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

3/15/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Nate Mann as Major Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal in ‘Part Nine’ of ‘Masters of the Air’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Series Finale of ‘Masters of the Air’. To revisit the show’s penultimate episode, click here.

More often than not, the end of the Second World War is presented as quite the festive affair in popular media. Wherein the heroes of the story somehow seem to know they’ve won the day or find incredible joy and wisdom when they learn that Germany and the Empire have fallen, and all that remains for them is a perfect and happy ending. Where America and the Allies won the day and where Hitler and his ideations are forever forgotten and well, that really is an incorrect way to present how this war ended. Because up until the end, it was a fight, and but a handful of stories have taken the time to showcase that unfortunate reality.

One of which is the Band of Brothers saga, since the ending of the flagship series showcased how hard it was to transition away from the killing in those days leading up to the end of the war in European Theater and post V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. Not to mention, The Pacific saw the Marines in that theater fight desperate Imperial forces until the atom bomb was dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki and well… the tradition of showing us how the end of World War II was not glorious or glamourous in the slightest, continued along in Masters of the Air on Apple TV+. For the final chapter in the story of the men of the Bloody Hundredth, was filled to the brim with harrowing moments as the European Theater segment of the war wound down.

Since we came to learn that despite the Allies owning the skies, of being true masters of the air, there were still dangers untold, since the 100th was still conducting bombing runs into Germany. For one of those runs brought down Rosie’s bird and forced his team to bail out close to the Russian/German battle line. In the hopes of being picked up by the Russians and given safety that way and that did indeed work for Rosie. For he was taken in by his Russian friends and sent back to England to be reunited with his team, but not before discovering horrors untold. Specifically, the despicable Concentration Camps that the Nazis set up to commit Genocide. Which gave Rosie real perspective on the war, and why the fight mattered. A truth he expressed to Crosby when he returned home and that certainly hammered home the point, as did Gale and John’s journey.

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

Because they were indeed put on the road and marched into the heart of Germany as leverage in these final desperate days of the war and that was tough for them. For they were marching in the middle of winter, and they wanted out, because the danger was only growing on the road and that prompted an escape. One that only Gale and a handful of others took part in, getting him back to England well before John. But John eventually made it back since Allied forces came to his final destination. Allowing for the core pilots in this show to be near one another again and reflect upon how ugly their experiences were… before the story also took part in another tradition. Specifically, taking the time to remind us that while war is indeed hell and this war was ugly until the bitter end, there were still moments that reminded us of why we fight, and what the promise of freedom offers.

Which was expressed via quite the different kind of mission for the boys of the 100th. In that, the Dutch were starving in the final days of the war and a truce had been reached between the Allied Forces and the Nazis to allow for humanitarian drops of food and other necessary supplies, and these fine men were the ones involved in that drop. One where thankfully the Nazi forces honored the truce and where these men were able to offer hope to those in need, and a chance at tomorrow through a hot meal and a brief sense of safety, that maybe things would be all right after all. And it was equally as amazing to see the B-17, an instrument of pure destruction become a beacon of hope and a tool for survival, giving rise to a beautiful moment before the war came to an end.

One that did remind us that this was the point of the war. To prevent pain, to prevent suffering and give every soul on this planet a chance to pursue life, liberty, and happiness and well… that moment and seeing these men fly home, made for an emotional and beautiful end to this saga. One that closed out a powerful trilogy of storytelling that expressed the light of the war, and the dark of the war, and the hope that it inspired. Giving rise to a satisfying end to this trilogy and a satisfying end to one powerful story. Wherein we came to learn that despite the ugly, and the missteps, World War II remains the only noble conflict in our storied and sordid history. For this battle, while wrought with suffering, and fiercely challenged by evil… spoke of promise. Of hope… of what we can be when we unite as one, and this story helps to remind us of that, so that we can hold to that promise and never let such horrors happen again.

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