Vietnam story told from his nameless perspective, The Sympathizer brings together Park’s meticulous eye for scenery, the tragedy of his heroes, and the limitless style with which he approaches even the smallest of moments.

The Captain in the South Vietnamese Army is a double agent. He’s a mole for the North’s communist party with a chaotic CIA handler named Claude (Robert Downey Jr.), who trusts him for counterintelligence. The Sympathizer Episode 1 starts after the fall of Saigon and then rewinds: first, to the Captain meeting with Claude for an interrogation, then to days before, and then to days before.

Nonlinear storytelling is never easy, but when a director understands how to transition scenes, it can be why a series or film thrives. Showrunner Park thoroughly understands transitioning from one scene to the next and how far a good CHRYON can go. Every time the moment in time switches, we see it first scroll on the screen in Vietnamese with a tape cassette rewind sound attached before the text scrolls to English. Each jump in time, accentuated by Xuande’s voice-over, pulls the viewer in deeper.

As we jump across time, The Sympathizer is grounded in the Captain and his balancing act. As he explains, he was cursed to see everything from two sides. He’s biracial, he’s bilingual, and neither side will truly accept him because of it, except his best friends-turned-brothers Bon (Fred Nguyen Khan) and Man (Duy Nguyen). As a Captain in the Army, he has to abide by all of Claude and the General’s (Toan Le) commands, but as a mole, he can’t follow those commands perfectly. His entire life is a dance, and for the most part, it seems orchestrated by someone else.

Tonally, the series sets itself up with Park’s signature dark humor sprinkled in the background and small momentary jokes made in dialogue. But it’s also important that Park and McKellar haven’t lost the depth and seriousness of the subject matter in their humor.

Every inch of every set is meticulous. The foreground and background all work together with layers that can be pulled away piece by piece. But for all of its style, The Sympathizer Episode 1 isn’t lacking in any substance. It has its duality. The scales never outweigh each other, and when the episode ends, the only emotion you feel is empty. Like many of Park’s heroes, the Captain is tragic at his core. Forced into a liminal space that isn’t home, the Captain heads to a place he doesn’t want to be. And he’s going to a land of repulsion and fantasy alone.

The Sympathizer may be a little on the nose, and Downey Jr. may be more insufferable than inspired, but the series is off to a great start. Xuande’s performance is one of the strongest on HBO. He’s vulnerable and steadfast, and your eyes can’t pull away when he’s in the frame.

On the whole, The Sympathizer’s premiere episode packs a huge punch. The viewer knows exactly what they’re in for with the rest of the season. The complexity of fear and the vulnerabilities hiding under dedication all mix in Xuande’s performance. Add in the stellar score and soundtrack choices, and well, this is your new dedicated Sunday night television must-watch.

The Sympathizer Episode 1 is streaming now on MAX (formerly HBO MAX), with new episodes airing every Sunday on HBO.