Steady Climb

A/N: Bonus chapter for completing 50 chapters as well as having a pretty good exam

...

As one of the most anticipated series of this spring, "The Pacific" immediately became the focus of heated discussions as soon as it premiered, especially with critics' praise and audience's criticism, casting a shadow over the prospects of the miniseries.

"With an investment of 230 million, is HBO going to sink this time?"

This article from "U.S. Weekly", though somewhat sensational, indeed reflects the main discourse after the series premiere. Under the overwhelming praise for "Band of Brothers", "The Pacific" faced immense pressure, appearing to struggle. The subsequent reception of the series, its DVD sales, Emmy prospects—all seemed to be clouded in uncertainty. Moreover, there was no turning back now, the show had already begun, and it must go on, regardless.

Every week, the airing of "The Pacific" became the center of attention. Although viewership declined and the number of audiences awaiting the premiere decreased noticeably, more people opted for recordings or waited for the DVD release. However, discussions on platforms like Yahoo Community and IMDB only intensified with each episode, accompanying the series' broadcast, stirring more controversy.

Especially after the first three episodes aired, criticism surged, with disappointment, anger, disdain, and accusations towards "The Pacific" growing.

The storylines focusing on Robert Leckie and John Basilone gradually unfolded, revealing the full picture of the plot and themes, but failed to captivate the audience. Viewers began to lose patience gradually. The weak core idea, scattered main plot, and repetitive war scenes made the series seem lacking in cohesion, missing the essence of "Band of Brothers". This prompted a strong backlash from netizens—how high the expectations were before the premiere, and how intense the anger was now.

Controversies surrounding Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were escalating out of control online, with some even sarcastically saying, "With double the budget, HBO produced a series that's not even half as good as its predecessor. HBO really messed up this time."

This trend was clearly reflected in the IMDB ratings. Originally at 7.7, the score was disappointing enough, but now it was continuously dropping. After the third episode, the rating plummeted to a low of 7.3. "Negative reviews" were no longer enough to describe the audience's feelings. "Utterly disastrous" was a more accurate portrayal, like an unending nightmare.

It seemed people had completely lost confidence in "The Pacific". A large portion of the audience gave up watching altogether, feeling frustrated. Some continued watching out of sheer stubbornness, hoping to see how much worse the series could get, wondering if it couldn't even meet the minimum standards.

This was disastrous news for HBO.

Although HBO never cared much about ratings or viewership numbers, the plummeting satisfaction of subscribers was a severe blow. They could ignore ratings, they could even ignore the Emmy Awards, but they couldn't ignore the complaints and grievances of their subscribers.

The situation was dire. Was that article from "American Weekly" really going to come true? If so, HBO was in real trouble.

By the time the fourth episode of "The Pacific" aired, viewership had dropped to less than two million, with only 1.83 million viewers, and the rating had dropped below 2, settling at 1.6.

Of course, objectively speaking, this performance still outperformed all other series on network television. Even in the cable TV arena, "The Pacific" could still secure a spot in the top three for the night. But compared to the initial hype and the overwhelming praise of "Band of Brothers", this decline was unacceptable.

The situation seemed urgent, but surprisingly, the feedback for the fourth episode started to improve!

The core storyline of the fourth episode still focused on Robert Leckie, whose psychological trauma from the previous war finally erupted, leading to his admission to a hospital for psychological observation.

After this episode aired, critics' praises flooded in once again, unwavering since the first episode. But unexpectedly, audience reviews also began to slowly improve. The online criticism seemed to weaken, and many exclaimed, "After the premiere, the quality of the series is finally returning! This is the 'The Pacific' we want to see. Let's hope the subsequent episodes can continue this momentum!"

Although the situation for "The Pacific" remained precarious, it finally gave HBO some breathing room. Many professionals speculated that perhaps it was because the plotline involving Robert Leckie finally unfolded, and viewers understood the purpose of the series, leading to the resurgence of positive reviews.

