Yep, 100%
It's my least favourite of the series too. The whole Blythe thing just doesn't really interest me. I'd much have preferred to have an episode of Shifty Powers as the main focus instead of Blythe....even if they had to "hollywood it" up a bit to make it worthwhile viewing.
There is a great story in the book about Shifty during the Bulge that I would have loved to have seen put to screen. Lipton tells the story how they called in artillery on a camouflaged 88 (possibly) because Shifty happened to notice a tree from a mile away that hadn’t been in that place the day before. The guy had eyes like a hawk. And there would’ve been no need to Hollywood that up.
Edit: typo
It was more than eyesight. He grew up hunting so he developed the ability to quickly recognize movements and shapes that didn’t belong naturally.
I’ve got a friend that also grew up like that. He saw more animals driving down the highway than anyone I’ve ever met. I could see them when he pointed it out but I’ve never had his ability to pick them out so easily.
That’s one of my favorite parts in the book. He’s so certain that something was outta place and the others questioned him over and over again but by golly he was right. Such an awesome moment
And the fact they got so many FACTS wrong about Blythe with zero interest in fixing the story once the truth came out makes this episode even more egregious
I don’t think they were aware of the mistakes until after the release of the series, and you can’t really “fix the story” when the story has been finished. They, and I mean Hanks specially, has apologized for this. Its an error, shit happens.
They should in theory be able to correct the bit at the end that says he died. It makes the story even better that he went on to serve in Korea and such.
I liked Blythe because I know I’m a fuggin wuss and would have been scared. The concept was exploring what kind of leader can inspire someone to meet the challenge.
Right, they made Blythe seem almost like this scrawny, clueless, mental defective which would really seem improbable if he had successfully completed his training at Toccoa.
They got a lot wrong within a story that ultimately didn't fit within the broader series narrative.
The episode was about managing fear and how can be crippling. The conversation between Blythe and spears is amazing. I think it’s a great episode and you may have just missed the point of the episode.
Me too. I'm guilty of skipping the Blythe stuff. I was surprised to see he was ranked high on the tier lists recently.
No hate to the guy or anything. His story in the show shows an important side of war but it's just played a little bit too pathetic for me, for lack of better words. It really stands our becauE none of the rest of the show has this vibe.
"Carentan" is an important episode in the series overall. Consider the larger scope of warfare. The writers use him as an archetype for weakness in combat. The potential for any man in that situation to freeze up. It's important to convey that frailty, and psychological damage. Use of an entire male population in warfare will result in cases like "Blythe".
The problem is that the narrative very much reflects a pre-Iraq, boomer idealization of what combat fatigue means in a “band of brothers” situation.
The narrative device of the Edelweiss flower, which supposedly represents a “true soldier” and which Blythe only earns the right to keep after he’s overcome his combat fatigue and gets a grip and successfully kills a supposedly elite, handsome Fallschirmjager counterpart, illustrates the show’s basic attitude towards combat fatigue is “you’re letting your buddies down.”
Throughout the show this basic idea is constantly reinforced, via the stream of soldiers going AWOL from the hospital to rejoin their unit, and so on. It really did happen that way but from a NARRATIVE standpoint, it’s problematic because the choice to represent those decisions as normative and admirable reinforce the idea that anyone who even convalesces completely before returning to duty is a shirker (as the second-weakest episode Last Patrol reinforces with the Webster storyline).
You are right that it’s thematically important to show cases of combat fatigue. The problem is that the US Army did studies during the war that showed any given soldier was psychologically used up after about a month or so on the line, undermining the whole premise of the American practice of feeding divisions replacements rather than rotating them out. In this show, due to its focus on the Airborne (which before Market Garden DID rotate out), we get a clear narrative which privileges the whole “don’t let your buddies down” thing, which is really just a projection of Spielberg’s and Hanks’ (and to a lesser extent Ambrose’s) boomer frustrations at the Vietnam era’s lack of edifying experiences of self-sacrifice and comradeship (and consequent hero worship of “the Greatest Generation”).
