Folks, its brutal and bloody.
But it also feels real.
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The Kandahar flashbacks are littered throughout this episode.
Credit: Nicole Rivelli/Netflix
In the present, Frank has Micro tied up naked in a chair in his own little Micro-Cave.
Before we get into Franks flashbacks, we get another set of flashbacks.
Speaking ofThe Conversation, Micro also ends up seeing something he shouldnt.
But in his case, its video of Ahmad Zubairs interrogation and murder.
We see Micro debate with his wife whether or not he should publicize the tape.
Well, he does it anyway, and the backlash comes soon.
Ordering his children to stay in the car, Micro tries evading his pursuers on foot.
His wife arrives just in time to watch Carson shoot her husband, knocking him backward off the bridge.
Back in the present, Micro explains that a cell phone in his pocket saved his life.
After his death, federal agents went about smearing his name, making him seem like a traitor.
In typically grandiose military fashion, Schoonover insists this makes them his dogs of war.
But interestingly enough, Schoonover doesnt actually seem to be in charge.
As he puts it so succinctly: I point, you shoot.
No other rules apply.
The last thing Ahmad says before Frank kills him is I have a family.
Didnt he deserve it, in a way?
This episode climaxes in a montage of Frank taking out an entire compound of Afghan fighters by himself.
Higher-ups would come up with lists of high-value targets and send their soldiers to kill them.
Often, those murdered would not be Taliban at all, and were often innocent of any crime whatsoever.
Nonetheless, Frank is a solider, and he does his duty.
Theyre anything but heroes.
Again, Im glad that the show isnt painting its protagonists as particularly heroic.
Theyre still going to be acting like shadowy assassins but this time, their targets will deserve it.
Does that make it any better?
Im not sure, and I dont think the show is either…
