...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Sympathizer

198 statements
38 feature instances
2 referencing feature instances

The Sympathizer	type	TVTItem
The Sympathizer	label	The Sympathizer
The Sympathizer	page	TheSympathizer
The Sympathizer	comment	The Sympathizer is a historical black comedy/drama miniseries based on the historical fiction novel of the same name, adapted by Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar for A24 and HBO.The show is set during the Vietnam War and follows "the Captain" (Hoa Xunde), a biracial North Vietnam spy planted as a police captain serving the South Vietnamese General Trá»�ng (Toan Le) in Saigon. After the fall of Saigon the Captain is forced to flee to the United States along with the general, and continues his espionage for North Vietnam while integrating into American society.The series also stars Robert Downey Jr. (who also produces) as several American characters; Sandra Oh as Sofia Mori; Fred Nguyen Khan as Bá»‘n; Duy Nguyá»…n as Máº«n; and Vy Le as Lana.The show's first episode (of seven) premiered on April 14, 2024.
The Sympathizer	fetched	2024-05-13T18:32:05Z
The Sympathizer	parsed	2024-05-13T18:32:05Z
The Sympathizer	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Sympathizer / int_1002c67d	type	"Have a Nice Day" Smile
The Sympathizer / int_1002c67d	comment	The Captain and Bon's plan to kill Major Oanh is hindered by them bantering in the car over how exactly to do it, with the Captain deciding to hide the gun inside a "Have a Nice Day" Smile-style takeout bag because he thinks it'll put the Major at ease before he shoots him.
The Sympathizer / int_1002c67d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_1002c67d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_1002c67d
The Sympathizer / int_1282bf4f	type	No Celebrities Were Harmed
The Sympathizer / int_1282bf4f	comment	No Celebrities Were Harmed: Niko is a very thinly-veiled version of Francis Ford Coppola, with The Hamlet being obviously based on Apocalypse Now, and he has a series of films called The Combination that appear to be this universe's version of The Godfather trilogy. Ryan Glenn serves as a loose analogue to Marlon Brando, as a well-regarded and acclaimed actor who's nonetheless extremely difficult to work with due to his penchant for method acting.
The Sympathizer / int_1282bf4f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_1282bf4f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_1282bf4f
The Sympathizer / int_148df40c	type	One-Drop Rule
The Sympathizer / int_148df40c	comment	One-Drop Rule: Claude gifts the Captain a record of The Isley Brothers and proudly proclaims that he's "1/16 negro". They are not impressed.
The Sympathizer / int_148df40c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_148df40c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_148df40c
The Sympathizer / int_1e1afc1b	type	Framing Device
The Sympathizer / int_1e1afc1b	comment	Framing Device: The story is framed as a confession being given by an incarcerated Captain and presented as flashbacks to the audience.
The Sympathizer / int_1e1afc1b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_1e1afc1b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_1e1afc1b
The Sympathizer / int_1e7487cd	type	Breaking the Fourth Wall
The Sympathizer / int_1e7487cd	comment	Breaking the Fourth Wall: Given that the story relies on a Framing Device and frequent narration, the Captain will occasionally address the audience while narrating, such as when he brings up an incident involving the General in the second episode, realizes he hasn't shown it to the audience, and helpfully rewinds the scene to show us a flashback of what happened. In the fourth episode, he outright admits in his narration that he's making up some scenes that he didn't witness firsthand.
The Sympathizer / int_1e7487cd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_1e7487cd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_1e7487cd
The Sympathizer / int_1fe9e22	type	Childhood Friends
The Sympathizer / int_1fe9e22	comment	Childhood Friends: Bá»‘n, Máº«n and the protagonist have been friends since childhood, even calling themselves "blood brothers" and "The Three Musketeers". Unfortunately, Bá»‘n is unaware that Máº«n and the protagonist are secretly spies for North Vietnam.
The Sympathizer / int_1fe9e22	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_1fe9e22	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_1fe9e22
The Sympathizer / int_222dc873	type	Black Comedy
The Sympathizer / int_222dc873	comment	Black Comedy: The Captain and Bon's plan to kill Major Oanh is hindered by them bantering in the car over how exactly to do it, with the Captain deciding to hide the gun inside a "Have a Nice Day" Smile-style takeout bag because he thinks it'll put the Major at ease before he shoots him. In a flashback, a resistance soldier who's been captured by the CIA decides to kill himself by choking on a hard-boiled egg instead of confessing. After the Captain is able to get the egg out of the soldier's throat, Claude nonchalantly peels and eats it, explaining to a dumbfounded Captain that it's perfectly safe to eat since the shell protects the egg, seemingly oblivious to the Captain's obvious horror over everything that's just happened.