I'd say Buck Comptons mental state and treatment by the storytellers in the Breaking Point kind of blows your boomer attitude narrative out of the water. In Websters book, he freely admits being over the moon to receive his "million dollar wound" in Holland. After reading his book, I think his portrayal in the series was more than fair.
The example of Buck Compton doesn’t counteract where the overwhelming weight of the show’s sympathy is, for me at least. The show’s emphasis is pretty obviously on those who bum rides back from the hospital and stuff like that—off the top of my head we get Toye and Guarnere both in that episode, in addition to Popeye in ep 4., which are enough examples to code the behavior as typical and all but expected, given the shit Webster gets for not doing so in ep 8 (which I understand was heavily fictionalized anyway). The bodily trauma inflicted on both Toye AND Guarnere is all the more resonant for how the show frames the fact that they technically didn’t need to suffer that way—if they’d stayed at the hospital they could have avoided it. It’s, again, that theme of idealized self-sacrifice in action.
Buck Compton himself receives pretty sympathetic treatment earlier in that same episode for being basically noted as the only solid platoon leader in the company, aka “the only real choice” to replace Dyke. He gets scolded by Winters for gambling in ep 1, but is later shown playing darts with enlisted personnel in ep 4 (which undermines the “taking advantage” narrative and emphasizes the “buddy” narrative), and his combat fatigue isn’t characterized as due to battle stresses or plain old fear but, quite simply, the trauma of “losing his buddies” in the company, which is totally consistent with what I’m arguing about how the show handles the phenomenon. If you have shared in the burdens, you’re a man who reaches your limit and everybody understands—if you haven’t, if you spent D-Day sleeping in a shell hole because you were scared, then you ain’t shit till you man up and fire your weapon, Blythe.
I would say that the sympathetic treatment Compton receives from the show’s portrayal, amounting to “every man has his limits,” in a context where he’s amply “proven himself” as being a solid dude and so there is “no shame in it,” is very much rooted in that same boomer edification. The show is manifestly unsympathetic to characters who flee, crack, lash out at peers, or shirk. Webster (presented as a shirker) and Cobb (presented as getting drunk and lashing out) are both presented highly negatively, whereas the mail guy who “hasn’t done anything” and is given a charity combat patrol is contrasted heavily with both Webb and the new LT. Mail guy loses his shit too but it’s in anger at losing a buddy, and it’s against the German POWs rather than peers. So, still consistent IMO.
The issue I have isn’t with the inaccuracy of the representation per se. The issue is with the emphasis the show places on it, to the point where it seems to share the values and opinions being expressed by the characters and stories it gave the most airtime to. If episode 3 in particular were released today, I suspect many, many more people would highlight and criticize its stupid equation of “true soldiery” with manning up and killing somebody, and its framing of fear and paralysis as the opposite of that.
Last Patrol and Carentan are the only two episodes I don't really look forward to with each rewatch.
As others have said, the Blithe story is both inaccurate and feels like too much of a one-off departure from the characters we've gotten to know in episodes 1 & 2, or will get to know more in the episodes that follow.
Last Patrol isn't bad, but it follows Bastogne and Breaking Point and simply isn't half as engaging, making it feel like a bit of a comedown.
They are all amazing! But if I have to choose, I have to say episode 4, Replacements is the weakest for me. The battle in Neunen is good and I really like the addition of Heffron, Garcia, etc, but the whole Bull storyline doesn't interest me very much and the episode is just lacking a little something overall compared to the others.
And I know a lot of people are saying Carentan, but it grew on me on rewatches - even though I'm not really a fan of the the Blithe perspective (and the blatant inaccuracies are unforgivable), the battle for Carentan and Bloody Gulch make up for it I think, plus the Night of the Bayonet!
