Previously on Apple TV’s Masters of The Air, viewers had the opportunity to learn more about Lt. Rosenthal (Nate Mann) and Crosby (Anthony Boyle) as they took a small break from the war. German soldiers captured John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner) and transported him to a camp called Stalag Luft III. There, he reunited with old friends from his crew, including his best friend Gale “Buck” Cleven (Austin Butler), confirming that Gale was alive and well.
In the next episode, “Part Seven,” Gale and John are in the camp having soup while it snows outside. After finishing their soup, they return to their cabin where other crew members are eating and listening to the news on the radio. They then line up outside, hiding the radio to avoid detection. During a routine cabin check, guards discover something suspicious.
New recruits arrive at the base due to the high number of casualties. Rosenthal, now a captain, introduces himself to the group. He has become a highly respected and skilled pilot in the 100th.
Later in the day, Rosenthal and Crosby meet for a drink and exchange updates on their positions. It is heartwarming to see the two of them conversing.
Then, we go back to the two best friends, John and Gale. The two of them and some others are washing up for the day. Then a siren goes off. As they’re in their cabins, bombs go off.
In the episode, we then see Rosenthal and Crosby watching planes in the sky, one plane flying down, and getting shot. Then, quickly, a siren goes off. Most of those who are outside run to that plane before it catches on fire, trying to get those inside safely out and give them medical attention. 150 men were killed this day, all from the 100th.
Because of all the casualties, Crosby needed a distraction so he had Sandra Westgate (Bel Powley) meet, resulting in them meeting on many occasions.
Gale and John begin to prepare for their next big move at the camp. It looks like they’re working on trying to touch base with the 100th or trying to get more news on the war. When John is in bed, Gale tells him that the last letter to his girlfriend was a marriage proposal, to which she responded yes. He asks John to be his best man and he happily accepts. While John wants to escape the place, Gale doesn’t think it’s a smart idea.
At the 100th, we are introduced to the new Lt. Colonel John Bennett (Corin Silva). He is the new colonel for the 340th squadron and will temporarily be the 100th’s commander. They begin their next mission and Rosenthal prepares his crew for Berlin.
Rosenthal and his crew safely make it back to base, along with other planes. Once everyone is off the plane, they all cheer on Rosenthal chanting, “Rosie! Rosie! Rosie!”
While most of the soldiers are celebrating Rosenthal’s victory, Crosby meets Sandra for dinner. He tells her that he’s missed her and the two of them flirt and go to a hotel nearby to spend the night together.
Rosenthal has now completed his 25th mission, which is a big deal for him. This means he could go home now.
Masters of The Air – Episode 7
At the camp, Gale wakes up as he hears screaming, the sirens, and dogs barking in the middle of the night. It’s now March 24, 1944. John looks out the window and watches a group of German soldiers lining up and heading somewhere to go after some Britain’s who escaped.
When everyone in the cabin gets up and has breakfast for the day, they get the news that there are three underground tunnels made. Eighty men had made it out while others didn’t. This gives John the idea that they could escape that way. John and Gale talk outside. Gale feels as though they should have tried to escape while the guards were on the move with the Britians, while John thinks that they have to be smart and that he’s in no rush to leave.
They get pulled into a meeting with Simoleit and some other soldiers, along with the Colonel. Simoleit informs that 50 of the men who were involved in the escape were executed. He has to take an inventory of all Jewish prisoners of war at the camp. The Colonel tells him that there are only Americans at the camp. He briefly threatens the Colonel and the soldiers to be on their best behavior. If they try to escape by any means necessary, they will be executed right away. This means that John and Gale will have to work for a while to figure out an escape plan.
Next, we see Rosenthal again. He says that he doesn’t want to go home because he can’t imagine a rookie taking his place as a pilot, with it being such a dangerous task and a huge responsibility. He says he can’t go home yet, they have to finish the war first. He learns that his next mission will be to use their bombers as bait, as they have just gained new weaponry and created a new strategy to take down Berlin and the rest of their designated enemies. He gets asked if he’d be up for being the new commanding officer for the 350th, which he happily accepts.
This episode was overall a little disappointing. There wasn’t as much focus on certain characters as usual. They did focus on Rosenthal, which was nice because viewers were able to get more information on him from the previous episode “Part Six.” It’s nice watching Nate Mann as Rosenthal, as we see him as someone strong and hardworking. It’s intriguing to see what else will happen as the season comes close to an end with only two episodes left.
Rating: 7/10