Combat is a superb war show because it covers a wide range of topics that soldiers might face while on the battlefield. One topic that the show hasn't really gone over yet is how taking someone's life can be perceived very differently depending on where it took place. Nothing to Lose is an installment which takes about half the runtime to become truly good, but once it does, you are able to pinpoint the exact moment it turns into one of season 4's best. The story starts with Hanley and the others (with Doc and Saunders noticeably absent) trying to attack a German machine gun position that has two MG42's. Two soldiers named Burke and Vinnick seem to have a deep rivalry and dislike for each other, but we're not sure why. Hanley tells Kirby to take Vinnick (Sal Mineo) and try and flank the german position using a ravine so they can throw a grenade into it. In the ensuing fight, Kirby is shot, so Vinnick takes it upon himself to use his BAR to distract the germans long enough to allow Caje to blow them up. Once the position is annihilated, Burke and Vinnick still can't seem to get along, with Burke saying Vinnick has been trying to sabotage him ever since they were in training together. Hanley has had it with their bickering and tells them both to shape up, but also says for Vinnick's heroism, he's recommending him for a bronze star. An awkward conversation happens between Kirby and Vinnick, in which the latter tells him not to count on him to save his life ever again. At nighttime, the squad is trying to search a small town for enemy forces, and has to use bayonets so as not to make noise. In one house, Vinnick comes face to face with Burke and startles him. As Vinnick turns to leave, Burke tries choking him to death. During the short fight, Vinnick is shot in the calf. Both men are taken back to Hanley, but Vinnick refuses to elaborate on what happened. Hanley threatens both of them with disciplinary action, then gets on the radio for further orders. After reporting the town is empty, he receives shocking news: Vinnick is a wanted murderer. Hanley tells everyone but Kirby and Vinnick to come with him in order to check out a bridge on the edge of the town. For arguably the first time, Kirby is in the company of someone who's a bigger troublemaker than himself. Vinnick tells him the person he killed back in America came at him with a knife during an alley fight, so he had no choice, and even says he would do it again if need be. He says during the fight, someone knocked him out with a brick and the next thing he knew he fatally stabbed someone. When Kirby looks out the window to see if Hanley is returning, Vinnick punches the back of his head and escapes. Hanley asks what happened, and Kirby tells him Vinnick is not armed, and can't run off very far because he's been shot in the leg. Burke is clearly shaken since now, Hanley knows he shot him in self defense. Hanley and the others set out to search the town for Vinnick, but he is good at hiding. Eventually, Burke comes to a small set of wooden stairs with a bunch of metal garbage cans under it. He hears one of them fall over and knows Vinnick is there. Trying to coax him out, Burke shoots one of the cans, but Vinnick throws one at him and engages him in a brawl. Vinnick manages to pull Burke's knife and is about to kill him when Kirby shows up. Kirby observes Vinnick voluntarily throw away the knife, and remarks if he was a second sooner, he would have killed Vinnick for appearing to want to murder Burke. Kirby, while still aware Vinnick is a killer, is convinced there is good in him since he had the option of killing Burke but chose not to, and adds that if Vinnick wasn't hit on the head, he never would have killed that other guy. The squad then leaves the town. This episode is really good because it explores the morality of killing someone in a war versus just killing someone. Is either one justifiable? When you do either of these things, you take away everything a person has or ever will have, and it stays with you even if they were an enemy. Kirby is great here as the tough guy who sees almost a mirror image of his own life in Sal's character. It scares him to think that if things were slightly different, he could have been a killer as well. Burke's character is probably the only weak point of this episode, since he's not really given much to do and is also quite annoying. He doesn't listen to his superiors, has a chip on his shoulder and is always wanting to humiliate someone else. I'm sure there's no shortage of these types in real militaries. Also, I don't know what was going through Hanley's mind when he decided to leave Kirby alone with a homicidal maniac. Overall, Nothing to Lose lives up to its title. Sal Mineo's character is probably the most dangerous type of person to face in a war, since nothing means anything to him; not even himself.
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