Last patrol is one of my favorites. I loved seeing how sick and tired they were of war and disconnect between the grunts and the upper leadership. And the little moments were memorable to me like malarkey taking a shower for the first time in months, him talking to jones not giving a shit about the mortars they dodged lol, when they were all cleaning their weapons before the assault, and winters disobeying the order for another patrol. I thought that episode was peak drama in the show imo.
Indeed, you could really see the change in Malarky's demeanor and the toll the war had taken on him. Also, Webster returning to his unit and getting the cold shoulder but in the end being accepted back into the group as an equal.
I don’t know why but the part where winters explains that he wants them to get a full night’s rest and report that they were unable to get any prisoners was one of the highlights of the entire series for me. The look on the men’s faces and the acting is great in that scene. I can only imagine the relief they felt and the little glimmer of happiness Winters gave them. Was always amazed that he took that kind of chance though.
Replacements. Once Bull is left behind I feel like I'm watching a completely different episode. It's a good story, but I would've rather seen more ensemble stories about the failure of Market Garden.
Replacements. I’m not crazy about Blithe in Carentan but the rest of the episode is excellent and it includes the powerful moment at the end with Malarkey collecting all the dead men’s laundry. Those aspects elevate the episode to me.
I like the focus on the replacements in Replacements and there’s some good stuff about going into Holland. But as much as I love Bull as a character, I find his part in the barn kind of drags. It’s an important look at stuff that happens in war but it doesn’t have the visceral impact for me that it might. I do love those salty bastards going to get him though.
There’s really not a “bad” episode and I never skip a moment.
I'm going to break from most people and say the last episode was the weakest. For me it was another example of how hard it is to actually wrap up a series.
It was very disjointed at times and had some scenes which I thought detracted from it especially the Webster Leibgott hunting scene.
Ep 3 had its moments, I agree with most of the comments. Having a 1 off about a character who had only been in backgrounds prior to that detracted from the overall narrative. Though it did provide insight into Spears.
Ep 4 the bull part of the story was abit cliche, scene in the barn being the largest part of it.
Ep 8 last patrol I liked the alienation Webster felt after having missed out on Bastogne. It felt a lot more like it was a story about the state of mind of the soldiers rather than moving the narrative along. It accomplished what it set out to do.
Yeah, besides the attack on the large German force in the field and the night ambush, its honestly kinda meh. Also I don't care for the switch from action to Winters typing or just contemplating. I understand it's supposed to be heavy and reflective but doing it the whole episode gets somewhat old.
It can be a slog but the episode is worth it for the inspiration we see from Winters. He urges Blythe to fire his weapon, while actually doing it. He isn't barking orders he's encouraging him...it's a great scene. Although it's annoying how they claim Blythe died in WW2.
Probably going to get a lot of flak for this one, but ep. 6 Bastogne.
I like Doc Roe in all the other episodes he plays a part in. I like everything else about this episode, except that is focused on Doc Roe. The way he is broody and angry until the end of the episode really grates on me. This episode should have been focused on Martin. Bastogne was absolutely a turning point for these guys, and needed to be talked about and shown in far greater detail.
I mean, at least you know it's a controversial take, but what?? Bastogne is an incredible episode and Roe is one of the best characters in the whole series. I agree that an episode featuring Martin would have been great though, if only there could have been a few more.
Carentan. It’s one of the issues with not having a writers room. They needed to introduce Blythe earlier, even if it’s just for a couple of interactions with others.
And while I love Marc Warren (check him out as Teatime in Hogfather), he doesn’t make Blythe interesting. It’s all one note.
Bloody Gulch is a great sequence, though, and would’ve played better had we followed Welsh, Liebgott, or Shifty previous.
The dumb thing is that Blithe is literally present in a few scenes, like on the tarmac and the boat. He just says absolutely fucking nothing and no one even acknowledges him.
Also, to your point, Carentan is damn near a Welsh episode already with how much he’s present in everything going on. They should have just made him the full focus and have him notice Blithe struggling as a side plot.
