8.2

Masters of the Air Belly-Lands the Plane and Offers a Stunning Conclusion to the Band of Brothers Trilogy

By Terry Terrones  |  January 24, 2024 | 9:00am
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Masters of the Air Belly-Lands the Plane and Offers a Stunning Conclusion to the Band of Brothers Trilogy
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“This hasn’t gone exactly as we thought, has it?” 

This is what Maj. John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner) says to his best friend, Maj. Gale “Buck” Cleven (Austin Butler), near the end of the World War II drama, Masters of the Air. Egan is referring to the duo’s predicament where, thanks to the Nazis, they’re incapable of doing what they do best: fly B-17 bombers. 

However, Egan’s sentiment could also apply to the audience, as the series feels like two oddly shaped Lego pieces that eventually fit well together. The first half of Masters of the Air has more in common with a Shakespearean tragedy (full of sound and fury signifying not much) until a mid-season course correction rights the plane, allowing it to touch down to an emotional and satisfying conclusion. 

Masters of the Air is based on the 2006 book of the same name written by historian and biographer Donald L. Miller. Produced by the same team as Band of Brothers and The Pacific (Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman), the series follows the actions of the 100th Bomb Group and acts as the final piece to a compelling World War II trilogy. 

Much like its predecessors, Masters of the Air is massive in scope, scale, and ambition. Watching B-17 Flying Fortresses launch from an airfield 90 miles north of London to perform bombing runs on German targets is riveting. This series features some of the most visually stunning action sequences I’ve ever seen on television. Forget the dragons from Game of Thrones, the bombing missions in Masters of the Air are absolutely INSANE (a word I literally wrote in all caps in my notes for the show). 

Bombing raids start out eerily quiet then gradually build to a terrifying cacophony as American aviators fend off anti-aircraft flak and enemy fighters to complete missions attacking enemy submarine bases, factories, and other military targets. The fortitude demonstrated by characters onscreen, with most portraying real life 100th Bomb Group members, is perfectly exemplified in a mid-season bombing mission. 

In October 1943, the 100th Bomb Group launched a bevy of planes headed for Germany. The only plane to return was the one flown by Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal (Nate Mann), who managed to make it back to England despite losing two engines, his intercom, and his oxygen systems. Seeing an actual event reenacted, a tragedy that cost 120 American lives, makes you feel the weight of the sacrifice so many people made to win the war. 

Adding to Masters of the Air’s feeling of authenticity are a number of historical tidbits sprinkled throughout. I had no idea the Norden Bombsight was one of the most secretive projects the allies worked on. The reason for the dangerous daytime American bombing strategy in Europe and even why aviators wear the bomber jackets they’re famous for are just a few of the bits of knowledge sprinkled throughout the series. 

Now at this point you’re probably thinking, “Hey this sounds like (bombing pun intended) a hit! Why isn’t the review score higher?” And you’d be right to wonder that because the first half of Masters of the Air is a feast for the eyes. The sense of risk is palpable and the visual presentation is unparalleled. That said, this series burns painfully slow initially because it doesn’t find its heart soon enough. The gravity of what you see onscreen won’t resonate until Rosie’s plane slowly crawls back to a British runway mid-season. 

The show’s first-half emotional disconnect is primarily due to a lack of backstory between the two poster boys for the series, Bucky Egan and Buck Cleven. The duo, who are dapper in uniform and look straight out of a black and white photo from the 1940s, are supposed to be best friends, but viewers aren’t given enough of their history for their brotherly relationship to feel sincere. Unlike Band of Brothers and The Pacific, the story of Masters of the Air doesn’t offer opportunities to show the bonds created back home before the war or during training. So when the series starts, it feels like you’re watching a season already in progress. 

“Do you feel anything?” Maj. Egan asks Lt. Curtis Biddick (Barry Keoghan) after an early season mission goes awry. Egan, the air exec, has lost a large number of aviators and is drowning his sorrows in booze. It’s supposed to be a gut-punch moment—a moment when the sacrifice of countless people kicks viewers backwards. But because the relationships between flyers, particularly the leads, haven’t been properly developed from the start, the moment doesn’t feel earned. When a significant character dies an episode later, there’s little emotional impact.

Thankfully, Masters of the Air course corrects mid-season. Rosie’s character takes on a more pivotal role, navigator and series narrator Harry Crosby’s (Anthony Boyle) story develops nicely, the introduction of three Tuskegee Airmen packs a serious punch (a scene with Josiah Cross as Capt. Richard Macon is a tear-jerker), and the always-effervescent Bel Powley injects some much needed energy and humor when she arrives. As my wife stated while watching screeners with me, “This show needed some romance and sex. It was a sausage fest until she showed up.”

The second half of Masters of the Air earns the series its wings in other ways as well. A prison camp storyline builds intensity, characters become more deeply intertwined, and the Buck and Bucky relationship is salvaged despite them both having almost identical nicknames. By the time the ninth and final episode credits rolled, I was moved and content, yet didn’t want the story to end. It was a feeling I didn’t anticipate at the midway point. 

Series like Masters of the Air are made for viewers like me. My great-grandfather fought in World War I. My grandfather was a Royal Navy sailor who survived after his ship was sunk by a U-boat in World War II. My father served two tours in Vietnam and I served in the US Army during the first Gulf War. Gripping military dramas like Band of Brothers and The Pacific resonate, so I had high hopes for this companion. I wasn’t disappointed. 

 While it takes some time to get there, Masters of the Air deftly tells a compelling tale. It honestly and sometimes painfully displays the trauma soldiers at war endure through heartfelt and genuine stories of camaraderie, determination, and sacrifice. This is pretty much all any veteran could ask for. 

Masters of the Air premieres Friday, January 26th on Apple TV+. 

Terry Terrones is a Television Critics Association and Critics Choice Association member, licensed drone pilot, and aspiring hand model. When he’s not admiring his grandfather’s medals, you can find him hiking in the mountains of Colorado. You can follow him on Twitter @terryterrones.

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