Xenos

Mamma Mia!!! Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

PS. Im in NY, visiting fam & shopping! Teehee Bye!

"Who watches the watchmen?"
03.06.09
 

Oh and I don't like this new, more electronic version of "Remington's Theme" they use in the opening credits.

Memorable Stuff

- The whole "tonight's the night" conversation. Laura's excitement and Mildred's initial confusion as to the topic.
- Laura & Steele's chagrin as Mildred suggests to Insp. Vouvray that they can help him find the dagger.
- The scene in the hotel corridor: Steele's puzzlement, finally realizing what Laura's intent is and then, of course, the whole thing shot to pieces by the unwelcome visitor in his room. Love how Laura's still staring at the bed even as Joelle rushes into Mr. Steele's arms. Nice comic bit.
- Poor Ron. He's so wrong for Laura but it makes me laugh to see how she keeps pushing Mildred on him.
- We've been waiting for two years for Laura to tackle Mr. Steele. But it was supposed to be under different circumstances!
- Countess Von Krebs! Bwahahahaha! Love watching Doris playing it to the hilt.
- Freddy Smith is just sooo icky. Going undercover can be dangerous in more ways than one! Great comic scene fending him off and then using him to make Mr. Steele just a little jealous. Nice job by Mr. Steele in forcing her to drag out the roll in the hay with Freddy.
- I believe this is the only time we see both of them holding a gun on someone?
- Love how Laura mouths "oops" when they walk out of the inspector's house and see the lieutenant's red car.
- Mr. Steele's preoccupation with the finder's fee is cute.
 

Character Development

- The whole discussion while walking away from the hotel brings to light all sorts of issues that have obviously been chafing for some time now. He thinks she's too controlling, she doesn't think she can trust him. It's the same theme we see throughout the whole series. I think only counseling (and NOT at the Sensitivity Spa!) will help them.
 

Favorite lines

R: Those gentlemen back there? They'd like to kill me!
L: Well they'll have to take a number!
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L: Don't worry about the Palermo brothers. If we ever live through this little escapade, I'm gonna kill you myself!
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R: You are without a doubt one of the most obstinate women I've ever met.
L: Flattery will get you nowhere.
 

Hair & Clothing

- Love Laura's concert attire, both dress and hair. Mr. Steele in a tux is never a bad idea.
- Love how well both R&L's clothes shed the sand and sea water. Where can I find clothes like that? Though I do like Laura's outfit with the peach vest.
- Mr. Steele in a dinner jacket and Laura's yacht-wear are both very nice.
- Just like their break-in attire, they both look good in wet suits!
- LOVE Laura's outfit in the tag scene. And her hair is great too.
- I happen to like Mr. Steele's short hair
 

Goofs, Headscratchers & Misc

- I laugh every time I see that woman singing some completely different song while the rest of the group sings "Plenty of Nothing".
- How does Mr. Steele know the bicycle has no brakes? They're hand brakes on the front seat's handle bars.
 

What a perfect description of Season three, the Yo-Yo Season. It is sooooo
true.

You write that "only counseling will help them". I don't know about that.
I think that both Laura and Remington will be difficult clients and can
imagine them being a therapist's nightmare.

Isabel

Sometimes being a certified diver and knowing too much can be a real bummer:)

Denise

Boy, this ep is certainly a biggie in terms of The Relationship. I'm usually a big defender of Laura, but deciding that "tonight's the night" and then announcing it to Mildred is not a good way to get a relationship off on the right foot. I can see deciding, "okay, I'm ready, and if it happens, I won't pull back," but trying to force it is obviously the wrong approach. On the other hand, I can also see why she views it as her decision. Mr. Steele has made his desires pretty clear and is obviously just waiting for the green light from her. The indignation that he expresses about it later rings a little false, because if the girl hadn't been in his room, it's clear that he would have gone along with Laura's plan for the evening, even though she made it unilaterally.

Still, Laura's shift into seductive mode is so unnatural. I just cringe when she makes that comment about how you can order breakfast without getting out of bed. Yes, Laura, it's called room service, and could you be any less subtle? I unfortunately missed the discussion of the first episode of Season 2, but that's another instance in which Laura's attempts to be sexy are just embarrassing. The part where she asks that sleazy guy to rub more sun tan lotion on her makes me wince every time. At least in that episode she's just pretending, but for me, seductive Laura=awkward.

