PAN AM: “We’ll Always Have Paris” and Meddling Mothers

Pan Am flew to France this week, and the trip was packed with drama. The excitement of their first trip to Paris has sisters Kate and Laura all smiles, until Laura’s weigh-in shows she’s gained a pound and she’s advised to limit her indulgence in French pastries. That’s right, mandatory weigh-ins are the price to pay for traveling the friendly skies. Maggie decides to speak up about the practice, just in case we forgot that she’s a Beatnik, but is saved from disciplinary action by Captain Ted.

Before boarding, Kate receives orders to deliver a package to a CIA contact in Paris, but any butterflies she might be feeling about her first mission are supplanted when she discovers that her mother is a passenger on the plane. A flashback to right after Laura’s aborted wedding reveals more of the sisters’ bond as well as their feelings about their mother. Back on the plane, Kate approaches their mother to find out why she’s there, secretly hoping it’s because she wants to see Kate as well as Laura. But no, she’s there to talk to Laura. A brief heart-to-heart is all it takes for Laura to feel all is right with the world. Kate is more cynical about the situation, and unfortunately is proved correct when Laura meets dear old Mom for lunch and discovers her ex-fiance waiting for them. With flowers. In Paris. That’s some hardcore meddling! Laura does stand her ground, though, and Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True (seriously, he even namechecks Boy’s Life, the Boy Scout magazine) comes by the hotel later and gives Laura his blessing to go have her adventures (after giving the flowers to an old woman in the lobby) . As they hugged farewell, I couldn’t help but think how many opportunities this would give Laura to flirt with other men. Convenient.

Speaking of flirting, Maggie stabs a passenger with a serving fork after he accosts her in the galley. At first I thought she’d been trying to set up an assignation, and at the risk of offending, I can see how the guy thought so as well. Christina Ricci didn’t convey that the character was doing what was expected of her; instead it looked like she was daring the guy to approach her. Clearly rattled after the incident, Ted can tell something is wrong and when the passenger has the audacity to complain about getting a fork in the side, Ted assures him that he’ll see that she’s disciplined, even if he has to “put her over my knee har har har.” Ugh. Maggie tells Ted later, when he feels like she should be expressing gratitude for him sweeping the incident under the rug so she doesn’t get fired, that she’s OK with the personal grooming checks, the mandatory weigh-ins, and the fact that businessmen expect flirting for the price of their ticket, but what she’s really upset about is that Ted let the guy off easy and he’ll likely pull the same thing on another girl. Ted looks stunned, just in case the viewer had forgotten that the ’60s were still incredibly misogynistic.

Meanwhile, Dean is still pining for Bridget, the stewardess who worked for the CIA before Kate and disappeared. Apparently the spent a special night at a club in Paris six months earlier, so Dean asks Collette to help him find the nightclub in hopes of tracking her down. Collette is a good sport and agrees, only to discover that Bridget is married. It’s quite a blow for Dean, who promptly gets wasted and dances with Collette under the Parisian moon.

Ah, but all is not as it seems. As she’s having it out with her mother, Kate is approached by the informant she’s been tasked to meet, only to see that it’s Bridget. The package she’s delivering is a new passport and identification for Bridget to assume a new life. Bridget warns Kate that in taking up with the CIA, she’ll be sacrificing the chance at marriage and children. Kate doesn’t see it as a sacrifice, which has her half-jokingly wondering if she’s crazy. In that day and age, for a woman to not just want but actively seek a life of travel and adventure rather than hearth and home was completely against the societal norm. Even confident Kate has her moments of self-doubt about this trail she’s blazing.

Next week: the crew are in Berlin at the same time President Kennedy is there to deliver his famous speech, and Maggie is determined to meet him. Pan Am airs Sundays at 10/9c on ABC.