Film Student Reacts | *BAND OF BROTHERS* 1x05 | "Crossroads" Review 

"Looks like you guys are gonna be surrounded." "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." One of my favorite lines in the whole series.

Doc Roe chewing out Lt. Harry Welsh and Cpt. Richard Winters is one of my favorite scenes in this episode, not because he chews them out but just because of how they don't say anything back they just take it. It really shows the level of respect all of the men have for Doc Roe, as well as the kind of officers both Harry and Dick are.

"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." "We're not lost, Private. We're in Normandy." Those two lines by Winters perfectly encapsulate his leadership abilities.

The scene with Winters on the train is perhaps the most hauntingly relatable depiction of PTSD ever put to film....

Fun fact about the bayonet charge across the field to the dike. Winters didn’t actually have a head start. The whole platoon started running at the same time, Winters just covered the ground so much faster than his men that he had time to empty nearly three M-1 clilps and a grenade - that failed to detonate - info the SS troops before they caught up with him. He was an absolute machine and he’s one of my favourite people I’ve ever had the pleasure of learning about.

The train scene is the most accurate portrayal of PTSD I have ever seen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a situation almost exactly like that.

Yes, that was Jimmy Fallon playing a true hero George Rice, who made several ammo runs that helped the 101st. . When they filmed this in the late 90s, he was a relative nobody, like 95% of the rest of the cast, just starting his first year on SNL. He tried out for an HBO show with the names Hanks and Spielberg attached, would only look great on the resume. Just another actor trying to break into the big times. Fallon has since said, that was amongst the most nervous he had ever been for a shoot. Being directed by Tom Hanks. All he had to do was drive the Jeep and say his lines, but he was so nervous. Other issue, is he couldn't figure out how to drive th Army Jeep, so they rigged it up so it could be pushed and pulled to make it look like he was driving. Love your reactions, appreciate all you do!!

When winters spoke to Leibgott he also noticed one of the prisoners reacting to leibgotts words etc. So winters realised at least one of the prisoners spoke and understood English

Richard “Dick” Winters was only 26 years old when leading easy company men. It’s something that blows my mind after rewatching this series from when I was a teenager. They were all so incredibly young, men who had to sacrifice their youth. I hope they all found peace.

When Winters is "dressed down" (as you put it), it's by a Medic named Eugene "Doc" Roe. Roe is an enlisted man and Medics earned the moniker "Doc" only by gaining the respect of fellow soldiers. A Doc is one of the few enlisted men who could ever bark at a CO like that without being reprimanded. In the next episode, you will understand why Roe is called Doc.

Literary trivia, regarding the end of that episode: 50 kilometres northeast of there, near St. Vith, on that same day, PFC Kurt Vonnegut, an intelligence scout with the 106th infantry, was captured by the Germans, leading to his fateful presence in Slaughterhouse No.5 in Dresden on February 14th, 1945.

A long time ago when this came out on DVD, 3 of the actors came out to the Navy Exchange here in Hawaii to promote the film and do MWR type activities, meet with service members etc. There was Frank John Hughes (Bill Guarnere), Michael Cudlitz (Bull Randleman), and Ron Livingston (Lewis Nixon). We met them at a signing session, and there was literally nobody there, just the 3 of them at a table. My brother and I got autographs and pictures, chatted with them a bit. Later, we saw them at the McDonalds getting lunch, and you'd think they were just normal, non-celebs like the rest of us. Literally, no one recognized them, or at least no one approached them to talk, so my bro and I chatted them up a bit more. They were super cool, down to earth fellas. Good memories. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series, it's really incredible. They really don't make war films this good anymore.

That was Jimmy Fallon in a small role. Supposedly he got the role because he is related to the real person he portrayed but that's been disputed. The friendly fire shooting was pretty much Moose Heyliger's fault. He had a habit of forgetting the sentry passwords. There was a real possibility of a German raid into the area so the sentries were on high alert. The sentry was supposed to open fire if he did not hear the password. In the end, the sentry was not blamed but was transferred to another company in case of any bad feelings.

