Bon: The Sympathizer character explained

Bon is one of the Captain’s childhood friends who accompanies him to the US. In The Sympathizer, Fred Nguyen Khan plays Bon.

The Captain has two childhood best friends: Bon and Man, who are his blood brothers. The three of them are family to each other.

Bon is a soldier serving in the army of South Vietnam. Bon and his wife, Linh, have a newborn son who is the Captain’s godson.

Bon is a good friend to the Captain. Whenever the Captain faces discrimination, Bon stands up and fights for him. 

However, Bon does not know that Man and the Captain have been keeping secrets from him—secrets that can affect their friendship.

Losing his family

Bon’s father was killed by the Viet Cong, which has made Bon strongly anti-communist. This is why Man and the Captain keep their communist identities secret from him. 

Unaware that his best friends have been working for North Vietnam, Bon believes that they will be leaving the country with him and his family.

As the General’s right-hand man, the Captain is able to arrange seats on the plane provided to the General by the CIA for Bon and his family to leave Vietnam. 

Unfortunately, as they are leaving, there is an airstrike on the airstrip, resulting in the death of Bon’s wife and son. 

The Captain manages to get Bon on the plane to the US, but Bon is not the same after that. He finds himself in a country he does not know, without his family.

The Sympathizer Bon
Bon buries his family

The grief of losing his family consumes him, and Bon withdraws into himself. He stops speaking and eating, among other things. 

The Captain’s attempts to help Bon return to his old self fail, so he has to take care of Bon, who becomes completely dependent on him.

Although Bon’s condition improves slightly, all he does is drink and watch TV to cope with his loss; he has yet to find a job.

When the Captain is asked by the General to kill Major Oanh, he sees it as an opportunity to involve Bon in something. 

The Captain asks for Bon’s help, and this finally gives Bon some semblance of purpose, so he agrees to help his best friend.

It is then that Bon reveals to the Captain that he used to be an assassin in the top secret F-6 program back in Vietnam; the Captain and Man were not the only ones who had secrets. 

It is then that Bon reveals to the Captain that he used to be an assassin in the top secret F-6 program back in Vietnam; the Captain and Man were not the only ones who had secrets. 

With Bon’s help, the Captain kills the Major. He then gets involved in the making of a Vietnamese film, in which Bon plays several minor roles.

Soon after, the Captain is injured in an explosion, and this time, Bon returns the favor by being there for his friend while he recovers. 

Regaining his sense of purpose

When the Captain returns to Los Angeles, he discovers that Bon has not only started working at the General’s liquor store but is also training the General’s army. 

The General has assembled this army to reclaim his homeland, and Bon has joined, as it gives him a sense of purpose, something he has missed since leaving Vietnam.

Bon is happy to go on a recon mission that makes him feel like a soldier again, even if it means risking his life.

To protect Bon, the Captain joins him on the mission. When their mission fails, the Captain convinces Bon to surrender to the communists.

After surrendering, the two of them are sent to a reeducation camp, where Bon keeps questioning the authorities, which results in him getting punished regularly.

Eventually, with Man’s help, the Captain and Bon escape. The Captain finally decides to reveal his and Man’s work to Bon, but Bon refuses to hear any further confessions. 

Bon never finds out that the Commissar in the camp was Man and that the Captain was a communist spy. The fact that the Captain is his friend remains unchanged. 

Together, they leave Vietnam on a boat, with Bon in a much better state than when he last departed the country.


Also Read: The General: The Sympathizer character explained

Muskan Chhatwani
Muskan Chhatwani
Muskan is an editor at The Envoy Web. Her name translates to smile in English, but she likes shows and films that do anything but make you smile. She believes that analyzing and interpreting the tiny little things on-screen can reveal a story that is not visible to everyone, a story of your own.

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