Part Two (The Pacific)

"Part Two"
The Pacific episode
Episode no.Episode 2
Directed byDavid Nutter
Written byBruce C. McKenna
Produced by
Cinematography byRemi Adefarasin
Editing by
  • Alan Cody
  • Marta Evry
Original release dateMarch 21, 2010 (2010-03-21)
Running time55 minutes
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Part One" 		Next →
"Part Three"

"Part Two" is the second episode of the American war drama miniseries The Pacific. The episode was written by series developer Bruce C. McKenna, and directed by David Nutter. It originally aired on HBO on March 21, 2010.

The series focuses on the United States Marine Corps's actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations within the wider Pacific War. It primarily centers on the experiences of three Marines (Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone) who were in different regiments (1st, 5th, and 7th, respectively) of the 1st Marine Division. The episode follows the Division's stand during the Battle for Henderson Field.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.79 million household viewers and gained a 1.0 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, who praised the battle sequences and Nutter's directing.

Plot[edit]

In October 1942, the 7th Marine Regiment land on Guadalcanal. Basilone, Rodriguez and Morgan are among the Regiment's soldiers, scouting the jungle as they await for instructions. After a Lieutenant is killed by gunfire, they rendezvous with the 1st Marine Division to continue with their operation.

With very limited supplies, the Division is struggling to focus as they prepare for any Japanese ambush. Chesty Puller informs the Marines that the Army will drop more supplies soon. Despite the warning of a possible Japanese air raid, the soldiers happily retrieve supplies from crates in the beach. At night, the Marines are attacked by the Japanese, forcing them to take shelter from the air raid. The next morning, they are instructed to protect part of the airfield as the Japanese are closing in. Puller convinces Basilone in handing Rodriguez to help him in protecting part of the airfield.

At night, another bombing takes place in the jungle. Basilone, attempting to relocate his machine gun to a better position, bare-handedly cradles the hot barrel and severely burns his arms. Despite this, he continues fighting and kills scores of Japanese troops. The following morning, Basilone searches in the jungle, discovering that Rodriguez has been killed in action. In Mobile, Alabama, Sledge informs his father that he is enlisting despite his heart murmur. His father expresses concern for the kind of man his son will become when he witnesses the horrors of war.

As the unit prepares to leave Guadalcanal, Basilone wonders the different routes that Rodriguez could've taken. They board a ship, where they drink coffee. They are astounded to discover that the campaign has been followed in the newspapers back in America, and that they are seen as war heroes.

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

The episode was written by series developer Bruce C. McKenna, and directed by David Nutter. This was McKenna's second writing credit, and Nutter's first directing credit.[1]

Reception[edit]

Viewers[edit]

In its original American broadcast, "Part Two" was seen by an estimated 2.79 million household viewers with a 1.0 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[2] This was a 10% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 3.08 million household viewers with a 1.1 in the 18-49 demographics.[3]

Critical reviews[edit]

"Part Two" received extremely positive reviews from critics. Ramsey Isler of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8.2 out of 10 and wrote, "In every technical sense, this episode series is brilliant. Each scene is portrayed well, with crisp cinematography and directing. While the series doesn't really ask much of its cast, the actors do their jobs well. It doesn't feel as if any of them are acting. They're totally believable as the characters they portray. The problem is we've seen this all before in every genre from movies, to TV, even video games. This is certainly a well-told story, but it's a story we already know, unfortunately, and that takes away some of the impact."[4]

Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "Instead of taking the Band of Brothers approach of slowly ramping us up to the point where we know all of the characters before they're dropped into hell, The Pacific just drops us into hell right away with them and expects us to keep up. The first two hours of this show don't do a whole lot to distinguish our central threesome - Sledge, Leckie and Basilone - beyond the very broadest of strokes."[5] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "This may be one of the few TV shows now on the air to suggest that fame is empty, fleeting. As such, quite aside from its value as dramatized history, The Pacific can serve as an antidote to an awful lot of television that’s addicted to empty fame."[6]

Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger wrote, "Leckie and his buddies are tired and filthy and so very, very much older than they were when they landed a few months before, and they're not sure how to react to being considered heroes when they were just barely holding on half the time. But you can also see that the word means something to them - that their sacrifices, and the ultimate sacrifices of the comrades who didn't make it off Guadalcanal alive, weren't happening in a vacuum. People in 1942 knew of the heroism of the 1st Marines and now, 68 years later, they know it again."[7] Adam Bryant of TV Guide wrote, "With most of the scene-setting taken care of in Part 1, this hour is devoted to much more action."[8]

Paul MacInnes of The Guardian wrote, "Some head to a new posting on the island, others (Leckie's band) are taken back to a carrier ship where they are informed, in the show's final needlessly saccharine exchange, that they are heroes to the people back home."[9] Nick Horton of Den of Geek wrote, "All in all, the opening two episodes of The Pacific are blockbuster television, and utterly compelling. I could have happily sat in the auditorium and watched the entire 10 hour series in one go. As long as the characters are not lost amongst the visuals, then this could even be more successful Band Of Brothers."[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Pacific - WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 23, 2010). "Nielsen Ratings for HBO's "The Pacific" Down, But Not Much For Second Episode". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 16, 2010). "Kamikaze! HBO's Big Budget The Pacific Premiere Ratings Disappoint". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Isler, Ramsey (March 22, 2010). "The Pacific: "Part Two" Review". IGN. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  5. ^ St. James, Emily (March 22, 2010). "The Pacific: "Part Two"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Tucker, Ken (March 21, 2010). "'The Pacific,' episode two review: 'You're heroes back home'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  7. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (March 22, 2010). "The Pacific, 'Part Two': Basilone to the rescue". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  8. ^ Bryant, Adam (March 21, 2010). "The Pacific Episode Recap: "Part 2"". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  9. ^ MacInnes, Paul (April 5, 2010). "The Pacific: episodes one and two". The Guardian. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Horton, Nick (February 24, 2010). "The Pacific episodes 1 & 2 review". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

External links[edit]

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