The Sympathizer / int_222dc873	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_222dc873	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_222dc873
The Sympathizer / int_24c0675f	type	Chronically Killed Actor
The Sympathizer / int_24c0675f	comment	Chronically Killed Actor: James Yoon is a Korean-American actor who has long been typecast as being the token Asian guy who dies in every movie.
The Sympathizer / int_24c0675f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_24c0675f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_24c0675f
The Sympathizer / int_2534ee67	type	In Medias Res
The Sympathizer / int_2534ee67	comment	In Medias Res: The first episode begins with the Captain being interrogated before flashing back to the events surrounding the fall of Saigon.
The Sympathizer / int_2534ee67	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_2534ee67	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_2534ee67
The Sympathizer / int_2c437b06	type	Violently Protective Girlfriend
The Sympathizer / int_2c437b06	comment	Violently Protective Girlfriend: Gender-inverted; Jamie, who has begun dating Lana on the set of The Hamlet, is supposed into intervene during the rape scene between Ryan and Lana's characters, but he gets so incensed during the filming of the scene that he beats up Ryan for real and ends up accidentally ruining the set. To a lesser extent, this also applies to the Captain, who has started developing feelings for Lana and purposefully cues Jamie in early before Ryan can actually rape her.
The Sympathizer / int_2c437b06	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_2c437b06	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_2c437b06
The Sympathizer / int_38d02d44	type	Batman Gambit
The Sympathizer / int_38d02d44	comment	Batman Gambit: When picking the officers to go on the plane to America, the Captain knows that he can't send the competent ones, as helping them escape would undermine his mission to the North, but can't send the incompetent ones, since that would raise the General's suspicions. Thus, he deliberately chooses the incompetent officers who only seem competent.
The Sympathizer / int_38d02d44	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_38d02d44	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_38d02d44
The Sympathizer / int_4a3e547f	type	Leaning on the Fourth Wall
The Sympathizer / int_4a3e547f	comment	Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The first episode ends with Bon and the Captain making a dramatic run for one of the last American aircrafts out of Saigon, and it's unclear if they make it because Bon is grieving the abrupt death of his wife and child. At the beginning of the next episode, his interrogator comments that the Captain left his confession on a "Hollywood cliffhanger".
The Sympathizer / int_4a3e547f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_4a3e547f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_4a3e547f
The Sympathizer / int_52196c03	type	Age-Gap Romance
The Sympathizer / int_52196c03	comment	Age-Gap Romance: While in America, the Captain gets involved with Sofia, who's several decades older than him. The problem of their relationship lies not so much about their age gap, but rather the nature of their relationship, as Sofia wants to keep it strictly sexual while the Captain wants their relationship to be a genuine one after he falls in love with her.
The Sympathizer / int_52196c03	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_52196c03	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_52196c03
The Sympathizer / int_537dd8fe	type	Affably Evil
The Sympathizer / int_537dd8fe	comment	Affably Evil: Claude is a ruthless CIA agent who commits several unambiguously terrible deeds, but he is a relatively easygoing and friendly person when he's not gleefully trying to torture a captured prisoner or planning on murdering someone, and seems to genuinely care about the Captain, whom he's taken as his protege.
The Sympathizer / int_537dd8fe	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_537dd8fe	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_537dd8fe
The Sympathizer / int_58bf7895	type	Eat the Evidence
The Sympathizer / int_58bf7895	comment	Eat the Evidence: After being captured picking up a roll of film containing the general's staff list in the first episode, a female spy chooses to swallow it rather than give it over to her South Vietnamese captors. Later, she's tied up as the cops wait for her to defecate.
The Sympathizer / int_58bf7895	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_58bf7895	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_58bf7895
The Sympathizer / int_5b0a8d6a	type	Racial Face Blindness
The Sympathizer / int_5b0a8d6a	comment	Racial Face Blindness: Parodied. In an inversion of "all Asians look alike", several prominent white characters are played by Robert Downey Jr..
The Sympathizer / int_5b0a8d6a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_5b0a8d6a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_5b0a8d6a
The Sympathizer / int_61996785	type	Sacrificial Lamb
The Sympathizer / int_61996785	comment	Sacrificial Lamb: Bon, despite being South Vietnamese, is a loving Family Man and near and dear to his friends who are secretly North Vietnam spies. They arrange a transport for him and his family out of Saigon, but his wife and young baby are killed at the end of the first episode, solidifying the grimness of the war to the protagonist and the audience.
The Sympathizer / int_61996785	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_61996785	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_61996785
The Sympathizer / int_63d861f8	type	Even Evil Has Loved Ones
The Sympathizer / int_63d861f8	comment	Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Claude is definitely not a good person, given that he enthusiastically participates in the interrogation and torture of a communist-affiliated woman in the first episode. However, he does seem to have some genuine care for the Captain, giving him records he thinks the Captain might appreciate and playfully teasing him around after the meeting with the General. He's also clearly happy to see the Captain when they reunite in America.
