As one of the most anticipated series of this spring, "The Pacific" immediately became the focal point of discussions upon its debut. The admiration from critics and the differing opinions of the audience cast a shadow over the miniseries' prospects.
"An investment of $223M—will HBO's efforts go to waste this time?" This special feature from Us Weekly might be slightly sensationalist, but it indeed reflected the main sentiments following the series' premiere. Carrying the weight of fervent praise of "Band of Brothers", "The Pacific" found itself under tremendous pressure, appearing to navigate with difficulty. The trajectory of subsequent reviews, DVD sales, and the prospects for Emmy Awards all seemed to be shrouded in uncertainty. What's worse, the arrow had been loosed from the bow, and regardless of the circumstances, the show that had already started must go on.
Each week, the airing of "The Pacific" became the center of attention. While the viewership ratings slightly dipped, the number of viewers who persisted in watching the premiere considerably decreased. More people opted for recording or waiting for the DVD release. However, the discussion fervor on platforms like Yahoo Communities and IMDb did not abate; the buzz around the show continued to intensify with each episode, and controversies grew larger.
Especially in the airing of the first three episodes, the wave of criticism surged higher and higher. Disappointment, anger, disdain, and reproach towards "The Pacific" became more and more prominent.
The storylines focused on Robert Leckie and John Basilone gradually unfolded, revealing the full picture of the plot and themes, yet failed to resonate with the audience. Viewers started to lose patience gradually. The thinness of the core ideas, the scattering of the main plotlines, and the repetition of war scenes seemed to lack a binding force for the entire series. The show lost the essence of "Band of Brothers", igniting strong backlash from netizens. The higher the anticipation before the premiere, the more vehement the anger at this moment.
Online disputes regarding Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were spiraling out of control. Some even mocked, "They spent twice the budget and produced a series that's not even half as good as the previous one. HBO really hit a loss this time."
This trend was prominently reflected in the IMDb ratings. Originally disappointing at 7.7, the score was consistently decreasing. After the airing of the third episode, it had plummeted to a nadir of 7.3. "Negative reviews" no longer sufficed to describe the audience's sentiments; "disastrous beyond imagination" was the accurate portrayal, akin to a nightmare from which one couldn't awaken.
It seemed that people had completely lost faith in "The Pacific". A significant portion of the audience abandoned watching altogether, their sense of frustration difficult to vent. Another segment of viewers continued to watch, holding an attitude of "breaking the pot and shattering the jar", keen on seeing just how terrible this work could get—whether it could even meet the passing grade.
For HBO, this was disastrous news.
Although HBO had never cared about viewership ratings or audience numbers, the satisfaction of their subscription users was plummeting drastically—a truly fatal blow. They could ignore viewership numbers, they could even disregard the Emmy Awards, but they could not ignore the complaints and grievances of their subscription users.
The situation was dire. Could the predictions in Us Weekly's feature article truly come true? If that were the case, HBO was truly in jeopardy.
By the time the fourth episode of "The Pacific" aired, the viewership had dipped below two million, barely reaching just one million eight hundred and thirty thousand. The viewership rating had directly fallen below 2, delivering a score of merely 1.6.
Of course, objectively speaking, this performance still outshone all the other shows on the network. Even in the competition among cable channels, "The Pacific" managed to secure a spot within the top three shows of the night. This achievement couldn't be described as "poor" by any means. However, compared to the bustling fervor during its premiere and the torrent of praise showered upon "Band of Brothers", this drop was truly hard to accept.
The situation seemed to have reached a critical point that couldn't be ignored. Surprisingly, the feedback for the fourth episode started to warm up!
The core storyline of the fourth episode still focused on Robert Leckie. The psychological trauma he endured during the war finally erupted, and he had to be sent to the hospital for psychological observation.
After this episode aired, a wave of praise from critics once again arrived on time. Their admiration for "The Pacific" hadn't wavered since the first episode, surpassing even "Band of Brothers". Unexpectedly, the audience's evaluations also began to gradually improve. The chorus of complaints on the internet seemed to be showing signs of weakening. Many exclaimed, "After the premiere, the quality of the series is finally returning! This is the "The Pacific" we want to see. Hopefully, the upcoming episodes will continue this momentum!"
Although the current trajectory of "The Pacific" remained precarious, it did grant HBO some breathing room. Many experts speculated that perhaps it was due to the unveiling of the underlying plot involving Robert Leckie. Audiences might finally understand the purpose of the series, leading to the resurgence of positive reviews.
