Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Overview: Austin Butler and Callum Turner portray American Air Force officers Major Gale Cleven and Major John Egan, nicknamed Buck and Bucky, leading the 100th Bomb Group in England for an offensive against Germany in the 2024 World War II series “Masters of the Air.” Created by John Orloff, the show is based on a book by Don Miller and has been executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman.
Part five of “Masters of the Air” is a lot like episode 3, which was tense and packed with a lot of violent mid-air action. Navigator Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle) is promoted after successfully guiding his mates back to safety once again, which allows him to be on the ground to chart navigation plans, while the rest of his friends and colleagues are faced with the daunting task of flying missions almost every other day. Once again, the 100th bomb group is assigned to go into the heart of Germany to bomb crucial rail lines, and this time the new face, Rosenthal (Nate Mann), gets to take the center stage.
This edition poignantly captures the dread, despair of war and how it doesn’t spare the winning side either. The Allied pilots who were full of bluster about bombing Nazis before they went on their first missions are no longer enthused about taking to the air, not after the heavy losses and horrifying wounds they continue to endure in their missions. Except for anomalies like Major John Egan, AKA Bucky (Callum Turner), who rushes back to base after learning about Buck’s fate in episode 4 of “Masters of the Air,” determined to seek revenge and bomb the Germans into defeat.
The fact that the focus shifts among different characters throughout the episodes, except for a few faces who survive multiple missions, is a brilliant risk undertaken by the creators. It truly underscores the reality that only a fortunate few are able to witness a war from start to finish while being in the thick of combat. Viewers might yearn to know what happened to X, Y, or Z, but the fate of many pilots remains unknown forever. Did they perish when their plane exploded? Did they manage to escape in a chute, only to meet a grim fate, drown, or worse yet – fall into the hands of the enemy? We’ll never know. I basically suffered second-hand anxiety for most of this episode, scared about the kind of death awaiting some of the pilots who are surrounded by enemy planes and facing heavy flak from all sides. But with four more episodes left in the series, we might yet get to know what happened to some of the characters.
The second half of episode 5 was harrowing, as the survivors return from their mission and delve into the investigation to report what happened to the others. It’s a scene where nobody displays any passionate emotion, yet it’s heartbreaking. The survivors couldn’t register what was happening to the other planes, but deep down, they know that most others must have perished, either to their deaths or in the flames with their planes. “Masters of the Air” is turning out to be gripping war drama and its world-building continues to be quite impeccable.
You can stream “Masters of the Air” on Apple TV+.
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