After Laura finds out that Steele has been using her to steal the Hapsburg dagger, I do not blame her for being angry and even considering ending their partnership. Steele is way out of line in leaving her in the dark. Of course she would have originally disapproved of his plan--and for good reason, as it obviously didn't work very well. But judging from all her past behavior, ultimately she would have helped him--and clearly he could have used some help. The least Steele could have done was to let her know what he was doing. Even if she disapproved and refused to help, telling her would have been the more honest and mature thing to do. Instead of facing Laura like an adult, he sneaks around behind her back. He claims that he doesn't want to be treated like an errant school boy, but that's exactly the way he behaves.

Also, Laura's distrustful attititude toward Steele is clearly just a stance that she takes to try to keep some appearance of control over her extremely precarious situation. She has amply proven--in Steel Framed, for example--that deep down she trusts Mr. Steele.

The moment on the yacht in which Mr. Steele kisses Laura and says "I'm getting worried" (or something like that) is an interesting one. I think he means that he's really worried that Laura is serious about ending their partnership, and it suddenly dawns on him how much he doesn't want that.

Steele is back to his more cool self in the balcony scene, though. I love his response to Laura's plan to "freeze" their romance. I have said many times that I think the freeze could have been a very good plot device if it had been utilized well, and it makes perfect sense that Laura would at least attempt to separate her business and personal life at some point. However, her explanation here doesn't make much sense. The problem in this episode doesn't really stem from the connection between their romantic and professional lives. Steele's plan to steal the Hapsburg dagger without telling Laura was a professional betrayal. The fact that they are involved makes her reaction to it much more intense, but it would have been a big problem even if they hadn't been romantically involved. In this case I don't see how the romantic/professional cross-over was the issue.

Other things that amuse and/or annoy me about this episode:

Already mentioned, but the woman who doesn't know the words cracks me up every time.

What's up with that girl kissing Steele? Do they have a past relationship? Not a very convincing characterization. And the guy who is pursuing Laura is totally clueless. After he sees her date, he still thinks he has a chance?

I LOVE the tackle on the beach. I also love the fact that Mr. Steele took Laura to see To Catch a Thief three weeks ago and then uses John Robie as his alias. Not a very smart move.

It's weird that Laura speaks French but knows absolutely no Spanish, even though she grew up in LA and has never been to Europe before. And in Steele Away With Me she says she should have taken French, so it seems that Laura took Spanish but somehow learned French. On the other hand, it seems that Steele doesn't speak any French even though many Brits learn French and he has evidently spent quite a lot of time in France.
When I first turned on this episode last night, I tried to get in the mindset of someone who had never seen it. At first I would have assumed that Laura and Steele were working together on some plan. The idea that Laura is singing at a Glee Club concert for real--that it's not a cover for a case--would never have occurred to me. It's not until Laura asks where Mr. Steele is that you realize he's doing something sneaky and that our duo will be at odds in the episode.

Boy, this ep is certainly a biggie in terms of The Relationship. I'm usually a big defender of Laura, but deciding that "tonight's the night" and then announcing it to Mildred is not a good way to get a relationship off on the right foot. I can see deciding, "okay, I'm ready, and if it happens, I won't pull back," but trying to force it is obviously the wrong approach. On the other hand, I can also see why she views it as her decision. Mr. Steele has made his desires pretty clear and is obviously just waiting for the green light from her. The indignation that he expresses about it later rings a little false, because if the girl hadn't been in his room, it's clear that he would have gone along with Laura's plan for the evening, even though she made it unilaterally.

Still, Laura's shift into seductive mode is so unnatural. I just cringe when she makes that comment about how you can order breakfast without getting out of bed. Yes, Laura, it's called room service, and could you be any less subtle? I unfortunately missed the discussion of the first episode of Season 2, but that's another instance in which Laura's attempts to be sexy are just embarrassing. The part where she asks that sleazy guy to rub more sun tan lotion on her makes me wince every time. At least in that episode she's just pretending, but for me, seductive Laura=awkward.