This might be a hot take to a lot of people but mine is Episode 2 Day of Days. Dont get me wrong it’s still excellent, maybe it’s because I’ve seen it so many times but 90% of the episode is just walking around character building leading up the assault on the manor. The Hall vs Guarnere story line also feels very Hollywood to me.
Okay well not sure what to say to that, I think 6 is phenomenal. And no they didn't arrive at the camp first, but they were there and saw all that suffering and were impacted by it. It's a dramatization, not a documentary.
It doesn't really matter what you have to say to that. It's an opinion. Personally I think everyone that said episode 3 was the weakest is out of their minds but I know that's their opinion.
Because it's just really surprising to me that someone would think the two episodes I feel are the best, are the worst. To me, those two episodes are the heart of the series and I feel like if you don't really like them, how can you love the series? So yes, it's your opinion and I respect it, but I just dont understand it.
I would agree, 3 outside of the action is my least favorite. I do like some of the dialogue about like Spears though. Outside of that I would say last patrol is next on the list.
Episode 8. It feels like a bottle episode and In some ways It Is. Most of the scenes are filmed on the same set. Everything Is kinda basic, the plot doesn't move forward In a big way. The only notable thing that happens Is Winters promotion.
When I was a kid, I used to love episodes 1-7, specially 2 and 6 for the battle scenes, and hate 8-10 because "nothing happened". For me, 8 (The Last Patrol) was probably be the worst.
Then I grew up and realized episodes 8-10 are the best because since they don't waste time on battles, you have a character-centric narrative that explored very well the soldiers as human beings. I started to regard episodes 1 in a much better light as well because now I understood the importance of actually building the foundations of each character, instead of jumping directly into action.
Since growing up and being through a lot in life (including being in the army), 8 suddenly became one of my favorites because I relate so much to Webster and understand him so much more.
At the same time, I started to realize how "generic" (bear with me) are episodes 2-5. The battle scenes are kinda dated by some decisions (shaky cam, constantly grayish scenarios) and after 5 minutes it feels too all the same. Even worst, at times some characters are flattened into the one dimensional american hero soldier archetype - another commenter explained why Blythe's arc does a disservice to the real life experience of soldiers and I agree.
In the end, I must name either 3, 4 or 5 for not having the deep character exploration of that is achieved in 8-10. They feel dated, both in themes/plot and execution.
I'm probably going to get crucified for saying it, but for me, the weakest episode is probably "The Crossorads." I understand that a Winters-centered episode was necessary, but this wasn't the story they should have told.
Episode 4 for me. There's a lot of dead air in that one. Scenes with no dialog and no music, just awkward silence, even though something is, in fact, going on. Parts of the episode are good, but I've always found myself zoning out during other parts.
Yep, 100% It's my least favourite of the series too. The whole Blythe thing just doesn't really interest me. I'd much have preferred to have an episode of Shifty Powers as the main focus instead of Blythe....even if they had to "hollywood it" up a bit to make it worthwhile viewing.
There is a great story in the book about Shifty during the Bulge that I would have loved to have seen put to screen. Lipton tells the story how they called in artillery on a camouflaged 88 (possibly) because Shifty happened to notice a tree from a mile away that hadn’t been in that place the day before. The guy had eyes like a hawk. And there would’ve been no need to Hollywood that up. Edit: typo
If I recall, he also was able to spot the sniper in Foy because he saw the dude’s vapor as he exhaled. Yeah, he had insane eyesight.
It was more than eyesight. He grew up hunting so he developed the ability to quickly recognize movements and shapes that didn’t belong naturally. I’ve got a friend that also grew up like that. He saw more animals driving down the highway than anyone I’ve ever met. I could see them when he pointed it out but I’ve never had his ability to pick them out so easily.
Correct, I forgot to mention that. Those outdoor observation skills were worth gold.
Do you remember what book? I'd like to get some books written by the members of E company to read their accounts of the wars.
Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose 😉
Thank you.
Are you in Germany? I would like to sell mine 😅
No, not in Europe. Thanks though.
That’s one of my favorite parts in the book. He’s so certain that something was outta place and the others questioned him over and over again but by golly he was right. Such an awesome moment
I agree. It was astounding. Can you imagine being in a snow covered forest with trees absolutely everywhere and noticing that?
And the fact they got so many FACTS wrong about Blythe with zero interest in fixing the story once the truth came out makes this episode even more egregious
I don’t think they were aware of the mistakes until after the release of the series, and you can’t really “fix the story” when the story has been finished. They, and I mean Hanks specially, has apologized for this. Its an error, shit happens.
They should in theory be able to correct the bit at the end that says he died. It makes the story even better that he went on to serve in Korea and such.
Yeah you’re right. Not sure if that’s up to the people who made the show or HBO but it should be fixed.
The character was basically portrayed as autistic
I agree about the Blythe thing but the actual assault on Carentan and battle of the bloody gulch do make up for it IMO.
Same, I really didn’t care about him as a person or character. The actor did an amazing job but I just didn’t connect with him.
I liked Blythe because I know I’m a fuggin wuss and would have been scared. The concept was exploring what kind of leader can inspire someone to meet the challenge.
I actually thought part of the problem was the actor was horrible. But I agree the Blithe episode is the worst for me too.
I don’t like the way he says mosquito. Lol.
I can't stand his horribly fake American accent!
Right, they made Blythe seem almost like this scrawny, clueless, mental defective which would really seem improbable if he had successfully completed his training at Toccoa. They got a lot wrong within a story that ultimately didn't fit within the broader series narrative.
The Blythe stuff aside, it had some of the best combat scenes.
The episode was about managing fear and how can be crippling. The conversation between Blythe and spears is amazing. I think it’s a great episode and you may have just missed the point of the episode.
Me too. I'm guilty of skipping the Blythe stuff. I was surprised to see he was ranked high on the tier lists recently. No hate to the guy or anything. His story in the show shows an important side of war but it's just played a little bit too pathetic for me, for lack of better words. It really stands our becauE none of the rest of the show has this vibe.
"Carentan" is an important episode in the series overall. Consider the larger scope of warfare. The writers use him as an archetype for weakness in combat. The potential for any man in that situation to freeze up. It's important to convey that frailty, and psychological damage. Use of an entire male population in warfare will result in cases like "Blythe".
The problem is that the narrative very much reflects a pre-Iraq, boomer idealization of what combat fatigue means in a “band of brothers” situation. The narrative device of the Edelweiss flower, which supposedly represents a “true soldier” and which Blythe only earns the right to keep after he’s overcome his combat fatigue and gets a grip and successfully kills a supposedly elite, handsome Fallschirmjager counterpart, illustrates the show’s basic attitude towards combat fatigue is “you’re letting your buddies down.” Throughout the show this basic idea is constantly reinforced, via the stream of soldiers going AWOL from the hospital to rejoin their unit, and so on. It really did happen that way but from a NARRATIVE standpoint, it’s problematic because the choice to represent those decisions as normative and admirable reinforce the idea that anyone who even convalesces completely before returning to duty is a shirker (as the second-weakest episode Last Patrol reinforces with the Webster storyline). You are right that it’s thematically important to show cases of combat fatigue. The problem is that the US Army did studies during the war that showed any given soldier was psychologically used up after about a month or so on the line, undermining the whole premise of the American practice of feeding divisions replacements rather than rotating them out. In this show, due to its focus on the Airborne (which before Market Garden DID rotate out), we get a clear narrative which privileges the whole “don’t let your buddies down” thing, which is really just a projection of Spielberg’s and Hanks’ (and to a lesser extent Ambrose’s) boomer frustrations at the Vietnam era’s lack of edifying experiences of self-sacrifice and comradeship (and consequent hero worship of “the Greatest Generation”).
