“All the Humvees in Bravo Company are riddled with bullet holes, but Darnold is the only Marine who was hit. Counting the dozens of roulnds that went through sheet metal, tires, and rucksacks, the men can’t believe they made it. In retrospect the whole engagement was like one of those cheesy action movies in which the bad guys fire thousands of rounds that all narrowly miss the hero.”

What sets these guys apart is that they have been trained so hard that they know exactly what to do in the face of sheer terror. They know they are the best at killing, and don’t define themselves any other way. So getting a chance to actually kill is so affirming for them. They got through that first firefight driving through the town because they can kill better than anyone, a difficult thing as it is, even while the bullets narrowly miss them.

Did you notice when the Iraqis in that town in Ep. 2 fired at the Marine Humvees, they roughly stuck their guns over the roof of the cars and pulled the triggers, barely looking at where the gun was pointed. The Iraqis were afraid to really expose themselves or aim their guns - they just kind of pointed and let Allah guide the bullets. They sprayed a lot of lead, but didn’t kill anybody, not even Marines exposed in roofless Humvees.

The Marines are so cool that they aim and shoot and kill - and these fuckers like to wait until they see your muzzle flash. They let you have the first shot, so they can pinpoint you and kill you. Even while the bullets are flying through the Humvees, the Marines can load, aim, and shoot from muscle memory, not even really thinking about what they are doing. Notice how the officers fire and miss, or overreact? Notice how the RCT Marines blew up the hamlet outside the airfield while the Recon Marines assessed the situation accurately (but had to watch as RCT Marines destroyed the town).

There was in episode 3 the part where the Recon Marines were lined up outside the walled town, and they were fired upon. No panic fire returned… the Recon Marines do not shoot until they see the muzzle flashes. Then they kill without wasting ammo.

What sets the Recon Marines apart, from what I can see, is that they look first, then shoot, and kill methodically. Simple as it may sound, the other Marines or Army just don’t do it as well, at least not by this point in the war. True, the accuracy of their fire is the easy part to notice, but it is how they conduct themselves when it is time to kill or be killed - that is the part I see that shows how well they are trained.

Besides, if you were worried about your training, would you be doing a bad a capella version of “Tainted Love” as you roll through a hostile desert?

Even though we are starting the story in the middle and don’t want long exposition, isn’t there some way to convey this important point. I admit that we see some evidence of their abilities - they are quite the snipers and I assumed that they were being wasted on useless missions - but didn’t understand the depth of the clusterfuck. This seems important. As does all the goofing off and around they do needs to be compared to their real skills and training. Pearson constantly saying he’s a killing machine didn’t convince me.

I also have trouble making out dialogue even after rewinding. But somehow I don’t think I’m missing anything.

By the way I thought Laura Lippman’s new book was really good. She can really turn a phrase.

Like Nancy, I keep seeing newsroom parallels: Two of the best people to be on a big breaking story with, two guys who would have your back at every step of the way, are two guys I couldn’t STAND in my off-hours and I’m sure they’d say the same about me. Plenty of people who are good at their jobs are assholes. The reverse is true as well.

I find GK, like John from Cinncinnati before it, gets better during the week after I see it, as I replay things in my head and think about them. Like The Wire, the tiny little moments are the ones that get you during your resting hours, when they just wander across your thoughts.

A.

I keep seeing comments (at TWOP) and elsewhere, that the series has been popular with folks who have been in the military. I don’t know how this is being quantified but I’ll take it at face value.

throwing together people who normally wouldn’t encounter one another
In the book, we find out that Colbert’s closest friend in the unit is Espera, even though the two of them are worlds apart. I like that, as well as the fact that Colbert tells Wright he wouldn’t be caught dead with most of these people if not for the fact that they work together…

I also admire Fick. The relationship between Fick and Colbert is interesting. Fick is Colbert’s superior but he depends on him for guidance because he’s more experienced , and esp after Ep 3, it’s obvious Colbert depends on Fick as well.

(Sorry I keep chiming in late, I don’t get to see this until the umpteenth re-run as it inevitably conflicts with Mad Men, Bourdain or one of our other ongoing obsessions.)

Seriously, my love for Iceman is approaching Lester Freemon levels.

Ray, I continue to kind of love, too, because he’s so reassuring. There’s not a lot to figure out there, everything he thinks comes right out of his mouth.

The show is getting kind of monotonous to me, but I think that’s the point, it’s monotonous for THEM, too.

A.

My army buddy says the same thing. They’re not nation-builders, they’re a fighting force.

VT, I think it is a very helpful frame - I’ve watched these first couple episodes with the “man vs institution” theme in my mind and had some scattered thoughts, all of which you pulled together very well in this post.

I’m having a hard time dealing with the bloodlust - but that’s for another post, which I will work on for this week.

They’re very proud of their ability to do good civil affairs, but perversely you will hear Marines like GK because they want people to remember that their real primary skill is “to kill people and break things — everything else is politics.”