After Laura finds out that Steele has been using her to steal the Hapsburg dagger, I do not blame her for being angry and even considering ending their partnership. Steele is way out of line in leaving her in the dark. Of course she would have originally disapproved of his plan--and for good reason, as it obviously didn't work very well. But judging from all her past behavior, ultimately she would have helped him--and clearly he could have used some help. The least Steele could have done was to let her know what he was doing. Even if she disapproved and refused to help, telling her would have been the more honest and mature thing to do. Instead of facing Laura like an adult, he sneaks around behind her back. He claims that he doesn't want to be treated like an errant school boy, but that's exactly the way he behaves.

Also, Laura's distrustful attititude toward Steele is clearly just a stance that she takes to try to keep some appearance of control over her extremely precarious situation. She has amply proven--in Steel Framed, for example--that deep down she trusts Mr. Steele.

The moment on the yacht in which Mr. Steele kisses Laura and says "I'm getting worried" (or something like that) is an interesting one. I think he means that he's really worried that Laura is serious about ending their partnership, and it suddenly dawns on him how much he doesn't want that.

Steele is back to his more cool self in the balcony scene, though. I love his response to Laura's plan to "freeze" their romance. I have said many times that I think the freeze could have been a very good plot device if it had been utilized well, and it makes perfect sense that Laura would at least attempt to separate her business and personal life at some point. However, her explanation here doesn't make much sense. The problem in this episode doesn't really stem from the connection between their romantic and professional lives. Steele's plan to steal the Hapsburg dagger without telling Laura was a professional betrayal. The fact that they are involved makes her reaction to it much more intense, but it would have been a big problem even if they hadn't been romantically involved. In this case I don't see how the romantic/professional cross-over was the issue.

Other things that amuse and/or annoy me about this episode:

Already mentioned, but the woman who doesn't know the words cracks me up every time.

What's up with that girl kissing Steele? Do they have a past relationship? Not a very convincing characterization. And the guy who is pursuing Laura is totally clueless. After he sees her date, he still thinks he has a chance?

I LOVE the tackle on the beach. I also love the fact that Mr. Steele took Laura to see To Catch a Thief three weeks ago and then uses John Robie as his alias. Not a very smart move.

It's weird that Laura speaks French but knows absolutely no Spanish, even though she grew up in LA and has never been to Europe before. And in Steele away with Me she says she should have taken French, so it seems that Laura took Spanish but somehow learned French. On the other hand, it seems that Steele doesn't speak any French even though many Brits learn French and he has evidently spent quite a lot of time in France.

I love the cool phone Mildred takes the call on in the casino. I have to get me one, even though I don't know where I'll put it since I already have a vintage phone in every room with a phone jack. (I have a thing for vintage phones.)

I gave up long ago trying to pay attention to clothes and fashion in each episode. It's just not my thing. But I did notice that Laura looks so very pretty during the balcony scene.

ETA: Wow, I just realized how LOOOOONG this is. I didn't mean to go on so. But Xenos, you said you wanted some real posts!

I love the cool phone Mildred takes the call on in the casino. I have to get me one, even though I don't know where I'll put it since I already have a vintage phone in every room with a phone jack. (I have a thing for vintage phones.)

I gave up long ago trying to pay attention to clothes and fashion in each episode. It's just not my thing. But I did notice that Laura looks so very pretty during the balcony scene.

ETA: Wow, I just realized how LOOOOONG this is. I didn't mean to go on so. But Xenos, you said you wanted some real posts!

I agree that Laura deciding that "this is the night" and annoucing it to Mildred first, was not a smart thing to do. I too find it difficult when the writers try to make Laura act sexy, it is just not in character and it shows.
Heck, it makes ME feel uncomfortable.

Though I like this episode, I just knew that "this was not going to be the night" because it was just too good to be true. It bothered me that not only are the fans disappointed again, we now get a "freeze" on the relationship for most of the season.

Even though I first saw this episode almost 23 years ago, I remember thinking, ah let me check out what other shows are on this time period. For the first time since watching RS, I wondered whether I wanted to invest my time in this show. I decided to continue watching it, but it ended up being my least favorite Season.

