Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
    Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

    Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

    08/29/2025
    Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

    ‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

    08/28/2025
    Olivia Colman in The Roses

    ‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

    08/27/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » TV » REVIEW: The Sympathizer Episode 2 — “Good Little Asian”

REVIEW: The Sympathizer Episode 2 — “Good Little Asian”

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez04/21/20244 Mins Read
The Sympathizer Episode 2
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The Sympathizer brought audiences through the fall of Saigon in Episode 1 of the series. Now, in The Sympathizer Episode 2, “Good Little Asian,” written by Park Chan-wook & Don McKellar, and Naomi Iizuka brings us to the United States.  Directed by Park Chan-wook, this episode is emotional. Still tinged with the humor you expect from the first episode, it’s also steeped in the uncertainty, racism, and introspective history of the first episode.

In The Sympathizer Episode 2, we watch as the Captain (Hoa Xuande) continues his story for his captors. He got on the plane and made it with Bon (Fred Nguyen Khan), as much as it looked like he didn’t, and now, he’s adjusting to life in Los Angeles. There’s plenty for him to contend with. The Captain is forced to find his way around another weird white CIA man played by Robert Downey Jr (this time racist in the “I’m just like you” kind of way). He also has to find a way to help his traumatized brother Bon, and also find someone to implicate when the General (Toan Le) begins to suspect a mole is sabotaging him.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

In reality, though, even with the Captain sending word back to Vietnam, the General doesn’t need anyone working against him to make the refugees clap when he shows up to the mess hall in full regalia. This while they’re forced to eat slop and be treated as less than human by American soldiers. This begins the shift in the episode’s focus on the constant humiliation that the Captain lives through. This is most centrally present through his time with Professor Hammer (Robert Downey Jr.).

Professor Hammer may seem like a caricature of academia. Still, I can assure you that any person of color who has to deal with a white academic studying a culture that isn’t their own has met at least someone like him. No matter what he says, he’s humiliating the Captain. But to be honest, even the anti-war Americans are just as terrible. They are wholly incapable of understanding what they were even protesting for. Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel has teeth, and Park doesn’t lose any of that sharp critique in this adaptation.

The Sympathizer Episode 2

Seeing Downey Jr. as another weird white man makes the insufferable performance from Episode 1 make sense and pulls his place in the series together. Granted, that’s all pushed by Xuande’s stellar performance reacting to him. In fact, the way in which the white characters in The Sympathizer fall to the sidelines is masterful, even in Los Angeles, but especially when they’re putting the Captain and others through the wringer. They’re always off-cam, slightly obscured, or there to show just how stupid they are in their racism. This is Xuande’s series, and he propels it further in every scene.

Sandra Oh plays Sofia Mori, a new addition to the cast in The Sympathizer Episode 2. She sees the Captain for who he is, which is different from the rest of the world. In some moments, it is as if there is something more real in him because of how they begin to build a relationship. Oh’s Sofia is unashamed of who she is and unafraid of changing how she acts to fit the white men she works with.

The Sympathizer Episode 2 doesn’t just focus on character work. It also brings the audience into spycraft. We see exactly how the Captain relays information back to Vietnam and the complexity of working both sides. As the General begins to pay close attention to his surroundings, the Captain is anxious. Xuande’s performance is full of nervous energy, like someone in a room with the walls closing in.

Overall, The Sympathizer Episode 2 uses its stream-of-consciousness narration to its advantage. It allows for constant interjection and allows comedy to be layered into the larger and darker narrative. At only episode two, Xuande has proven himself as an actor who can carry a series. While the ensemble cast is all fantastic, his performances, voice-over, and ability to hold attention in every scene no matter how outlandish it gets.

The Sympathizer Episode 2 is streaming now on MAX (formerly HBO Max), and new episodes premiere every Sunday on HBO.

The Sympathizer Episode 2
  • 9/10
    Rating - 9/10
9/10

TL;DR

The Sympathizer Episode 2 uses its stream-of-consciousness narration to its advantage. It allows for constant interjection and allows comedy to be layered into the larger and darker narrative.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’ Season 2 Episode 15 – “Afar”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Knuckles’ Is Unserious In The Best Way Possible
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Travis, Ned (Domnhall Gleeson), and Adelola in Season 1 of The Paper
6.0

REVIEW: ‘The Paper’ Season 1 Lacks Conviction

09/03/2025
Mitsuki Yamato Invasion Season 3 Episode 2 still from Apple TV+

RECAP: ‘Invasion’ Season 3 Episode 2 — “The Message”

09/02/2025
John Cena in Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2

RECAP: ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode 2 – “A Man Is Only As Good As His Bird”

08/29/2025
Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

08/29/2025
Ateez featured in KPOPPED
6.5

REVIEW: ‘KPOPPED’ Has Potential But Loses Its Spark

08/28/2025
Sydney Chandler in Alien Earth Episode 4
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Alien: Earth’ Episode 4 — “Observation”

08/26/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Cosmic Spider-Man card details Features

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

By Kate Sánchez09/02/2025Updated:09/02/2025

An exclusive look at a new 5-Color Spider entering Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, and Cosmic Spider-Man is going to be a tough one to take on.

Hololive EN at Radio City Music Hall Events

Hololive EN At Radio City Music Hall Was A Pure Expression Of Fandom

By Adrian Ruiz08/31/2025Updated:09/03/2025

Hololive EN turned Radio City in New York City into the pure expression of fandom: chants, penlights, and community in perfect sync.

Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0
TV

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

By Will Borger08/29/2025Updated:08/29/2025

Still barreling toward a knock-down, drag-out fight between Gaal and the Mule in Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 ups the stakes.

Karl Anthony Towns in NBA 2k26 But Why Tho
8.5
PS5

REVIEW: ‘NBA 2K26’ Brings Basketball To Life

By Kyle Foley09/03/2025

NBA 2K26 combines improved visuals with some important tweaks to keep the series feeling fresh in the latest yearly release.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here