Flawless representation of Winter's (& Buck's) PTSD.

Fun fact: Tom Hanks won a Best Miniseries Director Emmy (along with all of the other episodes' directors) for BAND OF BROTHERS. He has also won 6 Best Miniseries/TV Movie Emmys as executive producer as well (for FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, BAND OF BROTHERS, JOHN ADAMS, THE PACIFIC, GAME CHANGE, and OLIVE KITTERIDGE).

Have always thought there was a difference in the german that Winters shoots when we see it initially (3:14) compared with later (15:28). Initially he seems smug or contemptuous, whereas in the later scene he seems scared. I think that is purposefully done as a note to Winters as a soldier and as a man, when recollecting as a soldier he just sees the enemy, but later when confronted by real life he sees another scared kid.

Fun Fact: 6:56 it’s possible the gun Luz was using and the typewriter Winters was using came out of the same factory. Luz is seen with an M1A1 Carbine, a light rifle fitted with a folding stock. It’s a variant of the M1 Carbine, which has a full wood stock. This gun was manufactured by a bunch of companies, one of them being the Underwood typewriter company. While Underwood didn’t make any M1A1 Carbines (they only made M1 Carbines) during the war, in the years since, people have taken recievers from M1 Carbines of various manufacturers and put M1A1 stocks in them for the aesthetic. It’s possible one of these guns made it’s way to the set.

"Gotta have some fun on Christmas" Ooof, yeah... 😬

Jacqui geeking out on the details is just so wholesome :)

Doc Roe chewed out a superior officer which is understood to be, uhh… worthy of disciplinary action. But he was right and they probably understood that. Medical people get quite a bit of latitude because of their importance. It was a great detail that rings true.

One of my favourite shots in the series is at the end of this episode, when you see Winters watching the men march towards Bastogne, and then, as he always leads alongside the men, he joins in and he blends in to the group. It's another stellar transition.

My paternal uncle Matthew served in the 3rd armored during the battle of the Bulge and my maternal uncle Elmer served in the 17th airborne which will be mentioned in a later episode. For my uncle Elmer it was his baptism of fire but for uncle Matthew he had been fighting since Normandy. Uncle Elmer grew up in Minnesota so was used to cold long winters but he always said that was the coldest he had experienced and besides in Minnesota people were not trying to kill him. A tank makes a good target.

I knew you’d love the editing in this episode! It’s slick as hell without distracting from the story.

I really like watching reactors with knowledge of specific skills reacting to things in their wheelhouse. I'm really enjoying your reactions, thanks for all your insight.

Appreciate the nerding out as it helps to quantify what makes this series such a masterpiece. The story telling, the lighting and sound design the acting etc. It was all brilliantly executed and stands the test of time. I've rewatched this many many times and it never gets old. Looking forward to the rest of your reactions to the series

Doc Roe had every right to chew the officers out and they knew it. When it comes to treating the wounded, the medical person is boss.

It just clicked with me but Hanks directed this episode and he is a typewriter collector... explaining the significance of the transitions.

I know this was a month ago, but I heard Winters talk about the opening scene where he is running. He said he never ran faster than he ran that day and it was as if everyone else in slow motion. The german was actually closer to him than it shows in show and kid started to smile at him when shot him.

26:17 The problem with the lighting is that these shows are perfect in completely dark rooms like the darkness you have when you’re in a movie theater. For example, the second to last episode in the Game of Thrones had to watched in a completely dark room, or you weren’t going to see half of the battle. Since Band of Brothers was made before the digital boom, and HD was just coming around they actually knew how to light the night scenes for people who were watching in their living rooms.

Tom Hanks makes a cameo in the barn scene with the British. He's playing "Where's Tom?" while wearing a beret. Around 12:49 near the back left. He hides behind a guy without a beret.