Isabel

Really great set-up. The south of France… Laura’s Glee Club (which really needed help with lyrics, LOL!)… Remington stealing the Hapsburg Dagger, looking freakin’ HOT in all black and then pulling off that "bib" only to reveal a gorgeous tux that just made me want to rip it off of him and do him right there on the motorcycle. Whoops, sorry. Got a little carried away. Where was I? Oh, yes. Remington stealing the Hapsburg Dagger…Laura FINALLY coming to her senses and wanting to make love with God’s most beautiful creature…Yeah, baby!!! LOVE the dialog between Laura and Mildred. (Sorry, I know most of you don’t.) No, it’s not the appropriate thing to do, but it’s great fun! Without that scene, Laura’s attempted seduction would have fallen flat(ter). We now knew Laura’s mindset and it was a nice little bonding “gal-to-gal” scene. I remember seeing this scene for the first time…My heart started beating faster, my palms started to sweat...I was so excited! THEY WERE GONNA DO IT!!! And then…Aw, crap!!! Why?!?! WHY?!?!

Great line from Laura’s and Mildred’s little talk:

    Laura: These past two weeks, I don't know, something about being in Europe for the first time has opened my eyes, given me a new perspective on life.

    Mildred: All I got was a tan. 

Have to laugh at the reception when Remington says: “Not to dishearten you, Inspector, but after a while, even solving the most sensational cases of national importance becomes, as you say, you know, a tad routine." Makes me flash back to Laura’s comments to Richie in A Steele At Any Price: “Oh, believe me, after a while, it gets just as predictable as any other job. Find a body, find some clues, find the killer." LOL!

I’m sorry, but sometimes I just want to throttle Mildred! She KNEW Laura had sex on her mind…WHY did she volunteer Mr. Steele and Laura’s services to solve the case?!?! Sometimes I just want to slap that woman silly!!!

OK… Remington and Laura walking down the hallway in the hotel… OMG!!! They looked like movie stars there!!! Nice lighting… Nice music… And you’ll never see a better looking couple!!! OMG!!! And again, I have a very different view of that scene than most of you…I LOVE IT!!! Obviously, Mr. Steele is the more skilled of the two when it comes to the art of seduction. I find Laura’s attempt charming and realistic in that it doesn’t go exactly the way she plans. (And come on…I’m sure we can all relate to having an awkward moment or two like that at some point in our sexual careers!) She’s trying so hard … And Mr. Steele is so confused, the poor guy! You can just see it on his face -- that “what the heck, am I really gonna get some?!” look. *sigh* Damn that Joelle!!!

Love it when Laura has a “lightbulb moment” and realizes who John Roby is! (She looks really great in the white blouse and pants with the peach vest! GREAT look for her! Wish I had that outfit, actually.) And when she quotes “To Catch A Thief” complete with actors, studio and year…SUBLIME! She’s on the same wavelength as he now. *sigh* Don’t ask me why, but every time Stephanie delivers the line, “I think one of the gentlemen back there has a gun”, I laugh my butt off!!! I think it’s her inflection…It’s just so darn funny!

OK…Here we go…Mr. Steele WET!!! (The feeling is mutual!) [[bigeek]] Good God!!! Is there a more beautiful sight?!?! The way his clothes cling to his lean body…The way the water beads on his beautiful chest hair…The way his thick, black hair makes his incredible blue eyes seem even bluer. OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!!! There seriously aren’t enough OMGs to cover it!!! Tackle him, Laura!!! Tackle him!!! Straddle him!!! That’s it!!! Now DO HIM!!! A little sand never hurt anyone!!! (Also love how he smacks her butt as he tries to get her off…It’s so cute!)

I also enjoyed the scene with Remington, Laura, Henri and Joelle … Everything starts coming together and breaking apart. I almost cried when Henri says, “I think it beautiful mademoiselle Holt to sacrifice yourself for your partner." and Laura responds, “Ex-partner, Monsieur Lebret. When this case is finished, so are we." The look on Mr. Steele’s face is so… *sniffle and sigh*

And then the fight! Yeowsa!!! Now THAT’S a fight!!! Laura and Remington sure know how to do it! Very poignant and honest! As good as the fight in Sensitive Steele in my book! And no one can bicker like Brosnan and Zimbalist… Not Tracy and Hepburn… Not Willis and Shepherd… Not Pitt and Jolie. Sorry … Pierce and Steph RULE!!!

