REVIEW: ‘Masters of the Air’ Episode 4 — “Part Four”

The last episode of Masters of the Air was heartbreaking. As the airmen are now scattered across different continents, there is an emptiness. They don’t know Curt (Barry Keoghan) went down and aren’t returning. But the aerial battles aren’t the focus of Masters of the Air Episode 4. Instead, the series takes a more quiet approach to the war, aiming to tell the story through the aftermath of the battle and those responding to it.

In Masters of the Air Episode 4, some men made it to Africa. Others survived and were grounded. But neither is safe. This episode highlights the different types of survival possible in the war. You make it to your mission, or you survive on the ground. Only, as stated in the last episode when Quinn landed on a Belgium farm, escaping is a death sentence if you’re caught. Regardless, Quinn chose to escape and try to find the American base, making his way through Belgium with the help of the farmers. But not before they put him and two others through an interrogation.

This is the most interesting part of the Masters of the Air Episode 4. William Quinn (Kai Alexander) is met by Charles Bailey (Bailey Brook), who also survived his bailout, and a man named Bob. The three go through an interrogation montage to find out if there are any spies among them. Sing the anthem. Write the date. Do you watch baseball? The vast majority of the questions are simple, but the instructions to write down answers and the coldness in the interrogator’s voice are chilling. Somehow, being interrogated on the ground by someone they don’t know is just as harrowing as being shot at in a plane. And, of course, there is a spy.

While we do see John ‘Bucky’ Egan (Callum Turner) letting loose as his mythical 25th mission approaches and he’s punched to go home, he is the least interesting part of the episode. Instead, Quinn and Bailey board a train with a teenage girl who is tasked with keeping them safe but doesn’t speak English, which is a story in its own right. The choice not to translate any of the foreign languages in the series, specifically in this episode, builds tension.

You can feel the confusion that Quinn and Bailey feel. You can see it in their faces and how they tense when asked for their train tickets. The emotional core of this episode is that surviving isn’t guaranteed, even if you are parachuted to the ground. The uncertainty of survival hangs in the air. Even when the episode highlights the joy the soldiers can feel at the clubs and in their lover’s bed there is still an undercurrent of unease. There is always another mission, and even though we get to see the fun they have, no one truly lets go of the weight of war.

Last episode, it was clear that the Africa mission was the Bloody Hundreth’s most dangerous and casualty-causing flight. Then, in Masters of the Air Episode 4, that changes. Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven (Austin Butler) and the remaining mission survivors have made it back to base. Happy to make it back, sad for who they’ve lost, but ready to go out again; their next mission is set.

This time to attack German U-boats. The compelling part of this flight is that Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal (Nate Mann), a brand-new airman, is entering the fight for the first time. For a show that has shown us an aerial battle every episode, there is none here. Instead, we see its impact on the faces of those at the base when nearly no one returns. We see the airmen take off, the techs, and everyone in the tower watching. But we don’t see them fight. We just know they don’t come back.

While mentioning Rosenthal isn’t of much consequence. He doesn’t impact the story, and at this point, any added cast members are sure to fall sooner rather than later. But Rosenthal does return. With the crew on the ground stunned at the massive losses, Rosenthal is visibly shaken, and that’s almost enough. But instead of finding comfort in surviving, he is tasked with recounting if he saw parachutes.

It feels weird to say that Masters of the Air Episode 4 is the limited series’ weakest episode. But it is. This isn’t because it lacks action. Instead, it is because of the high death toll of the ensemble cast and how hard it is to grasp onto any character or the relationships they’re forging. In the end, the Bloody Hundreth is called that because of their high casualties. However, that doesn’t mean that the deaths don’t have to have emotional weight. These, they just don’t. We see the impact on those around them, but it’s hard to contextualize what the characters mean when they are dispatched from the series.

Just because it’s the weakest doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s quiet and tame, but it uses that stillness to break up. There have been some loud and painful episodes. Trauma isn’t just surviving a firefight. Sometimes, it’s knowing your friend didn’t make it back. That’s what Masters of Air Episode 4 captures. I only wish we had gotten to know more of the men who were lost.

Masters of the Air Episode 4 is streaming now on Apple TV+.