Episode 6 - "Bastogne":
- "Oh Lord, grant that I shall never seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, or to be loved as to love with all my heart."— Eugene "Doc" Roe
"Bastogne" is episode six of Band of Brothers. This is told from the perspective of Easy Company's Medic – Eugene Roe. Easy Company has to hold ground near Bastogne – amid freezing winter conditions. The episode shows how Eugene goes about his business, trying to help the men when medical supplies are low. He also strikes up a small friendship with a Belgian nurse at a nearby aid station.
Doc Roe needs tropes!:
- After Action Patch Up: But of course.
- Adaptation Name Change: The Congolese nurse who helped out in Bastogne was named Augusta in real life, but is called Anna here.
- Artistic Licence – History:
- Private Julian is mentioned as a replacement. However in real life he and Babe had gone through paratrooper training together and were close friends. What makes this especially odd is that Babe still acts as if they were old friends after he dies.
- It's unknown if Renee ever actually met the real Eugene Roe, but the filmmakers employed this trope to feature her in the episode since her story was so interesting.
- Ascended Extra: Renee got an acknowledgement in the book but otherwise went unmentioned. Here she features prominently as a character in the episode.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Renee says "I never want to treat another wounded man again". She dies soon after, getting her wish.
- Blessed with Suck: Eugene says that Renee's touch soothes the wounded soldiers, and that is a gift from God. She says she wouldn't call it a gift, as it means she must constantly be around dying people.
- Brick Joke: Guarnere spends most of his appearances in this episode complaining to Doc Roe about some condition that's left him "pissing needles", which Doc unfortunately doesn't have to meds to help with. In an earlier episode, we learned that his Embarrassing Nickname among the men was "Gonorrhea". While it's never explicitly confirmed what he's suffering from, one of the symptoms of gonorrhea is, in fact, pain when urinating.note
- Christmas Episode: Downplayed but the men overhear Germans singing carols and realise that it must be Christmas.
- Comically Missing the Point:Domingus: (to Malarkey, who's complaining about the food) Nothing you won't eat, Malarkey.Skip: I won't eat Malarkey.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Doc Roe, giving him the most lines and screen time compared to the others.
- A Death in the Limelight: Newly-introduced nurse Renee gets the attention of the episode, some character development and some intimacy with Eugene, the other focus of the episode, so naturally she dies tragically.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": According to Babe Heffron "only the Goddamn nuns call me Edward!"
- Friendship Moment:
- The two medics comforting Babe after Julian's death. Eugene later gives him chocolate.
- Winters sees how Eugene is and tells him to go into town for a hot meal.
- Renee gives Eugene chocolate right before he has to go back to the field.
- From Dress to Dressing: The Belgian hospital has to use bedsheets as gauze and bandages. Eugene does the same with Renee's hair smock at the end.
- The Heart: Eugene slips into this role by the end of the episode.
- Heroic BSoD:
- Eugene has a couple, but of course part of his character growth is that he snaps out of them, because there is work to be done.
- Babe has one after they're forced to leave Julian's body behind.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Welsh gets burned by falling onto a fire that he started.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Babe Heffron when his friend Private Julian is killed. He's especially cut up because he promised Julian that he would bring his things to his mother. But he had to leave the body there, where it'll presumably be stripped by the Krauts. In real life Julian's body was recovered shortly after, but it was twelve years before he finally went to Julian's mother.
- It Never Gets Any Easier: Deconstructed. It's shown that Eugene is keeping himself separated from the men, in an attempt to keep himself from being affected by their deaths. However once he starts to bond with the others (with Babe at least anyway) he finds that yes It Gets Easier.
- Last-Name Basis: Eugene is like this with the men at first. The end of the episode implies this is changing.
- Lower-Deck Episode: Eugene is in the background for most of the other episodes, with the majority of focus being given to the officers and the privates. Here he gets a whole episode revolving around his job as a medic.
- The Medic: Shown from the perspective of one – and showing just how much is expected of the role.
- The Not-Love Interest: Renee and Eugene definitely form some kind of connection in the brief time they know each other, but the former dies before anything can come of it. For what it's worth, Eugene was already married at this point.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: In real life during the bombing, Renee managed to evacuate six soldiers from the church while it was on fire. She died trying to save a seventh.
- Perspective Flip: The battles are shown from the perspective of the medic and nurses in the aid stations.
- Pet the Dog: The normally useless Lt. Dike gives Doc Roe his whole unused medical kit.
- Politically Correct History: Acknowledged. Doc Roe expresses surprise at seeing a black woman in the hospital. Her presence is of course Truth in Television, and logical – Belgium had African colonies.
- Put on a Bus: Smokey Gordon gets hit in the spine by a German sniper and becomes paralyzed, ending his participation in the war.
- Say My Name: Winters calling Doc Roe by his name Eugene is shown as a Pet the Dog moment.
- Scenery Porn: Inverted. The setting is mostly grey and blue – but the interiors of the Belgian church have a beautiful ceiling that's not drawn attention to.
- Skewed Priorities:
- When Perconte is helping Roe carry a wounded Sisk, he complains about him bleeding all over his boots. Sisk isn't amused.
- Despite the freezing conditions they're in, Winters still insists on shaving and Perconte insists on brushing his teethnote .
- The Smurfette Principle: Renee is the only woman in the series to have a significant role.
- Tragic Keepsake: Subverted. Eugene uses Renee's hair smock as a bandage.
- True Blue Femininity: It's no coincidence that Renee's hair smock is blue.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Subverted. It looks as if Winters is going to chew Eugene out for not leaving his foxhole quicker to treat Welsh. Instead he notices that the medic is on the verge of a Heroic BSoD and suggests he go into town for a hot meal. This is likely both out of affection and practicality – as Eugene is likely to perform better afterwards.
