The series follows an agent referred to only as the Captain (Hoa Xuande), who's half-Vietnamese and half-French.
Aligned with North Vietnam, he's embedded within the South Vietnam army.
Critics have generally praised the series, particularly Xuande's performance and Park's direction (in addition to showrunning duties, he directs the first three episodes).
Here's a breakdown of where some reviewers stand ahead of the series premiere on HBO Sunday evening.
AdvertisementVariety's Alison Herman says that splitting Downey into parts both "deploys and diffuses" the impact of his celebrity on the series.
Persons:
Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer, Hoa, Critics, —, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Chan, Don McKellar, he's, Robert Downey Jr, Xuande, Hopper Stone, Alan Sepinwall, IndieWire's Ben Travers, Tran Bui, Beth Dubber, weren't, Robert Downey's, Laura Sirikul, Sirikul, Variety's Alison Herman, Herman, Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Nick Schager, Downey, Sandra Oh, Park Chan, Nguyen's, Judy Berman, Rory Doherty, lauds, Doherty, Inverse's, Fred Nguyen Khan, Duy Nguyen, Sepinwall, IndieWire's Travers, Richard Lawson, Schager, Thanh, Fair's Lawson, Marina Fang
Organizations:
HBO, Viet Thanh, Service, Downey, Stone, Daily
Locations:
Viet, North Vietnam, Vietnam, United States, Korean