Masters of The Air – Part Eight

On June 1, 1944 the 15th Air Force is seen attacking the Germans from their target in Italy. The 15th, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, are a regimen to be reckoned with. As they hit their targets and celebrate 500 successful missions, Lt. Alexander Jefferson (Branden Cook) is eager to start seeing more action in the war. Captain Lawrence (Tomisin Ajani) assures Alex that he will get his chance, but for now to celebrate what they have accomplished so far.

Stuck at Stalag Luft III for the past eight months, Bucky (Callum Turner) is not adjusting well to prisoner life. Buck (Austin Butler) checks up on him, as he and the other men worry about Bucky’s mental health inside the walls. Unable to contribute to the fight, Bucky grows restless and wants nothing more than to plan their escape. Unlike Bucky, Buck reminds him that the British soldiers who tried escaping the last time were executed…they need to be patient.

It is now June 3, 1944 and Crosby (Anthony Boyle) prepares for D-Day….three days away. As he plans the flight plans and refuses to sleep, his mind wanders to Sandra (Bel Powley) and his inability to contact her. Somewhere in Paris we see Sandra is undercover behind enemy lines. While her mission is underway, Crosby begins to suffer sleep deprivation as the stress starts to take him under. Despite doctors advising him to sleep, Crosby refuses and after 64 hours awake he collapses from exhaustion.

Rosenthal (Nate Mann) is on the way to fly to a new position in Florida – away from all the fighting in Europe. We then see him walk through the door to the commanding officer to reup his service as he finds it unfair to the other pilots that they were recently given a larger number of missions to complete before they can head home. He also notes it’s safer for him up in the air rather than going through a long list of young pilots who are just starting the fight. His commanding officer is convinced and also gives him a different division to lead. At Thorpe Abbots the 100th are preparing for the invasion of Europe. Colonel Jeffrey (Christopher Lakewood) addresses the men and has Rosenthal brief the men on their big mission: D-Day.

Finding a way to keep their strength up, Buck has the men working on pulling up a stump for firewood. Seeing the men working on the stump, Bucky tries to pull them away from their work for a faux baseball game. As he is met with resistance, he and Buck begin to fight over how their time is spent. But the fight is quickly broken up with the announcement that they must return to their barracks. Buck and Bucky surmise that from the look of the German officers looking quite rattled, the invasion is underway.

In Italy the 15th also prepares for their next mission. With men talking about their sweethearts or their next moves after they return from the war, Colonel Davis (Benjamin MacKinnon) is ready for his men to finally earn higher ranks. But based on the color of their skin, their fight for equality is difficult.

At Thorpe Abbots Crosby finally wakes up three days later. With Rosenthal sitting there at his side as he rises, Crosby is given a play-by-play of D-Day by his friend. Due to Crosby’s charting of courses, the 100th was successful in their mission.

Two months after D-Day the news of American troops energizes Bucky. But for the men at Stalag Luft III, they are aware that they will be moved if anyone is close to rescuing them. To prepare for the unknown, the soldiers discuss creating weaponry and working to keep strong and alert for when their time comes. Unfortunately, the SS has also arrived at all POW camps…making it harder to get stronger. Seeing the original stump remover that Buck and the other men had used earlier, Bucky proposes that they work out on that to help them overcome the Germans.

For the 15th, the time has come for them to head deeper into the fight: their next mission brings them to France. In three days Operation Dragoon has them focusing on three main points in Marseilles, Saint Tropez, and Toulon. Calculating the mileage, Lieutenant Macon (Josiah Cross) is concerned about the level of fuel versus the length of their trip. When Davis advises the men to use every ounce of fuel and remember that they are Tuskegee Airmen, the 15th are ready to head into battle.

But when many of them are taken down in Toulon, they quickly becomes POWs. As each of them are taken in for questioning by the Germans, they resist the line of questioning as the interrogator points out the racial inequality they must face. Macon, Alex and Lt. Robert H. Daniels (Ncuti Gatwa)  all become part of Stalag Luft III where they are met with mixed reviews. When Macon and Alexander are assigned to the same barracks as Buck, Bucky, and their men Buck welcomes them and advises the men to do the same.

After Crosby’s exhaustion, Jeffrey grants him a month of leave for all his hard work. With his free time, Crosby tries to ring Sandra before he is sent home for a month. Unfortunately, he is not able to reach her on the number he was provided. Later when he tries to visit her Crosby finds a note by Sandra saying that it may be for the better that he returns to Jean as she has been called on a new mission. Crosby then heads home for four weeks.

Realizing that they need to work together, Alex talks to Bucky as a way for all of them to work together. When Alex hands Buck a book with a map he drew, Buck notices his hard work and immediately brings him into the plan to chart their way out of there. The men shake hands and the plan is underfoot. All of the soldiers begin to work as a group and train, racial divide meaning nothing as each person provides their own knowledge towards the plan. And as the SS begin to crack down more at Stalag Luft III, it’s clear that the Americans are getting closer and the Germans’ days are numbered.