Masters of The Air – Part Four

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

With the men from the 100th biding their time in Telergma, Algeria, the 12th finally arrives to get them back safely to Thorpes Abbott. Meanwhile in Flanders, Belgium, Quinn’s (Kai Alexander) time with Louise (Sara Lightfoot-Leon) and her family has been pleasant. But alas, Louise knows that Quinn is seeking passage back to England and she brings him to a local cafe to meet with the resistance. There, Quinn is greeted by Bailey (Bailey Brook) and another American soldier named Bob (Barney White). As each man heads into the back for a line of questioning, it is a test to prove that they are American. However, as the men are led to a safe house for the next part of their mission, the members of the resistance shoot Bob in the head. They have sniffed him out as a Nazi spy based on his enthusiasm singing the national anthem.

Back at Thorpes Abbott, it has become custom that surviving 25 missions earns you a celebration and a ticket home where they use the soldiers to sell more war bonds. For Lt. Dye (George Webster), he completes those 25 and is ready to head home. That night at the officers club, Dye regales the group with surviving the 25….while other men just point out it is one less pine box to send home.  Buck (Austin Butler) and Bucky (Callum Turner) are not that far behind Dye with 20 missions under their belts.

But with Dye on his way out, more men have also arrived….namely Major Rosenthal (Nate Mann), Lt. Nash (Laurie Davidson), Lt. Lewis (Josh Bolt), and Speas (Tim Preston). Fresh from Texas, they eagerly introduce themselves to Buck and Bucky….who they see as celebrities of sort. After their conversation, Nash decides to muster up the courage and goes to introduce himself to a woman named Helen (Emma Canning). Intrigued by Nash, the two take a spin on the dance floor and get to know one another.

Colonel Harding (James Murray) decides to join his men in celebration. However, Harding’s warnings about the men getting “flak happy” while in combat strikes a nerve with Bucky and the two begin to butt heads. Fortunately, cooler heads prevail and the men take to finding dance partners. Before Buck picks up their canine mascot Niko for a twirl on the floor, he suggests that Bucky take a weekend pass and get away from the base to clear his head.

Saying farewell to Louise and her family, Quinn and Bailey start on their mission with the resistance and head to the first checkpoint. There, they meet with their contact Michou (Leonie Lojkine) as she will help them back to safety. However, Michou notices the scarf Quinn is wearing and immediately the resistance checks his belongings. Finding a letter from Louise, they warn him that if the Germans had found this they would do unspeakable things to Louise and her family. Burning the letter is the only recourse.

In London, Bucky has taken the weekend pass and finds himself in the company of a woman from Poland named Paulina (Joanna Kulig). After lots of drinking and conversation, Bucky and Paulina go dancing then head back to Paulina’s flat for some fun times. As Bucky watches London being bombed from the view of Paulina’s window, the two talk about the war and how being close to death makes you feel more alive.

As Bucky is getting lucky in London, Buck is preparing himself to go on another mission: back to Bremen to make up for the first botched mission. The new recruits from Texas are also on the mission, with Nash going to say a quick farewell to Helen with a promise that they would catch up later. Unfortunately, Sgt. Ken Lemmons (Rafferty Law) advises Buck and his men that there’s an issue with one of the propellers and it will need to be fixed. Prepared to work on the literal fly, Lemmons fixes the propeller as Buck’s plane taxis for takeoff….fixing it just in time for them to head to Bremen.

In Paris, Quinn and Bailey are on a train with Michou to get to their next stop. Michou steps out of their compartment for a moment. During that time, Bailey asks Quinn about Babyface. While Bailey had asked earlier and Quinn lied, Quinn decides to tell the truth about trying to do everything he could to save him….but had to evacuate the plane himself to get to safety. Bailey takes the news hard, but agrees that he would have done the same thing. But the sadness is short-lived when the conductor comes to collect tickets and advises the men that there are German soldiers who want to see their documentation. Bailey manages to keep it together, but Quinn freaks out and flees the compartment. Michou arrives in time to spin a story how Quinn is deaf and freaked out, but it is her fellow lookout named Manon (Anne Vanderelst) who gets Quinn back on track with the plan and back to the compartment. Crisis has been averted.

The morning after their tryst, Bucky wakes to Paulina getting dressed and heading out. While Bucky would like to continue their fun, Paulina does not wish to get more entangled with a soldier and wants them to leave their night as it was. After she leaves, Bucky gets dressed and heads out of the apartment. While on the street, the aftermath of the bombing rears its ugly head as he sees the body of a young girl carried out of a home reduced to rubble….the mother in agony over the death of her child.

Back at Thorpes Abbott, planes have started to arrive back from Bremen. Harding realizes that not all the planes have returned and that 8 forts are missing. With the First Element taken out, this means that Buck has not returned from the mission. Also unfortunate, Rosenthal has returned to bring Helen the news that Nash did not make it back. But the one question remains: who will tell Bucky?

It doesn’t take long for Bucky to find out. After picking up a local paper in London and seeing that 30 men are missing during the mission to Bremen, he telephones back to base and uses code to find out if Buck was among the missing. Once he gets confirmation, Bucky decides to head back to base early….he’s ready to get back in and fight like hell.