I'm low key crushing on this Cajun cutie
Liebgott, you greasy haired, little weasel
I'll post more about my favorites at the end of the review.
To be honest, I liked Part Two of Band of Brothers more. While the whole series is wonderful, part two, which starts with holding the line in Bastogne, really got into the minds of Easy Company. Four episodes are told from the points of view of Eugene "Doc" Roe, Second Lieutenant Carwood Lipton, Private First Class David Webster and Major Dick Winters. Characters really began their development in this second half. The war gets more brutal and everyone is tested in their own way.
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(This is my absolute favorite episode! I love Eugene Roe!!)
The Battle of the Bulge is now in full force. In the frozen Ardennes forests of Bastogne, Belgium, Easy Company is holding the line, but they can hardly hold themselves up. The Army is slow on getting anything to the men, ammo, clothes, food. Easy Company is literally having to fend for themselves. Eugene Roe, the twenty-two year old company medic, is desperate to get medical supplies, such as bandages, morphine, plasma and scissors.
Eugene is a soft-spoken, but fiercely determined medic who will literally run into the middle of bombs, shelling and gun fire to get to the men who need him. The young medic keeps to himself and while he's respected by the men of Easy Company, Eugene is oftentimes a loner due to the fact that the medics can't go on raids; therefore, he doesn't develop the bonds of friendship that the rest of the men have with each other.
With no military aid station, badly injured men are taking into town where the church has been converted in a hospital. While there, Eugene meets a lovely and hardworking nurse, Renee Lemaire. War has taken a toll on both of them, but they develop a quiet friendship and Eugene's usually reserved nature begins to open up. However, he must always return to the line. Return to the screams, the bloodshed, the diseases and no one for him to really turn to. All he has a simple prayer of St. Francis of Assisi to get him through the darkest of days.
Soon, trauma begins to seep into Eugene's usually level head and he cannot escape the sights and sounds of war even during the quiet nights. Yet, he has promised to himself and to God to give and love with all his heart. Even when it is broken, lost and in despair, Eugene Roe gives with all his heart for the men of Easy Company to live through this war.
“Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.”
- Peace Prayer of St. Francis
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First Staff Sergeant Carwood Lipton has been with Easy Company since Taccoa, Georgia. He knows the men as if they're his own family and he knows how to lead them. However, due to military rank, Lipton cannot be considered for company command. So, over the course of the next several weeks, E. Company gets a rotation of incompetent and ineffectual men who are clueless as to how to lead at all. Lipton must watch in hopelessness as he witnesses his friends and brothers-in-arms put into unnecessary danger, while at the same time he must demand that they respect the men who are in leadership.
German warfare has become more intense and brutal. Frequent shelling that light the sky and do irreparable damage is never-ending. Soon Easy Company begins to count up casualties. Donald Hoobler accidentally shoots himself with a German Luger, Joe Toye and Bill Guarnere both lose a leg and Warren "Skip" Muck and Alex Penkala are killed in a shelling attack. Finally, Officer Buck Compton hits his 'breaking point,' and goes through severe trauma where he's sent away. It seems leadership has given up on the men, but Captain Winters has not. While Dick is aware that Lipton is the most capable man, he must abide by military hierarchy, but that doesn't prevent him from bending the rules.
When Easy and several other companies engage the Germans in taking the small town of Foy, Easy Company's command is incapable of doing...anything. Terrified for his men, Winters does the unthinkable and calls in Lt. Ronald Speirs from Dog Company, the man with many stories and secrets, to take lead. Together Lipton and Speirs overtake the Germans, giving Easy Company a much needed victory.
In spite of the immense loss, grief and fear, Ronald Speirs steps up and takes the leadership that Easy Company needs, but even more so gives Lipton the command he deserves. Speirs, the once mysterious character the men lived in fear of, proves to be a good and brave man, with a good heart. Lipton witnesses his immense courage and begins to believe that they just might survive this war with the right man to lead them.
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Private First Class David Webster is considered an original 'Taccoa Man.' He trained under Sobel, made the first jump in Normandy and was a part of Operation Market-Garden. However, when he was wounded in Holland and sent away for recovery, he was absent during the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. Having missed out on the darkest days of Easy Company's European campaign, Webster returns to very different men. His friends give him a cold welcome that borders on hostility. Because he took so long in recovery, they believe that Webster truly didn't care about the war or them. Especially when other men literally run away from the hospitals weeks--sometimes days--after being injured and return to the front.
