Pan Am: Kate Steals, Maggie Says No, Laura Blushes, Ted Learns

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I really enjoy the music in this show. I thought about it a few episodes back, but now I'm rather sure that it's brilliantly orchestrated/edited. I also loved Kate as a pickpocket, though I don't know if we needed to see her practice so many times. I don't like how we're not getting much of a response on how the Colette/Dean thing is going to pan out, especially knowing that only a few more episodes will definitely be shown. Speaking of which, the longer ABC holds out, the more I'm thinking that maybe they will renew the show after all. But, we may still be a few months away from knowing, unfortunately. Maggie's character is also getting annoying, since she's constantly dealing with either men who want her, keeping her past secret, or both. As much as I like Christina Ricci, I think that they're just going to have to expose her fake degree soon enough. And, although I liked the actress playing Amanda, I'm rather glad that it's looking more like she's a short-term cast member, and Ted will eventually go back to Laura, at least for a little bit. Now that I look back at what I've written, I wonder if I'm rooting for/against too many things on this show, LoL. What do you want to happen, or hope doesn't happen?

Pan Am "New Frontiers" (S01E12): Kate is learning to pickpocket in Central Park so that she'll be able to lift some important plans when she's in Rome. The main feedback that she's getting regards being sure to do it like a woman would, not like a man would. [interesting advice - makes sense to me!] Kate practices on Maggie, but this makes Maggie think that she's giving off a "vibe," and Kate drops the wallet anyway. Later, she tries to pickpocket Dean, but he, too, catches her. When it comes time to do it for real, her skills must have vastly improved, as she needs to perform the task three times! [at that point, don't you think you'd notice anything being missing?]

(ABC/ERIC LIEBOWITZ)

The first time, she takes a lighter. She has a drink with him and grabs a pen and a coat check claim the second time. She heads to the coat check but he spots her and she ends up having to make him look for his check ticket while she drops it on the floor, so he gets it not thinking anything of it. She helps him on with his jacket and finally manages to grab the actual objective at that point. [man, was that close!]

Maggie is looking at some stuff from the Kennedy campaign at home when Amanda comes over to apologize for the kiss, saying that she just must have been excited with everything going on. Maggie tells her that she'll keep it a secret from Ted, but breaks that trust almost immediately, though Ted doesn't really believe her. [well, in 1963, the culture was different and there were not very many people open about the sexuality, so I'd believe that he was a bit taken aback.] She ends up saying that she's joking to stop Ted from freaking out. She can't focus on the situation much longer, however, as she is invited to lunch in Rome, where she is told that she won't have a career in politics if she stays down the road she's headed. [um, did I miss the fact that Maggie wants to be in politics?] She's invited to join an underground smuggling ring, then blackmailed when she won't. Even though her false college degree may be exposed, she still does not want any part in the crime. [really? THIS is what Maggie has a firm moral belief system about? the black market??]  

Dean is worried about his relationship with Colette, and tries to make plans with her in Rome. We learn that she's hoping to transfer routes, and is more or less avoiding Dean. On the flight, Colette takes a liking to a mysterious man who boards the aircraft at the last minute, and they plan to see Rome together. However, there's something peculiar about the gentleman, and after being questioned by Italian customs agents about a ton of cigarettes in the cargo hold of the plane, Dean wonders if that guy could be the culprit. Colette and the gentleman ride a scooter through the city, but Dean spoils the end of their time together by implying that the guy is a smuggler. This doesn't really stick, and Colette just defies him by inviting the guy to be her guest at a big party later (the one where Kate was pickpocketing). Dean unleashes the authorities at the party, but they find out that the mystery gentleman is actually a prince undercover, not a smuggler. [ha! didn't see that coming! nobody seemed to, really.] As he's hauled off to go home, he and Colette make plans to see one another again. [man! we're not even ditching this guy?!?] The new problem is that, with the mysterious man no longer a suspect, the blame for the customs breach falls once again to Dean, who is told to think about insider folks who may be working an angle. Well, this gives Dean just the clue he needs, and he immediately goes over to the smuggler and socks him in the stomach. [yikes! so I wonder if the pressure will be on Maggie even more now??] Dean later apologizes to Colette.

Now on to the folks now on the airplane this episode - namely, Laura and Ted. Laura takes photos and someone comes up to her, having recognized her from some nude photos in a gallery. She goes to check it out, and they're being displayed by a guy who bought them from the original photographer. Laura is really upset about it, but the exhibitor can't do too much, as he has already sold the prints to a third party. He does tell her that he'll sell them to her if she can get $500 together before the other customer. [I guess that's reasonable? But if the images are already "sold," how can you "sell" them to another person?] She runs to Ted for help in getting the money, but Amanda decides that modern girls need to stick together, and writes her a check. [that's a LOT of money...] Laura returns to the gallery and some onlookers tell her that the pictures are empowering and transcendent, and Laura begins to feel less self-conscious about them. Andy Warhol is the one who wants to buy the prints, and he wants to meet Laura, who might possibly become his new model. [nope. I see this falling apart at the seems.]

Ted and Amanda look at dish patterns and glassware, but he's worried about their relationship. When he goes to ask her about their honesty toward one another, she kisses him and that ends his train of thought. [just like a woman - always flipping on the charm to get out of an argument!] He later points out that he's never met any of her friends, and that there are a lot of things that he doesn't know about her. [really? He never bothered to try and get together with a single friend of hers in the month that they've been dating? He would propose marriage to someone he hardly knows?] He questions how happy she looked with Laura, and Amanda brings him into the bedroom. She doesn't have the best experience, and doesn't let him watch when she re-dresses. [I don't think that's too odd. I mean, if they've only been naked once, it's probably awkward to look at one another again right away.] They meet the next day and he still wants her to be honest, so she admits that she's more comfortable with women, and doesn't know why. She says that she's always felt that way, but that she does love him and want to marry him. She tells him that it'll be an open marriage on both ends. [really? rather than discuss the idea of an open marriage, she just up and announces that's how she wants it to go? What precedent is she working with here?]

The assassination attempt on JFK finishes the episode, though he has not yet died as the credits roll.