kaliwali
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The Pacific | Part Two | Full Reaction
🕑 Added 2025-02-27 23:00:06 +0000 UTCThe night assaults on Guadalcanal felt overwhelmingly terrifying. The way the darkness swallowed everything, with only flashes and screams breaking through, made it feel like pure chaos. Basilone's heroism was incredible to watch. His sheer determination, skill, and the way he just kept going even though his arm was literally burning off. But even with all of his bravery, and talk of awards, there was no sense of triumph.. Just survival.
Beyond the combat, what really hit me in this one was the exhaustion in every Marine's face. They looked so much skinnier than when they made it to shore in August. Leckie's story felt a lot more grounded. Seeing him and the others rummage for supplies just to sustain themselves, drove home just how abandoned the Marines truly were. By the time the battle was over, it didn't feel like a win, just a temporary pause to stop and drink a cup of coffee before the next nightmare. This show is already making me feel the weight of this war in a way I didn't expect.
P.S. Someone shared with me the Part 1 interview and additional content from YouTube, so I'll be reacting to that at the beginning of Part Three :) Or maybe I'll have a new Capture Card by then!
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Relax and enjoy πΏπΏ
LINK: https://youtu.be/Ud7Ov424nk4
I watched this on HBO Max
Comments
Richard
Itβs amazing how many service men met their wives while stationed overseas. Falling in love must have been one way to cope with the brutality, chaos, and despair. I always admired those who could somehow readjust to civilian life and not carry racism or whatever. As far as the gift goes, the shipper was supposed to email a note but I can paraphrase: basically I just expressed that I appreciate the gift you have in being able to connect with people, and open yourself up to give your heart to us.
Kristoffer Smedegaard
Awesome, based on your reactions and what i understand is dynamics you like i really think you would enjoy a show like The Walking Dead.
Kali Wali
Ugh I agree. Visiting these islands would be an incredible experience. Being able to actually stand where these events took place would add a whole new layer of understanding. It's on my bucket list to visit one of these places eventually to do just that. Since I have ancestry in Germany, I would probably head that way though!
Kali Wali
I would love to watch The Walking Dead sometime! I've already seen GoT Seasons 1-3, so I don't think I'll be doing that unfortunately.. But I'd love to dive into a longer show sometime soon like TWD, Lost, or Buffy! I'll do a poll sometime soon for you all when I'm ready to start one up!
Kali Wali
Ugh yess. Everything just is.. There is no real sense of victory or loss, just relentless chaos where just surviving feels like the real and only goal. The way The Pacific shows the mental toll from the start is already so different from BoB, where there was at least some structure and clear progression.. Here it's just every moment feeling like you're trying to hang onto whatever ground you can, physically and mentally. The combat is definitely insane.. It feels so much more personal because it's all happening so up close and at night. There's no real distance between these enemies stuck on a tiny thick jungle. There's no real distance, just sudden chaos! And yess the music. I knew as soon as I saw Zimmer up there that this would hit me. It builds tension then completely vanishes when the fighting starts.. Sheesh
Kali Wali
It's wild to think that they were still using WWI-era weapons at the time... Seeing Basilone burn his hands trying to keep the M1917 going was intense and really showed how insane the battle was for these men. Not just against the enemy but even against their own limitations. The way the Japanese soldiers fought with total disregard for their own lives was terrifying to see. Banzai charges felt so chaotic and knowing that surrender wasn't even an option for them must have made them a terrifying enemy. It's hard to watch, for sure. But I also think it's really important to understand what these men endured. The mental and emotional toll must have been unbearable. Like you said, there was hardly any support for them afterward too :( Very heartbreaking to think about. And don't worry, I'm no history expert either but I still enjoy learning about this and always walk away needing to know more! So I appreciate the shared knowledge :)
Kali Wali
I believe I DID receive your gift and I "unboxed it" in the intro of Captain Marvel (coming tomorrow)! Just let me know when you see the video if it was actually from you since it didn't have a note haha My grandfather was part of the war, but back in Italy. He never talked about it except the fact that he met my grandmother while in service because she was the one writing Dear John letters. But other than that, no ancestors with experiences like this.
John Thomas
As the other John stated very well in his comment...I had intended to bring up the disparity in the quality of the equipment between the Army and the Marines, specifically the water cooled machine gun; however, i just recently saw a picture taken on Guadalcanal during the battle of Army troops and they were using the water cooled machine guns as well......After watching these shows it amazing the rabbit holes you can go down. A channel on YouTube just did a series on Guadalcanal and what it looks like today. They visited Alligator Creek (episode 1) and where Basilone was....looks quite different today, but remnants of the battle are still lying around. If I had endless amounts of money I would love to go visit some of these islands in the Pacific.
Kristoffer Smedegaard
Hi Kali just a question, i dont know how you feel about reacting to longer shows, but i would love to see you react to either The Walking Dead or Game Of Thrones.
M1 Maz
The weight of the mental toll on these men is so apparent right away. Everything is just so brutal and raw. There just doesn't feel like there are any victories, or even losses, or anything really. Everything just.... is. There's just chaos everywhere you look. Compared to a lot of what we saw in BoB, where everything felt very strategic and calculated, I feel like here it's so much harder to see the longer term purpose, other than just doing what you can to live (both physically and mentally) and fighting for what little solid ground you have left The combat is just insane to put it lightly. Most of what we saw in BoB felt like a long range battle of attrition, until one side wears out the other. But here, everything is so fast, brutal, and up close. Like I can't even remember if there was a single shotgun fired in battles depicted in BoB. The music does such a great job of setting the tone of all of that too. It's so dark, and then just drops off during the combat making it feel so much more tense
John A
Sadly, the Marines were equipped with mostly relics from WWI. The Army would typically get the newer equipment first. The Browning M1917 was a water-cooled machine gun that needed to be moved with a heat glove after firing, as you saw with Sergeant John Basilone get badly burned. I think it's safe to say after this episode the Japanese soldier at that time had little disregard for their on lives. They believed it to be honorable to sacrifice themselves for their honor and their country. To surrender or be captured would dishonor themselves and their families, so they rarely didn't fight to the death. They would do what you saw, which is Banzai charges by throwing as many men at their enemies to try and overwhelm them. You're doing great so far, I believe as you said that even if what you are watching is hard, it's important to know what these men went through to ensure our freedom. Mental health is extremely important and for the time there was very little help for the veterans. Btw, I am no expert or historian, I just have found this interesting and important to know over the years. It makes me sad knowing that people can do these things to each other.
Richard
Kali, this stuff definitely seems to hit you pretty hard β¦ did you have ancestors that had to go through those experiences? I promise Iβm not trying to come off as a needy puppy, but Iβm dying to know if you liked the gift I sent π Loving the decor already!