Now in Hagenau, France, Easy Company is barely holding on, even though they've been told the end of the war is nearing. Hagenau is split in half between the American troops and the Germans. Constant house bombings from both sides of the city river are frequent and unexpected. At any moment somebody walking across the street could be shot and killed. Easy Company has been tasked with patrols. Missions sent into enemy territory and capture prisoners. These patrols can be either hit or miss. Either relatively successful and utterly disastrous.
Arriving with Webster is Lt. Henry Jones, a West Point graduate and one of E. Company's newest replacements. Young and educated, Jones is craving action and war experience, and to prove himself to the Toccoa veterans. So when news of another patrol is issued, Jones immediately volunteers. Although, Jones' request is denied by Captain Winters at first, with Webster's help, Jones gets to go, but only as an observer. In order to smooth things out with his friends, especially Joe Liebgott, the undisputed leader of their group, Webster volunteers to take Joe's place as a German translator. This clever decision wins him back some respect from the men.
The patrol is successful but it came at the loss of their friend Jackson. When Winters receives news of a second patrol, he has a tough decision to make. Resend the men out and risk losing someone or actually disregard the order? He's does the unthinkable when he commands the men to stay and reports to Command that they had a patrol, but were unable to take any prisoners. According to Webster 'Command never got wise about it.'
In spite of the loss, much is gained after this last patrol. Jones is promoted to First Lieutenant for his calm work during his first patrol, Winters is given the much coveted oak leaves of a high ranking major and Webster is finally accepted back as a brother.
** ** ** ** **
Easy Company's European trek has taken them to France, The Netherlands, Belgium, back to France and finally into Germany. The men are surprised at how lovely the town of Thalem, Germany is. The citizens are friendly, the women are blonde and beautiful and these war ridden men have been away from their own women for too long. Spring is blooming, love is in the air, Ronald Speirs is on a stealing frenzy, and Lewis Nixon is having a bad day. After a failed mission that resulted in the loss of several men, getting demoted due to his alcoholism and then a getting a letter from his wife, informing him that she's filing for a divorce and taking everything, including his dog, Nixon is over it. Oh, and unfortunately the President, who Nixon has always been fond of, has also died. It doesn't help that his favorite alcohol Vat 69 can't be found anywhere in Germany.
Is spite of Nixon's run of bad luck, Easy Company continue to enjoy their time in Germany. Then they find something that could only come from a nightmare. While on guard patrol, deep in one of the forests, several of the men come across a strange camp, filled with unhuman like people. Bald headed men, dressed in rags that are starved and barely alive. There are no guards, but the ground is littered with dead bodies. Easy Company has found a Concentration Camp. Major Winters and his men have faced horrors of war before, but nothing like this. They had heard of Hitler's inhumane nature, but they never witnessed it until now.
Using Joe Liebgott as a translator, Winters is given accounts of men, woman and children that have been herded all over Germany, Poland and other invaded countries by Hitler's regime. The camps are made up primarily of Jews, but also other ethnic groups such as Romani and Slavs. The soldiers are shaken at this ungodly horror. Before the Americans found the camp, the guards killed as many people as they could and then finally ran off to avoid being captured. Liebgott, who is of German descent and Jewish on his mother's side, takes this the hardest.
After reporting this event to command, Winters receives the news that these camps are showing up all over Germany, some even worse then the one they saw. With no Nazi's around to capture and hold accountable, Easy Company forces the town of Thalem to go down to the concentration camp and remove and bury the dead bodies. While many residents deny that they knew nothing about these camps, the men refuse to clean up after Hitler any longer. The German people have been living comfortably at the expense of these prisoners. The Americans then proceed to bomb the entire town and watch as the Germans clean up. It would seem almost poetic justice, until they get the news that Hitler committed suicide.
He would never pay for his crimes against humanity.
