'The Sympathizer' on HBO: Mystery behind Captain's capture promises a riveting finale
Contains spoilers for 'The Sympathizer'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'The Sympathizer', streaming on HBO Max, has kept fans engaged by moving the narrative back and forth since the first episode.
The series opened with a scene of Captain (Hoa Xuande) held in prison and being interrogated. As he begins writing his confession, the story takes a backward leap and showcases his life as a spy in the South Vietnamese army.
After the two episodes, the location shifts to Los Angeles as Captain, along with his General (Toan Le) are forced to flee Vietnam after the fall of Saigon.
What remains constant is Captain's dedication towards his spying mission and the frequent flash forwards to his time in prison.
Captain returns to Vietnam in 'The Sympathizer' finale episode
Up until the final moments of Episode 6, it remained a mystery how Captain landed into North Vietnamese prison while he has relocated to LA.
General, who has been working on his mission to reclaim their homeland, finally pulls together his small army for the final showdown.
Upon learning his childhood friend Bon's (Fred Nguyen Khan) participation in the mission, Captain requests his handler/friend, Man (Duy Nguyễn) to call him to Vietnam as well.
Much to his shock, Man rejects his request and thus Captain is left with no choice but to join the mission himself, believing that his presence in Vietnam could save Bon.
Bon, Captain and dozens of other Vietnamese men get on a flight to Thailand, aiming to infiltrate Vietnam and attack communists.
The finale episode will finally explain how Captain is captured by North Vietnamese soldiers.
Who ordered Captain's interrogation in 'The Sympathizer'?
While being held captive, Captain has to write hundreds of pages as confession, wherein he narrates minute details of his time as a spy for the North in South Vietnam and Los Angeles.
Startling discoveries awaits in 'The Sympathizer' Episode 7 as Captain will discover the identity of the man behind the rigorous interrogation.
The HBO series is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen's novel of the same name.
[Massive spoiler ahead] In the novel's climax, Captain discovers that it is his handler, Man, who ordered his interrogation, so he can confess to the missing details from his confession, including the role he played in his father’s death and the time he stood silent, watching his fellow communist spy being tortured by the CIA.
While the television adaptation has followed the source till now, it would be interesting to see how they conclude the series.
'The Sympathizer' trailer
'The Sympathizer' is available to stream on Max