Episode Guide

Season 5

Episode 58-Take My Wife, For Example


The Case

Divorce lawyer Betty Russell, "the barracuda," hires Blue Moon to see if her client, Lydia Kraft's, marriage can be saved. After having a heart attack recently, Ms Russell is feeling guilty to being a party to breaking up so many marriages. The Kraft's had a chance at reconciliation, which Ms Russell ignored, and now she wants Dave and Maddie to determine if Mr Kraft is really in love with his new girlfriend. If not, then Ms Russell is confident she can pave the way for a Kraft reconciliation.
Dave and Maddie follow Nathan Kraft and his girlfriend. The girlfriend meets another man after Kraft leaves. Lydia Kraft reveals in court that she's having an affair with Nathan's business partner. Shortly thereafter Nathan's business partner ends up dead and Nathan Kraft is missing and accused of the murder. That's when "the barracuda" discovers the truth.

What's Really Going on Chris?

David shows up on time for a meeting at work! The client is late and Maddie complains that he should've come in early so that they could discuss the course of action they will take on the case. David marvels that she would ask for him to come in early, when he just started coming in on time after years of her nagging. Besides, he claims it's the cabdrivers fault. Maddie asks him where his car is, in all the years they've known each other she's never seen it. He admits he pawned it. Maddie gives him some financial advice, to save his money and not spend it all. He tells her that he wants to spend his money and enjoy life, and one of her problems (one of many he adds) is that she doesn't know how to do that. She advises investing it so that he will earn some interest. David replies, "if my life gets any more interesting, they'll have to chain me to a wall and give tours." (Which is my favorite David line of the whole series.)
While following Mr Kraft and his girlfriend at the mall, Maddie and David talk about dating and relationships. Maddie mentions that she's always wanted a pearl necklace. David tells her to buy one, Maddie says no, it's too expensive. Maddie explains that the difference between him and her is that he just buys whatever he wants and she doesn't. Eventually the discussion turns into a discussion about "us." Maddie begins by asking David if he's seeing anyone. David evades the question by saying he's mostly at work and then asks Maddie if she is seeing anyone. She says that she is busy with work, but does go out occasionally. David asks if it is anyone interesting. Maddie denies this and David sarcastically offers to set her up. Maddie presses to find out if David is seeing anyone and David generically answers women.
Their discussion continues as they comment on Mr Kraft and his girlfriend's actions. David presents a stereotypically male point of view and Maddie provides the female response. David claims that dating is a misinformation campaign. Maddie claims if you are a good judge of character you know everything about a person when you first meet them, as she did with David. David replies that he must be a bad judge of character because there were a few things about Maddie that surprised him. She finally badgers David into telling her what one of the surprises were. He finally tells her that he doesn't think she's a very generous person and that she's never given him a gift. She denies this but then can't think of a gift that she's ever given David and then accuses him of never giving her a gift. David then goads Maddie into telling him one thing that surprised her. She tells him that he kisses too hard and never let her kiss back. When Maddie sees how much this irritates David she tries to backpedal and say it's not a complaint, just a personal preference and that he was an ideal lover in every other way.
They both go back to the office bothered by the other's comments. Maddie goes shopping for a gift for David and David practices kissing the girls in the office. Maddie ends up buying David a car, a Yugo. He really doesn't like it, but pretends to because he appreciates the gesture from Maddie. He send Bert on an errand in an attempt to get the car stolen, but it doesn't work. Luckily, during the chase, the car gets totaled.
At the end, David gives Maddie the pearl necklace that she wanted, using the insurance money from the Yugo. She thanks him by laying him over her desk and giving him a very passionate kiss. She comments that he's been practicing his kissing and it's "not bad." She asks him to thank "the girls" for her.

Chris's Obsessive Analysis

Again, this case reflects Dave and Maddie's relationship. While Dave and Maddie investigate to see if the Kraft's relationship can be saved, Maddie and David complain about what went wrong with theirs. Ultimately we find out that the Kraft marriage is beyond saving. David even says that saving the relationship would be like "putting toothpaste back in the tube." But is he talking about the Kraft's or him and Maddie? I think that this episode gives us, the fans, hope that David and Maddie still care and might have a shot at reconciliation. Their discussion in the mall seems to prove that. They really do know how to get to each other, don't they? Maddie criticizes the bedrock of David's self-image, his sexuality. David's complaint about Maddie's generosity also attacks her self image and something that has always been important to her- her wealth. If they really didn't care anymore, why does each of them go out of their way to make up for this seeming deficiency the other pointed out? If there really was no hope left for them why did David give Maddie the pearls? Pearls are an extremely expensive and personal gift, and he knew she wanted them but never would buy them for herself. If there were really no hope, why does Maddie not only kiss him, but kiss him so passionately and for such a long time? If they really didn't care, why bother with any of this? Maddie tells David in the mall that her mother always told her that "you're not a real woman until you own a pearl necklace." Does this mean David Addison made Maddie Hayes a "real woman?" I can just hear David smirking.

Memorable Moments

Links

Back to the Episode Guide main page
The next episode, "I See England, I See France, I See Maddie's Netherworld"
Brian's "Take My Wife, For Example" page
Aubrey's Blue Moon Banter page for this episode

This page is copyright © 2000 by Christine Graves