Analysis

Hope runs high after The Bird is transferred out of the Omori POW camp. It’s still slave labor on starvation wages, but at least the most evil taskmaster is no longer beating Louie almost to death each day. Evidence of America’s progress in winning the war is now easily seen overhead in the skies and in the fearful eyes of Louie’s Japanese captors. Figuratively, the gates of hell are beginning to crack, and the armies of heaven are making their way to the rescue.

Yet hope is a fragile thing, especially in war. When Louie’s hope is at its height, hell strikes back with a vengeance: At the Naoetsu POW camp, Louie is back in the clutches of The Bird.