Catch-22 Season 1 Episode 5 Review: The Descent Into Madness
Kevin Lever
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Darkness finds Yossarian's heart.
There's a chilling effect at work on Catch-22 Season 1 Episode 5.
Injustice is rampant, where goodness and decency does not win out and gets punished.
It's a depressing avenue for the show to go down, but it's effective in showing the warning signs of Yossarian having good reason to go mad.
He can't win, no matter how hard he tries, and no matter what bargains and deals he makes with higher command.
Even the horrors of rape and murder are forgiven and doing the right thing gets treated like the ultimate crime.
The rape and murder of the girl at the hotel is the darkest thing Catch-22's done so far.
It comes as a completely shocking event, Aarfy's disinterest in being caught unnerving.
Yossarian's reaction is a lot like ours, lost in the cruelty of it and the way life rolls on.
Cathcart's deal at the green zone jail is one of the great injustices the show has had happened.
Leaving reputation and the right thing to do as bargaining chips for freedom is such an impossible choice.
It's like choosing life and death, over the death of someone else.
Yossarian's moral dilemma offers him the thing he's wanted most, and though the bombing of the green zone leaves him from answering right away, it's hard for him not to take the deal.
Milo: Ain't it beautiful? What does this look like to you?
Yossarian: The apocalypse.
Catch-22 likes to give people hope before taking it away.
Yossarian's unable to find Clara and deliver her ring. He can't fulfill Nately's wishes in this regard, another broken wish.
Handing it over to her younger sister to pawn is the right choice, but their conversation also takes a dark turn.
Even at this young age, she expects there to be a reciprocation of some kind, the language barrier crossing Yossarian's meaning.
It's another sign of the optimism of Catch-22 starting to snap.
Even the younger generation is corrupted in some way as the crushing reality sets in.
Milo saving Yossarian, at least, brings a little light onto the episode.
Yossarian's look after Milo calls him his best friend says a lot about their relationship.
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They are fairly similar, in the grand scheme of things. They're both resourceful and determined, always plotting to something better.
Milo, though, is much better at it.
Their interactions aren't as frequent as others, but there's mutual respect between them. Milo looks at Yossarian as though he's the only other sane person on the base.
Perhaps he is, despite the walls of civility crumbling around them.
Scheisskopf's return to the picture sets the entire base on edge.
It shows Cathcart isn't made of stone, showing fear and nerves for the first time.
Scheisskopf: How many men did we lose?
Cathcart: None, sir.
Scheisskopf: None?
Cathcart: We were very lucky, sir.
Scheisskopf: How many of theirs did we take down?
Cathcart: None, sir.
Scheisskopf: None?
Cathcart: We were very unlucky, sir. Very unlucky.
Cathcart's nervous banter back and forth, about being lucky and unlucky at the same time, is one of my favorite moments.
Catch-22 doesn't often take advantage of the adapted book's dialogue, but when it does, it does so with the fun and humor intact.
Scheisskopf taking over the base and the European theater is another loss for Yossarian.
He loves to dress down his subordinates, and with Yossarian on his bad side, it's a wonder if he'll continue to send him down deadly paths until he gets his way or at least until Yossarian gets killed.
His knowledge of Yossarian's affair with his wife, and letting Yossarian know through the hint, is enough to know he's out for revenge.
Yossarian can't catch a break, from the looks of it.
This episode even manages to take away another of Yossarian's close friends (at least, it's very likely).
Another talk with Yossarian on the runway leads to another potential victim, this time in Orr.
It's brief, but it's enough to make the plane get taken down.
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Yossarian's injury is a terrifying image. We don't know the true damage underneath the blood and jumpsuit, but it's way more blood than there should be, that's for sure.
His exclamation, multiple times, of its direct hit, makes it even more painful to think about, too.
Yossarian suffers so many injustices during the episode, and now it's becoming physical.
There's only so much Yossarian can take before a physical and mental break will catch up to him.
You keep this, all right? This is yours, okay? You keep it, sell it, just do what you gotta do.
Yossarian
Does this mean he will have to face even worse ahead?
He has been largely unscathed until now, and it's like his luck has finally run out.
The scales are starting to tip against Yossarian, and with only one episode left, let's hope he can make it out alive.
What did you think of the episode?
Let us know in the comments!
