Overview: Follows the experiences of American Air Force officers leading the 100th Bomb Group in England for an offensive against Germany. Created by John Orloff, the 2024 World War II series “Masters of the Air” is based on a book by Don Miller and has been executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman.

Part eight of “Masters of the Air” kicks off with mid-air action as allies bomb Germany via Italy, and the show introduces a new group of American military pilots – the 99th Pursuit Squadron, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, consisting entirely of black personnel. Their red-tailed P-51 Mustangs add a dash of color to blue skies greyed by battle.

The episode is set in June 1944, and the Tuskegee Airmen are eager to go deeper into German territory, so when they are assigned a dangerous mission, inevitably, some of them end up as prisoners of war (PoWs). These new PoWs are taken to Stalag Luft III, where Major Gale Cleven (Austin Butler) and Major John Egan (Callum Turner), along with other senior airmen, are working on strategies to escape or fight the Nazis. Because one thing is clear to them – the Germans are either going to try to use the PoWs as leverage when the allies close in, or simply kill them all.

This is the only edition that briefly highlights the differential treatment meted out to Black Americans in the military. “I see too many Second Lieutenants. First Lieutenants. On mission counts alone, I see men who should already be Captains, Majors. And we both know why they are not and why we both know why they never may be,” says a Black character to his comrade while discussing the war and their role in it. Despite being aware of the continued racial discrimination, most Tuskegee Airmen are shown to be enthusiastic about fighting for their country, finally feeling “American”, hoping their part in the war will mark a new wave of change back home.

So, episode eight juggles between mid-air action and on-ground conflict, with the second-half focusing on its tensest moment yet – the PoWs from Stalag Luft III are asked to march in freezing snow and the camps are set on fire. Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle) continues to narrate the war’s progress, while he prepares for D-Day.

Episode nine, the season finale of “Masters of the Air,” is over one hour long and encompasses varied shades of war, from the bone-chilling horror of Nazi concentration camps to the exhilarating victory for the Allied forces, which comes at incalculable costs. The story moves forward to February 1945, when the Third Reich was being cornered from all sides and the Americans had indeend become “Masters of the Air”, with no sight of the Luftwaffe to challenge them.

“In the west, the Allies were storming into Germany. In the east, the Russians were approaching the Oder River. And in the sky, the Eighth Air Force flew uncontested. We were the true masters of the air,” Crosby narrates over a dizzying shot of several fighter planes zipping through the clouds, while the enemy territory on the ground looks completely scorched, like a scene from the underworld.

Viewers get to witness proof of Nazi atrocities through the lens of Hero pilot Rosie (Nate Mann), who lands in “no man’s land” during a mission over Berlin. He lands in the hands of Russians, who offer him safe passage back to base, but not before he gets a nauseatingly terrifying glimpse into concentration camps, laden with charred, rotting remains of Jews, Russians, Poles, and every other demographic targeted by Hitler’s regime.

The finale strikes a gracious balance between the triumphs and terrors of war. The creators rarely linger too long on a scene or resort to shocking viewers with grisly images to evoke a reaction. Instead, a simple depiction of a dazed, weary soldier sighing with relief, tinged with the profound grief of losing far too many comrades, suffices to underscore the brutality inherent in armed conflicts. After an intense first-half, episode nine ends with celebratory scenes, patriotic fervor, and a strong sense of reassurance that the world is headed towards a stable future.

The world-building and cinematography of “Masters of the Air” kept me glued to the screen for each episode. While the story focus shifted from one protagonist to another, the series remained consistent in paying tribute to the many men and women who put their lives on the line to bring the Third Reich to its knees.

Stream “Masters of the Air” on Apple TV+

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