Pan Am: When in Rome, People Act Crazy...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

First, what was with the honeymooning couple on the plane?? That was just absurd! The only thing that did was give more emphasis on a variant meaning to the episode's title. Not that the episode as a whole was strikingly better. Colette and the little boy was cute but it got old. Having Niko back could have led to some excitement, but it ended up not affecting much. The complete absence of Ted was weird, though it looks like he'll have a pivotal scene in next week's finale. Maggie's few lines were unimpressive at best. The revelation that Laura really is a virgin after all did catch my attention, but I'm not sure how identifying Kate as the "slutty sister" helped anything. Oh, and let's not forget all of the frightful outfits on the girls this trip! Dean was the only character with a worthwhile storyline, though his career as a Pan Am pilot may be over because of it. I don't know... while there is little hope for renewal at this point, could the "season" finale save the show?

Pan Am "Romance Languages" (S01E13): The group is flying to Rome, with Colette escorting a 12-year-old boy, Charlie. The kid immediately hits on her and steals Dean's watch, but redeems himself when he and Colette talk about the romance languages (specifically French and Italian) and joke about how English should be a dead language like Latin. [this kid is just weird.] He steals a small bottle of booze from her, but, luckily, he pulls off a cute magic trick, so all is well. Unfortunately, his mother isn't there to meet him when they land, so Colette and Dean wait with him until a housekeeper arrives. The couple invite Charlie to dinner, but that doesn't work out as intended. See, Ginny is in Rome, too, and wants Dean back. She had previously told him that she loved him, but he broke it off - their "good time" was over. This time, when he rejects her, she bangs her head into a window, so he goes to the hospital with her, telling Colette to go on to dinner without him. [Ginny = crazy.] At dinner, Charlie tries to order a bottle of wine, then

(ABC/ERIC LIEBOWITZ)

tricks Colette into a kiss! [little Casanova!] Later, we see Charlie with flowers, planning an apology to Colette, only to find another gentleman talking with her at a bar. [ewww on her outfit here... that yellow and grey one!] Charlie manages to get into her hotel room, telling her that she's a fraud, but Colette makes him feel better. [um, so weird kid-turned-Casanova-turned-psycho. how did he find and get into her room?? and in the middle of the night!] The next morning, Ginny asks Colette to come to the hospital, but the former's plan doesn't work, as Colette doesn't admit to being with Dean. Then, Mr. Hansen shows up, and Dean tells him that he was with Ginny a while back - he's not surprised, though, and suggests Dean begin looking for work with another airline. [we already know that Maggie was the one who leaked that info, though I'm still bothered by how screwy Ginny is... and why her former MARRIED lover would fly to Europe to deal with her!] After they're back in the US, Colette confronts Maggie about how she kept her job by telling Hansen about Dean and Ginny. [I wasn't a big fan of this scene... I might have written at least ONE of the girls to be a little more heated!]


Meanwhile, Laura leads Kate to believe that she spent the night with Graham, from the gallery. [I wasn't surprised she did so... I was surprised that she's still a virgin... up until now I was under the impression that she had already lost her virginity.] But, we soon learn that they didn't sleep together, and Kate tells Laura that being a "modern woman" isn't about losing your virginity. Kate tells Laura about her first time - a boy from French club after a dance. [wow... I hadn't realized that Kate lost her virginity so young!] Laura tries to act more mature by ordering an espresso instead of a hot chocolate. [hahaha. I still order hot chocolate about a third of the time. also, I didn't like Laura's dress in this scene.] Well, Laura tries to be ready for more action when she gets back to Graham, but instead tells him that she wants to "feel the liberation of anonymity," so she strips and asks him to photograph her. [um, didn't we already have iffy pictures of Laura as an issue on this show? YES. was she not "feeling liberated" then?]

We get a glimpse of Niko, and it's assumed he'll be back for the season finale as well. Aside from telling Kate that Croatia is better than the rest of Europe combined, he doesn't add much. [ewww on Kate's outfit when she arrives in Rome!] But, while abroad, someone bumps into Kate and frightens her with words regarding Niko. She calls Richard, who reassures her that it's unlikely her cover was blown. Kate is terrified, however, that she'll "disappear" like Bridget.