Masters of the Air: Episode Discussion 5

[muccamukk]

In which we (hopefully) welcome directors Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck!

Rules:

1. Don't be a dick. Specifically (but not limited to):


1. Not liking something is fine, and negative comments are fine. Please do not directly tell other participants why the thing they like is bad or that they are bad for liking it.


2. Kink shaming will be deleted.


3. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, misogyny, etc will be deleted.


2. Discussing material from the books is fine, but if you're going to discuss something that happens in future episodes, or the fate of historical characters, please put it under a cut and title the comment Book spoilers! or something similar.


3. Likewise, wanting to treat the show as a self-contained unit and not engage with the books/history is perfectly valid.

How to do an in-comment spoiler cut:
<details><summary>Describe what you're spoiling here</summary>All the spoilers go in this part.</details>

Comments

[partypaprika]

I went into this episode wanting to be a lot more positive in my outlook. And honestly, this episode gave me a lot to work with.

I like that we're seeing Lemmons again. And Crosby's returned! I love getting a look at the headquarters.

I feel like the music did a great job of steadily ratcheting up the tension leading up to the mission to Munster. I'm not sure if I just wasn't paying close enough attention to it in the previous episodes, but I liked the music a lot in this episode.

I liked the flying visuals as well in this episode, especially combined with the music.

Escorts? I feel like this is the first I'm hearing of them. But interesting to know that they had escorts for some portion.

I really liked that we stayed with one ship for a good portion and then a second. I really felt the tension. I think the sound really was great (sorry to keep going on about it, but I felt like it was just so well done).

I think I had a heart attack when Hambone (?) got caught on the door. I totally freaked out. I was prepared for something really gruesome.

Ugh, I knew what was going to happen to She's gonna but it was still so sad. The end scene with the men helping to put together the personal belongings of the men who hadn't come back was very well done.

This was like the aviation equivalent of watching "And Then There were None". This was also the first episode that felt like really getting to see a dogfight. I really think that they should have extended it a little longer.

I really liked Rosenthal as a character and hope we get to follow him a bit as well.

This was a big step up. This was the episode that I really wanted for the second or third episode. It's frustrating that it came in the middle and not earlier, but I'm glad we got it.

[muccamukk]

A lot of the Lemmons scenes were great, too, especially him playing with the kids, and then sending them away when the planes weren't coming back. He's NINETEEN! And all his friends just died. Jesus.

LOVED the music this episode.

The escorts were a whole thing. I'm going from slightly elderly memories, but the feeling was that with so many guns, the b-17s wouldn't NEED fighter escorts since they'd be able to look after themselves (and the RAF was flying at night), so the AAF didn't bother developing any with a longer range. Multiple people warned them that this was going to be a fucking disaster, and it was. After the mission in Part 3, the higher ups put a rush on a long-range fighter (I think the p-51?), but by Part 5, they weren't coming off the line in high enough numbers to do any good.

Also like Rosie!

[sovay]

I liked the flying visuals as well in this episode, especially combined with the music.

The air logistics were really crisp—I still couldn't always tell who had just been dramatically riddled with bullets or flak, but the attrition of the ships was painfully clear, even when it was happening so fast that no one had time to record anything except losses. The music this episode was great.

I was prepared for something really gruesome.

Same! Nice that it was averted, but after the close-up facefuls of shrapnel and flying glass, I wasn't taking any bets!

This was the episode that I really wanted for the second or third episode. It's frustrating that it came in the middle and not earlier, but I'm glad we got it.

Agreed. I hope the rest of the show can keep it up.

[wearing_tearing]

The end scene with the men helping to put together the personal belongings of the men who hadn't come back was very well done.
You mentioned above the music in this ep, but I also really enjoyed how they used silence here! It made it all so grim and heartbreaking, as it should be.

This was like the aviation equivalent of watching "And Then There were None".
Such an apt description.