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After all that the men have fought and won and conquered, their ultimate prize is Berchtesgaden or Hitler's Eagle's Nest. Adolf's Hitler palatial retreat in Bavaria, Germany where his elite holidayed. When they enter, the place is empty except for a few men who they capture. The Eagle's Nest is like a place out of time. Silverware, paintings, artifacts, jewelry, all for the taking. And the men take and take and take. Yet, no one gets it better than Nixon when Winters takes him to vast wine cellar with 10,000 bottles of the finest alcohol to celebrate V-E Day.
After six merciless and bloody years, the war in Europe has come to an end. The men leave Berchtesgaden and travel into Austria where the official surrender of Germany takes place. If the men loved Bavaria, they don't want to leave Austria and its pretty women and storybook homes. While the war in the Pacific is still in the news, Winters is hoping that Easy Company will be returning to the states and not out to sea.
For the men to return home as quickly as possible, the Army creates the points system. A man can garner a certain number of points depending on how many honors he has received during his service. A purple heart, a silver or bronze star can mean all the difference between going home and spending four more weeks in Europe. Easy Company Command does whatever they can to get the men home, especially as some are beginning to show symptoms of trauma resulting in violence. Soon, bizarre events start to crop up onto Easy Company.
Joe Liebgott is still reeling from the Concentration Camp in Germany and is at risk of going on a killing spree of escaped SS Guards. Darrell "Shifty" Powers, is hit in oncoming traffic on his way back home, which resulted in months of recovery and John Janovec is killed in a freak car accident when he was relieved of guard duty. Another young officer, Charles 'Chuck' Grant, an original Toccoa man and one of the most well liked and respected men in Easy Company, is badly shot in the head by a drunken solider. This leads Lt. Ronald Speirs--Grant's company superior--to take whatever measures necessary to save the young man's life.
Meanwhile, Winters contemplates as to what he wants to do after the war. When Nixon gives him a job offer, he's actually interested. All he's ever wanted since they landed in Normandy is to get through the war, go home and live a quiet life. Finally the fear of being sent to the Pacific is put to rest when they get the news that Japan has surrendered. The second world war is officially over.
As Winters, Nixon and Speirs watch Easy Company's lively baseball game, modern day Winters reflects on his men and their lives after the war. They went home and lived their lives. Some got by better than most, but they fought their war and lived to go home.
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Ok, so ten episodes is a lot to review, but I got through it! I am so glad I bought this mini-series, but so much more thankful that I read the book prior to watching anything. I've always loved WWII, but I have never really studied a great deal of the actual warfare. My preference was the homefront stories, the women and children left back at home. However, I gained so much knowledge and understanding by watching Band of Brothers. Everything about the series is just perfection. They nailed the casting of the men, the costuming is beautiful and the cinematography is stunning! And of course, the music doesn't disappoint (do you really think Spielberg would have a mediocre score?).
Band of Brothers is just an all around beautiful series about the men of WWII. The heroes and legends who were still just men put into extreme circumstances. A true testament to 'the greatest generation that ever lived.'
So, after watching a mini-series like this I would be bound to have a few favorites.
5 Characters
Eugene Roe - I LOVE him! If anyone deserved to have their own episode than it's him! Such a picture of devotion, faith and strength. I can relate to Eugene in many ways as well. Having a reserved personality that prevents me from opening up to people, but always willing to reach out to others.
Dick Winters - Such a great man all around. Seriously, he's the real Captain America. After watching BoB and reading the book, I've really been inspired by Winters as to how to be a leader and someone that people can trust and depend on.
Joe Liebgott - I call him a greasy-haired little weasel because that's what he is. Yet, he's an ever-so lovable weasel. Joe's character development was amazing in the series and you really saw him grow up while he was in the war.
Ronald Speirs - I only know him as sweet Jack Whitman from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, however, Speirs' character perception in the story was remarkable. He started out as such a mystery with so many layers, but then you saw the real man emerge when he was most needed.
Lewis Nixon - Seriously, how can you not love Nixon?! He's the crazy best friend that keeps things from getting too dire. Nixon is probably the only character that didn't change during the war. His change actually came afterwards.
5 Episodes
MaryMary's Rewatch
This is an absolutely hysterical rewatch that was posted 13 years ago. (It's Livejournal so of course it's old). MaryMary goes through each episode giving commentary throughout, and her thought and opinions are golden. The comment discussions are just as entertaining.
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