REVIEW: ‘Masters Of The Air’ Episode 3 — “Part Three”

Masters of the Air, a return to WWII for Band of Brothers producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and creator John Orloff, kicked off with two episodes that looked at how quickly excitement to fly turns to grief when the Flying Fortresses turn into iron tombs. Masters of the Air Episode 3, on the other hand, offers no joy and no reprieve from the weight of war.

The last episode established that the time of day that different airforces chose to run their missions in mattered. The Royal Air Force did night missions, thus sacrificing accuracy for the safety of the night sky. The Americans, on the other hand, run day missions. The high visibility and time to respond make every flight a near-suicide run. The last episode ended with hope, somber hope, but it’s there nonetheless. Masters of the Air Episode 3 rips it all away.

The soldiers we’ve seen become fodder, reminding the viewer that this limited series dramatizes the real-life stories of the men of the 100th Bomb Group, known as the “Bloody Hundredth.” They were an Air Force unit famous for suffering massive casualties, and we feel that loss. The core of this episode is watching the 100th bomb a German bolt factory. You can’t make weapons and planes if you have no bolts. But the only way out is through, and the 100th must complete the mission by flying directly to Africa.

The series is doing a phenomenal job of balancing intense dogfights with emotional moments. As I said in the last episode, this isn’t a spectacle for triumph’s sake. It’s the price of war. It’s the lives lost. The series is focused on showing the audience the kids in those planes that didn’t make it home. Moments of Masters of the Air Episode 3 feel a horror movie. Blood splatters, limbs are blown off, and the clangs of metal as people try to escape their hatches on the plane to bail and maybe survive ring through the series.

Crafting an aerial action sequence is one thing, but to make the spectacle into something deeply emotional is another. In a shattering moment, pilots need to bail. The plane may explode, but “Babyface” is trapped. As the other Airmen eat their logs and mission plan before jumping out, you just hear Baby Face screaming for help.

In one of the most gripping and gutting moments of the series so far, we see an abandoned Babyface, who is trapped in a turret. We hear Baby Face’s screams for help. He’s stuck as someone tries to help. Before the plane explodes, all we hear is him crying. Masters of the Air Episode 3 is gutting. Right when it begins to reach the status of spectacle, it reverts to drama. That’s the beauty that Band of Brothers had, and it’s what this Apple TV limited series is embracing as well. Even the act of bailing out isn’t something that is shown as being easy. Every man is one malfunction, one single-second delay away from death.

And even when you do survive, as the gunner who couldn’t save Babyface does, there’s still the fear of capture. While seeking help from the French resistance on the farm he’s landed on he’s told that he has two options. Become a POW and be protected by the Geneva Convention, or escape and risk being tortured and killed as a spy if caught. Surviving the fall is only the first step.

While the premiere of the series saw happy endings with Curtis Biddick (Barry Keoghan) crashing and finding his way back to the 100th, there are no happy endings in Masters of Air Episode 3. Curt, in a beautifully acted final moment, refuses to abandon his co-pilot, who is severely wounded but still alive. He tempts fate again and spots a landing spot. But then he fails. As one of the highest-profile actors in the series, to lose Barry Keoghan in Episode 3 is a reminder of the importance of the characters we follow and the reality of the stories they’re bringing to life.

The series is brutal and doesn’t hold back. Every flight is painful. Every outing takes casualties. There is no such thing as plot armor and there is no such thing as glory, at least not at this point in the 100th’s history. More importantly, Masters of the Air Episode 3 shows that the men can’t grieve as there’s no time to.

Masters of the Air Episode 3 opened in a heavy fog, a priest praying over the men of the Bloody Hundreth about to fly. Given their last rites, the bulk of the crew that flew out to Africa didn’t make it to their destination. Two planes made it, and it leaves the audience asking why. While it isn’t immediately punching as strongly as Band of Brothers, Masters of the Air is still a moving exploration of WII beyond the glamor we’re told.

Masters of the Air Episode 3 is streaming now on Apple TV+.