Holy crap about time! Felt like you were cheating on BoA with Masters and I havnt seen Master yet so I wasn’t watching and had forgotten about your channel actually 😂

So great to see you back with Easy! As much as I love your take on the story, the emotions, and the characters, I adore seeing your unique takes on the filmmaking process and stagecraft. It warms the heart of this old Stage Crew kid! Thanks so much for all your work putting this series up, hope you are rocking life!

Something I had not thought of until just now watching you watch this episode...Tom Hanks loves typing on a manual typewriter (almost an obsession) and as a director, used his love of that to great effect in this episode, as you have stated.

Little unnoticed fact, Winter's bloody hand print on the ambulance window was a nod to Director's Hank's "co-star" in Cast Away, Wilson🏐

Directed by Tom Hanks, who is well known as an obsessive typewriter collector. The emphasis on the transitions from action to Winters typing reports is surely coincidental. 😊

“Cheers to not drinkin”. And cheers to picking this back up was worried you forgot about it, lol.

Tom Hanks is an avid typewriter collector and enthusiast, and tends to insert them when he can, this is probably the best use of one though. Fun fact, Hanks appeared on an episode of the Nerdist podcast because they sent him an antique typewriter, which he wrote his response to their invitation on.

Fascinating to think Winters was the company commander for 4.5 months (06 June- late October). Really a short period of time, but it seems forever somehow. Episodes 7 and 9 are the heaviest emotionally. Episode 6 is from the perspective of the medic, Eugene Roe

I was just thinking, catching up on this reaction, that it's interesting how much an episode directed by Tom Hanks focused on Winters typing up a combat report, because Tom Hanks collects vintage typewriters as a hobby.

The ending of this episode is just phenomenal. The music, the buildup of tension, and the way they're just quietly marching towards the guns. Full body chills, every time.

There’s a great band of brothers podcast where they talk to Tom hanks. Actors writers and directors. Tom specifically mentions the typewriter/gunshot blend

The opening song so powerful, even without lyrics... although it does have lyrics. It's called "Requiem For A Soldier", written by Michael Kamen. Next time you hear the opening credits, keep these in mind. "You never lived to see What you gave to me One shining dream of hope and love Life and liberty With a host of brave unknown soldiers For your company you will live forever Here in our memory In fields of sacrifice Heroes paid the price Young men who died for old men's wars Gone to paradise We are all one great band of brothers And one day you'll see we can live together When all the world is free I wish you'd lived to see All you gave to me Your shining dream of hope and love Life and liberty We are all one great band of brothers And one day you'll see - we can live together When all the world is free"

You make observations I've never heard or thought about. You're an absolute delight to listen to.

I am a veteran and son of a WWII veteran. I appreciate your reaction to this series. I have a suggestion for Memorial Day coming up. I suggest you watch "Taking Chance" starring Kevin Bacon. It will show how Americans thought of military and veterans a few years after 9/11.

My guys worked on this series and on saving private Ryan and fury, we supplied vehicles and our guys were extras for the German side. Some of the older guys of the group that were extras have told me about the techniques used in filming and it really is fantastic! One of them was during I believe episode 7 or 8 when filming the Ardennes segment, one of the members of easy company gets shot and they are all there helping him and he has blood spurting out of his wound. Well it turns out the way they filmed that was they had a hose linked up to where the wound was and out of the shot was a guy with a bucket of fake blood, he had a stir-up pump and he was pumping the blood in a sort of sequence that mimicked blood coming through the artery and out of an open wound. The cinema magic used within this series is truly spectacular and my guys couldn’t stop raving about how good the different special effects were, they said they walked away with a much greater appreciation and were actually glad to of learned something new as well as having a blast working on this series. I only wish I was able to witness this, sadly I was only 3 at the time and even when fury was done I was just a bit too young. But opportunities like this come up fairly often for us so I know I’ll get the chance again. Also a bit of a funny note to add relating to the scene where Hubler shoots the German officer off the horse, the crew asked the guys if anyone had experience riding horses and nobody did but one of the guys said yeah even though he didn’t. Although he looked like he knew what he was doing he was actually shit scared as he didn’t know what he was doing. And that’s probably why the panic in the German officer looks good because he was genuinely terrified for real 😂