But it doesn’t end there! Then there’s the whole Beau Geste thing! Freakin’ awesome!!! Mr. Steele in a wet suit?!?! Mr. Steele in a white dinner jacket?!?! Scrum-dili-ili-umptious!!! *fanning myself* And Laura’s next attempt at seducing Freddy Smith? Hee-heeeeeee!!! So, SO funny!!! And Remington’s reaction? Priceless!

Great Lines:

    Remington: What happened, Laura? Libido get in the line of duty?

    Laura: We were halfway the bow when he stopped and said, `Why don't we start with my stateroom?' What was I supposed to do?

    Remington: You managed to hold me off for two years. The least you could have done was hold him up for five minutes.

And then the scene topped off with the luscious “Laura, I’m beginning to worry” kiss. Damn, he’s good! And you could so tell he wanted to continue… *sigh*

OK, this is getting way too long. Final thoughts…Loved the twist at the end – Vouvray and Deguiche the baddies. Nice! LOL about the finder’s fee. Poor Mr. Steele!!! And the end scene…Again, Pierce and Stephanie looked so perfect and beautiful!!! Geezo-Peezo!!! But, dammit, Laura!!! Would you stop with the not mixing business with pleasure crap!!! Loved Mr. Steele’s, “I give it a week.” So sweet!!! *sigh* God, I love that man!!!

As always…Thanks for reading!

Xenos

Mamma Mia!!! Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!
 

"God, I love that man!!!" by Xenos of SW and IMDb poster.

"And no one can bicker like Brosnan and Zimbalist". Soooooo true, I never thought of it. Good observation.

Love your post, Xenos. Thank you so much, but I have to stop reading them at work. They are just too funny and people are beginning to wonder why I am laughing.

Isabel 

I agree that Laura was very presumptuous in her decision that "tonight's the night" without thought to whether Steele would be into it then and there. I guess she took his comments to heart in Love Among the Steele when he told her he would always want her. I think a little spontaneity would have played much better though.

And why would Steele encourage the trip to Europe under questionable pretenses knowing full well that his real interest in the trip would piss her off and may place their relationship in jeopardy? Of course she is going to find out the real reason why he was there and will freak out, he's dealing with Laura for God's sake!!!!! When he has been honest with her in the past she has begrudgingly risen to the occasion and things worked out.

The fight is classic and Steele really lets her have it which is good to see for a change. As usual Laura feels betrayed by him sneaking around again and it brings up the old trust issues. And unfortunately Steele is up to his old tricks. He lied to Laura out of fear of her reaction if he were honest but he got the exact reaction he feared by being deceptive-- maybe even a worse one. What is up with their terrible communication?!?!

At least we see both of them taking this fight to heart and trying to make changes as illustrated in episodes like Blue Blooded Steele a little later.

While Season 3 is not my favorite, the time they spend "apart" seems to help develop their friendship which I really like. I think it's their friendship and respect for each other that would help them weather romantic issues that no doubt would have arisen if there were seasons beyond #5.

But couldn't they have done "it", just once, and said those three little words before the "freeze" though? That would have made for much more interest in Seasons 3 and 4.

P.S.: I love how Laura and Steele pay off Mildred's gambling debt without a huge argument and without making her feel worse than she already does. It shows how much love they all have for each other. But how did Mildred run up such a debt? Usually you have to have the money up front to gamble with in the first place unless you were a serious high roller which Mildred wasn't.
 

Presumably she was able to run up the debt using Steele's "personal line of credit", which is what he's told her to use to gamble with. Of course, there's no such thing as that either, so I guess it's all part of the "icebox", like Michael and the writers mention several times.

I'm really enjoying reading them all.

I really like the classic fight scene between LH and RS. I wish they would have gone at it a little longer though, maybe there wouldn't have been, as Xenos put it, Laura's stupidity at the end. But, then again, nothing's ever that simple when it comes to both of them!! :)

Just a thought.

Jill

My take on LH talking to Mildred about "tonight's the night" is that it goes back to "Love Among the Steele" where LH stated that she would keep Mildred posted "Gal to Gal" and also the fact that LH is trying to keep up her courage and by telling Mildred she has to "go through with it". I also interpret this conversation in that LH is going to let RS know she's ready to cross that line, not necessarily "jumping him". Hence the line "it will be romantic as only Mr. Steele can make it" (That is probably not the exact line, but I'm sure everyone knows which line I'm referring to.)

