Masters of the Air Review: Apple TV’s WWII Epic Soars and Stumbles

Masters of the Air is the long-awaited companion piece to Band of Brothers and The Pacific, following the 100th Bomb Group of the US Army Air Forces as they fly daylight bombing missions over Nazi-occupied Europe. Austin Butler and Callum Turner star as Major Gale “Buck” Cleven and Major John “Bucky” Egan, two close friends whose bond is tested by the most dangerous air campaign of the war. The aerial combat sequences are among the most stunning war footage ever produced for television. The ground-level character work is where the show struggles to match its predecessors.

How We Reviewed: Our assessment is based on comparison with the show’s prior seasons and genre benchmarks and analysis of writing, direction, and ensemble performance. Ratings reflect full-season viewing, critical analysis, and production quality assessment. We do not accept payment or free products from any brand featured here.

The Flying Sequences

The B-17 bombing missions are extraordinary. The bombers are rendered with photographic realism, the flak explosions and Luftwaffe fighter attacks create genuine visceral terror, and the show communicates the physical ordeal of high-altitude bombing — freezing temperatures at 25,000 feet, oxygen deprivation, constant mechanical failure — with impressive detail. A mid-season mission through heavy flak over Germany is one of the most intense action sequences produced for any screen, rivaling the D-Day sequence from Saving Private Ryan in its ability to place the viewer inside the chaos.

The sound design deserves particular praise. The roar of engines, the crack of anti-aircraft fire, the sickening sound of metal tearing through a fuselage — the show puts you inside the bomber in a way that makes the danger palpable. When a shell punches through the aircraft’s skin and the wind screams through the hole, you understand viscerally why these men called themselves the “Bloody Hundredth.”

The Characters

Austin Butler brings quiet charisma to Buck Cleven, a natural leader whose composure under fire inspires his crew. Callum Turner’s Bucky Egan is the more volatile counterpart — reckless, emotional, and furiously loyal. Their friendship is the show’s emotional center, and both actors invest it with genuine warmth. The mid-season episodes, when the two are separated by the fortunes of war, test their bond in ways that are both historically fascinating and dramatically effective.

The challenge is the large ensemble. With dozens of airmen to track across nine episodes, many characters blur together beneath their flight gear and oxygen masks. Band of Brothers solved this problem through distinctive personalities and memorable character moments; Masters of the Air too often relies on the audience to remember names and faces that the show has not differentiated clearly enough. The later episodes, focusing on prisoners of war and the Tuskegee Airmen, introduce important stories that deserve more time than the show can give them.

The Tuskegee Airmen

The introduction of the Tuskegee Airmen — the all-Black fighter squadron who escorted bombers over Europe — is handled with respect and provides some of the show’s most emotionally resonant material. Ncuti Gatwa delivers a strong performance in limited screen time, and the show draws important attention to the racism these pilots faced from their own military. The frustration is that their story feels compressed into too few scenes, treated as a subplot when it deserves the scope and attention of its own series.

Historical Authenticity

The show’s commitment to historical accuracy is evident in every frame. The period detail — from the English countryside airfields to the pubs where crews gathered before missions — is immaculate. The show does not romanticize the war. It shows the statistical reality that the 100th suffered catastrophic loss rates, and the psychological toll of knowing that each mission might be your last gives the flying sequences weight beyond spectacle.

Verdict

Masters of the Air is visually magnificent and historically important, delivering aerial combat sequences that set a new standard for the genre. It falls short of Band of Brothers in character development and emotional depth, but the story it tells — of young men facing impossible odds in the skies over Europe — deserves to be told, and the show tells it with genuine reverence.

Rating: 7.5/10

For more Apple TV Plus content, see the Apple TV Plus Best Shows Guide and the Best Drama Series Streaming Right Now.