I was really hoping for an accurate depiction of Air Combat in World War II, but what I’ve seen so far (and I’m only two episodes in, so maybe things will improve) feels like a distorted view promoting American ideals while unfairly portraying the English and British. It seems to spend more time on frivolous moments involving squadrons than on actual flying. The acting is generally poor, especially from the lead characters. Austin Butler appears to have forgotten his previous roles and carries over mannerisms and a lack of expression. This is only surpassed by Callum Turner’s exaggerated performance. Barry Keoghan is the only one who delivers a reasonably decent portrayal. The plot doesn't spend any time developing the main characters through training or showing their lives before joining the military, so I don’t feel connected to them at all; I simply don’t care about what happens to them. Furthermore, the writers have fallen into a common trap with modern characters: creating overly confident and accomplished figures who seem to do no wrong—"Mary Sue" types that are impossible to relate to. For example, a pub fight is instigated by a British pilot, naturally. Then, the American pilots, previously portrayed as brash and trying too hard to be cool, instantly switch personalities with the reserved and awestruck British pilots. Suddenly, the Americans become mild-mannered and restrained while the RAF pilots are depicted as obnoxious, arrogant, and abrasive. The American pilot then humiliates the British one by dancing around him and causing him to fall over. As a result, these main characters are unlikeable and boring, making it impossible to feel invested in their stories—the complete opposite of Dick Winters and his unit from *Band of Brothers*. It’s also unsettling that the British are portrayed as more villainous than the actual enemy force. The explanation given for American daylight bombing was that they wanted greater accuracy at the cost of increased risk, supposedly demonstrating bravery and heroism compared to the RAF's indiscriminate city bombings. However, this was mostly due to the overconfidence and stubbornness of US leadership who ignored lessons learned by both the RAF and Luftwaffe—namely, that daytime bombing was counterproductive. While initial hits might be more precise, bomber losses quickly became unsustainable, making subsequent runs impossible. This was confirmed when, on October 22nd, 1943, the 8th Army halted its unescorted daylight raids after realizing their unsustainability. The USAAF and RAF Bomber Command attempted to switch to night bombing but found that B-17s and their crews lacked the necessary skill and precision. Daytime bombing only continued because British Rolls-Royce Merlin engines were used in the P51, along with drop tanks, allowing the P51 to escort bombers on round trips. Moreover, the much-touted Norden Bombsight wasn't nearly as accurate as it was believed to be. While effective under ideal test conditions, its precision plummeted during combat—when aircraft were dodging flak and flying through poor weather—making it only marginally better than RAF night bombing. This resulted in many preventable American deaths, a fact that I doubt will be acknowledged during the series. The visuals are passable, but even they seem excessively reliant on computer graphics. The missions themselves are tedious and typically last no more than ten or fifteen minutes, likely because of the heavy use of CGI to compensate for budget limitations. Ultimately, this is a distorted representation of history, featuring unlikeable characters embodying negative stereotypes while showcasing flawed character development by writers who seem incapable of creating relatable figures. All of this unfolds in an over-reliant digital environment where the characters rarely engage in anything interesting or important, and the 'combat' scenes are capped at fifteen minutes. It’s incredibly dull, and I regret that it has been broadcast.

Source on TMDB