Episode Guide

Season 4

Episode 39- A Trip to the Moon


The Case

There is none

What's Really Going on Chris?

Maddie wakes up from a "Honeymooners" dream she is having except it is called "Blue Mooners" and stars her, David, Agnes and Richie. She turns over in bed to see David there, again. We find out that they have been "together" for the last month. Maddie seems upset. David suggests bringing some of his things over, she suggests "knocking the whole thing off." She asks David where the relationship is going as she fears they actually don't have one because the only thing they do is have sex "like in a sordid foreign film." David has no answer for her, and he tells her that him bringing some of his things over shows that the relationship is going forward. She asserts that they don't have a relationship, a relationship starts small, builds, you go on a few dates, you find out you have something in common. She yells that they have never been on a date, they have nothing in common and all they do is thrash at each other. David admits they have done things out of order, but he likens it to skipping to the the last chapter in a book- the good part. David begs her to tell him what to do. She tells David as she leaves for work that she doesn't know what to do but that she knows she doesn't, "want to do this anymore."
Maddie gets to the office and flops on her couch deep in thought. She puts the pillow over her head and Agnes walks in. Agnes is worried about Maddie but Maddie won't say anything to her except that she is "having a nervous breakdown and would like to do it in private." Meanwhile, David comes to work. He brings Maddie some plastic flowers. He tells her that he is the happiest he has ever been, but Maddie tells him that she is sad. He admits that their relationship is screwed up, but it's not all his fault. Maddie claims that it has nothing to do with fault, it just doesn't work between them. David says that she wouldn't know because she wasn't there, that she never "gave herself to this thing." She gets angrier and yells she did "give herself to this thing, who do you think was lying beside you, under you, on top of you." David says so what. Maddie tells him that she doesn't give herself to to people- not the way she has to David. She yells that they are a disaster and she doesn't know what to do about it. David says that he does, they should start over and go on a date. Maddie accuses him of doing this because he doesn't want to sleep alone, but he yells that it has nothing to do with that. He observes that she won't let herself be happy and won't commit to their relationship. He asks her why it is a secret, why they haven't told anyone about them. He tells her that he thinks she is ashamed or embarassed of them. He just wants her to be happy and wants other people to know. She sarcastically asks him if he wants her to go into the office and tell everyone they are sleeping together. He thinks this is a good idea and threatens to do it. Maddie blocks the door, but he gets out. He tells everyone in the office he has an announcement and then he informs them that he has fallen head over heels in love with Maddie and asks her for a date. She says yes and leaves.
Maddie has a dream sequence with Dr Joyce Brothers in which she questions if David is the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. David has a dream sequence with Ray Charles where he ponders losing his freedom and masculinity by commiting to a relationship/marriage. David picks Maddie up. He admits he's nervous, she admits she's ambivalent. David is afraid they will get into an argument with this discussion and tries to cut off the conversation, but that leads to an argument anyway and Maddie goes back into the house. David put on a show outside her front door to get her to come out. She finally does and they leave.
Five hours later they end up at an all night laundromat. It's 2 am. Dave is really trying to be nice but by her own admission, Maddie is "a bitch." David tries to convince her that they bring out the best in each other because they know each others garbage and were able to read each other the minute they met. He tells her that they each have a "bad case" of each other, and admits he's never had a bad case of anyone. Maddie tells him that she loves him, but that he is beyond her limits. She claims that she can't handle the friction and the extreme temperatures (white hot or icy cold) their relationship has. She needs something in the middle. She tells him it's over and they need to get out of each other's lives for her mental health. He convinces her to one last goodbye dance. She tells him she's really not sure what to do , not even ending it. David suggests that they keep trying, and they both say I love you. Maddie decides to go home and think. She leaves telling him that she knows he wants an answer but that she can't give her one. She tells him not to dance with anyone else.
Maddie has more "Blue Mooners" dreams and wakes up in a cab at the airport. She asks for a domestic flight schedule and gets on a plane.

Chris's Obsessive Analysis

Maddie is still freaked out. She doesn't understand why she keeps this "thing" with David going. It frightens her the way she has "given' herself to David despite what she tells herself she thinks. She still thinks their relationship is screwed up because they haven't followed the 'rules' of how she thinks two people are supposed to fall in love. Her mind is so clouded that she convinces herself that they don't have a relationship. She's wrong, they do. They have been business partners and best friends for almost 3 years. She attempts to separate their personal and business relationships to her detriment, they can't be separated. They been enmeshed since day one. She's also wrong about the dates. She and David have been on a number of "official" dates (4 by my count) and actually I feel every day that they showed up for work was a "quasi" date. At this point she and David are way past the dating part of relationship building. The purpose of dating is to getting to know someone. She and David know each other almost too well, they've discussed everything from sex and love to euthansia. Maddie continues to convince herself that David is the wrong man for her because he isn't the 'type' she is 'supposed' to be with. Why is she in so much denial? Because she's afraid of David. David brings out strong emotions and a very sexual side of Maddie that frightens her. When she's with David she's not in control the way she likes to be. Maddie describes herself as "thinker" several times in the series. When she's with David she doesn't think much and doesn't know how to deal with all the emotions she feels. Maddie is accused of being afraid of David a few times in the coming 2 seasons, but she always denies it.
On the other hand David hasn't given a thought to where the relationship is going, he seems to be "going with the flow." But this is a miscalculation on his part. Just as they are way past the 'dating' phase of relationship building, they are also way past they 'going with the flow' phase. But he refuses to commit any more to this relationship than he sees Maddie committing to it. He's still waiting for her to make the first move to commit in order to protect himself from getting hurt. That's why he's is so annoyed that they are a secret. But we have to give him credit, at least he tries with his office proclamation of his love for Maddie. His dream sequence shows that Maddie is not the only one with fears about getting involved with each other. David is afraid that he will be forced to change too much for her.
Why does she go to Chicago? Because she's having a nervous breakdown, just like she told Agnes. It is completely out of character for her- but that is precisely the point. People having breakdowns do things that are out of character. She's being emotional, irrational, impulsive and irresponsible (sound like someone else we know?) This marks a role reversal for her and David because now David will become the responsible and committed one, until she gets back from Chicago.
One question that may never be answered is whether David proposed to Maddie that night. He tells Mr Hayes in "Father Knows Last" that he proposed to Maddie and that she said no. But this is the last episode where they actually see each other until she comes back. They only speak on the phone twice, once in the next episode and again in "Cool Hand Dave-Part 1" and neither conversation involves a proposal. One would have to conclude that, if David is telling the truth (which I think he is) that it had to have happened in the 5 hours between them leaving Maddie's house and getting to the laundromat. Maddie does leave the laundromat telling David that she knows he wants an answer, but she can't give him one. An answer to what? We can't be sure. She could be referring to answer about whether the relationship will continue, and actually this makes the most sense. Theories abound. I believe that David told the truth to Mr Hayes, but that the whole proposal thing was thrown in by the writers at the last minute and it just wasn't in continuity with what had happened before. I think this theory is less cruel than the alternatives offered, that the proposal scene was filmed but edited out of some episode, or that it was meant to be off camera.

Memorable Moments

Links

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