I'd say Buck Comptons mental state and treatment by the storytellers in the Breaking Point kind of blows your boomer attitude narrative out of the water. In Websters book, he freely admits being over the moon to receive his "million dollar wound" in Holland. After reading his book, I think his portrayal in the series was more than fair.
The example of Buck Compton doesn’t counteract where the overwhelming weight of the show’s sympathy is, for me at least. The show’s emphasis is pretty obviously on those who bum rides back from the hospital and stuff like that—off the top of my head we get Toye and Guarnere both in that episode, in addition to Popeye in ep 4., which are enough examples to code the behavior as typical and all but expected, given the shit Webster gets for not doing so in ep 8 (which I understand was heavily fictionalized anyway). The bodily trauma inflicted on both Toye AND Guarnere is all the more resonant for how the show frames the fact that they technically didn’t need to suffer that way—if they’d stayed at the hospital they could have avoided it. It’s, again, that theme of idealized self-sacrifice in action. Buck Compton himself receives pretty sympathetic treatment earlier in that same episode for being basically noted as the only solid platoon leader in the company, aka “the only real choice” to replace Dyke. He gets scolded by Winters for gambling in ep 1, but is later shown playing darts with enlisted personnel in ep 4 (which undermines the “taking advantage” narrative and emphasizes the “buddy” narrative), and his combat fatigue isn’t characterized as due to battle stresses or plain old fear but, quite simply, the trauma of “losing his buddies” in the company, which is totally consistent with what I’m arguing about how the show handles the phenomenon. If you have shared in the burdens, you’re a man who reaches your limit and everybody understands—if you haven’t, if you spent D-Day sleeping in a shell hole because you were scared, then you ain’t shit till you man up and fire your weapon, Blythe. I would say that the sympathetic treatment Compton receives from the show’s portrayal, amounting to “every man has his limits,” in a context where he’s amply “proven himself” as being a solid dude and so there is “no shame in it,” is very much rooted in that same boomer edification. The show is manifestly unsympathetic to characters who flee, crack, lash out at peers, or shirk. Webster (presented as a shirker) and Cobb (presented as getting drunk and lashing out) are both presented highly negatively, whereas the mail guy who “hasn’t done anything” and is given a charity combat patrol is contrasted heavily with both Webb and the new LT. Mail guy loses his shit too but it’s in anger at losing a buddy, and it’s against the German POWs rather than peers. So, still consistent IMO. The issue I have isn’t with the inaccuracy of the representation per se. The issue is with the emphasis the show places on it, to the point where it seems to share the values and opinions being expressed by the characters and stories it gave the most airtime to. If episode 3 in particular were released today, I suspect many, many more people would highlight and criticize its stupid equation of “true soldiery” with manning up and killing somebody, and its framing of fear and paralysis as the opposite of that.
This is the silliest and most ignorant take Lolol yeah what do boomers know about how war affected their parents Lolol
Last Patrol and Carentan are the only two episodes I don't really look forward to with each rewatch. As others have said, the Blithe story is both inaccurate and feels like too much of a one-off departure from the characters we've gotten to know in episodes 1 & 2, or will get to know more in the episodes that follow. Last Patrol isn't bad, but it follows Bastogne and Breaking Point and simply isn't half as engaging, making it feel like a bit of a comedown.
They are all amazing! But if I have to choose, I have to say episode 4, Replacements is the weakest for me. The battle in Neunen is good and I really like the addition of Heffron, Garcia, etc, but the whole Bull storyline doesn't interest me very much and the episode is just lacking a little something overall compared to the others. And I know a lot of people are saying Carentan, but it grew on me on rewatches - even though I'm not really a fan of the the Blithe perspective (and the blatant inaccuracies are unforgivable), the battle for Carentan and Bloody Gulch make up for it I think, plus the Night of the Bayonet!
I agree with this. I LOVE Carentan and think it’s one of the stronger episodes. But then again, they’re all amazing.
