At this point, I know I’m starting to sound like I’m being sponsored by Apple TV+, but I promise, I’m paying my own hard-earned cash for this streaming service. I just keep finding amazing new content on this platform that I’m really excited to talk about! While I’m sure there’s some duds to be found on Apple TV+, I feel like pretty much everything I’ve explored personally so far has been a winner. And that includes the most recent series I finished watching: World War II historical drama Masters of the Air.
I love all kinds of period pieces: whether it’s a slightly soapy period drama like Downton Abbey; a VERY soapy period drama like Bridgerton; or a more serious project like the World War I film 1917. Masters of the Air is a tremendously well-made miniseries, with moments of both triumph and tragedy. It’s based on real-life people and historical events, although I’m sure as with most adaptations, some of the scenes are fictionalized.
Masters of the Air follows a collection of airmen who served on the U.S. military’s fleet of bombers in Europe during WWII. I have to admit, when I think of pilots in WWII, I typically think of fighter planes and dogfights. So I appreciated learning more about the soldiers who crewed the giant airships that were tasked with the very dangerous job of carrying out bombing runs over enemy territory.
While the show is mainly about three men – Major Gale “Buck” Cleven (Austin Butler), Major John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner), and Lt. Harry Crosby (Anthony Boyle) – it does a good job showcasing its minor characters as well and the extreme risks that came with serving on a bomber. I think I mistakenly assumed that serving on the ground would be riskier than serving in the air, but that was certainly not the case. Many of the soldiers crewing these bombers died in brutal and sudden ways, and this show will rip your heart out by making you lose characters you care about.
I believe that WWII was an inevitable conflict – Hitler and his Nazi war machine were indisputably evil, and that evil had to be stopped from spreading. Yet, it is still appropriate for us to grieve over the fact that so many young people serving in the Allied forces were sent to die in this conflict. And the ones that did come home carried scars and baggage that would remain with them for the rest of their lives.
A good war drama should be both educational and sobering, and Masters of the Air lands just the right tone. Two moments from the end of this series still linger with me:
One is when Major Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal (Nate Mann) is rescued by Soviet forces and on his way home stops by an abandoned Nazi concentration camp. A Jew himself, he is horrified by the sights he witnesses there. For him – and for the viewer – the scene drives home just how evil the Nazis truly were, and why they had to be stopped.
Another is when the prisoner of war camp where Bucky Egan is stationed is finally liberated, and the prisoners turn against the Nazi guards. Bucky scales a flag pole and rips off the Nazi flag waving there and replaces it with a battered U.S. flag one of the other soldiers was carrying. It’s a moment of relief and triumph, as the men realize that the war is finally coming to an end and that hope can shine again. Goodness can triumph over evil.
I wish we could have seen more of the Tuskegee Airmen in this series, who make a brief appearance towards the end of the show. I did like that the show ends with photos and information about the real-life airmen who inspired this series.
I highly, highly recommend this show!
