Matt Smith reviews the fourth episode of Catch-22…
After the intensity of the previous episode, Catch-22 returns to our screens with episode four and a chance to relax in the sun and bask in the gentle waves. An altogether different episode comes along and shows that, with the power of a smile and a can-do attitude, the war can be beaten.
Episode two showed off the funnier side of the series, whilst episode three showed off the serious side. It’s hard to say what episode four is showing. While certain events of the book play out, with those who have read the book possibly giving a wry smile when hearing minor character Orr give a detailed summary of how he crash landed as if he’s keeping this information for later, any other emotions are severely lacking in this go-around.
With his plans and ploys last week failing to keep him on the ground or send him home, Yossarian decides to complete all his missions as quickly as possible so that his commanding officers don’t notice and don’t raise the missions to keep him around. This plan’s desperation and workings give a clear insight into Yossarian’s paranoid nature and remind us that he sees the American military as just as threatening and insidious as enemy as the Germans. And this reasoning is backed up when he hands his paperwork in as it’s clear that, somehow, Yossarian is not going home this week. The plan and the way it’s stopped in its tracks are rather perfect for the series, but at the same time it has to be said that the power of montage rather dilutes the tension and terror usually felt whenever Yossarian travels skyward.
This week is rather lighter and features some cringe-worthy moments where Yossarian poses as a member of one of America’s longstanding financial institutes in order to help Milo with a scheme. With Milo, the cynical nature of the story comes to the fore for moments as we see the rise of the shyster businessman. However, despite the potential and the positives from this sequence, it somehow comes across as simultaneously rushed and dragging, which is quite the feat to achieve.
But then Yossarian is brought back down to Earth, in that he has to return to the sky for another bombing run. And it’s here that the episode reminds us that the war hasn’t ever really gone away. It was always there, ready to take away at a moment’s notice, abruptly and with no real warning. Just an outstretched hand and a falseness of hope.
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Originally published July 16, 2019. Updated July 15, 2019.
