Chris Connor reviews the eighth episode of Masters of the Air…
Masters of the Air’s penultimate episode sets the stage for the show’s conclusion as the allied forces move closer to reclaiming Europe both in the build-up and aftermath of the D-Day landings, of course, depicted in the previous series Band of Brothers. The focus of this episode is split between the remnants of The Hundredth preparing for bombing runs to make way for the landings: the POWs in Stalag Luft III and new faces in the shape of the Tuskegee Airmen.
It is perhaps a shame that this last group’s introduction has come so late into proceedings, introducing us to a new, lively crew alongside characters we have spent seven episodes with. However, the introduction shows us a different side to the US forces based in Europe, with a ferocious determination to have a meaningful impact in the war. There is a small appearance from Ncuti Gatwa as 2nd Lt Robert Daniels.
With three distinct strands in focus, this episode juggles its pieces very well with Anthony Boyle offering some of his strongest work in the series as a fatigued Harry Crosby, going without sleep for several days to map as many routes as possible for the D-Day landings. Boyle captures the importance of this mission for Cros and how it disrupts his mental state. Meanwhile, the sequences in Stalag Luft III have some heft as the men try to keep track of the situation in the rest of Europe and worry about whether they will be executed, fight or must escape, Austin Butler and Callum Turner subtly show how the incarceration has affected all the men in different ways.
While much of the action remains on the ground, the brief aerial sequences with the Tuskegee Airmen are as thrilling as we’ve come to expect and all the action in the preparation and aftermath of D-Day is thrilling and payoff for events across the course of the series as the conflict moves into its final stages.
After a few slightly more grounded episodes this is a welcome step up in proceedings as Masters of the Air moves into its end game. With just one episode remaining, it remains to be seen if it wholly sticks its landing but this is another stellar episode that contains some of the best work from its star cast and balances its loose narrative threads well, setting things up for an explosive finale.
Chris Connor
