As Cleven, Egan, and the other POWs adjust to life at Stalag Luft III, Rosie and the rest of the remaining 100th continue their fight against the Axis with the aid of the Air Force's new P-51 Mustang squadrons.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Ace Pilot: When a newer pilot muses that Rosie might be very lucky, he is corrected by Major Kidd: Rosie isn't very lucky. Rosie is very good, and any pilot who is half as good as him has a chance of completing 25 missions.
- The Bus Came Back; Quinn and Bailey are revealed to have successfully made it back to England, having last been seen in the middle of Paris during Episode 4. Because they now know about the members of the French and Belgian Resistance groups, they are ordered back to the United States to avoid any risk of them being shot down again, captured and interrogated by the Germans.
- Buzzing the Deck: Rosenthal and his crew do this to the radio control tower and the ground crews in celebration for completing their 25th combat mission.
- Capital Offensive: The 100th and a few other bomber groups begin targeting industrial targets located within the German capital Berlin. During their first raid into the city, the 100th suffers 50 percent casualties, while their second raid, fortunately, has them return intact, thanks in part to their P-51 fighter escorts protecting them.
- I Choose to Stay: Despite reaching the quota of 25 combat missions and earning the chance to go home, Rosenthal decides to stay and continue the fight.
- Improvisational Ingenuity: After their bunkhouse's contraband radio is found and confiscated by German guards, Cleven manages to construct a crystal radio
from odds and ends to replace it. - The Men First: Rosie can't bear the thought of going home after 25 missions when less experienced crews will be expected to make as many as 30 missions.
- Moving the Goalposts: The Eighth Air Force has a rule that any bomber crew that successfully completes 25 combat missions will be allowed to return home, something that is difficult but still possible as seen with Rosenthal in this episode and another bomber crew in Part Four. However, things soon change with the announcement that the goal has now been altered to 30 combat missions instead of 25. As you can imagine, this greatly upsets everyone, especially considering the high casualty rate of the 100th bomb group in particular, with many now saying that the goal is completely impossible and that the brass wants them to die. note
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Quinn and Bailey return to the 100th's base, having successfully made their way through France and across the channel to England with the aid of the European resistance.
- Perspective Reversal: Early in the episode, Egan confronts Cleven over his seemingly fatalistic attitude towards being trapped in a POW camp; Cleven admits that he doesn't like being there, either, but in his mind the risks of attempting escape outweigh the rewards. Later on, in the aftermath of the "Great Escape," both of them speak again, and each admits that they've started to come around to the other's way of thinking.
- Put on a Bus: Quinn and Bailey are sent home, as the military can't risk them being shot down again and trapped behind enemy lines with their new knowledge of the Belgian and French resistance. Lt. Colonel Harding has also been replaced, with the only explanation given being his "trip to London." In Real Life, he had developed severe gallstones and had to be medically evacuated and shipped back to the US.
- Wham Line: Lieutenant Colonel Bennett doesn't want to approve Rosie's request to extend his tour without Rosie being able to make an informed decision, so he explains why they have been flying the same routes over and over again:Bennett: The invasion will not and cannot occur until the Luftwaffe is destroyed and we have complete and total air superiority. And we could do that, now with the new P-51s which outflies and outperforms every plane the Luftwaffe can throw at us. But to shoot them down, we need to get them in the air. With bombers as the bait. Our bombers. So, that’s the strategy. That’s the mission. Bait.
