Review:  Pan Am – Season 1, Episode 8 – “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”

Air date: Sunday, December 4 at 10/9c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

After a three-week hiatus, Pan Am is no longer grounded. It wisely returns to the storylines that appeal most to the fans of the show: heavy in retro glamour, espionage and romance.  The Cameron sisters are recruited to assist in two different missions; Maggie (Christina Ricci) pushes for nuclear race policy change while both Dean (Mike Vogel) and Colette (Karine Vanasse) suspiciously claim to be ill.  “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” is one busy hour of television.

Capt. Dennis Thorton (John Bedford Lloyd), Dean’s replacement and a WWII veteran, is a thorn in the sides of the Pan Am crew as his rudeness and inappropriate behavior disrupt their established routine. I always enjoy scenes where women subversively get back at men who are full of themselves. In “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” Laura Cameron (Margot Robbie) wonderfully plays the ditzy blonde card to get back at Thorton for trying to peek through her blouse and generally treating her as a second class citizen.

The Pan Am Crew are out of sorts and not pleased with Dean’s replacement for the flight.

Unfortunately, her insubordinate act lands her in hot water. Guess who rescues her yet again?  My favorite funny guy in the show, Ted Vanderway (Michael Mosley)!  However, this time he wants something in return and intends to collect from Laura during a London layover. All the gutter-minds are probably disappointed that he needs help from a sneak attack his parents orchestrate, forcing him to meet with a former ice queen he once fancied but who wouldn’t give him the time of day: Amanda Hartford Mason (Ashley Greene from the Twilight series and guest starring in a multi-episode arc).  Things don’t go as Ted’s parents plan and I’m betting cash he will be seeing two ladies fighting for his attention.

Colette can’t believe she and Dean are “hooking,” much to Dean’s amusement. He quickly but gently corrects her English by pointing out they are playing hooky.  Maybe it’s because I speak more than two languages but I’m intolerant when shows take what I perceive to be the easy way out in handling foreign language situations. I’ve had questions about Pan Am in the past but this addition to the dialogue – along with my other favorite one, “lobby lizards,” is a realistic slang-related mistake often made by non-native speaking people – despite it being cute.

Colette hesitates with Dean’s “no big deal” plans. It’s a hint at things to come and I don’t expect the visit to go as badly as it does.  Dean is completely humiliated by his father (Jim Coope) asking where former girlfriend Bridge Pierce (Annabelle Wallis) is in front of Colette. As if that isn’t enough, he goes for the gold when he flat out asks if Colette is pregnant!

Bill Lowry (Jim Coope) put his son Dean (Mike Vogel) on the spot when he visits the family farm.

Maybe the man would have a preferred a more traditional career for his son (like in the Air Force), but it doesn’t give him the right to be rude. Or perhaps he resents or envies his son “jetting to God knows where?” Whatever his beef is, he should have addressed it with only his son.

The silver lining of this awful incident is that Dean and Colette finally talk about the 500-lb. gorilla in the room: Bridget. It’s obvious Colette has some heavy emotional baggage of her own but I always thought Dean got over Bridget a little too fast. I guess we’ll find out what his real feelings are next week.

The most elaborate plot line of the episode involves fan favorite Kate Cameron (Kelli Garner), who naively fools herself into thinking she’s on her last mission. Her supposedly simple courier task of transporting a list turns into something more when her London contact, Anderson (David Harbour), informs her there’s a hitch in the plans. When Kate refuses to go on, Anderson forces Kate to comply by telling her Niko Lonza is at the top of the list, which also happens to include Bridget Pierce. I like how Garner plays Kate as a compassionate caring person with certain edge but it’s her instincts that make her a natural as a spy—especially when things go wrong.

The ever feisty Maggie Ryan has to contend with the collision of her two lives:  glam-girl Pan Am stewardess and her beatnik lifestyle with politically involved friends. Staying true to her beliefs causes her to zero in on Congressman Christopher Rawlings (Chris Beetem), who is on his way to the World’s Atomic Symposium to deliver a big speech on nuclear policy.  When a bar conversation moves to Rawling’s bedroom, it’s a safe bet the very determined Maggie is going to do more than just debate with him. But isn’t sleeping with a man who holds views one abhorrently despises – even with the hopes of changing his mind – compromising one’s views in some capacity? After their passionate moment and her failure to change the man’s position, the ever impulsive Maggie gets the brilliant idea of burning his speech. That starts a fire in the hotel which leads to an evacuation which ultimately puts Kate’s mission in jeopardy as she is in the same hotel. The visual of a bra-clad Maggie vacating the posh London hotel as “Fly Me to the Moon” is being blasted is pretty amusing. The sex must have been that good because we see Rawlings running after her despite her pushiness and pyromaniac action.This is most definitely a ‘to-be-continued’ situation between these two.

“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” lives up to its name. After all the kissing that happens, the episode ends with a bang as Kate fires a shot that appears to save Anderson’s life. I can only guess her mission has gotten even more complicated and this is only the beginning. It’s a great way to end the episode as it leaves me with a myriad of questions:  Will Colette and Dean continue to ‘fly’ together?  Will Maggie tire of her Congressman before she can change her mind? Will Ted’s new paramour force Laura to face her feelings? Will Kate ever see Niko again?  These are all questions I hope are answered soon.

Tune in to Pan Am Sundays at 10pm ET/PT on ABC.

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