Why We Fight (Band of Brothers)
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| Band of Brothers episode | |
|---|---|
| “Why We Fight” | |
| Episode no. | Season – Episode 9 |
| Guest star(s) | Christian Malcolm (Military Policeman) |
| Writer(s) | John Orloff |
| Director | David Frankel |
| Production no. | – |
| Original airdate | October 28, 2001 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "The Last Patrol" | "Points" |
Why We Fight is the 9th episode of Band of Brothers. The episode was directed by David Frankel and written by John Orloff. It first aired on October 28, 2001 on HBO.
[edit] Plot
The title of this installment is borrowed from that of wartime documentary film series Why We Fight, produced to stiffen resolve among the English-speaking Allies. With major combat all but over, the episode follows Easy Company in the last days of the war, as attention passes from combat to creature comforts and thoughts of home. The episode also focuses on Captain Lewis Nixon, whose service on loan to the 17th Airborne during Operation Varsity gives him more combat jumps than most other 101st troopers (though ironically, he has never fired his weapon in combat). Replacement Private Patrick O'Keefe's eagerness for battle highlights the war weariness of Easy Company's veteran survivors, and the necessity of the sacrifices Easy Company has made in four years of war is highlighted by the discovery of a concentration camp near Landsberg.
The latter half of the episode focuses on the discovery of a German concentration camp on a routine patrol. This plot element serves to further explore the futility and atrocities of the war, while also humanizing some of the typically tougher characters, such as Joseph Liebgott, himself a Jew.
[edit] Interesting Facts
The piece of music played by the German string quartet is "String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131," by Ludwig van Beethoven.
During the previous episode The Last Patrol, Pvt. Webster volunteers to go on patrol as a German translator in place of Spc. Liebgott, where he gives several commands in German to enemy hostages. In this episode, however, his ability to speak German is ambigious, even as he confronts a German merchant in a bakery; the baker's German is translated by another soldier. Oddly still, he is shown speaking German in the final episode, Points.
This is the only episode in the series to show any (partial) nudity.
| Band of Brothers | |
|---|---|
| Currahee •Day of Days •Carentan •Replacements •Crossroads Bastogne •The Breaking Point •The Last Patrol •Why We Fight •Points |
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