The Last Patrol (21 Oct. 2001)

It's February 1945 and a depleted Easy Company is now in Haguenau, France on the Rhine just across from Germany. Pvt. David Webster, who was injured during Operation Market Garden, returns ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony To

Writers:

Erik Bork, Bruce C. McKenna

Stars:

Nicholas Aaron, Martin Arno, Eion Bailey

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Nicholas Aaron	...	Pvt. Robert 'Popeye' Wynn
Martin Arno	...	Junior German
Eion Bailey	...	Pvt. David Kenyon Webster
Jamie Bamber	...	2nd Lt. Jack Foley
Philip Barantini	...	Sgt. Wayne 'Skinny' Sisk
George Calil	...	Pvt. James 'Moe' Alley
Michael Cudlitz	...	Sgt. Denver 'Bull' Randleman
Christoph Dostal	...	Senior German
Dale Dye	...	Col. Robert Sink
Michael Fassbender	...	Sgt. Burton 'Pat' Christenson
Dexter Fletcher	...	SSgt. John Martin
Rick Gomez	...	Sgt. George Luz
Scott Grimes	...	TSgt. Donald Malarkey
Colin Hanks	...	2nd Lt. Henry Jones
Craig Heaney	...	Roy W. Cobb

Storyline

It's February 1945 and a depleted Easy Company is now in Haguenau, France on the Rhine just across from Germany. Pvt. David Webster, who was injured during Operation Market Garden, returns to the Company but finds that his absence from the fighting in Bastogne has alienated the others and he is treated as an outsider. The Company also has a new junior officer, Lt. Henry Jones, a West Point graduate who has yet to get any battlefield experience. The war is clearly coming to an end and the men are starting to think they might just survive the war. When Colonel Cink orders a raid across the river to take prisoners for interrogation, the men are less than keen to take part but follow orders. No one believes it's worth it when one of the men dies from the wounds he receives. When Col. Cink orders another raid the next night, Capt Winters has his own unique way of dealing with the situation.

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Plot Keywords:

exploding building | prisoner of war

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | War

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Details

Release Date:

21 October 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Former British Aerospace factory, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), DreamWorks SKG, Playtone

Technical Specs

Runtime:

56 min 56 min (DVD)

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Lieutenant Jones meets Sergeant Malarky for the first time, Sergeant Malarky is seen wearing his battle jacket with the sleeve insignia of a US Army Staff Sergeant (three stripes with one "rocker" underneath). In a later scene, that same day, after Sergeant Malarky has showered and is wearing a newer, cleaner battle jacket, he is seen wearing the sleeve insignia of a US Army Sergeant First Class (three stripes with two rockers underneath).

User Reviews

Emblematic.

The series began in some clarity. We know what the goal was -- getting through jump school even in the face of relative incompetence -- and we could tell one soldier from another because we could see their faces.

But as episode followed episode, though we could follow the general progress of Easy Company through the battles of the European theater, the stories got murkier. In full combat kit, especially bundled up in winter gear, it was more difficult to tell who was who. Some members of the company dropped out, sometimes to appear irregularly in later episodes. Some episodes introduced a completely unfamiliar character and kept him as the central figure in a story that could have stood on its own.

But "The Last Patrol" is emblematic. It represents the series at its best. Winters is back as a captain. The men are dog tired but carry out a dangerous mission successfully, at some cost to themselves. The fire fights are done convincingly. The ending brings a sigh of relief, even though a character we've come to respect is committing a crime to achieve it.

If you were to see only two episodes, the first one and "The Last Patrol" would be a good choice.