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Band of Brothers Episode 3 (Carentan) Full-length Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2025-07-31 12:00:14
Edited:
2026-05-21 00:51:10
Imported:
2026-09
Tags:

Content

It is time for Episode 3, we have been told to have tissues ready for this one. In this episode, Easy Company takes on German troops in the French town of Carentan.

Please note: because of copyright, full-length reactions are watchalongs, so you'll need your own copy to sync up with us! You can find the episodes on Netflix, HBO Max, and other streaming services.

Files

Band of Brothers Episode 3 (Carentan) Patreon Full-length Reaction

Join us for our Band of Brothers watchalong. Exclusively for our amazing Patrons — thank you for supporting Totally Whatever! Because of copyright, full-length reactions are watch-alongs, so you'll need your own copy to sync up with us!

Comments

Ian Forbes

One of the few unfortunate inaccuracies of the show, Blithe did recover from the wounds depicted in the show and served with distinction in the Korean War. He died in 1967 from a perforated ulcer (source: Wikipedia and many many comments from others during reactions) I don’t know why HBO or the producers have never updated the end credits but apparently the men who were interviewed for the book did not know he survived, hence how the show depicts it. I believe Blithe’s family contacted the show after it originally aired.

Ben

Ian has already mentioned the BIG error in this episode. Blythe stayed with the 101st during the 1950s and he served with distinction. What many overlook in talking about Blythe is that he volunteered for the Army right after Pearl Harbor, was wounded in combat in North Africa, and the hospital ship in which he was returning to the States was torpedoed. Yet, he while recovering, he volunteered for the Airborne and joined E Company in Toccoa, and he successfully completed all of the training (obviously ... and you saw that it wasn't easy training). So there is that to add to his story. During your outro you mentioned the guy who was blown up in the building in Carentan. That was Tipper. We met him in episode 1. He was the guy holding Sobel's map when Sobel got lost, and he was the guy who told Sobel, "It sounds like Major Horten", then smirked behind Sobel's back. Since we do not see Tipper again in the series, this isn't going to be a spoiler ... Tipper lived. In fact, without telling you who he is, you have already met him. He lost sight in one eye and mobility in his right leg, but he lived a very long and productive life. He would remain single until his 50s and would have a daughter in his late 50s. More of his story (and many others) will come out in the unofficial 11th episode. Another correction: The final scene between Malarky and the British laundry woman never happened. This is a case where Hanks/Spielberg took some license in telling the story (and it is effective in telling the story not only of E company's loses in Operation Overload, but also hints to the reality of someone dying ... where those left behind are tasked with cleaning up the little reminders that a person not only lived, but that the never expected to die - laundry, tasks and chores left half done, maybe the remanents of their last cup of tea or coffee still sitting on the kitchen counter, etc, which we seldom think about). Some perspective: We made a huge time jump with the 101st's return to England to refit and regroup. The 101st returned to England in July 1944; the last scene when Lipton told the men that they will be returning to France occured at the end of August/early September. The next episode with explain more, so I will leave it here for now. We will pick up after your episode 4 reaction. Also, for perspective, Carentan is about 15 miles inland from the Normandy beaches. It was one of the first critical towns that the Allies needed to control in order to link up Omaha and Utah with the British/Canadian/Polish forces who landed on Juno, Sword, and Gold. Contrary to what many reactors think, E Company did not take Carentan alone. They were simply one small part of a much larger group of units that took the town. However, if Hanks/Spielberg had shown that larger perspective, it would have broken the framing of the overall story which is to focus upon one company's experience in the Northern European Campaign. Since you have already watched episode 4, there may be a lot of information you missed in that watch. Most people/reactors miss a lot because of a lack of knowing this part of WW2 in any depth. But we will help you with that after the reaction - along with recommendations which will build upon the new knowledge you have now gained. It is so much fun to share this journey with you. It is a joy that you two decided to do reactions.

Ian Forbes

Great info, some of which I wasn’t aware of before. Thanks!

Totally Whatever

Thanks so much again for all the additional information, Ben. It's really helpful to know which parts are accurate and which are more fabricated. Now I remember Tipper, and it is comforting knowing that he survived.

Totally Whatever

Thank you for sharing this. It's wonderful knowing that Blithe lived.

softshoes

A lot of cringy stuff but you guys soldiered thru. Those Shermans showing up just in time to take some of the sting out and giving us some to time to catch our breath. I know you'll be up to the rest of this great series. As you already know some literary license was taken, aka Blithe, but don't let it stop your enjoyment of the story. Anyways you guys are the best.

Totally Whatever

Thanks so much, knowing these are true events makes it so much harder to watch but this show is just so well done!

JAKH

About the confusion over Blythe: Several of the veterans of E Company living in the Philadelphia metro area after the war kept in touch with each other. They saw in one of the local newspapers an obituary for "Albert Blythe who served in the 101st Airborne Division during WW2", however, this was a different soldier with the same name from another regiment of the 101st, not the Blythe of Easy Coy.

JAKH

The nighttime stabbing: When Blythe is coming into the E Coy. assembly area at the beginning of the episode, several of the other troopers are comparing souvenirs: Liebgott has a Nazi flag, and Floyd Smith holds up a piece of camouflage cloth. This is a German over-smock or pancho. The Germans used more camouflage than the Allies during the war, but is was mostly experimental patterns issued to elite units like paratroopers (Fallschirmjaeger) and Waffen SS. So Smith's souvenir is a German smock that he picked up, probably from a German paratrooper. In the night scene later, Smith is going around waking people up for a change of guard duty wearing his new Fallschirmjaeger camo smock. So Talbert wakes up and sees a shadowy figure at night who is wearing a German camo smock and reacts with his bayoneted rifle. Mistakes by both guys involved.

Jeremy V.

I think the big Takeaway from this episode was facing the fears that these men were going through during the midst of battle. Blithe was used as an example. But the fear was very real, and they stood tall throughout it. It was a story that needed to be told. Even though the facts were a bit askew.

PP82

Smith was the stabber. Floyd Talbert was the stabee.

PP82

He not only served in Korea, he was awarded a silver star for valor. According to his E. Co. brothers in Normandy he was actually kind of a badass.

PP82

When you can't see enemy, you look for muzzle flash from their weapons. You're not going to be as accurate since you can't get a good sight picture on your target, but with enough people shooting your bound to hit someone. And at the very least you can keep their heads down if you can put out more volume of fire than they can. It really, really sucks, but it's better than nothing.