This short episode is definitely special, so special that it has an O. Henry short story quality to it. The Rat Patrol is charged with a critical mission and Troy must confront a horrible dilemma with little apparent hope of a positive resolution.
War often presents horrible dilemmas and seems to have little room for empathy or compassion or any of humanity's finer capacities, or at least that's the impression it frequently creates. Yes, war certainly presents plenty of dilemmas for even its best fighters and brightest minds. But the awful circumstances of war also, at times, bring out the best humanity has to offer.
The choices in this episode seem simple enough and very limited at first, and early in the story only one motivational path seems to press itself clearly. But true to Rat Patrol form, Troy won't accept a yes/no or either/or sacrifice that results in an unsatisfactory (or less than optimal) outcome. He also won't be blinded by a potentially destructive rage that would be understandable given the events that have transpired.
He finds a creative solution, once again, because the Rat Patrol is "special"-as the Germans have said repeatedly, with good cause, throughout the series. This particular solution happens to be as special as any of them.
"It's governments, not people, who are the enemy. Somos amigos."
War often presents horrible dilemmas and seems to have little room for empathy or compassion or any of humanity's finer capacities, or at least that's the impression it frequently creates. Yes, war certainly presents plenty of dilemmas for even its best fighters and brightest minds. But the awful circumstances of war also, at times, bring out the best humanity has to offer.
The choices in this episode seem simple enough and very limited at first, and early in the story only one motivational path seems to press itself clearly. But true to Rat Patrol form, Troy won't accept a yes/no or either/or sacrifice that results in an unsatisfactory (or less than optimal) outcome. He also won't be blinded by a potentially destructive rage that would be understandable given the events that have transpired.
He finds a creative solution, once again, because the Rat Patrol is "special"-as the Germans have said repeatedly, with good cause, throughout the series. This particular solution happens to be as special as any of them.
"It's governments, not people, who are the enemy. Somos amigos."
- An anonymous Cuban, speaking to a Canadian, a New Yorker, and an Arkansan in a Mexican night club over chilled glasses of Cuba Libre.