I loved how, for Winters, writing the after-action report almost feels like he's killing his men all over again. Every tap of the keys feels like a gunshot to him. That's why it takes so long and why he's so careful about every word he chooses. This is his last act of support or defense of his men, where he renders the last word on each of their decisions and actions in an almost impossible situation. He couldn't physically protect them in the field but he could protect their memory and the careers of the men who survived by putting the best frame around their behavior. Writing this with PTSD interfering in the clarity and sequence of his memories must have been agonizing. I once had to write a report after having been the victim of a violent crime as a kid and I can tell you, I really do not trust my memory of the whole week surrounding those events, so the report (about something unrelated for school) felt completely surreal and was at least partly informed by feedback from other people rather than my own recollection. It had to be, because those moments were just inaccessible to me, then or ever again. He doesn't have the luxury of taking his time and calmly reflecting on everything that happened before writing this report. He is still actively living in that heightened battle response mode even while typing. So yeah, every tap is a gunshot for him and you totally feel that throughout the whole episode. I wonder how many such reports were written as logically inferred or generously granted grace for everyone's skewed PTSD-inflected recollections throughout that war (or any war). It really makes you wonder about how factually accurate any of them could really be, given what we now know trauma does to perception and memory.

The scene with Winters on the train was so powerful, and then when the young man saluted him. Damn, I can't even imagine how he managed to do what he achieved.

The guy who interrupted the movie was wrong. It wasn't the 5th and 6th Panzer Divisions who'd broken though in the Ardennes, it was the 5th and 6th Panzer Armies, plus the 7th Army! That's the entire German Army Group 'B', ~250-300,000 men.

My wife's grandfather was an army engineer attached to Patton's 3rd army. He was part of the relief force that fought at Bastogne aka the Battle of the Bulge. He was part of a light pontoon bridge group that laid pontoon bridges for soldiers.

I love that you kept the scene of Winters calling in artillery with the series of M1 Garand pings.

Pvt Alley, the man hurt so badly at the start of this episode while Winters is talking about the dog …talks about his injury in the accompanying HBO documentary “We Stand Alone Together,” which you should definitely react to after the miniseries. Tipper - whose legs were so badly mangled in the Carentan episode is also in the documentary. Finally, so is Moose Heyliger, shot at the end of this episode by a sentry. Hanks is an avid typewriter enthusiast and collects old models. So, his incorporation of the typewriter in this episode is somewhat of a personal touch. Pvt Webster - hit in this episode and mocking himself for yelling they got me. He was the soldier who gave the Dutch child the chocolate. Keep him in your memory as he will be back in a later episode in a big way. Jimmy Fallon was much less of a jarring cameo in 2001. He had been a minor player on SNL to that point, He was nearly a decade away from his late show and another half decade beyond that or so before he got the Tonight Show.

20:09 Yes, that was Jimmy Fallon...ironically, despite him being a relative nobody at the time and his role only having a cameo-type spot, they had to do some special stuff for him to be able to perform the role, as Jimmy doesn't know how to drive a stick-shift and thus couldn't operate the Jeep that he was supposed to be driving. They had to tow the Jeep with a winch for some scenes, while a couple of people literally pushed it from behind in others, and play around with camera angles to make it seamlessly appear that he was actually driving the Jeep.

Quick quiz, you mention Oppenheimer. Is there an actor from BoB also in Oppenheimer ? Answer, Yes. Scott Grimes/Malarkey.

Welcome Back! Winters is a study in good leadership (contrasted well with others who are less capable or lead in different ways). One of the great things about the series and the subject material is that there is relatively little embellishment. Just as in Normandy Winters told Hall "We're not lost - We're in Normandy", here he says "We're paratroopers - We're supposed to be surrounded". Calm confidence in the face of evident danger will serve to keep his men in as good a state of mind as they can be. Love your reviews and anxiously awaiting the next one.

