Masters of The Air – Part Six

Behind enemy lines in Westphalia, Germany, Bucky (Callum Turner) is doing his best to survive. Unfortunately, his hopes of not getting caught are dashed when he is seen by a couple of German children (Laszlo Garson; Alexander Squires) and they notice that he is American. While trying to hide from the German farmers (Julian Deuster; Raul Fernandes) that are armed with rifles and eager to find him, Bucky is caught.

In the aftermath of Münster, Crosby (Anthony Boyle), Rosenthal (Nate Mann), and the remaining men are sent away from Thorpe Abbots to rest and recover from the carnage. For Crosby, he ends up at Oxford University to attend a conference between the allies. As Crosby settles into his quarters and awaits the arrival of his roommate subaltern A.M. Wesgate (Bel Powley), Rosenthal and the rest of the crew are sent to the flak house for some rest and relaxation. While the rest of the men are relieved to have a rest from the war, Rosenthal is eager to return to the action.

After being captured by the Germans, Bucky and other fellow men from the 381st are set to be transported for questioning. As the men arrive in Rüsselsheim,  they are walked through the streets and witness the carnage inflicted on the German civilians at the hands of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It doesn’t take too long before the locals take notice of Bucky and the other American soldiers walking through the town…and begin to form a mob. As Bucky is knocked out by the civilians who are angered by the losses they incurred, the other men are beaten and killed. Believed to be dead, Bucky and the other soldiers are taken out in the forest to be buried. Seeing his chance, Bucky realizes he needs to make a run for it and flees while the men are digging a grave for the other bodies.

At the flak house, Rosenthal is set to meet with Dr. Huston (Jamie Parker) as part of his healing and recovery. Although Rosenthal claims he is fine and eager to get back in the fight, the doctor advises him that he can do so….in five days. In the meantime, Rosenthal tries to find a way to relax and make the most of his time. During a walk of the grounds, he sees one of his fellow airmen breaking down and crying.

Crosby also settles into Oxford and attends lectures. When he is back in his room and relaxed, his roommate A.M Wesgate arrives. But upon meeting Wesgate, it is clear that Crosby will be rooming with a woman during his time here….who has now seen him in a state of undress and doing a bad impersonation of Spencer Tracy. Fortunately, Wesgate seems unphased and remains warm and polite towards him. Later when Crosby is insulted by a British diplomat and defends his men vehemently, Wesgate is impressed and starts to befriend Crosby.

Exhausted from running through the forest, Bucky is again captured by German soldiers and is now transported to Dulag Luft Prisoner of War Transit Camp in Frankfurt, Germany. There, he is questioned by Lt. Haussmann (Louis Hofmann). Haussmann tries to appeal to Bucky’s good nature by mentioning baseball and American customs that he admires so much. While Bucky appeases Haussmann by sharing a drink and smoke, he refuses to divulge any more information other than his name, rank, and serial number. Even when Haussmann starts to mention more personal information such as where he’s from and his friend Buck (Austin Butler), Bucky still does not budge.

Unable to sleep one night at the flak house, Rosenthal ventures out into the main area where he finds Dr. Huston listening to music and enjoying the roar of the fire. Changing the music, Rosenthal finally opens up about the drive to fight against the atrocities of the war. There is no time to pause or relax, only fighting until the mission is accomplished. Finally finding sleep, Rosenthal awakes in the main area and begins to take the doctor’s advice. Later, Rosenthal finds his crewmen playing cards and decides to join them. During the game as one of the men begin to open up about the experience of Münster, they finally begin to heal.

After a lovely day together, Crosby and Wesgate end up back in their room with some scotch. As they talk about their lives, Crosby begins to share a story that included Bubbles (Louis Greatorex). While Crosby has still not told his wife about the death of his best friend, he opens up to Wesgate and the guilt that he feels over that loss. Wesgate reminds him that the death of Bubbles was not his fault. The next day, the two stumble upon a party and decide to head in. Grabbing a drink and settling in to listen to the music, the two toast to Bubbles and enjoy themselves. After staying out all night, the two head back to their room. But before they get there, Wesgate receives notice that she needs to leave and wishes Crosby well before borrowing a bicycle to head out.

Finally back at Thorpe Abbots, Rosenthal, Crosby, and the rest of the men get back into the swing of things. They tell stories, laugh, smile, and get ready to carry out their missions. As Rosenthal approaches his plane for another mission, he hesitates to get back on the plane. Taking a moment of pause and tapping out a beat, he musters the strength and gets ready to head in.

In his refusal to divulge critical information to Haussmann, Bucky is transported with other American soldiers to board a train. While boarding, the men seen a train with a Nazi flag on the front and Jewish prisoners being taken away to a concentration camp. One of the soldiers tries to make a run for it and the Germans shoot him dead, prompting the other men to help their fellow men onto the train as quickly as possible. As Bucky and the men arrive at the Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany, men from the 100th begin to start calling his name. Seeing familiar faces, Bucky begins asking them about Buck. It doesn’t take long though before Bucky hears the voice of his friend at the fence and turns to find Buck waiting there, wondering why it took him so long to get here.  Seeing his friend there, Bucky smiles.