‘Masters of the Air’ Recap: ‘Part Four’

2/9/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Austin Butler and Callum Turner as Major Gale Cleven, and Major John Egan in ‘Part Four’ of ‘Masters of the Air’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘Masters of the Air’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

Truly one of the best aspects of the Band of Brothers trilogy, is the sheer fact that each and every season of these World War II re-telling’s… feature some seriously human stories. The kind that explores the genuine fear that all of these brave soldiers and airmen went through in the thick of combat. Alongside the impact of war. Specifically what kind of long-term impact long-term combat has upon the human psyche, along with musings on how hard it is to move on the fact that people these men called brothers… disappeared from the world on a moment’s notice. Only to be replaced with a fresh and eager face… that might not be there that long either, and well, we said each and every one of these seasons’ harbors that, because the next episode of Masters of the Air on Apple TV+ made those elements a focus.

For ‘Part Four’ picked up after the aftermath of that brutal air mission. Wherein Egan and Cleven returned to base… to deeply reflect upon one costly mission. For old friends were gone forever, and new pilots were taking their place, and they were indeed filled with wonder and hope and well… of the two of them, Cleven was handling such matters far better. In fact, he was so concerned with how Egan was struggling to process death and failure and more tension ahead, that he outright helped Egan get a weekend pass. So, he could head out into London and find a little joy, and in some ways, he did. Since he trauma bonded with a beautiful woman named Paulina, and that allowed for a meaningful but quick affair to take place. All of which hammered home the impact of war, and the pain it brings us.

But what was also fascinating about this sequence, and all the moments involving the airmen in England, was that such moments offered up another rare perspective, that of the new pilots. For thus far, when we’ve seen newbies come into the war in Band of Brothers and The Pacific, those stories spotlighted guys who didn’t make it in combat, and since they weren’t the focus and didn’t make it to the end of the war, we really didn’t get to learn their motivations for joining the war or really feel how hopeful they were to get into combat. But that changed here since we spent a fair chunk of time with the new birds, and learned of their talents, their exploits, and their desires to get out there and bomb the hell out of the Nazis. Adding depth to them and adding meaning to what came next for them.

Callum Turner and Joanna Kulig as Major John Egan and Paulina in ‘Part Four’ of ‘Masters of the Air’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

But before we get into that, we do need to discuss the fact that this episode also served as the right time to examine what life was like for the unlucky men that made it behind enemy lines. For there were soldiers captured in the war, or found themselves in an odd spot, and that brought about a little catch up time with Sergeant William Quinn. Who was still in Belgium and quietly awaiting orders from the resistance out there. Which finally arrived and surprised him through and through. Since he came to learn that the resistance was hardcore and had high expectations of their spies either domestic or foreign. Which put William in a tough place often, since he did not have the discipline or know how and was forced to learn on the fly. All of which explored how scary and dangerous it was for anyone associated with the United States to be in Nazi occupied territory, and it was fascinating to get that perspective and learn that some pilots dealt with this.

However, there was mention of the fact that there were more important moments involving the Airmen of the 100th, stationed in England, and well… while Egan was away clearing his head, a mission did indeed come to fruition. In that, these fine men were expected to take another run at that U-Boat shipyard. Something Major Cleven was beyond excited to take part in, and well… it didn’t take long for this episode to point out the horrors of war once again and how quickly things can change. Because only a dozen birds made it home, and some of the new guys, who were ready and willing to make a difference and be heroes… didn’t come back, and sadly, neither did Major Cleven. A shocking twist that was handled off screen… so its impact would be as real as it gets. Because just like that, he was gone in a manner that was revealed, as it would be in war and that really helped us to understand, how tough this segment of the war was to swallow.

All of which brought forth, a bittersweet, yet human and shockingly realistic tale. One that held nothing back in its presentation of the impact of war on our psyche, since we saw Egan really dance on the edge here and struggle with all the ugliness he’d seen. Plus, it educated us on a new aspect of the war we don’t think of or talk about often… the men captured or left behind, and of course… it finally found a way to plunge us into the midst of the madness, and the shock of what these men went through. Because that end of that mission… was about as accurate as it gets for how men and support teams learned about the death of people, they saw but a few hours ago. Giving us new perspective and a desire to continue this sometimes-bleak journey. So, we can see how on earth these men rose above the loss to fight against the German War Machine and pull off the incredible victories that put them in our history books. Until next time.

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