Band of Brothers (TV Mini Series) Replacements (2001) User Reviews

Head shaving and chocolate

[mrwoo9 · 10/10 · 10 July 2019]

The two most powerful scenes for me...When the women that slept with the Germans have their heads shaved and are publicly shamed,I got a lump in my throat!

When the young boy is given the bar of chocolate, he looks at it with curiosity, he tastes it and then he let's out the most wonderful smile,I couldn't stop myself...I cried!

Some unforgettable moments in a strong episode

[snoozejonc · 10/10 · 13 February 2022]

Easy Company takes part in Operation Market Garden.

This is another excellent episode that recreates events from an important part of the European invasion.

The story is from the perspective of replacement soldiers and the experiences of more experienced men like Sergeant Denver Randleman.

One of the best aspects of this episode is how it depicts the bonds forming between the soldiers who have been through combat experiences together. It cleverly contrasts it with attitudes towards replacement members.

In most war films characters are usually portrayed quite generically and the above theme is not addressed. The opening interviews to 'Replacements' provide great context for the characters shown. It rings true with a first hand account I heard from an elderly member of my family who was a replacement soldier (drafted) during WWII who said he was never truly accepted by the more experienced career soldiers.

This is my third viewing of the episode and still the most impactful scenes I find are when Easy Company enters Eindhoven and it depicts both the joyous reaction and the ugly side of the town citizens during these events. I also love one very touching moment where a little boy receives a bar of chocolate for the first time. These scenes are incredibly powerful.

Sergeant Randleman and his exploits behind enemy lines are in heavy focus. These scenes are all portrayed with superb visual storytelling as there is very little dialogue involved. It is recorded that the real Randleman was trapped behind enemy lines for a period of time and had to engage an enemy soldier in hand to hand combat, but the details of what is shown here feel slightly too cinematic to all be true.

Generally the visuals and overall production values are great. Whether or not the combat scenes are realistic is not for me to comment on as I do not have a military background, but as a viewer, nothing looks obviously fake. The set designs, costumes, props, colour grading combine to make it a cinematic and engaging experience.

Michael Cudlitz leads this episode well and has great support from other cast members as always.

As ever 'Band of Brothers' piques an interest about some of the most important events of the twentieth century and hopefully it will prompt viewers to do their own research and find out more about what happened.

For me this is a 9.5/10 but I round upwards.

Replacements in Market Garden

[anselmdaniel · 9/10 · 10 October 2020]

This review contains spoilers for the fourth episode of Band of Brothers entitled "Replacements".

The fourth episode of Band of Brothers ends the campaign in France. Easy Company had suffered casualties from the D-Day landings, and the capture and defense of Carentan. Replacements have been brought in to bring the company back to full strength. Easy Company embarks on Operation Market Garden, a radical operation proposed to end the war in Europe by Christmas of 1944.

"Replacements" follows Denver "Bull" Randleman, a sergeant in Easy Company. As with the previous episode of Carentan, the perspective follow the enlisted men more. This is important as this is one of the episodes where the operation goes poorly. Easy Company is forced to retreat as the Germans are able to repel Operation Market Garden with ease. Sergeant Denver is cut off from his line sand must survive on his own as his company executes a hasty retreat.

This episode is great for many small reasons. The replacements are treated poorly by veterans of Easy Company. This makes a lot of sense as the company sees these replacement as filler for the people that they have lost. The replacements also perform worse than the veterans of the company. This is a great adaptation from Stephen E. Ambrose's book of the same name that describes this dynamic. The other great touch is the communication between the United States' soldiers and Commonwealth soldiers. I enjoyed the dynamic between the U.K. and U.S. soldiers and even the miscommunication that arose.

The episode did touch on the emotional aspects of Operation Market Garden. Many civilians were present during the operation and it is shown in the episode.

I highly recommend the Band of Brothers episode "Replacements".

Grade: A

I saw myself in that kid.

[Chihir0 · 25 April 2016]

This episode was very special for me. I'm from Kosovo and in 1999 we were on a war, thanks to USA and NATO we finally were free. Everyone loved US Army just like those people in Netherlands. That kid remind my childhood in 1999. We loved US Army and they were very kind with us. I remember how they gave us candies and peanut butter. Never ate peanut butter before, and now every time I eat peanut butter I always remember that period after war and those kind US soldiers.

I honestly saw myself in that kid.

This is a great show, I feel kinda ashamed that I didn't watch this show earlier.

Is Babe in this episode?

[ste-34 · 10/10 · 11 March 2017]

Right before the woman who turns out to be a collaborator kisses Grant at about 20 mins, there's an old man in the bottom left of the screen who looks exactly like Babe Heffron. He doesn't seem to be referred to in the cast list and I wanted to be sure before submitting him as an uncredited actor.

Downer but necessary episode

[fabiogaucho · 9/10 · 12 September 2017]

WW2 history buffs (maybe 60% of people watching this series) already know how the centerpiece battle of this episode ends, so it is a bit of an episode to suffer through, even though it is has as much quality as the rest of the series.

To make it even more uncomfortable, Market Garden was the moment when the airborne soldiers, the protagonists of this series, would have decided the war in Europe. But it was not meant to be. Thankfully, this was not the end of Easy Company's adventures.

Good episode!

[mm-39 · 8/10 · 16 March 2020]

Replacements is a good installment. We see you move on and make do with what we got! The Market Garden mission hits heavy German resistance. The public is over joyed, in liberation, while heads shaved of female collaborators. The replacements are treated not to well; a mix of not putting their time in and not wanting to get emotionally attached to anyone. Harshness of battle is mixed in with fear, panic and the need for leadership which Nixon and Winkler provide. Well written, directed, and acted episode. 8 stars.

Rewatch, 9.7/10

[dcdude-26988 · 10/10 · 1 August 2023]

This is a freaking amazing episode. My favorite character in this episode was Bull. My favorite things about this episode were the storyline, the Protagonist, and the action. I actually really liked this episode, just a little more than Why We Fight. I really love Bull's character arc in this part of the story. This definitely should be at least a 8.9 or 9.0 od this app, because this was an amazing episode. This is just another episode as to why that this is a must-watch series. Just know that it's short and enjoyable at the same exact time. As I always say in reviews for this fantastic show, watch it if you have the chance or if you haven't.

Normal episode

[amindostiari · 10/10 · 10 July 2021]

A typical episode for this series. The series has reached a calming range. The whole episode was good.

Holland

[v-56289 · 7/10 · 11 April 2020]

This episode was quiet weaker than previous. I can't help myself to think that it was probably not exactly as shown.. Well, but they are getting closer to me.. I now live about an hour away from Eindhoven, have been planning to visit the city already before :D

Good news/Bad news

[silverton-37959 · 7/10 · 4 February 2023]

Well, the good news is that Easy has replacements, but the bad news is that they are green troops and their addition doesn't bring the company back up to full strength in numbers either. Good news is that there is plenty in the way of new weapons and plenty of ammunition.

More good news is that the backbone of the company, the noncoms, are there to teach the newbies how to be ready when they land and that all of the newbies are jump qualified. Bad news arrives in spades as the worthless, incompetent, cowardly former CO is back as supply chief.

Yep, the sadistic self-promoter is now in charge of supply for the division. I hated seeing David Schwimmer back in the cast as much as seeing his character return. I hope to see him captured or KIA in subsequent episodes. Casting made an excellent choice in Schwimmer, because he reeks of the kind of worthless asshats who get promoted in the armed forces. He just has that look about him, wherever he appears.