Masters of The Air
Hey everyone and welcome, today we will be talking about the series Masters of the Air. Fun Fact, When you see the pilots attempting to bomb hot spots in Germany and they’re getting shot at and you see these black smoke clouds, these black smoke clouds are from something called Flac which was an anti-aircraft gun that when the rounds exploded at altitude, would send out metal fragments that tore through the aircraft’s hull. This show came out in 2024 and stars Austin Butler, Callum Turner, and Anthony Boyle and was created by John Shiban and John Orloff. So without further ado let’s get right into it.
Masters of the Air follows the 100th Bomb Group in the Eighth Air Force as they fight during World War Two to destroy German targets in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Masters of the Air is a war drama. It has similar vibes to Band of Brothers, The Pacific, or The Crown.
Masters of the Air caught my attention because I saw Austin Butler and Callum Turner starred in it who I enjoy as actors but also because this was a World War 2 show and that’s an era I find so interesting so I knew I had to watch. After watching All Quiet on the Western Front, which isn’t World War 2 but the First World War, I took a break from war movies and TV shows because that one was very sad. It’s wild to me that even after all the movies and TV shows about World War Two, I feel like I had hardly seen something focused on a regiment of the Air Force. It was interesting to learn about these pilots but also learn about the 100th which would get the name the bloody 100th not because they killed so many people, but because they lost so many people in such a short amount of time.
Callum Turner played John Egan, one of the two nicknamed Bucky. Bucky was very proud to fight for his country in the show and they showed him as more of a jokester who oftentimes tried to lighten the mood so people didn’t feel so anxious. I think in some moments he didn’t get the hint that the silliness is not what was needed but instead, they needed someone to reassure them that everything was going to be ok. I enjoyed Turner portraying this character and loved seeing his friendship with Cleven. Also having two characters named Bucky was hard to get used to.
Anthony Boyle plays Harry Crosby who was a navigator in the 100th and did a great job at showing how stressful the job is and how he was constantly protecting his men. Navigators during this time were something I never really factored in while thinking about the war but in this show, they showed how important they are which was cool to see. I loved how Crosby took the war seriously, got promoted while in war, and made sure the airmen had what they needed to succeed considering he had been on missions before.
The intro for this show is about 2 minutes long according to my calculations which shocked me because I don’t think I’ve seen a show’s intro ever be that long. While it was long I did think it was cool to see this dedicated intro to highlight the airmen and kinda give a hint at what the show would be about.
One of the more important things in a show like this is to get the looks down to truly immerse the viewers in this period which I think the show nailed. Besides the outfits they have planes, cars, bikes, and people’s physical appearance to make sure the people look like they are a part of this time.
Something small that I thought was interesting was the relationship between British soldiers and Americans and how even though we were allies there was still a huge cultural difference between the two groups. I notice this still today where some Americans as well as some British people think they’re better than others and it’s interesting to see what the reason is.
Just like the shows I compared it to this is one, Masters of the Air will have you looking up everything going on in the show to see if it’s true. This show is based on a book of the same name and they released a documentary called The Bloody Hundredth that further gives more info about the group. It was interesting to learn a bit about Black Monday which is named because of the many lives lost, the inclusion of Rosies riveters, the Tuskegee airmen, and that Rosie flew the most missions out of the 100 to name a few.
The series details a lot of what it was like to be on the plane during the missions and how stressful it can be. Besides the fact that you have a mission to complete, if you get shot down, there is a lot of space between you and the ground. I enjoyed how each time they showed the airmen up there they would focus on something different so that each time the viewer was drawn to a different aspect of what was going on inside the plane.
One thing about war is obviously it has lasting effects on people and as the show went on and as the war went on we saw the effects it had on these airmen and how hard it was to stay positive after seeing people you know die or you yourself getting hurt or both. I’m glad they included this because while it’s important to show these people’s dedication to fighting for their country, it is equally important to show the toll had on people whether physical or mental. In the show it seemed like Egan was more optimistic and even after they went through so much was still trying to hold onto that excitement to fight for your country while Cleven was more realistic and realized that these missions are rough, seeing these people you grow so close with potentially dying or coming back completely traumatized. They discussed how some tried to forget by drinking or worse fighting which wasn’t the best course of action for them. One of the saddest things that stuck with me from this series was towards the end of the season when it was stated how there were so many people joining the 100th that there was a reluctancy to get to know the new guys because they didn’t know how long they would be around which just showed how many men the 100th was going through.
There was an episode that focused on Rosenthal being sent to an estate for rest and therapy and how reluctant he is to do that because, during this time period, men often pushed aside emotions to do what they thought needed to be done which was to fight to free the innocent people under Nazi rule no matter how you are feeling. Some people had guilt from not being involved in war because they felt like they weren’t giving their all to serve their country and this episode showed how that mindset was wearing out these men mentally and physically. The US had these estates so that they could try to give the men a rest to not let the war completely overcome them. Even if you came back alive and not physically injured you saw things that would traumatize most people and these estates were ways to deal with this trauma in a more manageable way than drinking or fighting even though as we have all probably seen these estate trips were not enough to fully deal with PTSD which wasn’t even widely diagnosed yet during this time period. Showing the mental toll of this war is important and even though they didn’t know how to properly address it I think it’s important to show that they tried while the war was going on.
There was a part towards the end of the series where Rosie meets an older Jewish man who had to bury his whole family and it was so heartbreaking to hear what he had to do to survive. One thing I was shocked to hear in this interaction was the Jewish man saying that he was going to Palestine after leaving Germany. Like if you do some research you know a lot of Jewish people from Nazi-occupied lands ended up in Palestine if they were able to escape before Israel was created. It was just interesting because I always see World War 2 content that focuses on the war but never really mentions what happened after.
It was interesting to see that through all the battles in the sky, some guys actually survived and some were lucky to find allies and make it back to the base while others like both Bucky’s would end up in Prisoner of War Camps(POW). We learn from Sgt. Quinn that he got to go home after getting shot down and being helped by the Belgians because he knows too much and could be a risk if he is captured by the Germans. When Egan arrives at this POW camp we see that Cleven has been here and thankfully isn’t dead. The guys in the camp rallied to help each other survive and figure out how everyone could make it home. While in camp they were interrogated by a German soldier which was interesting because it was played by Louis Hofmann who I know from the show Dark which is amazing, but also he seemed to know so much about these airmen which hinted that Germany had spies in America.
The show exhibited how D-Day was a big event that turned the tide for the Allies and how important the 100th was to help that mission be a success but also how it was just the beginning of the end. Through the men that were in a prisoner of war camp, we saw how Germany scrambled to figure out how to keep those men alive and in their custody so they could potentially use them as leverage. These soldiers knew that the war was not going well for Germany and some took the risk to get out of there because they didn’t know what would be done to them.
I think my favorite part of this show was Austin Butler’s portrayal of Gale “Buck” Cleven. I enjoyed the character and really liked that he was so serious about the war and truly seemed to look out for his men. It was cool that in the early episodes, they also showcased how good he was at flying. While Egan often times seemed to joke about some things that were serious Cleven remained focused and determined to complete missions with a level head and make sure there was a plan in place to do what needed to be done whether that be get his men back to base or try and prepare for an escape from a POW camp. I thought Austin did a great job stepping into this role and really had you rooting for his character’s survival.
Masters of the Air is an interesting show that will have you wanting to learn more about the 100th bomb group and how they impacted the war. I think Apple made a really beautiful show and packed it with some great actors and a plot that was interesting and will have you invested to see how each of these characters had a role in World War 2 and helped stop Nazi rule.
