Chris Connor reviews the third episode of Masters of the Air…
The opening two episodes of Masters of the Air set the stage admirably with a sweeping sense of scale and an ensemble cast that most shows would envy as we were introduced to our rag tag crew of aviators leading the fight for the allies over the skies of Europe. The third episode, with some of the development out the way, is an all out assault for its 40-minute runtime, never wasting a moment and delivering a tense hair-raising spectacle. There are few shows on TV that have visuals as impressive as this and truly awe-inspiring action set-pieces.
Far from being simply an extended sequence, the heavy action gives a sense of the stakes for our aviators as they look to complete a mission between Europe and North Africa. We also get a sense of the camaraderie between Austin Butler’s Gale Cleven and Barry Keoghan’s Curtis Biddick in particular. With both now household names it is impressive how effortlessly they both slip into their roles, this certainly isn’t the same Austin Butler from Elvis.
Cleverly the bravura of our opening sequence and the crew’s rapport is juxtaposed with the terror of the skies that unfurls as they complete their mission to bomb German production targets and factories. The loose nature of the narrative with this not tied to the events of the first two episodes is also refreshing with each episode a compelling mission in its own right and not bogged down by what’s gone before or what is to come.
Blake Neely’s score adds extra tension to proceedings, building on his work for The Pacific. It is a challenge to keep audiences invested in an episode that for the most part contains aerial action and Neely’s role can’t be overstated.
Masters of the Air’s third episode is about as thrilling as television can get, showing the scale of the production. It’s impeccably directed and really sells both the thrills and horror of aviation during World War II and the danger of each mission with the crew losing men. Far from being boring or cliché, this episode really excels at showing what the series is about and justifying the wait. We can only hope the rest of the season is up to the task but from what we’ve seen to date it will be more than up to the challenge. This is a spectacular, stand-out episode in what is shaping up to be a series for the ages.
Chris Connor
