When a show struggles to create any profound connections with its character and, to a greater extend, different story arcs, the worst possible turn of events would be to attempt to create even more. Sadly, that's what episode 8 tries to do. While it's admirable to see the show's effort at portraying the Tuskagee Airmen, it does so amidst the already numerable present arcs. The result is convolution in its narrative, a trait that turns out to be Masters of the Air's true achilles heel.
There's light in this episode too, however, coming mostly from an apt performance from the Airmen and the band of prisoners of war. It's where Part Eight truly shines, but its shadow cast by numerous parallel storylines is too dark to truly come to fruition. Both Nate Mann and Anthony are criminally underused, put on the back bench with some lesser dialogue than what they deserve. Episode 9 simply tries to do too much, too little.
There's no denying that the arc of the Tuskagee Airmen deserves its own space. But no matter how hard it tries, the showrunners seem bend on pushing it among the other storylines. Room for detailed backgrounds fade, as even the most important event of World War II gets sidelined with a mediocre to simply bad reason. Few will find it cleverly done, many will leave Part Eight with a sense of "I wish I would've seen more from thát!".
For all the storylines it tries to tell, it tells them poorly, rushed and nigh incomprehensible, netting Episode 8 a meer 6 out of 10.