'Pan Am' Recap: Episode 113 'Romance Languages'

Last night’s episode of Pan Am may have been a bit confusing and seemed out of order. That’s because it was. Since this episode was originally supposed to air weeks ago after "The Genuine Article" and before "Truth or Dare", the plot was hard to follow at times.

You will notice that the events in this episode are prior to Colette and Dean’s falling out, the revelation of Laura’s nude photographs, as well as Kate and Niko’s breakup.

The Pan Am crew is set to embark on a flight to Rome. Before leaving New York, Dean decides to officially end his covert relationship with Ginny. Rejection does not sit well with Mr. Henson’s mistress and she storms out in a fury.

Ginny tells Dean that she loves him, but he admits that in his mind, they were just having fun. Ginny displays her first signs of mental unstableness when she angrily throws milk bottles at him.

When he arrives in Rome, Dean finds Ginny creepily waiting for him in the hotel lobby. He takes her to his room to talk privately and reinforces that things are over between them. Ginny then smashes her head into the glass window in despair.

She wakes up in the hospital to find Dean by her side and assumes he has changed his mind. Ginny expresses her love for him, but Dean stands by his decision to end things.

After Ginny summons Henson to Rome, the Pan Am executive storms down the hospital hallway where he runs into Dean. Dean confesses that he used to be involved with Ginny and the two men have a heated discussion. Henson does not tell Dean that Maggie ratted them out, but does say that he already knew about their secretive relationship.

Dean and Colette both escape the hospital before more drama can occur.

When she isn’t at the hospital, Colette is busy watching over a wealthy 12-year-old troublemaker named Charlie. Prior to takeoff, she agrees to keep an eye on him during their flight to Rome. While Colette sees it as a babysitting job, Charlie sees it as an opportunity for some romance.

He tries to woo her with his magic tricks and sad story about his divorced parents wanting nothing to do with him. Flowers in hand, Charlie is ready to tell his crush how he feels. Unfortunately, he sees her with another man at the bar.

Refusing to give up, he later sneaks into Colette’s room while she was sleeping and expressed his feelings towards her. Colette, being the caring and loving woman that she is, used her maternal instincts to comfort him and kindly reject his romantic advances.

During the episode, Laura struggles with the fact that she is still a virgin. Before heading to Rome, Laura spent the evening with Graham, a New York photographer and former Pan Am passenger. Things started to heat up and Graham suggests they go to his bedroom.

Laura turns him down and explained that she wasn’t ready. After Graham apologizes and said he didn’t realize she was “that young”, Laura quickly leaves.

When she arrived at her apartment later that night, Maggie was quick to jump to conclusions. She assumed Laura had sex with him and bombarded her with questions. Upset by the outcome of her evening, Laura dismissed her curious roommate’s questions.

While in Rome, Laura confesses to her sister Kate that she is still a virgin and feels that she missed her opportunity to be a “modern woman”. They share a sweet sisterly conversation and Kate tells Laura that being a “modern woman” isn’t just about losing your virginity.

Laura takes her sister’s advice and chooses to not sleep with Graham when she returns to New York. However, she does let him photograph her nude. This is Laura’s way of expressing herself as a woman.

Kate is still very much in love with the Yugoslavian diplomat, Niko. However, Rome brings trouble for the happy couple. A man forcefully knocks into Kate and tells her to break things off with Niko.

She calls Richard to tell him what has happened and fears that her cover is blown. Kate asks if she will end up like Bridget and Richard gives her an unsettling response. He says he doesn’t think anyone knows about her but will look into it.

When they meet to discuss a plan of action, Richard tells Kate that she must break things off with Niko in order to protect her cover. She shows up at her lover’s door in tears, but knows what has to be done.

The episode ends with an intense and unexpected conversation between Colette and Maggie after landing in New York. Although she does not say it directly, Colette makes it clear that she knows Maggie told Mr. Henson about Ginny and Dean’s relationship. Colette insincerely congratulates Maggie on coming up with a way to save her job at Pan Am.

This out-of-order episode may make it tough for viewers to fully grasp and appreciate the events of next week’s season finale. I would suggest re-watching past episodes before tuning in next Sunday or your head may begin to spin!