The Sympathizer / int_63d861f8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_63d861f8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_63d861f8
The Sympathizer / int_6f214508	type	Foreign Culture Fetish
The Sympathizer / int_6f214508	comment	Foreign Culture Fetish: Professor Hammer, the Captain's Eastern Studies professor from his college days, has a fascination for Asian culture that borders on fetishization, including taking a shine to the Captain for his mixed-race background and trying to get Sofia to embrace her Japanese heritage even though she clearly doesn't want to.
The Sympathizer / int_6f214508	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_6f214508	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_6f214508
The Sympathizer / int_71748a39	type	Named by the Adaptation
The Sympathizer / int_71748a39	comment	Named by the Adaptation: While the narrator is still not given a proper name, the television series script gives him a title by referring to him as the Captain. The General and the Major's last names, Trá»�ng and Oanh, are given here, while The Auteur is named Niko Damianos and the congressman is named Ned Godwin. As for the actors in Niko's film, Ryan Glenn and Jamie Johnson were only ever referred to as The Thespian and The Idol in the book, respectively, while the actual film is called The Hamlet instead of going unnamed.
The Sympathizer / int_71748a39	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_71748a39	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_71748a39
The Sympathizer / int_71b28b78	type	Culture Equals Costume
The Sympathizer / int_71b28b78	comment	Culture Equals Costume: Sofia is Japanese-American and grudgingly wears a kimono to her Occidental Otaku boss's function.
The Sympathizer / int_71b28b78	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_71b28b78	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_71b28b78
The Sympathizer / int_723606c4	type	Adaptational Early Appearance
The Sympathizer / int_723606c4	comment	Adaptational Early Appearance: In the book, the Captain only meets up again with Lana once he's in Los Angeles. In the show she's present from the get-go and escapes Saigon with her family.
The Sympathizer / int_723606c4	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_723606c4	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_723606c4
The Sympathizer / int_764ba6ce	type	Hostility on the Set
The Sympathizer / int_764ba6ce	comment	Hostility on the Set: In-Universe; the production of The Hamlet is derailed significantly when Ryan begins to pick fights with the other actors because he feels they aren't taking their work seriously enough, and he begins to target Jamie especially since he's a first-time actor. Niko and the Captain can also barely see eye-to-eye due to Niko's ego getting in the way of the Captain's valid suggestions.
The Sympathizer / int_764ba6ce	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_764ba6ce	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_764ba6ce
The Sympathizer / int_80a247a9	type	Breather Episode
The Sympathizer / int_80a247a9	comment	Breather Episode: The fourth episode is a one-off Filler episode that takes a break from the main plot to follow the Captain's adventures during the production of a war movie that goes awry. It contains no relation to the rest of the story, features relatively low stakes and much more humor, and, with the exception of Niko and Ryan, the new characters that the Captain meets are fairly nice and likable people.
The Sympathizer / int_80a247a9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_80a247a9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_80a247a9
The Sympathizer / int_83cef301	type	Right for the Wrong Reasons
The Sympathizer / int_83cef301	comment	Right for the Wrong Reasons: After making it to America, the General becomes paranoid that there is a spy in the community of refugees he came with and tasks the Captain with finding out who it is. He is right that there is a mole who's out for him, but is completely wrong about who the mole is or the circumstances behind it (for example, he misconstrues a toilet seat cover nearly falling on him as an assassination attempt).
The Sympathizer / int_83cef301	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_83cef301	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_83cef301
The Sympathizer / int_8ee370b6	type	Method Acting
The Sympathizer / int_8ee370b6	comment	Method Acting: In-Universe. Ryan Glenn is a hardcore method actor known for his intense dedication to his roles, to the point where he insists on being referred to by his character's name and adamantly refuses to be addressed otherwise. He also has a reputation for being volatile and difficult to work with as a result, and becomes increasingly erratic during the filming of The Hamlet. This all comes to a head when, during a rape scene he has to film with Lana, he actually tries to rape her.
The Sympathizer / int_8ee370b6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_8ee370b6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_8ee370b6
The Sympathizer / int_bc74ef27	type	Berserk Button
The Sympathizer / int_bc74ef27	comment	Berserk Button: The Captain takes great offense to his mixed-race heritage being insulted, as it's a very touchy part of his identity, and nearly attacks Niko for making a insulting remark over it when they meet.
The Sympathizer / int_bc74ef27	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_bc74ef27	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_bc74ef27
The Sympathizer / int_bd0230fb	type	Ambiguously Bi
The Sympathizer / int_bd0230fb	comment	Ambiguously Bi: When Claude meets the Captain in the third episode, the Captain brings attention to the dog that he's walking. Claude notes that the dog is a good prop since no one pays much heed to a "homosexual walking his foofoo dog". When the Captain asks if he's gay, he doesn't answer and simply says that he's whoever he needs to be. Notably, Claude's the only one who doesn't try to interact with the prostitutes at the club he and his friends go to, instead choosing to sing a song on the piano. To complicate matters further, he mentions in the second episode that he had a female partner in Saigon that he couldn't save from the bombings.
