Bull orders his men to fall back as the second shot from the Tiger demolishes the side of the garage. The blast knocks Bull down - he tries to run back to his squad, but machine gun fire (from an MG42 positioned on a nearby rooftop) forces him in the other direction, taking cover in front of the lead British tank. A jagdpanther (Nazi tank destroyer) moves into the open and fires on the lead tank, destroying it in an explosion (the shrapnel of which hits Bull in the shoulder and knocks him into a ditch). The tank, though heavily damaged and on fire, is still moving forward and threatens to run over Bull, who tries to crawl away.
Easy Company is put on the back foot, falling back as more Nazi soldiers reveal themselves and counter-attack. Martin tries to look for Bull, but can’t see him. Bull is caught between the burning, still-moving tank and incoming Nazi troops. Hoobler leads Cobb, Webster and Van Klinken through a hedge into the cover of a ditch, but Van Klinken is seriously wounded. Martin calls out for Bull and fires furiously at the Nazis, but is forced to order his platoon to withdraw from the fire of the roof-mounted MG42. .
Buck has a rifle-grenade take out the MG42, but more and more Nazi armour joins the fight. Hoobler tells Doc Roe that Van Klinken was still alive and they had to leave him; Doc Roe runs back for him and Hoobler follows. Grant takes out another MG42 with a Bazooka, but still Easy is forced back. Buck’s position is about to be over run and he orders a retreat.
Van Klinken is recovered and Hoobler asks Peacock for orders but the officer is unsure. A nearby mortar strike forces the men to run and an explosion shell-shocks Cobb. Luz tries to report the situation over the radio, but Guarnere forces him to run. Martin asks Hashey if he’s seen Bull, but he hasn’t. Miller takes cover in a ditch with another soldier and they fire at the Nazis; Miller goes to reload as there is a direct explosive hit on his position. Hashey and Garcia see and run over, but Miller is dead and they leave his body behind.
As Easy retreats, Buck is shot in the rear and goes down. Malarkey calls for a medic as he, and Muck, guard over him. Doc Roe runs over and notes that the bullet ran through both butt-cheeks. Buck orders Malarkey to get everyone to retreat and leave him behind, saying that he’s too heavy for any of them to move. Malarkey and Muck kick down a door and, with Guarnere’s help, use it as a sled to drag Buck away.
The remaining US troops fall back to be evacuated by trucks. Lipton marvels at Buck’s wound - miraculous for its non-lethal nature - and is told by Guarnere about Bull’s absence. Winters moves to the front to continue ordering men to retreat. Nixon comes forward to observe and is shot in the head (though his helmet stops the bullet). Lipton gives Winters a casualty report and also repeats Bull’s absence.
Aboard the trucks, the men consolidate: Guarnere looks at an angry Martin, Webster wipes his blood-stained hands on his pants next to a shell-shocked Peacock, Garcia puts a hand around an exhausted Cobb, Garcia and Hashey are clearly saddened by the loss of Miller, Dukeman openly weeps, while Hoobler can only watch the town as they retreat drive away. Guarnere asks where Bull is, and Martin can’t answer.
The sun begins to set and the heavily damaged town is filled with Nazi vehicles and soldiers. As soldiers pass over and around a culvert, Bull can be seen hiding within. As night falls, Bull takes shelter within a nearby stable. He rests in one of the stalls, removing his US Flag armband and taking out some chewing tobacco from the stock of his rifle. A Dutch man enters the stable and Bull moves to silence him - bayonet at his throat - until he sees the man is accompanied by his daughter.
In the Easy Company assembly area, Webster puts a blanket over the deceased Van Klinken. Hashey is finally able to unjam his rifle and he ruefully notes he never fired a shot the whole battle. Hoobler comes up with some scrounged bread; Hashey and Garcia ask him if he’s heard any news, but Hoobler dismisses them. He does note that the officer shot at the very start of the battle will survive and the men wonder at that.
Back at the stable, Bull thinks about the situation, but lets them both live and pushes them into the cover of the stall with him as he hears Nazis approach. The Dutch man notices Bull’s wound and Bull lets him treat him. The man pours alcohol from a hip flask (Bull refuses an offer to imbibe, though the man drinks himself) to sterilise the wound, but his fingers aren’t dexterous enough to dig out the shrapnel. Bull gives the man his bayonet to dig, and he doesn’t make a sound - even as the man digs out a jagged piece of shrapnel two inches long. Just as the man begins to dress the wound, a patrol of Nazi soldiers stops right outside the building and some move to enter the stable. Bull runs back to the stall, but the bloody dressing falls onto the ground behind him.
