John Orloff pens the penultimate episode of Band of Brothers and it first debuted on 28 October, 2001.

Easy Company is worn out and disillusioned as the war drags on. The war is drawing to its end as the Allies finally breach Germany. And the anger that the men have is mitigated by the discovery of a concentration camp.

It’s April of1945, and we see a German town trying to pull itself together. It seems to be a reflection of the Company itself. There is some pillaging going on, relations, and as far as they’re concerned, the war is all but over.

There are great character moments with Winters (Damien Lewis) and Nixon (Ron Livingston), which are made poignant by its bitterness. We see the personal toll everything has taken on the men of Easy Company and the cost.

And while they may have become incredibly cynical and complacent in their outlook on the war, when they encounter the Concentration Camp, everything changes. It’s heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and puts everything in a new perspective for them and the viewer.

We see the effect it has on characters we have travelled with over the course of eight episodes so far, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see their discovery and how they had to handle it.

It’s a beautifully made episode, powerful, poignant, and filled with moments of humanity, good and bad. There’s nothing about this episode (or series) that I would change, from the use of Beethoven to the tiniest details to make sure depicted events matched the reality, this one gets me everytime.

And there’s a very young Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender.

Points closed out the series on 4 November, 2001. I twaas written by Erik Jendresen and Erik Bork.

Hitler is dead.

July 1945. Easy Company is in Austria. They actually seized Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. As the war in Europe winds down, many of them will be going home. But there are those who don’t have enough service points yet and will be sent to fight in the Pacific Theatre of Operations.

Even with the war in Europe over, there are still casualties. Can Wintters and Nixon find ways to safeguard their men until they can return to their homes and lives?

We get moments with all of the characters; there’s a baseball game, in which we hear about the fates of the men, but the moments that wreck me every time are the reveals of the names of the men of Easy Company that have been introducing the episodes, and the things they say.

We see the bonds that were forged, the moments that shaped them, and the world.

This mini-series is an absolute must for everyone as far as I’m concerned. It was a defining moment in world history, and to see it retold through the eyes of men who were actually there, serving together, it’s a very powerful watch.

I loved Stephen E. Ambrose’s original non-fiction work on the 101st’s Easy Company, and the mini-series is an unparalleled piece of work.

Even if you’ve seen it before, isn’t it time to watch it again?