Buck and Bucky are back together. In last week’s episode of Apple TV’s Masters of the Air, we saw the dramatic reunion between the two lead characters, Major Gale “Buck” Cleven and Major John “Bucky” Egan, after Bucky got captured. However, the situation is clearly not in favor of them, as our favorite Majors spend the entire episode being captive at the Stalag Luft III, the Polish Concentration Camp, which is being run by the German Air Force. Back at the Thorpe Abbotts, the 100th continues to struggle with their plight. A bunch of new recruits come to join them while Major Rosenberg, aka Rosie, approaches a personal achievement—his twenty-fifth, meaning the final mission as per the requirements set by the brass.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens At Stalag Luft III?
Life at a POW camp is not supposed to be pretty, but because of the German pilots remaining captive in the American camps, Buck, Bucky, Colonel, and everyone else receive fairly decent treatment from the Germans. But that doesn’t change the fact that they are still being held by the enemy, who are not okay with them listening to the news. The hidden radio soon gets confiscated. And if the horror of eating a disgusting-looking broth of some strange meat, which may or may not be rabbit, was not enough, a prisoner named Solomon gets questioned for his “Jewish” name.
Realizing a radio is their only source of getting any information from the outside world, Buck decides to make one by himself. And he asks Bucky if he can get him the materials. For someone like Bucky, it is pretty much an easy task, even if they’re stuck in a prison camp. Things get further worse for the prisoners when one of them is shot by a German guard for absolutely no reason. Meanwhile, Buck does receive a major boost of hope on the personal front when he gets a letter from Marge accepting the marriage proposal. He tells Bucky the good news, who suggests they should do something about finding an escape whenever the weather gets better. Buck is not too fond of that idea, as he wants to go back to Marge safe and sound. But Bucky believes if they don’t do anything, their lives are going to end, stuck in hell, i.e., Stalag Luft III. Buck does manage to make his radio, but fails to turn it on, which makes him extremely frustrated.
What Is Black Monday?
At Thorpe Abbotts, a whole group of new soldiers arrive to join. They’re obviously nervous, considering the fate of their predecessors. Sadly, for the same reason, the existing people are not in the mood to welcome the newbies and make friends either. There’s an exception, though, as Major Rosenthal takes it upon himself to make these soldiers feel at home!
In the middle of such a tense atmosphere, the 100th gets one small win—with the miraculous returns of Quinn and Bailey. The two were last seen in Nazi-occupied Paris, and their chances of making it out of there were almost none. Now that they’re back, they get to go home as per the policy, which prevents already shot-down airmen from going on a mission again in order to protect the secret flying route.
The 100th soon witnesses horror when, on March 6, 1944, a significant number of people end up dead on a mission to Berlin. Crosby calls it “Black Monday” in his narration. He’s distressed by the situation, but he tries his best to keep it together. The man even takes on the responsibility of writing to the families of every dead soldier. Crosby is clearly the heart of the show, and Anthony Boyle yet again nails it here. Later in the episode, we see him get together with Sandra again. That relationship is taking a very interesting turn, I must say!
Colonel Bennett, the new CO of the 100th, announces their new mission: going back to Berlin again, which is basically equivalent to suicide. They’re supposed to drop bombs on the Erkner ball-bearing plant in the heart of Berlin. Bennet decides to be the command pilot for the mission because he doesn’t want to sit around when his soldiers are looking at imminent deaths. Fifteen planes head to Berlin, the same number that were shot down the last time. This time, though, the 100th does have an advantage: they have the P-51 Mustangs, a fighter plane that’s better than anything the Germans have ever seen. Of course, without someone like Rosie around, it’s futile to have such great tools. Fortunately, this is Rosie’s twenty-fifth mission, and he makes it a point to finish up in style. The mission is a huge success, and Rosie is now done!
Why Does Rosie Decide To Stay?
Clearly the most selfless character in the entire show, Major Rosenthal surprises Colonel Bennet when he reapplies. At a time when any other soldier can’t wait for the tour to finish and get back to the safety of home, this comes off as a shocker. Rosie has his reasons, though: he doesn’t want to leave The 100th when they’re clearly in need of him. Not to mention, he also doesn’t want a rookie to replace him and die at the hands of the Germans, which seems inevitable. The Brass’ decision to increase the number of missions to cap off a career from 25 to 30 also bothers Rosie. He’s off the hook, but his peers who haven’t completed 25 yet are now in deep trouble—something that a man like him can’t accept. So he would rather stay with them in the fight than go to Florida and relax alone!
Are Bucky And Buck Planning A Great Escape?
Let us get back to Stalag Luft III, where Buck eventually finds a way to infuse life into his radio. The trick turns out to be as simple as using the sandpaper that Crank was using on a model plane. Soon, the soldiers are listening to the BBC, where they get to hear about Berlin taking the heaviest bombing yet—clearly Rosie’s doing—and very hopeful news for Buck, Bucky, and co. But they’re still at Stalag Luft III, and Buck seems to have had enough. When they get to know about the British soldiers building tunnels and managing to escape, Buck is more than willing to try his hands at it. Strangely, Bucky wants to play it safe this time and appears to be skeptical about the idea.
Things soon take a grim turn when senior commander Simoleit summons Buck, Bucky, Colonel, and some others to his office, just to let them know that the ones who escaped through the tunnel got captured, and at least 50 of these escapees got executed. That’s not the end of bad news, as Simoleit continues to let them know about an order where he needs to take an inventory of all the Jewish prisoners. After getting out, Buck and Bucky discuss the possibility of them actually getting out, and they both realize that it’s very unlikely, considering the situation.