All for One (The Sympathizer)

"All for One" is the fifth episode of the American historical black comedy drama miniseries The Sympathizer, based on the novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen. The episode was written by series creators Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar and co-producer Maegan Houang, and directed by Marc Munden. It originally aired on HBO on May 12, 2024, and was also available on Max on the same day.

The series is based on the story of the Captain, a North Vietnam plant in the South Vietnam army. He is forced to flee to the United States with his general near the end of the Vietnam War. While living within a community of South Vietnamese refugees, he continues to secretly spy on the community and report back to the Viet Cong, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life. In the episode, the Captain recovers from his injuries and the lines between reality and fiction begin to blur.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.058 million household viewers and gained a 0.01 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received very positive reviews from critics, who praised the writing, performances and ending.

Plot
After the air strike on set, the Captain (Hoa Xuande) is taken to a hospital, where he reminisces over his childhood with Bon (Fred Nguyen Khan) and Mẫn (Duy Nguyễn). Later, he is visited by studio representatives to offer a compensation for the injuries, but the Captain demands an apology from Nicos (Robert Downey Jr.) and $30,000.

After Claude (Downey Jr.) gets him released, the Captain gives the money away to Oahn's family. But his wife surprisingly decides to donate the money to open a restaurant, and also shares her suspicion that Oahn was asassinated by Vietnamese forces. Rumors are starting to circulate around the neighborhood that the General (Toan Le) is working on a secret operation to take Vietnam back, which the General admits to the Captain. He visits Sofia (Sandra Oh), who is now revealed to be in a relationship with journalist Sonny Tran (Alan Trong). Per a suggestion by Claude, the Captain visits an Asian performance show, where Lana (Vy Le) works as a cabaret singer.

The Captain visits Nicos at his mansion, and Nicos opens up about the art of editing in his film as the reason why he is omitting some of the lines that the Captain suggested during filming. The Captain begins to imagine conversations with Man, questioning if he even exists in first place. Later, the Captain accompanies the General to an unknown destination, where the General expresses disdain for Sonny's article questioning his tactics. The General leads the Captain to a secret base where he has been training troops to take part in his plan. To the Captain's surprise, Bon is working alongside the General in training.

Development
The episode was written by series creators Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar and co-producer Maegan Houang, and directed by Marc Munden. It was Park's fifth writing credit, McKellar's fifth writing credit, Houang's first writing credit, and Munden's first directing credit. Munden's involvement was reported in January 2023.

For the FantASIA sequences with Lana, Vy Le did her own singing with coaching by a choreographer and a lyricist from Paris By Night, brought on by co-star Ky Duyen who is also a longtime co-host of the variety program.

Viewers
The episode was watched by 0.058 million viewers, earning a 0.01 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 0.01 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. This was a 44% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.070 million viewers with a 0.01 in the 18-49 demographic.

Critical reviews
"All for One" received positive reviews from critics. Tom Philip of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "While The Sympathizer demonstrably gets off on repeatedly displacing us in time, the story itself remains deceptively uncluttered. It's being inside the Captain's mind that wrong-foots us occasionally, and “All For One” stakes its claim as the best episode of the season so far in merging both story and perception."

Terry Nguyen of Vulture gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The Captain did not realize the extent of the General's preparation until he arrived at the training grounds and spotted Bon leading the troops. His expression of dumbfounded disbelief is laced with betrayal — the first, as we can surmise, of two betrayals by his blood brothers. But is it true betrayal if the Captain, too, was deceiving Bon the entire time?"

Fletcher Peters of The Daily Beast wrote, "The General has trained an entire army here in California, ready to strike Vietnam at a moment's notice. Isn't the war over? Hasn't he learned? Poor Captain has more spying to do — it seems like this may never end." Josh Rosenberg of Esquire wrote, "From what we've seen of The Sympathizer's timeline so far, the Captain does end up back in Vietnam somehow. Now that I look back, it's possible that the series had to get a bit wacky just so the immediate seriousness hit like a light switch. There are just two episodes left — and the Captain is already at his breaking point."