Catch-22 Season 1 Episode 6 Review: ...And Release
Kevin Lever
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Irony finds another victim.
Madness befalls Yossarian on Catch-22 Season 1 Episode 6.
The very thing he once wished would save him finally takes hold.
Yossarian gets to have a nice time at the villa, at least, before all of that.
His personable and friendly manner allow Yossarian to be a hit with the family, though he's perhaps too friendly with one girl in particular.
It's easy to wonder if the father is the one who turned in Yossarian or if the base happened to find him.
It's the last time Yossarian finds happiness on the show.
Even injured, there's a joy to everything happening at the villa, to talking at dinner, helping the young woman with the water pail, and resting in bed.
Yossarian gets a simple quiet life he's always been seeking.
I can't do this anymore.
Yossarian
Some issues with the episode come with its narrow focus.
One of these disappointments comes as Aarfy never receives punishment for his actions in Rome against the woman on Catch-22 Season 1 Episode 5.
Some of the other fun characters are also getting sidelined at the end with Milo only popping up for a scene and Orr's return resting in a line and a quick shot of him at the medal ceremony.
Some things have to be sidelined because of how deeply the episode dives into Yossarian and his mental state.
So while there could have been a broader perspective, the focus is more than worthwhile.
Yossarian attempts one last time get out of flying his missions, and it feels like a return to the very beginning.
He's trying any trick in the book to get out of them, and the attempts don't have as much heart in them despite the pressing manner in which they're broached.
Scheisskopf's vendetta against Yossarian has no limits.
His inspection of Yossarian's testicles was hilarious showing how dedicated he is to keeping Yossarian in play until something bad happens to him.
Cathcart informing Yossarian of Scheisskopf's plans of never letting Yossarian go is the first sign this episode will not go well for our hero.
It seems there's no escape for Yossarian unless he dies.
It's why Yossarian's ultimate fate is almost a mercy.
The big scene involving Snowden is one of the show's most impactful moments.
Yossarian's so sure he solved Snowden's injury issues that the reveal of the impact sites behind Snowden's back is a blow.
That young kid with so much time ahead of him got taken down in the very spot Yossarian told him to sit.
The sight of the damage would break anybody, but taken with the totality of the series' events, it's Yossarian's final breaking point.
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Christopher Abbott has been fantastic all season, but it's in that scene that he delivers unimaginable horror and heartbreak.
For the rest of the episode, the nakedness is uncomfortable and offers a deep look inside Yossarian's soul.
He's shed his skin, wandering with purpose but empty inside.
Milo and the Chaplain try to reason with him as though he's still in there, but his calm exterior is unnerving. Nothing fazes him in the slightest.
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Even during dinner and at the medal ceremony, there are some laughs and glances, but there's more of an acceptance of it.
That is who Yossarian is now.
Yossarian finds a calm and collected style to his madness, though.
He's can sit back and relax while everything explodes around him, while he's sailing off into the sunset muttering to himself.
It's completely tragic how he's been broken.
But deep down, perhaps he's found the peace he always wanted.
It's a difficult ending, and one in which he both won and lost.
He's stuck in missions until he either dies or the war ends. He is without a care in the world, though, safe from worry of the inevitable.
Chaplain: Where are you going?
Yossarian: I'm heading home.
Chaplain: Oh... can I get you anything?
Yossarian: No, thank you.
It's what comes after which leads to the more depressing way of thinking about it.
Yossarian's lost to his mind, but at least he gets to watch the sun set.
And on Catch-22 Season 1 Episode 6, Yossarian riding off into the flak, unaffected by it, seems a fitting end.
Perhaps this is his life now, to endlessly run missions, lost to the depths, but carrying out his duty.
At least he's not paralyzed by the possibilities.
He found the madness he pursued in the beginning, and as dark as it is for us, it may be the thing to save him in the end.
What did you think of the final episode?
Let us know in the comments!