The subsequent fifth and sixth episodes didn't display a significant uptick in viewership or viewer numbers, but positive reviews were visibly growing. If the positivity following the fourth episode was just a flicker of light, lacking cohesiveness, this time, on platforms like Yahoo Communities and IMDb, one could unmistakably sense the warming feedback from the audience.
Particularly, the sixth episode garnered numerous praises. This was the first time the series centered an episode around Eugene Sledge. After Eugene entered the battlefield, he finally experienced a frenzied dance of combat on the edge of life and death. That night, he witnessed a comrade's death up close—a soldier who shouted in terror due to nightmares. His fellow soldiers tried their best to silence him, but to prevent revealing their position, they had to kill the soldier themselves.
Eugene's world was rocked by a seismic shock; in the world of the internet, the first wave of glowing reviews erupted.
"Spectacular! Truly spectacular! Amidst the baptism of artillery fire, Sledge's shocking experience is both brutal and intense. We watched a pure and kind soul torn apart by bloodshed and slaughter. Though we can do nothing, the invisible wounds and pain are vividly portrayed in Sledge's eyes, depicting the fragmentation of the entire world! This is what we meant by "The Pacific", this is what we anticipated from "The Pacific"!"
"In the darkness of night, Eugene sat quietly and dazed in his place, staring fixedly at the lifeless body of his comrade. Alongside that, the pure and innocent essence of his soul also lay in eternal slumber. My God, the brilliance of this episode rivals the most iconic "Bastogne" from "Band of Brothers"! Both named Eugene, both with deer-like eyes, both sincere and kind, both helpless in the face of death. But Renly Hall endowed this role with even more delicate, profound, and rich emotions than Shane Taylor from back then, striking the chest mercilessly, leaving one breathless!"
"A classic! A true classic! After wallowing in mediocrity for so long, "The Pacific" has finally earned its ticket to the realm of classics. To present the torment and descent of a soul in a single episode, we watched Eugene being gradually destroyed. The impact of this kind of shock far surpasses mere death. Renly Hall's performance illuminated the entire screen, cruelly and bloodily presenting the entire process. It makes people's eyes well up with tears and their chests tighten."
...
Within the discussion threads of Yahoo Communities, the space had been completely overwhelmed by netizens. The second discussion thread surpassed eight thousand posts and quickly reached thirteen thousand posts overnight, setting a new record for heat. This time, even before Yahoo officially locked the thread, netizens spontaneously initiated a third discussion thread. The opening post of that thread read, "Salute to Eugene Sledge, salute to Renly Hall, who gave "The Pacific" a truly vivid and authentic soul! I'm not sure if this is a better series than "Band of Brothers", but I can be sure that it's a series that won't lose to "Band of Brothers"."
Underneath the threads, comments of agreement emerged one after another, quickly surging towards a thousand layers of discussion. The heat of conversation showed no signs of abating. Amidst their discussions, "Renly" undoubtedly became the key phrase. Not only was the sixth episode the first time Eugene took the lead as the protagonist, but Renly's performance also garnered unanimous praise from netizens.
At this very moment, people suddenly noticed something interesting: Eugene's second appearance was in the fourth episode.
In the fourth episode's storyline, Eugene finally passed his medical examination and enlisted in the military. Though his role was limited, this marked Renly's second appearance after the first episode, and it also marked the first instance of the series' reputation beginning to mend. The following two episodes continued this upward trend, especially the sixth episode, where Eugene and Robert completed the transition of their character tasks. Until then, the narrative had been carried predominantly by Robert, but afterward, the narrative perspective switched to Eugene.
So, what does this mean? Is Eugene the shining star of the entire series? Did Renly save "The Pacific"? Did Renly, with his sole efforts, manage to turn the tide?
This... this truly seemed unbelievably surreal.
Even though Tom had stated before the official premiere of the TV series that Eugene's character was the soul of the entire miniseries, and he had expressed the same sentiment in prior media interviews, no one had genuinely believed it. This was an ensemble cast drama, one belonging to Tom and Steven. Moreover, Renly was just an inexperienced newcomer.
To voice such an assertion might make everyone burst into laughter, "A newcomer? Saving a series co-produced by Spielberg and Hanks? Although it's only April, this could easily be the best joke of the year."
Coincidence, it must all be coincidence. The sixth episode was likely just a stroke of luck. What truly revived the audience's approval was the solid quality of the series itself—this was the most reasonable explanation! But... is it really?