Combat has many episodes that really have no right to be as interesting or entertaining as they end up being, but despite having numerous faults, this one is one of the best of the third season so far. The steeple begins with a C-47 transport plane under heavy attack from German anti-aircraft cannons. A paratrooper (named in the credits as Captain Ridell) is forced to jump out. Unfortunately, as he descends into a village Saunders, Kirby and Caje are in, his parachute cords get caught on the spire of a church. Saunders now has to somehow rescue him before the germans discover he isn't dead. The squad's first move is to covertly enter the church and make their way into the steeple, where the bell is located. Saunders is able to make contact with Ridell, telling him to not overreact and to play dead so the germans below are fooled. Although starving and thirsty, Ridell does what Saunders tells him in order to stay alive. Later, a priest shows up, and Saunders attempts to negotiate a solution to Ridell's problem with him, but says he needs a german uniform to accomplish his plan. At first the priest is unwilling to help, but eventually he talks to the german officer in charge of the forces in the town. The latter tells the priest the church is to be blown up since it contains a tall position that can be used as a vantage point. The priest is later discovered to be wearing a german uniform that Saunders needs, and is apprehended by the germans. Now realizing he's on his own, Saunders needs to work fast so he can save Ridell. Luckily, a german soldier decides to investigate the steeple while Saunders is inside, allowing him to kill him silently with Caje's knife. Putting on the uniform, Saunders leans out the window in order to pull Ridell into the steeple as germans below watch in confusion and amusement. Saunders whispers to Ridell and says not to help him get inside, since he's supposed to act dead. After Ridell is safe, the squad evacuates the steeple by using the rope attached to the church bell to slide down quickly. When it's Saunders' turn, a truck full of additional german infantry pulls up near the church. Saunders tosses a pack of explosives Ridell told him to hold onto down at them and shoots it, devastating the whole area. With all threats subdued, Saunders rappels to safety. Back at a field hospital, Saunders tells Ridell he can "drop in" anytime. Although the ending is pretty cheesy, this episode has basically all the aspects that go into making an effective Combat installment. Saunders berating someone a higher rank than him in order to make him angry and stay awake, the squad under pressure because the germans are going to blow something up soon, etc. Even though the moment which has Saunders pull Ridell into the steeple is quite absurd, it shows what kind of soldier he is, and he's never willing to leave a person behind. I found it odd how absolutely none of the germans decided to shoot Ridell as he was hanging up there just to make sure he was dead. One of the soldiers tries to, but the officer makes him lower his gun. Overall, The Steeple is a good instance of how you don't need a really complicated story in a film or tv show in order to make something that is compelling. People tuned in to this show to watch Vic (mostly), and as long as they were getting that, the storyline was considered secondary.
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