Episode 5 – Crossroads:
"Crossroads" is the fifth episode of Band of Brothers. Once again showing the perspective of Dick Winters, he's promoted to Battalion XO and has difficulty adjusting to life behind a desk rather than out on the front lines. He's continually haunted by memories of the last battle he fought in and a young German soldier he shot.
"Got a trope?":
- Actually Pretty Funny: Winters wakes Nixon up by throwing what is apparently water on him. Nixon splutters that it was his own urine. Winters of course finds this hilarious.
- Alone in a Crowd: Winters when he's in Paris.
- Anachronic Order: Winters has to type up a report on the previous evening's battle – which is told in flashback.
- Artistic Licence – History:
- Webster is shown getting hit by artillery, but it was actually machine gun fire. Sgt. Boyle got wounded by artillery.
- Winters did reach the German position before the rest of his men and did spend a few moments single-handedly firing his weapon into an outnumbering German force before everyone caught up, but it wasn't because of a delayed smoke signal (he apparently just ran faster than everyone else). In one of those "Reality Is Unrealistic" moments, he and the German sentry apparently threw grenades at each other, but for some unknown reason both grenades failed to detonate.
- Bathtub Scene: We get a scene of Winters relaxing in a hot bath during his weekend leave. It's probably the last warm wash he has for months.
- Berserk Button: Worst Aid appears to be Doc Roe's, as outlined below. He goes ballistic when Winters and Welsh make such a silly mistake.
- Breather Episode: Appropriately as the halfway point. This is the transition between the initial D-Day landings and the utter horror of Bastogne. The episode features very little action, the only battle being shown in flashback. It's more of an introverted study of Winters's character and his reaction to the war so far.
- The Cameo: Yep, that's Jimmy Fallon as one of the American soldiers retreating from the German onslaught.
- Can't Believe I Said That: Webster gets shot and shouts "they got me!" and is next seen saying "can you believe I said that?"
- The Cavalry: Operation Pegasus, the rescue of stranded British paratroopers.
- Desk Jockey: This episode examines Winters' trouble adjusting to such a position.
- Declining Promotion: Subverted. Winters tries to do this, but Sink tells him his skills are too important and that Lt. Heyliger can take care of Easy just fine.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: Largely making up the Establishing Character Moment described below. Lt. Dike focuses on how improper it is that his superior officer isn't present when Easy is about to be deployed, and needs to have spelled out for him the real issue: they don't have the proper supplies (including clothes) for this task.
- Dying Smirk: Winters flashes back to a young soldier he shot, who smiled mockingly at him beforehand. However, later flashbacks show that the boy's expression turned to one of terror before getting shot.
- Establishing Character Moment: Lt. Dike's introduction is bitching about how his superior officer isn't there (when Dike himself was late showing up to do his job) when the unit is getting ready to mobilize before being informed that Easy don't have enough supplies for the upcoming Winter in Bastogne – and looking like he's very much out of his depth. Once Winters does point out everything Easy needs, Dike immediately delegates all work to officers under him, with the apparent intention of contributing precisely nothing to the preparations himself.
- Fauxreigner: When they ambushed the German camp, one of them claims they're Polish. Talbert rebukes this by saying there aren't any Poles in the SS.
- Gay Paree: For his weekend leave, Winters is sent to Paris. He sits at a café with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background and walks alongside Notre Dame cathedral. Malarkey was also planning to go there, but then Easy Company have to be dispatched to Bastogne.
- Heroic BSoD: Buck Compton appears to be having one. When Winters arrives back from Paris, he tries to talk to Buck, who appears to have zoned out. Winters himself has one while riding the train in Paris. As they go through a tunnel, he flashes back to the last battle he had. A boy on the train reminds him of a young soldier he shot.
- Improbable Infant Survival: Addressed. The soldier Winters shoots is obviously over 18 and therefore not a child – but he's clearly troubled by having to kill someone so young.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Winters briefly with the young boy on the train in Paris.
- Mauve Shirt: Dukeman is killed during the flashback battle.
- Mercy Kill: Subverted. Liebgott is shooting some dying Germans, but it's not due to mercy; it's a Kick the Dog moment.
- New Meat: Seward, one of the replacements riding towards Bastogne in the van. Bonds with the rest by having loads of cigarettes.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: In reality while Winters was in Paris, Guarnere led the platoon to a mission on "The Island" on the Rhine. He ended up getting shot by a sniper and being sent to hospital in England. The episode leaves this out, but Guarnere's returning from the hospital is referenced.
- Oh, Crap!/This Is Gonna Suck: The reaction of Easy and the rest of the 101st when they arrive at Bastogne at the end of the episode and see what the approaching German army did to the 28th Infantry.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: You know something's a big deal when the normally gentle Eugene Roe flips out at Winters and Welsh for giving Moose a morphine overdose.
- Seeing the 28th Infantry in a full retreat leaves the men of Easy Company in shock and not a small amount of fear.
- Put on a Bus: Webster gets shot and sent to hospital in England. He won't be seen again until Episode 8.
- Saw "Star Wars" Twenty-Seven Times: The company watches Seven Sinners starring John Wayne. Luz has seen it 14 times and keeps quoting lines and providing commentary, much to the annoyance of guys who've never seen it like Toye and Lipton.
- Small Role, Big Impact/Unwitting Instigator of Doom: It's because of the sentry who shot Moose that Lt. Dike becomes the new commanding officer of Easy Company. As we'll see in the next two episodes, Dike's leadership gets several of the men wounded and/or killed.
- Separated by a Common Language: When going over the plan for Operation Pegasus, Colonel Dobie has to clarify that when he says the Brits will use "torches", he's referring to what Americans call "flashlights".
-
Squick: Nixon's reaction to being woken with his own urine. - Superdickery: The flashbacks appear to show Winters shooting a surrendering German soldier, but later show he's vastly outnumbered and has to kill as many as possible without the chance to take prisoners. Later when he does have prisoners, he makes sure they get back to the rear safely when one of his men appears too eager to 'take care of them'.
- Take That!: While riffing the movie they've seen a bunch of times, Luz also makes fun of John Wayne for wearing an uniform from the costuming department, as unlike many of his peers in Hollywood, John Wayne didn't serve during WWII, and many in the military considered him a draft dodger.
- Troll: Luz is annoying Lipton and Toye by repeatedly quoting lines from the movie they're watching, despite both of them telling him to stop.
- Unfriendly Fire: Moose gets shot by one of their own while out walking.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Doc Roe rips Winters and Welsh a new one after he finds out they give Moose too much morphine.
- Worst Aid: Welsh and Winters give Moose a morphine overdose when he's shot by a sentry. Doc Roe informs them that could have killed him just as easily as the bullets.