If a time comes when you watch this episode again, I find it’s even stronger when you think of the opening scene before Winters wakes up Nixon as a PTSD dream, which may have been the intent.

did ya notice?...when Sink give Winters the promotion, he tells him not to worry about admin stuff...then gets on his case about late reports...~chuckle~

also at this time Winters M1 rifle was 1 of a few in the company that got some custom work done by a trooper in E co. so it fired full auto all 8rds in 1 pull of the trigger. having spent time with many of the E co troopers back in the day with E/506th Reenacted got to hear all the stories , Wild Bill had been hit earlier in the leg while riding a motorcycle along the top of a dike then went AWOL as shown here returning to the company.

Winters didn't chew out the sentry that shot Moose but he did make sure they were kicked out of the 101st.

In real life, the Crossroads battle is considered Easy Company’s finest performance in battle, according to Winters himself. The overall battle is condensed in the miniseries, but that’s usually done for time. In reality, after he called for British artillery support, Winters brought up another platoon from Easy and went after the Germans. However, the Germans were able to regroup and Winters and his men fell back. When they got back to the Crossroads, that’s when the German artillery fell down on them. 28 men were wounded, but all would recover. Sgt. Dukeman would be the only KIA, killed by a German rifle grenade the night prior as he stood in the open telling men to spread out.

"They got me" This soldier, Webster will miss Bastogne and be back for the later episodes. He wrote his own memoir which includes his own perspective on this battle and making his way back to safety after being wounded. Available on kindle and very much worth reading.

I've watched this series a million time over the year and I still find it so good. Love your reactions to it. I hope you upload the rest onto RU-vid soon.

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar You ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 2] "Is everybody happy?" Cried the Sergeant looking up Our hero feebly answered, "Yes" and then they stood him up He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 3] He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop The silk from his reserves spilled out and wrapped around his legs And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 4] The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 5] The days he'd lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind He thought about the girl back home, the one he'd left behind He thought about the medic corps and wondered what they'd find And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 6] The ambulance was on the spot, the Jeeps were running wild The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled their sleeves and smiled For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die, He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 7] He hit the ground, the sound was "splat," his blood went spurting high His comrades, they were heard to say, "A hell of a way to die" He lay there, rolling 'round in the welter of his gore And he ain't gonna jump no more [Chorus] Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die He ain't gonna jump no more [Verse 8] There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the 'chute Intestines were a-dangling from his paratroopers suit He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots And he ain't gonna jump no more

There's an interesting story that follows this episode (sort of). Some years after the show aired, the actor who played Dukeman's life was falling apart. He ended up getting a message from a fan who lived in Colorado, which was where the real Dukeman was from. He and the fan talked for a while and he decided to go visit her; they ended up getting married and he adopted her kid. There's a video of him telling the story - how he owes his life to a guy who died in 1944. He's got a tattoo of Dukeman's service number and has been to visit his grave and the spot where he died. There's a video of him at the spot on RU-vid.

You're definitely right about the ability to light scenes set at night having become far worse in recent years. Its almost becoming a lost art, like it isn't being taught properly in film schools or something. Its a difficult thing to do properly, isn't appreciated half the time unless its done badly and doesn't get enough credit in films where its done exceptionally well. Best examples i've seen of it being done exceptionally well are oddly enough in star trek generations, the patriot and silver bullet. The patriot handled it a bit differently using alot of blue lighting, which worked well for the way shots were set up and the time the film was set in

Absolutely magnificent reaction Jacqui, as always. Love all your videos... intelligent, insightful, empathetic, informative... and I adore your mellifluous laugh. Looking forward to the next one!

Useless Trivia: To Hanks cameos in the scene aroun 12:50 of this where Moose is being praised by the Red Berets - he's one of the Red Berts in the crowd.