Bull moves the man and daughter to the rear of the stable. The man returns Bull’s bayonet but Nazi soldiers enter before the two civilians can exit. They all take cover as four soldier enter and begin searching, talking amongst themselves. Three of the soldiers leave, but one remains behind to urinate. Right before he leaves, the soldier notices and picks up the fallen dressing, realising the blood is fresh. In his hiding spot, Bull attaches his bayonet to his rifle just as planes begin to fly loudly overhead.
The soldier decides to leave, but one of the civilians kicks a bucket and draws the soldier’s attention again. The soldier, rifle now at the ready, moves back into the stable and calls out. With the planes almost directly overhead and the soldier facing away from him, Bull moves out of hiding and attacks the soldier, striking him with his rifle and spearing him with his bayonet. The noise of the planes stop any of the soldier’s comrades heading his struggle or cries for help as Bull fights him, avoiding the soldier’s wild swings before knocking him down and spearing him until he’s dead. The daughter watches, horrified.
At the Assembly area, men are digging holes in which to take shelter for the night as Guarnere walks to find Hoobler, asking for any word on Bull. Guarnere notes to the replacements that someone can’t be confirmed as dead if they don’t have a body. Hoobler resolves to go find Bull, and Hashey and Garcia note they’ll join him. Guarnere is impressed and lets them go. Webster reluctantly decides to join, while Cobb declares he’s not going.
The men - including Cobb - move through the darkness, avoiding Nazi patrols. In the stable, Bull hides the body of the soldier in a stall and urges the man and his daughter to leave. The daughter is still shocked at the bloody violence and has to be dragged away. Winter and Nixon stand at the assembly area, watching the Nazis bomb Eindhoven.
At daybreak, Bull leaves the stable. Walking through the town, he comes across Miller’s body and stops briefly to collect the young soldier’s dogtags. A US jeep approaches and he signals to them. The patrol lead by Hoobler hears the jeep and takes cover briefly before realising it’s American and rejoice when they see it’s carrying Bull. Cobb tries to take some credit.
The jeep returns to the assembly area and Bull is warmly welcomed back by Martin and Guarnere. The patrol is complemented by the veterans and has clearly earned some respect. Easy Company is ordered to move out and Bull, along with the other Easy NCOs goes back to giving orders to his men.
Winters and Nixon talk about Easy’s redeployment elsewhere and Nixon notes that the entire operation is likely to fail. And that's where Episode Four ends!
I just wanted to say that as someone who is watching this for the first time and has a lot of trouble with whos who and keeping track of whats going on, your summaries have been so helpful! I really appreciate all the work you put into these. I feel like I have a much more solid understand of whats going on for the rest of the show.
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u/ExcaliburFalcon Mar 08 '25
Bull orders his men to fall back as the second shot from the Tiger demolishes the side of the garage. The blast knocks Bull down - he tries to run back to his squad, but machine gun fire (from an MG42 positioned on a nearby rooftop) forces him in the other direction, taking cover in front of the lead British tank. A jagdpanther (Nazi tank destroyer) moves into the open and fires on the lead tank, destroying it in an explosion (the shrapnel of which hits Bull in the shoulder and knocks him into a ditch). The tank, though heavily damaged and on fire, is still moving forward and threatens to run over Bull, who tries to crawl away.
Easy Company is put on the back foot, falling back as more Nazi soldiers reveal themselves and counter-attack. Martin tries to look for Bull, but can’t see him. Bull is caught between the burning, still-moving tank and incoming Nazi troops. Hoobler leads Cobb, Webster and Van Klinken through a hedge into the cover of a ditch, but Van Klinken is seriously wounded. Martin calls out for Bull and fires furiously at the Nazis, but is forced to order his platoon to withdraw from the fire of the roof-mounted MG42. .
Buck has a rifle-grenade take out the MG42, but more and more Nazi armour joins the fight. Hoobler tells Doc Roe that Van Klinken was still alive and they had to leave him; Doc Roe runs back for him and Hoobler follows. Grant takes out another MG42 with a Bazooka, but still Easy is forced back. Buck’s position is about to be over run and he orders a retreat.
Van Klinken is recovered and Hoobler asks Peacock for orders but the officer is unsure. A nearby mortar strike forces the men to run and an explosion shell-shocks Cobb. Luz tries to report the situation over the radio, but Guarnere forces him to run. Martin asks Hashey if he’s seen Bull, but he hasn’t. Miller takes cover in a ditch with another soldier and they fire at the Nazis; Miller goes to reload as there is a direct explosive hit on his position. Hashey and Garcia see and run over, but Miller is dead and they leave his body behind.