Episode Guide

Season 5

Episode 54- Between a Yuk and a Hard Place

The Case

Joan Spring hires Blue Moon to find out if her husband is in love with her. She found a wedding ring with the name Christina among his things and is worried that he may be hung up on a former love or possibly a former wife. He denies being married before, but she wants to know for sure. Dave and Maddie find out that Christina was Dennis Spring's former wife who died 10 years ago in a car accident. Dennis was accused of the murder but found innocent. He changed his name from Jones to Spring and moved to LA. After Dave and Maddie tell Joan the truth, she dies in a car accident too. Dennis Spring admits to the murder but Dave and Maddie confront Christina's brother Harold and figure out what really happened. Then a good chase ensues in a hot air balloon.

What's Really Going on Chris?

Maddie is not dealing with the loss of the baby, she's burying herself in work to compensate. David's not dealing with it either, he's avoiding work, Maddie and has hardly been in at all in the past 2 weeks. Agnes is worried about them. She's concerned that their tragedy will drive them apart. Bert tries to convince her that they're both fine.
David actually shows up at work at a time when Maddie is there. She asks him into her office to talk. They both awkwardly claim they're doing fine while expressing concern about the other person. David implies that Maddie is not fine and he wishes she'd take all these cases for a more normal reason. She tells him he has no right to criticize which cases she takes until he starts showing up to work on a semi-regular basis. Joan Spring shows up. Their discussion continues later in the car, where they both accuse the other of being in denial. They both deny that they're denying anything. They then both agree to bear their souls to each other, but David picks up a hitchhiker so that they don't have to talk about it anymore.
On the way back to the office, David tells Maddie that he's leaving to take a surveillance class in Virginia and that he's not sure when he'll be back. Maddie looks sad but acts like it's no big deal. Later, at the office, Agnes finds out about David's trip. David is sadly looking at one of his Lamaze books when Agnes walks into his office. She attempts to talk to David about how both he and Maddie are acting like they are fine, but she knows that they aren't. She tries to talk David into talking with Maddie, but David won't do it. Agnes leaves his office and runs to Bert. She tells Bert that they have to do something, but Bert refuses. Agnes goes to Macgilicuddy and they begin hatching a plan. As David leaves his office, he finds Maddie at the elevator. He thinks about trying to avoid her but it's too late, he's sure she heard him singing down the hall. They get into the elevator and get stuck. They avoid talking to each other even though at times it seems that they want to. Finally, David gets irritated by the Muzak in the elevator and smashes the speaker with his briefcase. Maddie starts crying uncontrollably and David goes over to her and hugs her. She continues crying in his arms and then sleeps in his lap. The next morning they sing, hold hands and emerge from the elevator arm in arm.
While talking to Dennis Spring they hold hands. They do case stuff. At the end of the chase, when David is back on the ground, he tells Maddie that the only thing he could think of was her. She hugs him and they roll around in the deflated hot air balloon. It's hard to tell if they were kissing or not, it's possible.

Chris's Obsessive Analysis

After the baby is gone, Maddie probably thought she should 'release' David from his commitment to her as he said (in "And the Flesh Was Made Word") it was predicated on the arrival of the baby. Maybe this explains why Maddie says after losing the baby, "We'll never be the same." They both rebuilt their relationship around the baby. It gave them an easy way to stay together (and heck get married!) without doing what they both seemed to fear so much, admitting to each other how they really feel about each other. This would explain why they both act so weird in "Between a Yuk and a Hard Place." They were both too afraid to talk about how they really feel and what they should do now that the baby is gone so they just avoid each other instead.
When was the last time David told Maddie he loved her? I think it was in the Laundromat. I'm convinced Maddie had no idea whether David loved her anymore (although I believe he did.) After the Walter fiasco and losing the baby and David's silence on the subject, I guess I can't blame her. On the other hand, David is a man of action, not words. He probably figures that Maddie should know how he feels because he was willing to marry her and raise a child that possibly wasn't his (he is the guy who said, "I don't have to say anything, you know it and I know it, you feel it and I feel it.) I also think David was confused about how he felt about Maddie, his love was now clouded by anger. I'm not sure he ever really forgave her. I think that they both were waiting and hoping for the other person to say something, anything, to indicate that they were still in love. They both knew the other still cared, but neither of them ever let on it was still love.
And what was this Virginia nonsense? It seemed that David was really hesitant when he told Maddie in the car he was going to VA. I think he wanted her to say and gave her the opportunity to say something like, please stay, I don't want you to go, etc. Maddie looked really sad when he told her he was going. I think she wanted to say something like he wanted to hear but she didn't. What a pair of idiots. I swear, sometimes I still want to throw things at the TV! I think he wanted to hear that she needed him. He knew she needed him for the baby, but once the baby was gone, he didn't know where he stood. Luckily, Agnes and Macgilicuddy helped them out. Once David felt needed (in the elevator), he stayed.
I also think the love David and Maddie have for each other has changed. It is deeper and more mature now and is no longer just based on their sexual magnetism. I think they both have trouble adjusting to this (as does some of the audience!)

Memorable Moments

Maddie and David denying their denial
The balloon chase

Links

Back to the Episode Guide main page
The next episode, "The Color of Maddie"
Brian's "Between a Yuk and a Hard Place" page
Aubrey's Blue Moon Banter page for this episode