IR TV Review: MASTERS OF THE AIR - EPISODE 5 [Apple TV+]

As the time continues, the efforts of the boys in the air seem dire."Masters Of The Air" does not sugarcoat the amount of defeat being being pushed on these men as they fly into immense flak and faster airplanes taking them out. Episode 5 speaks to those men who take up the mantle when others have fallen. Callum Turner as Egan takes up the fight from his friend Doc Cleven but the essence of what might be too late is key here. What comes to bear is how much of this story is seen through the eyes of navigator Crosby (Anthony Boyle) who has shown how war can change, mature and define a person. Boyle is also starring in another Apple production coming out soon and it is interesting how different the characters are. Crosby is the heart of the story and you can feel the loss of pain through him.

For many, in the last episode or two, the idea of what it takes to actually gain a foothold against an enemy already embedded, can seem insorumountable. Egan as well as Major Rosenthal (Nate Mann) -- who has been recently promoted -- have graduated from the boisterous flyboys to ones of calm determinations since they don't want their friends to have died for nothing. In many cases, the context is about survival. Loss is only worth it if something is learned and, in a way, earned. With "Masters Of The Air", the show does show the horrors of war but the determation it takes to move the needle forward. Now whether the end game is a certain point of survival or it is playing to the thought of another season, depends on the story the producers are willing to tell, since there are unlimited stories. B

By Tim Wassberg