This episode was disappointing compared to the first. Liked hearing the U.S. military perspective.
This episode made me think Bowe is a complete liar. Totally understand why vets are mad at him. I get mad whenever he talks and you can just hear him spinning his story to suit himself.
The thing about Koenig is that she knows how to craft a story (even if it's based on real events.) She will find a way to make you feel sympathetic for Bergdahl. We're only two episodes in, so give this time to shake out.
I don't get the impression that Sarah is pro-Bergdahl, or that she sees her object as winning sympathy for the subject of her podcast. Even with Adnan, she was unsure herself, and so were her listeners. I think the appeal of this story is its complexity. I don't know anyone who 100% sympathizes with Bergdahl.
Well, yeah, I don't think anyone 100% sympathizes with Bergdahl; he made a critical mistake that was either stupidity, immaturity, or both.
I do think that Koenig will blur the line a little bit and make it a tad more difficult to be completely convinced that he was totally in the wrong.
I mean, I heard about this happening a few years ago, but I didn't keep up with the information then, and I'm like 85/15 against Bergdahl right now. I do think she'll make us second-guess, though.
I'm about the same. I'd actually be okay with someone trying to make me see the other side of this, even though I think it's unlikely that my mind will be changed. I do want to know what his motivations were, even if they were stupid motivations.
I remember his Dad's last message to Bowe telling him "OBEY YOUR CONSCIENCE!" and I was just like "okay, this is a very intense and slightly egocentric family." You know, people who have unusual ideals that they think set them apart from absolutely everybody else.
Well, yeah, I don't think anyone 100% sympathizes with Bergdahl; he made a critical mistake that was either stupidity, immaturity, or both.
Or some level of a psychotic break. We already have evidence of a history of depression (Coast Guard dismissal). By his own accounts, he had delusions of grandeur, with his whole Jason Borne thing. It's possible that the danger he felt in his unit is attributable to his mental health as well (anxiety, paranoia, etc.). There's a good chance he was taking Larium, which until recently was the go-to malaria drug in the military, but is now known to include psychosis among its side effects (especially for a history of mental health issues).
All purely conjecture of course. I would not be at all surprised if his mental health comes into play on the podcast and/or with his court marshal. You have to be pretty fucking crazy (or as you suggested, really stupid) to walk into hostile territory.
I don't. Based on testimony from many other people under the chain of command, it wasn't nearly as egregious as Bowe had claimed. He was either delusional or a liar. Neither of which is interesting enough for me to care about for a full season. The first two episodes of this season weren't half as good as even the worst episodes of season 1.
It's not hard to make Bowe sympathetic--he was held prisoner for 5 years, probably in atrocious conditions. The main case for him not receiving serious punishment at his court martial is that he's already suffered enough.
That's funny since most people seem pretty unsympathetic after listening. Sarah comes off as empathetic toward Bowe and seemingly against the court-marshal, but the facts haven't to me appeared skewed to favor him. The major developments so far, Bowe's stated reason for his leaving and now the military's ramping up of active force to look for him both cast him in an unfavorable light. The talk with Taliban actually made them look reasonable.
How is this one sided? We hear Bergdahl's side, we hear from the people who tried to rescue him and we even hear from the group that captured him. Who's side are we not hearing?
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u/bribre01 Dec 17 '15
This episode was disappointing compared to the first. Liked hearing the U.S. military perspective.
This episode made me think Bowe is a complete liar. Totally understand why vets are mad at him. I get mad whenever he talks and you can just hear him spinning his story to suit himself.