I dunno, I dunno, this is the part I was iffy about in the first ep as well, where McCord seems very much a White Feminist. And one who seems to mostly hold the government line, where whatever disagreements she had with the policies were all centered around American lives.

In ep 2, they talk of the drone strikes in Yemen being what “set them off”, as if they’re overreacting, and quickly assert that no innocent civilians were killed, invalidating the protest, even though if that assertion was correct in this case, it most definitely is not always. And of course the local media is wrong later on too, it’s just the Yemenis constantly being actively evil or misled, but always wrong.

Then you have McCord having to change her stance as if thinking mercenaries are bad is some ivory tower academic belief that has no place in real life. And that’s rewarded in the narrative when they turn out to be these incredible heroes, one of their deaths held up as an incredible sacrifice that deserves special attention and care till the end of the episode.

What we see of the Yemenis too, the yellow filter and this polished American looking out his window as “Arab” music plays while people bang at gates and shout loudly in untranslated Arabic.

I want to keep watching this show, which is why this stuff chafes, I’m not just looking for issues. But urgh.