Thank God, Masters of the Air Just Took Some Much Needed R&R
Masters of the Air's heroes have been grounded this week. Major Gale Cleven (Austin Butler) is missing in action, John Egan (Callum Turner) is trapped in a prisoner of war (POW) camp, and Harry Crosby is off to Oxford University for an Allied nations meeting. Even our new favorite Masters of the Air pilot—Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal (Nate Mann)—is on a forced vacation, since he was the only pilot to return from the crew's latest mission. Entering episode 6 of the series, nothing is looking good for the Bloody 100th's bombardiers, but the war is about to take a hopeful turn.
Enter stage right: Gale Cleven. He's alive! We see Cleven swing around the fence to greet Egan at the POW camp. "What the hell took you so long?" he asks. At long last, our boys are back together. Cleven reportedly said this line to Egan in real life, which only makes their reunion that much better. At the time, Egan replied, "That's what I get for being sentimental!" When Hollywood tells stories based on true events, truth-bending usually ensues—but Cleven and Egan really had that kind of relationship.
The boys now find themselves at Stalag Luft III, a POW camp where many of the Bloody 100th's pilots landed after they were shot down over Münster and Bremen, Germany. A new set of challenges awaits them, but the attention of the Apple TV+ series returns to the home front in episode 6. Sentimentality, begone! It's time for some R&R.
Some of the mission's surviving crew members are suffering from intense guilt, so they're ordered to rest in the English countryside. Rosenthal, the hero of Münster, is among them. He's a bit antsy, however, because he would rather remain in combat than relax and debrief with doctors. For audiences, this is where we learn a little bit more about Rosenthal. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, one of the pilot's greatest motivations was his Jewish heritage. Understanding the threat posed by the Nazi regime, he saw a moral obligation to join the war effort.
Like a jazz drummer forced to quit mid-solo, Rosenthal feels out of rhythm in the countryside. But with the help of an on-site therapist and his comrades, Rosenthal realizes that he's in charge of the rhythm of his crew as well. If Rosenthal is going to take the next step as the Bloody 100th's last remaining hero in the sky, he needs a clear mind. One of his fellow crewmen tells the group, "Hearing his voice on the radio, that was the first time that I didn't feel scared shitless."
But not everyone in the Bloody 100th's ranks is operating with a steady mind. While in Oxford, Harry Crosby spends his time flexing in the mirror and fraternizing with a colleague across the pond named A.M. Wesgate (Bel Powley). It's a perplexing plot about Crosby attempting to cheat on his wife while abroad at war, but the lieutenant is unsuccessful. After some drinks in his room, Crosby fumbles the bag and wallows in the loss of his fallen friends. "That's why they sent me here," he tells her. "Give me some time away."
When we return to Masters of the Air next week, hopefully our boys will be well-rested (and reunited!) for the big fight ahead. It's 1943, after all—the war is far from over.
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