Now that Pan Am is three episodes old we are starting to see a formula emerge. My revelation last week that Pan Am was The Love Boat of the skies is ringing true as we jet off to another exotic locale each week with the promise of intrigue and romance of some kind. This week they teased us a bit and showed us the aftermath of this excursion early on before backing up and getting into the details. Other shows do this from time to time and it is a fairly effective way to get people who are on the fence about it to stick around for the entire hour. For those of us already on this flight though it was unnecessary. I almost resented knowing up front that Colette had some sort of emotionally harrowing experience in Berlin. I would have rather been surprised.
Also a given at this point is Kate (Kelli Garner) and her weekly missions. This one sends her to a book store in Berlin. Things don’t go exactly as planned and she ends up in over her head when the Berlin contact has her cover blown and winds up hiding in Kate’s hotel room. Kate’s handler refuses to help so Kate has to decide whether to abandon her counterpart or help her out. Her decision gets her in some hot water.
Maggie (Christina Ricci) and her obsession with John F. Kennedy drove the plot this week and the other crew members got swept up in her wake. Before the clipper Majestic has left New York she was already flirting with the journalists on board in an attempt to score a good seat for the speech. It seems she worked for Kennedy’s campaign and won a meeting with the candidate for raising the most money, a meeting that never took place. Now she is determined to shake the man’s hand and she finds a sympathetic ear in a young man from the Village Voice who helps get her a press pass. Her scheming manages to get the girls admitted to a party for Kennedy based on his love of stewardesses.
But it was Colette (Karine Vanasse) who really stole the show. The dramatic flash-forward in the opening minutes told us something had happened to her in Berlin we just didn’t know what. We find out that her parents disappeared during Germany’s occupation of France during World War 2 and she’s had a sore spot for Mother Germany ever since. She made a valiant attempt to hide her annoyance with Maggie’s enthusiasm for Kennedy’s speech and hid her emotions while our President voiced America’s support of West Germany after East Germany erected the Berlin Wall. Our first glimpse into her mood comes when she attacks Kate’s mysterious German friend who says her family used to deliver bread to the Embassy which had been the headquarters for German Air Command during the war meaning that her family were Nazis. Colette’s flashbacks to the Nazi occupation were chilling but her performance of the German National Anthem at Kennedy’s party was just heartbreaking. Of all the characters on this show I find myself drawn to Colette the most.
There wasn’t much going on this week for Captain Dean (Mike Vogel) but First Officer Ted (Michael Mosley) saw some action when he made a move on cover girl Laura (Margot Robbie). At first she seemed receptive but quickly froze up. Ted didn’t seem too put off though, but he did reveal when they were disembarking that he thought she was “different than other girls”. Indeed. Ted is kind of cute actually even if he is a bit of a player. I’m in favor of Laura dating him.
Pan Am took a dip in the ratings this week which is a shame. There has been no news indicating that ABC has picked up the series for a full season or not so if this decline continues I fear for the future. I’d really hate to see this show die so if you have been the least bit curious please give Pan Am a shot. Next Sunday our destination is the tropics so tune in Sunday at 10pm on ABC for some bikini action.
