Just watched last night’s episode, and I thought it was definitely the best of the series so far. We really got a chance to get to know Leckie (or in my case, figure out which one he was, since I’m terrible with faces), and I thought his storyline with Stella was fantastic.
My wife is Australian, and gives a big thumbs up for local authenticity.
Leckie’s storyline was great and the sergeant being sent home to sell warbonds was great. I didn’t really get what was going on with the other guys – besides their desire to get laid. Was the scene near the end with the guy and young girl in the hotel room supposed to have some sort of emotional resonance? All I could think of was that Grandpa was not going to be happy that the soldier was handling the merchandise. The guy shooting cows from the train was an asshole.
I haven’t watched it yet but I’ve been reading Sepinwall’s blog. Some viewers are very unhappy that they aren’t showing Leckie’s character as he really was. Apparently he was a womanizer, drank a lot, was arrested, demoted, and in the brig a few times. The affair with “Stella” never happened.
Why would the writers make a change like that, if they’re going for accuracy? Is the accuracy just for the military stuff?
You are never going to get 100% accuracy in these kinds of shows. Made up characters are not rare. The episode was pretty good, I guess the rest will be based more on combat except maybe the last one.
Apparently Leckie was a troublemaker in real life but that scene on guard duty with the officer (captain?) made no sense at all story wise.
The scene with grandpa was plain weird too. I suppose they were going for humor but it didn’t resonate with me.
I think there would be a fair amount of liberty taken with the historical characters, because in addition to to their own stories, they need to represent soldiers in general and the experiences that were common to many. They wanted to cover the problem of falling in love during a extended stay when everyone knows the soldiers will eventually leave and never return. That may not have really happened to Leckie, but it would have been confusing to bring in a new character, and it is more effective with a character we have already begun to identify with.
I thought that whole storyline was very well written and acted, and was a pleasure to watch, even if it took time out from the military drama.