I too find LH's "seduction" rather endearing in its awkardness. I can so relate!

Great LH character line during their "fight" - "Where did I lose control of this conversation". Demonstrates RS's point so well.......

I do believe this is the first time the duo occupies transportation with chickens, but a theme we see several more times......what's up with that?:)

Love, love the kiss on the Beau Jeste and the fact that LH responds even though she dosen't "want" to. RS staking his claim!

Like how the fact that even though they are "fighting" through out the mystery, they work so well together.

On the Beau Jeste - PB's facial expressions when Freddie is putting the moves on LH at the buffet table. We know just what RS is thinking!

Love the scene in the Beau Jeste stateroom - all of it! Especially RS watching LH on the bed with Freddie Smith and the ensuing argument after and yet RS still cleanily opens the safe all the while arguing with LH. "You managed to hold me off for 2 years, the least you could have done was hold him off for 5 minutes" priceless! Also love SZ acting in the scene - the way she incorporates "go" into her moaning and the intonation of "Just finish the job, please"

I too am puzzled that RS's character dosen't speak French. Seems out of place with a "Continental" Con Man. You would think that a man in his former line of work would have needed to learn and speak French.

OK - I think that's it, all though I am sure I forgot something, but of course I left my notes at home and I am typing this on my lunch hour at work.....
 

Also since she was the one unilaterally deciding tonight's the night then she should be the one to make it romantic. What kind of half arsed seduction is that? She gives the signal that tonight's the night, and then expects Steele to make it romantic for her? Since as Steele so accurately said - she put him off for two years and it's her decision maybe she should woo him with some romance and with something less clunky and cheesy than the room service line. How about she takes him somewhere romantic and buys him a magnum of champagne? How about she exerts a little romantic effort to try and balance out all the effort he's poured out over two years of wooing her. Basically she does what she wrongly accuses him of -- she trots out some clunky innuendo (in her case badly delivered) and tries to give him a wink and a tumble.

But this is all so in character that the writing actually can't be faulted. Laura IS a control freak. She's also rotten at seduction. Even with Freddy on the boat it's more comical than actually seductive. As said above it's reminiscent of her trying to play femme fatale in an athletic looking one piece in Steele Away With Me. Awkward as hell. So it fits. And of course Steele will say yes-- even if he is offended by her unilateral high handedness. 1) it's been TWO YEARS and 2) he's a MAN. That doesn't mean he can't take umbrage or feel used afterwards. LOL

I don't think Steele could have got away to Cannes without Laura tracking him down (see Blue Blooded) and maybe sticking up the works so that's why he arranged for them to go together and hopefully be preoccupied enough he could do his business. If he wasn't so sloppy with his discarded expensive easily traced neck ware and using Cary Grant aliases he'd have actually got away undetected -- well until Gisele and the Palermo Bros showed up. As gorgeous and hot he looked in black doing what he does best it was very disappointing to see him do that not so well! Two years of the soft life and he's got all sloppy!

No I don’t think there was any relationship between Steele and Gisele. She kissed him; he politely kissed her back and then shuffled her off like a little sister. It's actually very reminiscent of To Catch a Thief in that regard -- with the forward younger woman -- but there the daughter of the former friend was actually the cat burglar/betrayer.

He was right that he couldn't tell her what he was going to do and then do it. She would have said no and not just because she didn’t like his plan but because as he said there's a rather lopsided lean in their power relationship and that some partners or more equal than others. He knew he'd do it anyway and maybe he thought arguing about it to begin with would have created an either/or scenario he didn't want to face. So he was acting like an errant school boy then, he should have stood his ground and told her what he wanted and if she couldn't accept it or compromise then so be it. I do think Laura would have eventually bent though not to his specific plan and not before giving him more than an earful but in the end it would have been again on her terms not his and he evidently didn't want that.

This is their best fight along with Sensitive because it brings out so many issues that are often swept under the rug and for once Steele actually says what he feels (and he has some very legitimate gripes) - probably because the *beep* has already hit the fan - that "some partners are more equal than others" and it's not working for him. That her unilateral decisions go from the boardroom to the bedroom. Her lack of respect for him as an equal shows up again in Puzzled where she tells him he's a pretty face and nothing more.

