"They're not evil. None of 'em are. The military's job is to stand down our humanity just enough to where we can take a life. That's it. Afterwards, some totally separate branch gets to deal with all this purposely broken motherf*ckers."
Twenty-Two
This episode tells the events from last week from Edgar's perspective. We start with his sleepless nights and when he goes out for a run we see how he feels he's surrounded by constant danger. We even see Jimmy's comment on PTSD from Edgar's point of view and it sound even crueler knowing what a difficult time Edgar's having. He seems constantly hung-over and confused, even if no one notices. In this episode you can truly feel his despair an you can't really figure out how he manages to pull through every day, which is a testament to the acting by Desmin Borges and the directing by Stephen Falk. It's great how scenes from last week's episode that had the typical comedic pace the show has us accustomed to now seem straight out of a dramatic thriller.
After pulling it together to make a feel-good breakfast for Jimmy and being insulted, he goes to the store to buy the British snacks and gets so paranoid that he imagines people who aren't there and thinks he's under surveillance. So he doesn't buy the snacks and goes to see Dorothy and tries to take his mind off things but he ends up almost forcing himself on her. Thankfully she makes him snap out of it but he's heartbroken when she tells him sometime he scares her, so that gives him the drive to finally go to his VA appointment.
At first everything is going well but when they learn his off the 11 types of pills he's been prescribed they say they ca't help him and he should come back one he's on them again. He has a violent outburst at first but then he sees there's nothing he can do and leaves feeling down. On his way home he sees explosive devices instead of roadside garbage and snipers in the streets, so he pulls over and starts drinking the car booze he'd gotten for Jimmy and Gretchen. There, once again, we see Jimmy's call to use him as a Uber from a different point of view and it looks even worse. At one point Edgar even seems to consider walking in front of the passing cars but then he meets a group of students and they ask him to act in a quirky silent short film we'll see at the end of the episode. By the time he gets back to the road he finds they're towing his car and begs the guy not to take it because he's had a bad day.
Tow truck Driver: I drive a tow truck, everybody's having a tough day.
But then the guy recognizes him as a fellow vet, and they end up smoking weed in his tow truck. They share stories of their trauma in a nice, deep conversation, it's also heartbreaking as they discuss the stats of vet suicides which is 22 a day, hints the title of the episode, and Edgar complains no one cares what they go though.
Tow Truck Driver: Here's what you got to understand. They're not evil. None of 'em are. The military's job is to stand down our humanity just enough to where we can take a life. That's it. Afterwards, some totally separate branch gets to deal with all this purposely broken motherf*ckers. Not only s that impossible with the resources, that's just impossible, period.
Edgar: Yeah, well, then, what are we supposed to do?
Tow Truck Driver: Not wait for someone to help you. Figure out what works.
He tells Edgar how most of his friends cope with it in different ways, from yoga to stabbing a closet door. He tells him to figure out what works for him because no one else will help if he doesn't help himself, I'm guessing for now weed will be the first coping mechanism to take the edge off. After that, he gets a very funny high ride home in the tow truck.
I'm glad they gave Edgar's storyline the importance it deserves but overall this episode had very few of the things I love about the show, I hope from now on, they're able to incorporate his story to the rest in a comprehensive way without needing a separate episode.
So, what did you guys think of this episode? Would you like to see more of this kind? I'd love to read your thoughts.
Note: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes.
