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
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » TV » REVIEW: ‘The Sympathizer’ Episode 6 — “The Oriental Mode of Destruction”

REVIEW: ‘The Sympathizer’ Episode 6 — “The Oriental Mode of Destruction”

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez05/19/20243 Mins ReadUpdated:05/19/2024
The Sympathizer Episode 6
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Written for television by Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar, and Anchuli Felicia King, The Sympathizer Episode 6, “The Oriental Mode of Destruction,” is directed by Marc Munden. With a near-chaotic split from the tone of the first half of the season, the HBO limited series has found its footing. Episode 6 of The Sympathizer captures the themes of the previous episodes by allowing the Captain (Hoa Xuande) to break, finally. As the penultimate episode of the limited series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen‘s novel of the same name, The Sympathizer Episode 6 has a lot to do.

Forced to work under an idiot General (Toan Le) has finally taken its toll when a new military campaign against the Viet Cong puts Bon (Fred Nguyen Khan) on a trip back home. Assured that it will be an absolute failure, the Captain can’t stand to lose his best friend, his brother. But Bon is attempting to make himself whole after the death of his wife and child. Only despite reaching out to Man (Duy Nguyen), he doesn’t get the greenlight.

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

The Sympathizer Episode 6 puts the Captain on his second assassination mission and centers the political scene in Los Angeles with Ned Goodwin (Robert Downey Jr.) and the racism reverberating throughout it. However, the mission breaks the Captain in a way others haven’t. He tells it all to Sonny (Alan Trong) a gun hidden. The Captain spilled that he is a part of an anti-anti-revolutionary strategy. He has been playing both sides and ultimately is a communist.

It’s a moment of desperation that Xuande plays in an excruciatingly empathetic way. The camera pans in on his face, and his tears brim his eyes. If he has to keep killing and has to keep following Man’s orders, losing pieces of himself in the process he can let the mask slip just once. Only Sonny first thinks it is a joke and his laughs make the Captain’s anguish even more potent.

There is a lot happening in The Sympathizer Episode 6, but the humor and the darkness are perfectly paired. While the episode captures just about everything the Captain has been feeling over the course of the series, it’s the moment of Sonny’s murder that pulls it all into focus.

As the Captain shoots through a soda can used as a makeshift silencer, everything slows down, the weight crashes on Sonny, and the jazz score erupts. A kinetic moment, the completion of this assassination assignment solidifies the chaos that is engulfing the Captain. His uncertainty mixed with his fear and the desperate need for some semblance of light at the end of the tunnel. Everything is volatile, and this moment captures it all with the best use of music in the entire limited series so far.

The Sympathizer Episode 6 solidly takes the reigns back of the narrative with its end, moving it from disjointed to connected with ease. Bon and the Captain on a plane, the latter’s ghosts in toe, The Sympathizer’s dark wit and large political commentary are expertly capitalized on. With the Captain on a plane to Vietnam, we’re approaching the series’ end and, with it, understanding why our lead is detailing this story from prison.

The Sympathizer Episode 6 is streaming now on MAX (HBO MAX), with new episodes every Sunday.

The Sympathizer Episode 6 — "The Oriental Mode of Destruction"
  • 8.5/10
    Rating - 8.5/10
8.5/10

TL;DR

The Sympathizer Episode 6 solidly takes the reigns back of the narrative with its end, moving it from disjointed to connected with ease. Bon and the Captain on a plane, the latter’s ghosts in toe, The Sympathizer’s dark wit and large political commentary are expertly capitalized on.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc’ — Episode 2
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Interview With The Vampire’ Episode 9 — “Do You Know What It Means To Be Loved By Death”
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

Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

07/03/2025
Anthony Ramos in Ironheart Episodes 4-6

REVIEW: ‘Ironheart’ Episodes 4-6

07/01/2025
The Bear Season 4 But Why Tho 3
7.0

REVIEW: ‘The Bear’ Season 4 Tries to Bounce Back

06/30/2025
Squid Game Season 3
9.5

REVIEW: ‘Squid Game’ Season 3 Delivers An Emotion-Filled Finale

06/27/2025
Taecyeon in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 5-6
7.5

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 5-6

06/26/2025
Cho Yi-hyun in Head Over Heels Episodes 1-2
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Head Over Heels’ Episodes 1-2

06/24/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

The Terminal List: Dark Wolf trailer First Look Image From Prime Video News

Prime Video Unleashes Teaser for Prequel Series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf

By Kate Sánchez07/04/2025

The first Terminal List: Dark Wolf trailer was released today by Prime Video. The series…

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

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