why Foley particularly? Sid was never under Foley's whip at any point - as Zack said, Sid was the best in the class. Not once had Foley targeted Sid as he did Zack (who deserved it). Sid went to Foley and withdrew after Linette told him she was pregnant with his baby, not under pressure from Foley.
Foley accepted Sid's DOR, and even appeared to endorse the decision by citing Worley's episode during the pressure chamber exercise. He is Zach's only omnipresent antagonist (unlike his father, the Filipino gang he fought in Subic Bay as a child, or the townie whose nose he broke while on liberty). In addition, recall the previous scene. Paula confessed that she was aware of what Lynette was us up to, and chose not to intervene. She further confesses her love for Zach, but he rebuffs her by responding, "Nooo! I don't
want you to love me! I - just - want -
out!" This is an indication that Zach had already decided - or was at least considering - quitting the navy. Foley's dismissive reaction when Zach requested permission to see him in private made him even more angry. Whether he was really intending to quit, or just wanted to vent his frustration over Sid's suicide, Foley's dispassionate reaction made him a target for all the sorrow, vengeance, regret, and loss, that Zach was feeling.
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strntz (12254)
5 months ago
Still doesn't work - Zach and Foley eventually formed a mutual respect for each other after Foley couldn't force Zach's DOR, and that happened well before Sid's suicide.
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mnphotoguy99 (436)
5 months ago
Interesting points. From my perspective I don’t think Zach could have taken his anger out physically against Lynette. Foley was his antagonist throughout the film and while there was some respect, it was still evolving. The respect did not come full circle until after they fought.
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strntz (12254)
5 months ago
I guess the only right answer is that since he wouldn't beat up Lynette, the writers needed someone for Zach to rage against and to film a great fight scene, and really, he shouldn't have been so upset with Foley specifically, but as you and poster oubrioko said, the story needed an antagonist and I guess they figured Foley would be the only logical target from a story telling standpoint than Lynette.
I still think it's lazy writing.
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oubrioko (103)
5 months ago
Zach and Foley eventually formed a mutual respect for each other after Foley couldn't force Zach's DOR, and that happened well before Sid's suicide.
That is only partially correct. Mutual respect isn't automagically equitable, and doesn't occur until
both parties choose to embrace it. Mayo fought off Foley's determination to get him to quit, so
Foley threatened to kick him out. On his knees, Zach begged him not to, and Foley relented. Foley had clearly gained some measure of respect for Mayo. However, Zach didn't necessarily immediately drop
all ill-feelings toward Foley simply because Foley agreed to let him continue. Mayo was still forced to scrub urinals, stairs, floors, and hardly would have simply forgiven and forgotten all of the judgmental personal verbiage Foley threw at him about his father and his mother during the emotional and physical marathon effort to get him to quit.
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oubrioko (103)
5 months ago
When Sid appeared dressed in civilian clothes, Zach immediately suspects Foley threw him out because he never figured that Sid - of all people - would quit the navy after everything Mayo had learned about Sid's family, and what he heard first hand from Sid's father. Initially, it was a natural assumption that Sid had washed out due to the pressure chamber incident, not that he voluntarily DORed. This is why Zach lashed out at Foley. "Hey, I'm talking to you, m.f! I thought the DI's were supposed to help everybody out around here." That subtext was clear. Mayo was personally confronting Foley's conscience: 'You know that you gave me a break when you didn't have to, so why can't you give the best student, best friend of everyone in the class a break too?' "Can't you bend your g.d. rules for once!" Mayo felt guilty/offended that he had been granted a pass, but Sid was not being afforded the same consideration. When Sid finally admits that he DORed without being prompted by Foley, Zach was completely astonished. He couldn't believe that the Sid Worley that he thought that he knew, would ever quit the navy. He turned to Foley and appealed for empathy. "He's got a girl in town that's putting him through Hell..," but yet again, from Mayo's perspective, Foley's reaction was dismissive and unsympathetic. Zach remembered first hand how much pressure Foley put on students such as Daniels and himself to dropout, and now Foley was simply letting one of the best in the class quit two weeks before graduation, without much visible regret. So, fair or not, Mayo does partially blame Foley for allowing Sid to quit so easily.
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oubrioko (103)
5 months ago
The chain of events that followed, where Lynette rebuffed Sid once she learned that he quit the navy along with Sid's subsequent suicide, all could have been avoided if Sid had not DORed - or more succinctly - had not been permitted to DOR so easily. This is completely irrational logic, but it is what Zach felt given his actions and reactions. Foley's decision not to kick Mayo out, clearly didn't absolve Foley of everything that had transpired up until the point that Sid died, as far as Zach is concerned. Mayo ultimately does indeed develop respect for Foley, but what you are mistaken about is when it occurs.
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