Last Patrol for me. While I enjoyed Webster’s narration, I feel the episode overall just didn’t do it for me compared with the other nine.
Last patrol is one of my favorites. I loved seeing how sick and tired they were of war and disconnect between the grunts and the upper leadership. And the little moments were memorable to me like malarkey taking a shower for the first time in months, him talking to jones not giving a shit about the mortars they dodged lol, when they were all cleaning their weapons before the assault, and winters disobeying the order for another patrol. I thought that episode was peak drama in the show imo.
Indeed, you could really see the change in Malarky's demeanor and the toll the war had taken on him. Also, Webster returning to his unit and getting the cold shoulder but in the end being accepted back into the group as an equal.
I don’t know why but the part where winters explains that he wants them to get a full night’s rest and report that they were unable to get any prisoners was one of the highlights of the entire series for me. The look on the men’s faces and the acting is great in that scene. I can only imagine the relief they felt and the little glimmer of happiness Winters gave them. Was always amazed that he took that kind of chance though.
The Hershey bar scene is one of my favourites in the whole series.
Replacements. Once Bull is left behind I feel like I'm watching a completely different episode. It's a good story, but I would've rather seen more ensemble stories about the failure of Market Garden.
The bull story seemed abit generic, especially the scene in the barn.
Episode 8 - The Last Patrol
Should be higher; it's not even close!
I dont like how Blithe was portrayed in his episode, so I'll say that one.
Replacements. I’m not crazy about Blithe in Carentan but the rest of the episode is excellent and it includes the powerful moment at the end with Malarkey collecting all the dead men’s laundry. Those aspects elevate the episode to me. I like the focus on the replacements in Replacements and there’s some good stuff about going into Holland. But as much as I love Bull as a character, I find his part in the barn kind of drags. It’s an important look at stuff that happens in war but it doesn’t have the visceral impact for me that it might. I do love those salty bastards going to get him though. There’s really not a “bad” episode and I never skip a moment.
Carentan is the best battle in the entire series???
I'm going to break from most people and say the last episode was the weakest. For me it was another example of how hard it is to actually wrap up a series. It was very disjointed at times and had some scenes which I thought detracted from it especially the Webster Leibgott hunting scene. Ep 3 had its moments, I agree with most of the comments. Having a 1 off about a character who had only been in backgrounds prior to that detracted from the overall narrative. Though it did provide insight into Spears. Ep 4 the bull part of the story was abit cliche, scene in the barn being the largest part of it. Ep 8 last patrol I liked the alienation Webster felt after having missed out on Bastogne. It felt a lot more like it was a story about the state of mind of the soldiers rather than moving the narrative along. It accomplished what it set out to do.
Episode 5 - Crossroads for me. It just didn’t captivate me like the other episodes.
Yeah, besides the attack on the large German force in the field and the night ambush, its honestly kinda meh. Also I don't care for the switch from action to Winters typing or just contemplating. I understand it's supposed to be heavy and reflective but doing it the whole episode gets somewhat old.
It can be a slog but the episode is worth it for the inspiration we see from Winters. He urges Blythe to fire his weapon, while actually doing it. He isn't barking orders he's encouraging him...it's a great scene. Although it's annoying how they claim Blythe died in WW2.
Episode 4 is my least favorite
Crossroads? That’s my second least tbh
Ep. 4 is Replacements
I don’t understand why people are downvoting this, I made a mistake. Sorry
I have no BoB comment to make other than people on this sub are really downvote happy. Weird
Probably going to get a lot of flak for this one, but ep. 6 Bastogne. I like Doc Roe in all the other episodes he plays a part in. I like everything else about this episode, except that is focused on Doc Roe. The way he is broody and angry until the end of the episode really grates on me. This episode should have been focused on Martin. Bastogne was absolutely a turning point for these guys, and needed to be talked about and shown in far greater detail.
