Warning: Spoilers for “The Sympathizer” Episode 1 ahead
HBO’s “The Sympathizer” closed out the final moments of its premiere, titled “Death Wish,” with a visually stunning escape sequence, in which The Captain (Hoa Xuande) and his friend Bon (Fred Nguyen Khan) are attempting to escape Vietnam during the fall of Saigon while weaving past gunfire and explosions.
“It’s not only one of the things people remember from the book, it’s something people remember from the war and from history. It’s certainly a moment and a sequence really indelibly ingrained in the Vietnamese community,” coshowrunner Don McKellar told TheWrap. “Everyone in cast, everyone with Vietnamese heritage had very specific memories and associations with it.