[BoB REWATCH] Part Seven: The Breaking Point & Part Eight: The Last Patrol

[thrillingdetectivetales]

Welcome to the Band of Brothers rewatch discussion post for
PART SEVEN: THE BREAKING POINT & PART EIGHT: THE LAST PATROL
You are welcome to discuss any and all aspects of the episodes in the comments on this post. Please recognize that others may hold different opinions than you and continue to abide by our #1 rule: don't be a dick. Additionally, I ask that y'all take care to keep spoiler content off of spoiler-free threads. Otherwise, have fun!

Part Seven: The Breaking Point
Spoiler-free thread.
Spoiler friendly thread.

Part Eight: The Last Patrol
Spoiler-free thread.
Spoiler friendly thread.

If you'd like to chat about the episode in real time, join us over on Discord:

The spoiler-free Discord chat.
The spoiler friendly Discord chat.

To participate in discussions about previous episodes, you can visit the posts below:

Part One: Currahee & Part Two: Day of DaysPart Three: Carentan & Part Four: ReplacementsPart Five: Crossroads & Part Six: Bastogne

Comments

[thrillingdetectivetales]

This is a comment thread for spoiler-free discussion of Band of Brothers Part Eight: The Last Patrol.

For spoiler friendly discussion of the episode, please see the thread below.

[yourlibrarian]

So I see we have Colin Hanks in this episode. The return of Webster is certainly a good approach for framing the events. It helps us see the characters in a different light.

For one thing it's clear how the bitterness has grown. I definitely felt for Webster and the way he was not just shut out but stabbed in the back. (I found I also kept thinking of Webster as a younger Paul Rudd.)

What a mess that mission was. Everybody screaming at everybody else, the opposite of smooth coordination. It's certainly a good contrast for how everything tends to run in a fictional situation where, at best, there is one little mistake that causes a problem rather than multiple factors at work.

I was wondering as they got into the boats if anyone had done a headcount. I guess they did since it seems everybody came back except for the wounded German prisoner. Another thing is that, in a show, I imagine that someone would have knocked out the three German prisoners, since no one ever seems to worry about concussions in fiction.

I was rather surprised that the new lieutenant survived the episode. I was also glad to see that Winters took the opportunity to save his men when he could. No doubt several more of them could have been lost otherwise.

[thrillingdetectivetales]

I definitely felt for Webster and the way he was not just shut out but stabbed in the back.

Webster's certainly dropped into a particularly difficult position. I understand where he's coming from but I feel a lot for the guys, too, and all the trauma they've suffered and shit they've been through that strengthened their relationships that he wasn't around for. It's a tough one for sure, but I did like it as the exploratory lens for this episode.

I was also glad to see that Winters took the opportunity to save his men when he could.

Dick deciding to fake the second patrol is easily one of my favorite iconic Dick Winters scenes. He talks about it in some of the books that have been written about him/by him in the years before and since the show and it's a really wonderful moment that shows the true nature of his character and how much he legitimately cared for his men.