The Sympathizer / int_bd0230fb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_bd0230fb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_bd0230fb
The Sympathizer / int_c59d9a4b	type	Half-Breed Discrimination
The Sympathizer / int_c59d9a4b	comment	Half-Breed Discrimination: The protagonist faces discrimination for being the illegitimate child of a Vietnamese woman and a white Frenchman, and in his narration laments that he doesn't really fit in in either Vietnamese or white communities. He is also subject to fetishization by the orientalist Professor Hammer, who marvels at the combination of "Occidental" and "Oriental" traits in him.
The Sympathizer / int_c59d9a4b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_c59d9a4b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_c59d9a4b
The Sympathizer / int_c5ef2d50	type	Cringe Comedy
The Sympathizer / int_c5ef2d50	comment	Cringe Comedy: Ned Godwin's speech at the longevity party in the third episode is downright painful to get through owing to his social awkwardness, stilted manner of speaking, and committing a major cultural faux pas by gifting Major Oanh's mother a knife, which is considered to be bad luck in Vietnamese culture.
The Sympathizer / int_c5ef2d50	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_c5ef2d50	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_c5ef2d50
The Sympathizer / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
The Sympathizer / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: The first episode is titled Death Wish after a movie currently playing in Saigon cinemas.
The Sympathizer / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_c75df49a
The Sympathizer / int_d13eb235	type	Occidental Otaku
The Sympathizer / int_d13eb235	comment	Occidental Otaku: The white American Professor Hammer is a self-proclaimed 'Orientalist'. He dresses in and decorates his office with Asian things of various origins and asks after the Captain's 'oriental' traits. Of course, he is oblivious to the derision of the Captain (who is Vietnamese) and his Japanese-American secretary Sofia.
The Sympathizer / int_d13eb235	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_d13eb235	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_d13eb235
The Sympathizer / int_d5a060a8	type	Interchangeable Asian Cultures
The Sympathizer / int_d5a060a8	comment	Interchangeable Asian Cultures: James is an Korean-American actor who has apparently played every East Asian ethnicity onscreen other than his own, with The Hamlet being the first time he gets to play his actual ethnicity. The Hamlet runs into its first major snag when the extras hired to play the Vietnamese villagers are actually Chinese since the casting director didn't understand the difference between the two.
The Sympathizer / int_d5a060a8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_d5a060a8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_d5a060a8
The Sympathizer / int_eb81c601	type	Big Damn Heroes
The Sympathizer / int_eb81c601	comment	Big Damn Heroes: When Ryan gets a little bit too into a rape scene he's filming with Lana, the Captain uses some quick thinking to cue Jamie before he's supposed to appear in the scene, causing Jamie to intervene right before Ryan can rape Lana and to beat the crap out of him, thus ruining the only take of the scene that Niko can afford.
The Sympathizer / int_eb81c601	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_eb81c601	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_eb81c601
The Sympathizer / int_eb8ec7c8	type	Jerkass
The Sympathizer / int_eb8ec7c8	comment	Jerkass: Niko introduces himself to the Captain by calling him a racial slur and insulting his mixed-race background, something that understandably offends the Captain and fosters an immediate dislike between the two characters.
The Sympathizer / int_eb8ec7c8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_eb8ec7c8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_eb8ec7c8
The Sympathizer / int_ed503b22	type	Match Cut
The Sympathizer / int_ed503b22	comment	Match Cut: A common transition between scenes is for one object to fade into another similarly-shaped/colored one. For example, Bon lighting a cigarette becomes an explosive being fired at the airfield; a rotary phone becomes a tire wheel; a halved boiled egg becomes a white plastic bag with a yellow smiley face logo, and so on.
The Sympathizer / int_ed503b22	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_ed503b22	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_ed503b22
The Sympathizer / int_ee7a60e9	type	One-Steve Limit
The Sympathizer / int_ee7a60e9	comment	One-Steve Limit: Averted. There are two Oanhs in the general's retinue; when claiming one to be The Mole the Captain has to specify he means the fat Oanh.
The Sympathizer / int_ee7a60e9	featureApplicability	-1.0
The Sympathizer / int_ee7a60e9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_ee7a60e9
The Sympathizer / int_name	type	ItemName
The Sympathizer / int_name	comment
The Sympathizer / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Sympathizer / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Sympathizer	hasFeature	The Sympathizer / int_name
The Sympathizer / int_name	itemName	The Sympathizer

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

	The Sympathizer	hasFeature	Match Cut / int_5ce5ac0
	The Sympathizer	hasFeature	Series of the 2020s / int_5ce5ac0

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.