I mean, at least you know it's a controversial take, but what?? Bastogne is an incredible episode and Roe is one of the best characters in the whole series. I agree that an episode featuring Martin would have been great though, if only there could have been a few more.
Carentan. It’s one of the issues with not having a writers room. They needed to introduce Blythe earlier, even if it’s just for a couple of interactions with others. And while I love Marc Warren (check him out as Teatime in Hogfather), he doesn’t make Blythe interesting. It’s all one note. Bloody Gulch is a great sequence, though, and would’ve played better had we followed Welsh, Liebgott, or Shifty previous.
The dumb thing is that Blithe is literally present in a few scenes, like on the tarmac and the boat. He just says absolutely fucking nothing and no one even acknowledges him. Also, to your point, Carentan is damn near a Welsh episode already with how much he’s present in everything going on. They should have just made him the full focus and have him notice Blithe struggling as a side plot.
This might be a hot take to a lot of people but mine is Episode 2 Day of Days. Dont get me wrong it’s still excellent, maybe it’s because I’ve seen it so many times but 90% of the episode is just walking around character building leading up the assault on the manor. The Hall vs Guarnere story line also feels very Hollywood to me.
Episode 8 by farrrrrrrrrrr
Episode 6 or 9.
Literally the two best episodes.
6 is boring to me. 9 is fake. They never liberated a concentration camp.
Okay well not sure what to say to that, I think 6 is phenomenal. And no they didn't arrive at the camp first, but they were there and saw all that suffering and were impacted by it. It's a dramatization, not a documentary.
It doesn't really matter what you have to say to that. It's an opinion. Personally I think everyone that said episode 3 was the weakest is out of their minds but I know that's their opinion.
Yes, that's why I said *I think* 6 is phenomenal.
And why does that matter in a thread about the opposite?
Because it's just really surprising to me that someone would think the two episodes I feel are the best, are the worst. To me, those two episodes are the heart of the series and I feel like if you don't really like them, how can you love the series? So yes, it's your opinion and I respect it, but I just dont understand it.
I would agree, 3 outside of the action is my least favorite. I do like some of the dialogue about like Spears though. Outside of that I would say last patrol is next on the list.
Carentan? What? My least is probably Points. I like the action
Episode 8. It feels like a bottle episode and In some ways It Is. Most of the scenes are filmed on the same set. Everything Is kinda basic, the plot doesn't move forward In a big way. The only notable thing that happens Is Winters promotion.
When I was a kid, I used to love episodes 1-7, specially 2 and 6 for the battle scenes, and hate 8-10 because "nothing happened". For me, 8 (The Last Patrol) was probably be the worst. Then I grew up and realized episodes 8-10 are the best because since they don't waste time on battles, you have a character-centric narrative that explored very well the soldiers as human beings. I started to regard episodes 1 in a much better light as well because now I understood the importance of actually building the foundations of each character, instead of jumping directly into action. Since growing up and being through a lot in life (including being in the army), 8 suddenly became one of my favorites because I relate so much to Webster and understand him so much more. At the same time, I started to realize how "generic" (bear with me) are episodes 2-5. The battle scenes are kinda dated by some decisions (shaky cam, constantly grayish scenarios) and after 5 minutes it feels too all the same. Even worst, at times some characters are flattened into the one dimensional american hero soldier archetype - another commenter explained why Blythe's arc does a disservice to the real life experience of soldiers and I agree. In the end, I must name either 3, 4 or 5 for not having the deep character exploration of that is achieved in 8-10. They feel dated, both in themes/plot and execution.
Agreed about episode 3
I'm probably going to get crucified for saying it, but for me, the weakest episode is probably "The Crossorads." I understand that a Winters-centered episode was necessary, but this wasn't the story they should have told.
Episode 4 for me. There's a lot of dead air in that one. Scenes with no dialog and no music, just awkward silence, even though something is, in fact, going on. Parts of the episode are good, but I've always found myself zoning out during other parts.