I have a story bubbling in my mind about my father who was in combat with the USMC in WWII and myself as his son. I was in the Medic in the US Amry. I was in Iraq in combat and got the CMB. I can see the movie in my mind but can't write the book or screenplay. My dad after WWII and getting his law degree at Denison joined the FBI and worked on some very well-known cases i.e., Rosenbergs. Nevermind.

I can recommend the book, Beyond Band of Brothers, The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters. Dick Winters a great man, and a Man who lead by example and not by fear.

This really is the best miniseries ever made. There may be a detail or two they got wrong but they captured the essence of these men and the time. They did everything right.

Did I warn you to have a blanket ready for 6, Bastogne? If you are suggestable you can feel the cold even in a 70 degree room.

Winters having PTSD with that young German he killed gets me everytime.

If you have never gotten the suggestion before, let me be the first to suggest, once you finish this series, is the mini series "Generation Kill". Following Marines during the invasion of Iraq. An excellent representation of modern warfare, and the men doing it.

Winters gets moved up to Bn XO- "You're a solid tactician and a good leader. Don't worry about administration." Winters then gets told to hurry up with the AAR- after-action report.

Very glad you're back can't wait for episode 7 it's my favorite

Hi Jacqui. Great reactions and information about filmmaking. Operation Market Garden was a military disaster for the Allied forces. 12,000 British and Polish paratroopers were dropped into Holland and only 2,000 paratroopers survived. Thank you so much for your reactions, I really appreciate you.

Fun cameo fact: Tom Hanks actually appeared in the wide shot of all the British soldiers drinking a toast to their American rescuers. It's a fun Where's Waldo exercise to try to pick him out of the crowd.

So the sentry shooting Moose was partially Harry's fault which is why you see Winters give Harry a look when Bill hands Dick the letter. Harry was supposed to let the sentry know that Moose and Winters were going to walk the line as Winters felt cramped up. Harry never let the sentry know, although Moose stated that he had forgotten the password as well

People always say the first shot of this episode is a foreshadow we come back around to. I'd like to make the argument it was in chronological order. The next shot is Winters waking up Nix which to me implies that the first scene is Winters waking up. Thats what he dreams about and what keeps him up at night.

'Masters of the Air' and 'Band of Brothers.' Great job, Jacqui. Much appreciated.🙌

You are right about shooting scenes at night. Two come into mind and they are from the Game of Thrones universe. The episode Battle of Winterfell is notorious because you can't see anything other than the fire (most of the episode is dark) that is on the battlefield. The other is Driftmark from House of the Dragon. It was so difficult to watch Battle of Winterfell because I did not know where the night sky started and ground ended. Thankfully, the night time scene in Driftmark was the only scene that was difficult to see.

Vlogging through history, who I was able to meet a few weeks back with Matthew Leitch, who plays Talbert and runs We Happy Few 506 and also the guy from history Underground underground at an event at Gettysburg Museum of History posted this up from a trip they did a few years ago to the Actual Crossroads, where actor Mark Lawrence, who played Dukeman, got to see where his character was killed and had a very emotional response. His real life parallels Dukeman, having married a woman from Colorado, near where Dukeman was from. Quite a cool watch. There's tons of these nuggets in these types of videos, also the History Hacks zooms from the pandemic have received re released as a whole 5 hour episode with many of the actors, and then there is two summers ago WW2 museum symposium that has 7 hours of panels with actors, crew, and family members......

Fun fact, Tom Hanks is a huge fan/collector of typewriters which explains the front and center role of the typewriter.

This is the episode when Tom Hanks literally takes the reigns in the series...becoming more introspective with Winters. Long before PTSD was even taken seriously. General Patton famously addressed it with the back of his hand on a soldiers face. Oh and if any of you come across any bacon sandwiches, let me know. Currahee ♠

Re the common lack of light in some shows -- yeah! I remember commenting once that "Darkness is overrated, both thematically _and_ literally. I'm looking forward to the episode in which they discover the room where all the spare light bulbs were stored."

