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Right before Tom deployed, I found this TV series on sale and scooped it up. I knew that I was going to love it so I figured I would buy it before I even saw it.

Then Tom deployed, and I decided that it was in my best interest to wait until he returned home to watch it.

I knew if I watched a series about the brutal truths of war plus the added fact that the unit is 101st Airborne, (Tom’s division), it was just a recipe for disaster for my emotional state.

We finally got around to completing the series this week. It is short with only 10 episodes, but each one was jam-packed with goodness.

WWII was my favorite period to study. I took every elective in this time period during college. I was enthralled by the facts and details that they threw into this mini-series.

It was a pretty great cast, and the acting was pretty stellar which made you feel like you were watching a documentary almost more than a show. They did a great job with the scenery and the details of the costumes. They really picked up on the subtleties of the time.

I appreciated the realness of the series. They showed how leadership can affect the troops, how things are communicated, the morale, the conditions, and even the deaths and wounded. This was not an easy war for our men, and many were there for years.

If you imagine the things that are seen in that amount of time….mind boggling.

My favorite part was that they had the real soldiers the story was based on do interviews and tell snippets of their tale. So you saw men in their 60-80s talk about the harsh realities of war before each episode began. I mentioned this the other day to Tom too while we were in the pharmacy and seeing all the older gentlemen there picking up their meds. Some of these men have done unimaginable things, and yet they lead perfectly normal lives now and are sweet old men. (At least the look like sweet old men.) During these segments you saw these soldiers years later get choked up and laugh about memories. You saw real emotion in their eyes and their lip quivers.

I also really liked how they showed the relationships and how the war affected them over time. You watched them go from training days to when they heard the war was officially over. So you see growth and all kinds of transitions occur over that time.

I love when a story impacts you and shows you that rawness of humans. And this series did just that.

I will say it is not the easiest show to watch, but it is a great show to watch. I loved it for what it was. The history told in these 10 episodes was awesome, and better than any textbook. Although, I will say it was better for me maybe because of the context that I have from all those textbooks. However, I am sure you would enjoy it just the same.

Also it won a lot of awards, so other people think it is good too. Just saying.

We love watching war documentaries/shows in our house. Obviously.

Do you have any to recommend to us? Have you seen Band of Brothers? What did you think?Have you ever bought a movie/series without watching it?

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.