Masters of the Air, a combat drama, achieved something with its protagonist in the fourth episode that its 2000 predecessor, Band of Brothers, could never have accomplished. In the fourth episode of Masters of the Air, Sgt. William Quinn tries to flee Belgium while the 100th gets ready for their next mission.

In contrast to previous episodes in the series, the 100th’s most recent mission to Bremen is not the main focus. It’s not even shown. Furthermore, it’s unknown what happens to the primary characters in the show—Major Gale “Buck” Cleven in particular.

Despite being a companion to Band of Brothers, Masters of the Air and the show have already demonstrated their differences. The most obvious distinction between the two is that Masters of the Air explores the U.S. Army Air Forces, whereas Band of Brothers follows the Army.

There are, however, more delicate alterations. Masters of the Air has already demonstrated how a squadron can be split apart, whereas Band of Brothers places a great emphasis on fraternity and units fighting as one. This is best shown by Buck Cleven’s destiny in episode 4.

Masters Of The Air Killing Buck Cleven Would Be Like Band Of Brothers Killing Dick Winters

Gale ‘Buck’ Cleven disappears from his mission to Bremen in Masters of the Air episode 4, leading the 100th to believe he has passed away. This situation is not only unexpected, but it also differs greatly from the plot of Band of Brothers, which debuted in 2000.

Both Austin Butler’s Gale Cleven and Damien Lewis’ Dick Winters are essential to their respective series, even though both are technically ensemble shows that rely on their large and skilled casts. Their units are led by Winters and Cleven, and things collapse in their absence.

That greatly worsens Buck’s enigmatic predicament. This is a significant development for Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s World War II projects if Buck is indeed dead. Even though many of these shows are set in extremely dangerous environments and feature a high death rate among the characters, the main character is rarely eliminated.

Throughout the entirety of Band of Brothers, Dick Winters was safe as other supporting characters lost their lives in battle. Consequently, if Buck does pass away, the series will diverge from Band of Brothers. It will resemble The Pacific, which tragically lost its main character, John Basilone, to death.

Though it is unlikely, there is yet hope that Buck Cleven is still alive. In actuality, Buck Cleven became a prisoner of war after escaping the Bremen mission. Masters of the Air should have revealed Cleven’s death if they had truly wanted viewers to alter his destiny and murder him.

The fact that Cleven and his crew finish the job off-screen suggests that something else occurred to them. As a result, Masters of the Air won’t go as far as Band of Brothers did, but the performances are still shown to be very distinct.