Crazy, I just started watching you react to this show. I was watching the documentary about it and I realized as I was watching it you uploaded this video

Anyone under 40 probably won't recognize it, but electric commuter trains used to frequently have momentary blackouts lasting a second or two. It was just part of the ride. That's what's happening when Winters has his flashbacks.

Thank you for another fantastic reaction. Your insight and critical break down of filmmaking and the mechanics is always very welcome and provide me with further appreciation, if that's even possible, for this spectacular series.

I absolutely love this series and I am enjoying seeing your reactions to the episodes. If you have not heard, there is a podcast that was released a few years ago that has interviews with some of the cast and writers for this show. I loved hearing about their experiences talking with the real men and getting to make this amazing series.

And thus begins the Battle of the Bulge, one of the most brutal clashes of the whole European front. Hitler, low on fuel and materiel, had launched a last-ditch all-out gamble to break through the Allied lines in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium and get to the northern port city of Antwerp so that he could resupply the Nazi war machine. He sent huge battle groups of tanks and infantry into the forest, while the Allies hunkered down as hard as they could. The "bulge" was the bend in the Allied line that the resulted from the Nazi charge through the forest. Somehow, the Allies held the line through the whole of the devastatingly harsh winter of December 1944-February 1945. Bastogne is a Belgian village that sits deep in the Ardennes, and much of the fighting done by the American segment of the Allied forces happened at or around it. The next episode details the hell that was the Bulge for everybody involved.

this series is so good, my fav of all times

Episode 6 is my favorite. I'm so glad you noticed that each episode is filled in a different style. I think it adds character to the series. I'm hoping after BOB you watch the documentary "we stand alone together" and then jump right into "the pacific" .

19:54 Can't see it mentioned but the supply trooper that brought ammo that you thought was Jimmy Fallon is in fact Jimmy Fallon. It was a very small role, but theres footage of him talking about what an honor it was to have a Cameo

Your comment that some cultures view Hell as 'a frozen wasteland' reminded me that Dante imagined the deeper circles of Hell as ice covered lakes & fields, with the shades covered waist deep, chest deep or neck deep in ice. He further imagines that the tears the shades cry over their past sins freezing on their eyelashes and then an image that has always stayed with me; 'here weeping puts an end to weeping, and the grief that finds no outlet from the eyes, turns inward to intensify the anguish' (translation by Mark Musa). You may talk about the lighting until you're blue in the face? Given what you said about the cool blues used to simulate moonlight, your face will be bathed in moonlight. Well met by moonlight for all of us.

I live for the “Jimmy Fallon” moment in ep 5

I have to congratulate you a little bit. I've already looked at several reactions of BOB, and you're the first to pronounce the name Bastogne correctly ;-)

Concerning the report writing - the Army lives on paperwork. And as a Commander, it's your job to do it. And it didn't help that Winters wasn't know for his brevity.

Your attention to detail is outstanding. Well done.

Idk if anyone has said it yet but if you read the book written by Stephen Ambrose based on his extensive interviews with the men of Easy Company, you find out that Moose is the one who made a mistake before he got shot. When challenged at a guard point, you have to reply with a password. Instead of the password, Moose replied, "It's Moose." The show made it feel like it happened very quickly as opposed to the book where Winters says he waited in increasing anticipation for Moose to say it, enough for Winters to wonder if Moose had forgotten the password. And if I remember correctly, the Private who shot him had been with Easy Company since its inception, meaning he was quite experienced from D-Day, Carentan, Eindhoven, all the way up to this point.

Neal McDonough has said that Compton was the one role that impacted him the most, especially since he met the man. It's the rare "good guy" out of the roles he's had.

Jacqui, you have probably already seen/recorded episode six. But, if not, BRING A HANKEY, YOU ARE NOT READY. Eppy 6 is my fave. One of the very best episodes of TV ever made.