Subsequent episodes five and six didn't show much improvement in viewership or numbers, but the positive reviews were growing visibly. If after the fourth episode, positive reviews were just a flicker, scattered and inconsistent, this time, platforms like Yahoo Community and IMDB clearly felt the audience's feedback warming up.

Especially the sixth episode received countless praises. It was the first time the series centered on Eugene Sledge, as he took on the role of the protagonist for the entire episode. Eugene finally experienced a battle on the brink of death and witnessed a comrade's death up close that night—the soldier screamed in agony due to nightmares, and his comrades had to kill him to avoid exposing the whole unit.

Eugene's world was profoundly shaken, and in the real-world online community, a wave of positive reviews erupted for the first time.

"Fantastic! Truly an outstanding episode! In the baptism of gunfire, Sledge's shocking education is so brutal and intense. Watching a pure and kind soul being slowly torn apart by blood and slaughter, yet we can do nothing, the invisible wounds and pains are vividly presented in Sledge's eyes, shattering the world. This is the 'The Pacific' we talk about, this is what we expect from 'The Pacific'!"

"In the darkness, Eugene sits quietly and numbly, staring at the lifeless body of his comrade, along with his pure and innocent soul. My God, the brilliance of this episode can rival the most classic 'Battle of the Bulge' from 'Band of Brothers'! Both are named Eugene, both with innocent eyes like a deer, both sincere and kind, both helpless in the face of death, but Renly Hall has given a more delicate, deeper, and richer emotional performance than Shane Taylor did back then, hitting the chest hard, making it hard to breathe!"

"Classic! Truly a classic! After being mediocre for so long, 'The Pacific' finally earned its ticket to classic status! To depict the torment and fall of a soul in one episode, we watch helplessly as Eugene is slowly destroyed. This shock is far more impactful than mere death. Hall's performance lights up the entire screen, presenting the process cruelly and bloodily, bringing tears to our eyes and a tightness to our chests."

...

The Yahoo Community discussion threads were overwhelmed by netizens. The second discussion thread surpassed 10,000 posts overnight, reaching 13,000 posts, and creating a new peak of activity. This time, even before Yahoo officially locked the thread, users spontaneously started a third discussion thread. The opening post read, "Salute to Eugene Sledge, salute to Renly Hall, who gave 'The Pacific' a real and vivid soul! I'm not sure if this is a better series than 'Band of Brothers', but I can say for sure, this is a series that won't lose to 'Band of Brothers'."

The replies underneath expressed agreement, quickly surpassing a thousand posts, and the discussion fervor couldn't be dampened. Among their discussions, "Renly Hall" undoubtedly became the absolute keyword, not only because the sixth episode was the first time Eugene was the protagonist, but also because Hall's performance received unanimous praise from netizens!

At this moment, people suddenly realized something interesting: Eugene's second appearance was in the fourth episode.

In the story of the fourth episode, Eugene finally passed the physical examination and was able to enlist. Although his screen time was limited, it was indeed Renly Hall's second appearance after the first episode, and this was also the first time the series' reputation started to recover. The following two episodes continued this upward trend, especially the sixth episode, where Eugene and Robert completed the transition of their roles. Previously, Robert had been the main narrative focus, but after this, the narrative perspective shifted to Eugene.

So, what did this mean? Was Eugene the shining star of the entire series? Did Renly Hall save "The Pacific"? Did Renly Hall single-handedly turn the tide?

This... This was truly unbelievable.

Although Tom had mentioned before the official premiere that Eugene was the soul of the entire miniseries, not only at the premiere but also in previous media interviews, nobody truly believed it, because this was an ensemble cast series, because this was a series belonging to Tom and Steven, and because Renly Hall was just a rookie newcomer.

Such a judgment would probably make everyone burst into laughter. "A newcomer? Saving a series produced by Spielberg and Hanks? Although it's only April now, this could definitely be the best joke of the year."

Coincidentally, all of this must have been just a coincidence. The sixth episode must have been just a coincidence. What truly made the audience's opinion warm again was the solid quality of the series itself. This was the most reasonable explanation! But, was it really so?