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Masters of the Air review
There is a scene in the last episode of Master of the Air (MOTA) where a genuine B 17 takes to the air, the sound of its engines roaring into the sky, and all the raw emotions of the last nine hours coming flooding back. The journey from training camp to combat to prison camp to victory is unlike Band of Brothers or The Pacific, MOTA manages to weave a heartfelt tale covering the 2 years the 100th bomb group spent in theatre that keeps you watching till the end. It is a show that will always be compared to its two predecessors, especially Band, and it holds up well. Yet, for all its budget and set piece action, it is more like The Pacific in terms of tone and narrative. I enjoyed the show, but overall, I think it fell short of what it was hoping to achieve.
For me a central issue is the rapid progression of the story. Unlike Easy Company in Band the narrative arc of MOTA flits across too many characters due to the nature of the arial combat causing many crews to be killed. In trying to cover two years in nine episodes the show has to cram a significant story into bite sized pieces, which is especially problematic when it comes to how it covers the Red Tails in episode seven. Episodes one to three have a cohesive feel to them, but once key members of the show are either killed or captured the show falls back on to telling rather than showing the action. It is this for me that is the biggest issue…
