Episode Guide

Season 3

Episode 25- The Man Who Cried Wife

The Case

James Bauer hires Blue Moon to find his wife. Dave and Maddie take the case and start looking for Melissa Bauer. They confront Mr Bauer whan they find that he lied to him and that he was with her the night she disappeared. He admits he hit her, she fell down the stairs and she died. He then buried her in the woods. The next day she called him and began harassing him after that. He checked the grave in the woods and it was empty. He's sure he killed her, and is afraid he's going crazy. That's why he wants them to find her. Maddie wants to drop the case, she doesn't want to help a man who is a "murder or murderer maybe" or anyone who would hit his wife. David doesn't want to drop the case as he understands how things like this can happen in a "act of passion." Later Maddie has a "act of passion" and has a change of heart and offers to help David with the case. They trace a call from the dead woman and go to find her. The find her just in time to see her drive over a cliff. Mr Bauer leaves his wife's funeral confused. He goes to see Maddie and David because nothing makes sense, he's sure he killed her. They return to the funeral and discover the truth.

What's Really Going on Chris?

First appearance of MacGilicuddy! He eloped over the weekend after knowing the girl for one day. Maddie disapproves. David and Maddie get into a discussion about the merits of spontaneity vs thinking things through. Maddie advocates carefully considering options, weighing the pros and the cons of a situation before making a decision. She believes spontaneity is for lazy people who don't want to take responsibility for their actions and then use spontaneity as an excuse. David claims that those who think things through are afraid of living life and use their "thinking" in order to delay making any decision at all. He believes in passion and "spontaneous combustion." Maddie says that "heat is cheap" and you have to get to know someone and make sure you're not making a mistake.
When they find out Bauer hit and possibly killed his wife they argue again. David argues that even the law makes allowances for acts of passion, irrational, spontaneous acts. Maddie unconvinced, orders David to not continue with the case, but he does anyway.
Later that night, David returns to the office to find Maddie waiting for him. She is livid that he continued with the case despite her instructions not to. He insults her and then she slaps him. She apologizes and says it was an accident. David reproaches her and says he knows her better than that, she doesn't believe in spontaneity and "damn well doesn't believe in passion." The next day she goes to Bauer's to help David. An unspoken apology and acceptance pass between them.
At the end of the episode they revisit their earlier discussion. Maddie admits she may have been wrong about spontaneity and a lot of other things. They open up the empty office and stop at Agnes's desk. Maddie kisses David, but then the scene replays itself and this time David kisses Maddie. Then the scene replays again and we find out they really didn't kiss at all, but each imagined kissing each other. They go to their separate offices as the employees show up for work.

Chris's Obsessive Analysis

Ok, I'll admit it, this episode my absolute favorite episode. It's not the funniest, steamiest, most creative or clever of the run, but the argument about spontaneity vs thinking is the best (and there is kissing at the end!) This discussion further fleshes out characters of Dave and Maddie and gives us insight into how they view love and each other. It's obvious during the discussion that David highly values passion, instant attraction, and chemistry. It's clear (to us the audience) that he is talking about how he feels about her. Maddie on the other hand tells us that she has to think about it, weigh the pros and cons, make sure someone is right for you before you get involved. It's apparent that she is putting David through this "process" of hers. The great thing about this discussion, as is true of all great Maddie and Dave debates, is that they are both righ and both wrong. Maddie is right about another thing, David is accusing her of being afraid of life. It's really a thinly veiled accusation of her being afraid of making a decision about him.
The last scene is telling. They both finally agree that spontaneity has a place, yet are both still afraid of it when it relates to each other. They both want to kiss, but are both still afraid of making the first, spontaneous, move.

Memorable Moments

The whole slap scene
The last scene with the imagined kisses

Links

Back to the Episode Guide main page
The next episode, "Symphony in Knocked Flat"
Brian's "The Man Who Cried Wife" page
Aubrey's Blue Moon Banter page for this episode