I find this dynamic fascinating because Laura has a need to control him and at times undercut his worth but if she could actually control him and if she didn't actually respect him as an equal would she want him? If he toed the line and let her be boss would they even have a relationship worth having? Isn't part of what fascinates her most about him that he's his own man, that he has mysteries she can't crack and yet this self sufficient charming intelligent (gorgeous!) enigmatic man wants her -- just her.

Laura tackling Steele on the beach -- I'm not sure I could add more than Xenos has but DAMN (and yes he looked so lovely wet). That might be the most physical they got with each other and what a wasted opportunity when one has Steele prone and panting heavily between one's legs. :D

The Goldfinger homage - wonderful use of the dry suits and his white dinner jacket underneath. The possessive grab and kiss and her instinctive response -- just mmmmm. I do think he's afraid she meant it that they're no longer partners -- professionally or personally.

Mildred certainly has nerve so baldly demanding a raise in Coffee Steele or Tea (and after she screwed up the case and their cover!). If I was Steele I'd have said OK but I'm going to start deducting weekly what you cost me in Cannes. :p  Offering her a personal line of credit was one thing -- it did not invite the loss of 250,000 francs. Also, that dagger must not be as expensive as it's made out to be, that's not a lot for a 10% finder's fee. Not to mention that Mildred was being willfully oblivious that they wanted to be alone and so he basically had to pay for the privilege.

Steele not knowing French -- how could he have been a successful smuggler in France let alone mingle with and plot against the upper crust and their jewels and artwork. Doesn't make much sense. Neither do Laura's - she can speak French she can't depending on the episode.  Of course no one specificlaly says Steele can't speak French, Laura just automaticlaly translates -- maybe she assumes for Steele and most probably for the audience.

Speaking of not making all that much sense -- there's Laura's decision at the end, or at least the phrasing of it. Steele showed he was untrustworthy on a professional level more than personal so she decides to keep him as a professional partner and end the personal side of the relationship. But then maybe to Laura it was more personal betrayal because he didn't trust her and showed himself to be untrustworthy. Maybe she feels she can take one but not both at the same time so she chooses to keep him as her business partner. Maybe she thinks he can keep a sharper eye on him then. Or maybe she realizes her control has slipped in both areas, knows she can't exert it in one area and decides to concentrate on the other and keep him better in line. Or who knows -- she or rather the writers have a different excuse at the start of each season. :P

Her reaction to Steele's quick acceptance and how she seems thrown by it even as she thanks him -- as if she expected or wanted a fight shows that she really doesn't want it. When he says he gives it a week I think she smiles from relief that he really wasn't so easily accepting.

I do think this scenario was ripe for exploration but the show dropped the ball. We had episodes here and there during the break that built on this and explored their relationship apart and what was gained and missing but there wasn't enough and the payoff brought them to almost the same level they were at in Season Two instead of a higher one and then Approval happens almost out of the blue and OUCH.

Fashion: Their clothes as in all the European episodes are fantastic -- casual and formal. 
 

    Even though I first saw this episode almost 23 years ago, I remember thinking, ah let me check out what other shows are on this time period. For the first time since watching RS, I wondered whether I wanted to invest my time in this show. I decided to continue watching it, but it ended up being my least favorite Season.
 

My experience exactly! I sat, bored, week after week, waiting for Laura to come to her senses and being constantly disappointed. I remember turning off episode after episode when they were over thinking, "That's it? Where's the romance?!" It was really the only reason I watched as a kid. Without it, what was the point? Well--besides drooling over Pierce. Now I can appreciate the mysteries some and the comedy even more, but the romance is still the main draw for me.

Anyway, I hung in through season 3 as a kid and breathed a huge sigh of relief at the "thaw." But, I think I missed a lot of the reruns and didn't care much. It's my least favorite season too (not including 5 of course).
 

Again, I liked the idea of separating them in order to make them see what they really wanted and missed, to give them new perspective and there are some great episodes. But there was no consistent arc to that story. We didn't really get a build up to the thaw or a build up after it and the wham-- Approval. Approval was another change for a break thru and that really didn't happen and I think that's why ratings went down in the Fourth Season. Not because they weren't bickering as much but because there was all that to and fro build up and no real payoff to get them to another level.