Pan Am – You look good here, Gordo

I am enjoying how Pan Am is focusing on a character or two each week, slowly showing us the backstories of each of the crew members. This week’s exploration of Ted’s time in the Navy, and his relationship with his father both go a long way towards seeing what makes him tick. Unfortunately, rotating through the cast this way means someone will get the short end of the stick. Too bad for me, this week it was my new favorite character Colette.

I am a much bigger fan of Ted now that I was before this episode (which, I suspect, was the point). However, it wasn’t his getting railroaded by the Navy, nor his father throwing him under the bus that did it. What got me was his scene with Laura in the bar late at night. I can imagine, faced with losing one’s opportunity to participate in the Space Program in the 60s, that a reasonable response would be a large dose of bitterness (I know that’s how I would react). Instead, he battled the “tubes and wires from 1952” to catch a glimpse of a live missile shot. The pure joy on his face as he watched history being made (something he’d hoped to be a part of) was so genuine, it was impossible not to be drawn into the moment.

That was not lost on Laura. She might continue to rebuff Ted’s advances, but you could tell that she shared that moment with him, even if he was too engrossed in the television to notice. I actually think their relationship has an interesting dynamic, but I doubt we’ll see any serious movement on it anytime soon.

Considering Laura’s decision to move out of Kate’s apartment and in with Maggie, it looks like she’s about to go into full “wild child” mode. I understand the desire to be footloose and fancy-free, but allowing any real wedge to be driven between her and Kate is a bad idea. She is a little naïve, and could benefit from a little guidance from big sister. While Maggie will try to fulfill that role for her, nothing is a substitute for family, and Laura will find herself missing her sister more than she expected.

Kate, though, might be a bit too busy for the job. She might have told her handler that working with Laura wouldn’t be a distraction, but that has obviously not been the case in the missions that we’ve tasked her with so far. How will that dynamic change now that Laura has moved out?

Notes & Quotes

• “[Hands Maggie a bottle of Cocoa Butter] My buddy and I were hoping you could settle a bet for us.” – Navy Guy
  “Yes, it’s true … guarantees deep, lingering color.” – Maggie
• The scene with Ted and the Flight Board looked so much like Flight of the Intruder that I half want to find the flick to see if was filmed in the same room

Clacked by Ivey West
on Oct 17, 2011 @ 04:13 EST5EDT