In Masters of the Air, the big stars are, of course, Austin Butler and Callum Turner. Not just because of their celebrity outside of Apple TV+’s World War II drama, but because they’re playing two pilots who carried the hopes of the entire 100th Bomb Group on their shoulders. So, it was undoubtedly a surprise when, at the end of episode 4, Gale Cleven’s (Butler) plane was shot down with the bombardier left either missing or killed in action.
It that wasn’t enough, imagine the shock on my face when John Egan (Turner) meets a similar fate in episode 5. Mind you, I haven’t even mentioned that Barry Keoghan’s character already crash-landed and exploded before our two heroes went down! Before I get ahead of myself, let’s quickly answer everyone’s burning question: “So… are all my favorite boys dead already?” Not quite. (Except for Keoghan’s pilot, unfortunately.)
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Callum Turner’s John Egan is ready for revenge.
Before that shell shock that was episode 5, we saw a deeply distraught Egan learning that his best friend’s plane was shot down. If the pilot is even alive, he still has to get out of Germany somehow. Either way, Egan is ready for revenge. Whereas the 100th Bomb Group previously focused on military targets, their next mission was to hit a highly-populated civilian area in Münster. The focal point of the assault would be a cathedral in the center of the city, when Sunday mass concluded. While many of the pilots were horrified by the thought of killing innocent people, others—like Egan—saw it as a chance to honor their fallen friends. As the real-life Egan told the National World War II Museum, “It was a dream mission to avenge the death of a buddy.”
But as we know from Cleven’s downfall, flying 30,000 feet in the air and firing bullets at enemies is a surefire way to find yourself back down on the ground—and quickly. Egan is hit over the Ruhr Valley. He never even makes it to Münster. Egan and co-pilot John Brady (Ben Radcliffe) are both forced to jump out of their plane, the M’lle Zig Zag, as German forces rain hell on their formation. Egan safely parachutes into enemy territory, however. at At the end of the episode, he is deep in a bog, hiding from an armed German man who is searching for him.
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“Rosie” (Nate Mann) finally makes his debut.
Miraculously, only one aircraft from the 100th Bomb Group returned to base following the raid on Münster. All your favorite heroes may be in the wind, but let me introduce you to Robert “Rosie” Rosenthal. Played by Nate Mann (Licorice Pizza) in Masters of the Air, Rosenthal is our late-game hero. He’s the 100th’s dark horse—and arguably the most legendary member of the group. I don’t want to give too much away about this man just yet, but I’m excited to finally be able to write about this character. For now, let’s just say you should prepare to fall in love with ol’ Rosie as the show goes on.
As the only pilot to return from Münster, Rosenthal reports that he still dropped his payload despite losing two engines and his plane’s oxygen system. A significant amount of time is dedicated to Rosenthal’s harrowing return this episode, and he’s easily the surprise highlight of Masters as we head into the second half of the miniseries. According to Smithsonian, he reportedly arrived back at base that day and joked, “Are they all this rough?” What a killer. Next week, hopefully, we’ll find out what happened to of our other favorite boys.
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