Previously on Apple TV’s original series, Masters of The Air, viewers were introduced to the Tuskegee Airmen, which included Lt. Alex Jefferson (Branden Cook), Lt. Richard Macon (Josiah Cross), and Robert Daniels (Nctui Gatwa). After parachuting down onto the German territory, the three of them were taken into custody at the Stalag Luft III, a prisoner camp in Germany. They met John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner) and Gale “Buck” Cleven and were assigned their new roommates, aside from Lt. Daniels. Captain Rosenthal (Nate Mann) and Crosby (Anthony Boyle) have been spending a lot of time together until Crosby gets sent on a real vacation back home to New York City for the month.
Now it’s come to the time the viewers have all been anticipating, the season finale. “Part Nine” of Masters of The Air starts with a bang. It’s February 3rd, 1945 and it’s the winter season. The skies over Berlin were surrounded by the planes of Americans and the Allies. Rosenthal’s engines on his plane are set on fire, getting hit. He tries to get their plane past the Russian lines so that they don’t go down in Berlin, but things happen quickly. Once his crew bails out, he then goes out as well.
He makes it to the ground and takes his parachute off as fast as possible. Unfortunately, he ends up East of the Oder River, which is right in between German and Russian lines. Because of how he landed, he has a dislocated shoulder. Before soldiers have the chance to shoot at him, he makes sure they know he’s American and they take him to safety.
Next, we see John and Gale at the camp. It’s dark out and they have 30 minutes until they all have to line up and march out of the camp. They all line up and start moving out. It’s now light outside and they’ve walked 20 miles Southwest of Stalag Luft III. The snow is coming down heavily.
Crosby is at the 100th base, trying to get information on their crews. He hasn’t heard anything from Rosenthal or anyone else. It’s easy to see that he’s stressed and worried about what’s going on.
Twenty-eight miles later, the soldiers from camp are now walking the Road to Muskau. As they walk, they see piles of dead bodies, abandoned vehicles, and containers. A group of German soldiers come, moving ahead of them and as everyone watches, these soldiers are mostly older men and children. Once they pass by, the prisoners continue to walk.
In Muskau, there’s a Forced Labor Brick Factory. The prisoners make it there, all of them heading to a fireplace for heat and some food. After some hours, they get transported on a train. As they look through the peaks of the train, they see that they’ve stopped at the Nuremberg Central Station.
Once they are all out of the train, they walk to their next destination. There are even more dead bodies than there were in Muskau. They make it to Stalag XIII camp. Daniels says that they’re in “the heart of their fatherland,” in Germany, which meant that they were in the middle of the enemy’s territory.
In Poland, Rosenthal will be taken to the airport by the general for a flight to Moscow and then be transported to England. He’s wearing a sling for his arm and shoulder. After some time, he and the Poland soldiers he’s with make it to the Russian Air Base, which is outside of Poznan, Poland. Rosenthal boards the plane to Moscow.
After that, we see John and Gale at Stalag XIII. Colonel ‘Bub’ Clark (Sam Hazeldine) comes and tells them all that they have to march again. As they’re marching, they make it to Bavaria, Germany. It’s night time and John is trying to get Gale and Bub to make a run for it with him because he believes that there won’t be a chance to do so once they make it to their next destination. As they’re walking, P-51s come out, so everyone hides and gets low on the ground, preparing for shots to be fired. Gale and John agree on making the run tonight.
They make it into town and Bub begins to spread word on them all spreading out and making their moves to escape. After the two of them run, Gale goes as John says he’ll be right behind him. John gets caught and he yells at Gale to leave. Bub makes the German major release John.
Lt. Bill Aring (Ben Dilloway), Gale, and George are still running as the daylight starts to come through. They hide as they see four GMCs on the road. They run into the woods and figure out their next destination. As he’s using the bathroom, Aring gets stabbed by a soldier. Gale and George wake up. John fights the soldier, while George gets attacked by another. Gale drops a gun as he gets one pointed at him by a little boy. He’s able to take the weapon away from him and the boy is frightened. Once the two soldiers leave, George and Gale make a run for it, leaving the woods.
We then see Rosenthal as he makes it back to the 100th. Everyone’s cheering as they watch him return. Once he’s settled in, he tells Crosby about his journey back home. Crosby then tells him that his wife is pregnant. Rosenthal is filled with joy for his friend.
Now in the Southside of Nuremberg, Gale and George are still running to make it somewhere safe. It’s dark out and they make it to a town only for soldiers to quickly find them. Luckily they are American soldiers.
In Moosburg, Germany, John and the other prisoners make it to their next destination; Camp Stalag VII.
Back at the 100th, Gale makes it back to base safe and sound. He’s happy to see Crosby and Rosenthal waiting for him as he gets off the plane. Ken Lemmons (Rafferty Law) yells across the yard, happily greeting him back home.
John and Alex are talking at the camp. John tells him that he thinks that the soldiers will send them home either out of Marseille or Le Havre. They then hear a P-51 come flying over them, shooting at the guards. All of the prisoners cheer. Everyone starts to scramble, finding places to hide as things begin to get more serious. The guards start to shoot at the prisoners as the Allies start to shoot at the guards.
The two of them run, looking to see if anyone has a United States of America flag. John gets one from Alex and the two of them run, trying to make it above a building to replace the Nazi flag with theirs. He successfully does so and everyone cheers loudly as he pulls the flag up.
At base, Rosenthal, Crosby, Lemmons, and Gale all fly a plane together with smiles on their faces. As they’re flying, Gale asks for instructions on landing from the Clearup Tower, and to his surprise, it’s John on the other end of the line.
After a few more days of doing supply drops, the war was officially over. The Germans have all surrendered. Now, after everything, they all get to go back home to their families in America.
Overall, this episode was emotional. It’s amazing to see how this story played out, with all of the special characters. Masters of The Air was written based on true events of World War II, including the soldiers who were real like Macon, Crosby, Rosenthal, and Gale. It was beautifully and tragically written very well. These characters share many memories and stories, creating special bonds; a form of brotherhood.
Rating: 10/10