In this emotionally shattering episode of HBO's acclaimed WWII miniseries Band of Brothers, the personal hardships and horror of war give way to a painfully clear understanding of the real evil the men of Easy Company have been fighting. At the beginning of "Why We Fight," written by John Orloff and directed by David Frankel, things have gotten a bit easier for Easy Company. The worst of the war is clearly over for most of them, and many are already thinking of returning home. But no one seems all that happy. Nixon (Ron Livingston) is distraught and drinking heavily after a planeload of paratroopers he was jumping with were senselessly killed. Perconte (James Madio) eloquently explains his frustration at being away from home for so long to a replacement, O'Keefe (Matt Hickey), who can't understand why the guys seem so hostile to him. It's an effective portrait of a bunch of cynical, hard-bitten men who are having a hard time adjusting to not being under fire. Their cynicism then dissolves in the face of the greatest horror of the war. Until they discovered the small concentration camp at Landsberg, these men were apparently unaware of the Nazis' efforts to eradicate the Jews. This is, by now, familiar subject matter, but by presenting the stunned reactions of these battle-weary characters -- characters we have grown to know -- this episode forces us to consider these circumstances afresh. (Eion Bailey), as the genial Webster, is again the audience's surrogate, portraying the young man's violent outburst in response to the German townspeople's claims of ignorance. Ross McCall is particularly touching portraying the Jewish Liebgott's shock, and his hopeless effort not to feel personally involved -- to continue doing his job in the face of an atrocity.
