The show is set in 1943, where we saw the United States Air Force, more specifically, the 100th Bomb Group in the aid Air Force, carrying out their missions during the Second World War with the intention of bombing the enemy. While watching the episodes unfold, we had the story and events narrated to us from the perspective of Harry Crosby, also known as Cros, a navigator who at first, we presumed was quite incompetent. However, as the episodes went on, we saw just how good he was, how respected he was, but how his travel sickness can get the better of him from time to time.
Once this show is about the missions that the unit were carrying out, one thing that it got across more than anything, and the main thing that I actually took away from these first two episodes, was the camaraderie, Brotherhood, and togetherness that was present amongst everybody that was there. We saw this present in the way that they acted towards each other but also in life-or-death situations, such as when Curtis's plane engines were failing and Bucky made the decision to slow the pace down of everybody that was in formation in the air so that he didn't get left behind.
They really reinforced a kind of animalistic approach to the war, in the sense that if Curtis and his unit were left behind, there then would have been a strong chance that they may have got picked off by the enemy as they were all alone, almost like how a predator in nature ties out a pack of animals in order for the old, young, weak, or sick to fall behind, and then they pounce and attack. I don't know if it was deliberately done that way, but it really reminded me of that and got that message across—the message that you're always stronger when you're part of a pack and you have people looking out for you. So, with Bucky refusing to let one plane fall behind, he prevented Curtis from essentially being that metaphorical prey, with Cros then having to navigate a safe passageway. He was also a main reason why Curtis and the crew ended up surviving.
Another sense of this comes from the two main characters in the show, Buck and Bucky. They both not only have belief in themselves but they also have belief in each other, believing that they're going to get through it, survive, and eventually return home. The togetherness and Brotherhood is something which is at the heart of this show, and it's nice to see on screen as it feels like it's at the core of what this show is actually about. It highlights the devastation, death, upset, and terror that war inevitably brings with it, but this show also shines a light on the togetherness, friendships, and camaraderie that are formed. They each know that their lives are in each other's hands, and you get the sense that it's a feeling that not many people ever truly experience or actually feel, so seeing it on screen is actually quite interesting to watch.
Another main thing which felt like it was present in the first two episodes was the approach that the American air force was taking with the bombing compared to the RAF, which is the British air force. Over a few beers in the pub, the Americans and the British were across a table, and the British said how what the Americans were doing was almost like a Death Wish going out in the daylight and doing Precision bombing over enemy territory rather than going at night where it would be harder to be detected but it would ultimately mean that it would be less accurate. This is something that the Americans disagreed with at the time over the table.
However, at the end of episode 2, we saw that Bucky said to Buck how he actually agreed with the English. This is whilst Norwich was being bombed in the distance during the night. This is something that I think we'll see getting more of a focus on as the season develops—the conflict in approach and then working out what the best way to do it will be. The 100th Bomb Group in real life was actually nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth, and it had this nickname because of the heavy losses that it had in combat missions when at War. We had an insight into this during the opening episode when we saw that three planes which contained around 30 men were taken out in the first mission, one which resulted in only deaths of their own men as they were unsuccessful with their mission. Within real life, it was sometimes viewed as an unlucky group to be put in when assigned to the Bloody Hundredth, so I feel we're going to be seeing many characters that we come to form connections with sadly losing their life.
One thing that I found interesting is that there is actually still one person alive from the 100th Bomb Group from World War II, and he's now over 100 years old. Overall review personally I thought the first two episodes of this show were really good and they were really enjoyable for a number of different reasons. The way that this show looked when watching it was just great. I thought the scenes that were taking place in the air and whilst on the plane were really captivating to watch. The vast Open Sky contrasted with the claustrophobic nature of being on board the plane or in the cockpit made it feel tight and uncomfortable and almost like you were actually there.
Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner, and Anthony Boyle definitely stole the first two episodes. Once it FMS like the show is all about in Butler and Callum Turner's characters, they're two bucks I think we're slowly going to see it morph into one that's more focused on Anthony Boyle's character Harry Crosby, the newlywed who had just been promoted. Each of these four main characters feel extremely fleshed out and like there's meaning behind their actions. Bucky's contrasting behavior to Buck is interesting to watch as even though they are quite similar, they are very different people and this was demonstrated as well during the opening scene before they were drafted out to war.
I feel watching Cros's growth is going to be something that will be inspiring in the show. So I'm looking forward to seeing that happen. There were certain moments in the first two episodes which were just brutal to look at and it depicted how death can just come at you in an instance during a battle when at War. For example, when members of the group were flying and then they would be dead just moments later in horrific ways whether it be exploding in the air, freezing to death, or being fired at, the injuries that we saw were also so hard to look at such as when bare hands touched a hot weapon and also when frostbite was present, something which I didn't even really consider thinking about to be honest until watching this.
Obviously, it's so cold when you're that high up in the air but people being up there in a bubble and being fired at of course some people are going to freeze if they can't get out so the full-on approach in pretty much showing us everything is something that I appreciated because it didn't feel too much or like it was just forced in there. This show has nine episodes that are scheduled to be released. So seven more and and I'm glad that it does rather than it having six or eight in total like many other shows do it feels like "Masters of the air" is the sort of TV show where you need as much time as possible to truly tell the story of what actually happened as it sounds like there's so much to it and with it being based on a real group of people the more time the better.
So I think having 9 hours within the show is just perfect with a week to go until the next episode gets released I'm looking forward to seeing what it brings I was judging by the trailer that appeared at the end of the episode it looks like they're going to be plunged into even more danger where things will be going wrong for the Bomb Group if you can't wait until next week then the show is actually based on a book called "Masters of the air" by Donald L. Miller.
- Series Title : Masters of the Air
- Season : 1
- Total Episodes : 9
- Release Date : January 26, 2024
- Language : English
- Genre : Action, Thriller
- OTT Platform : Apple TV+
- Origin of Country : US
- Rating : 8.8 IMDb
- Cast :
Read Also: Masters of the Air E3 Review
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