Thank you for your insight! That's one of the reasons why I post my synopses. To try to generate discussion on the golden years of the show.
Yeah, the argument between Paul and Bert was great. I always loved it when someone put Bert in her place! It was very out of the blue as it started as a friendly visit but Paul never held back when something bothered him. He was very outspoken. That's why he was one of my favorite characters. Bert sure didn't like him though. Even when they were on friendly terms, they never really liked or understood each other. They kind of tolerated each other.
In my opinion, ANYTHING with Dick was dreary. I absolutely hated that character. I'll be glad to see him go. He was such a wuss with his mother and totally selfish. A perfect example of his selfishness, which is why I included it in my synopsis, was when he was talking to Marie about getting back together and he said, if they did get back together, he would want her quitting her job and being a stay-at-home housewife. Not uncommon for that time period, but considering the fact that Marie wanted to adopt a child because she was so bored since Dick was always at his work and she was always alone, with the fact he didn't want to adopt a child so she got a job to occupy her time...well, it's just a good example of how selfish he was. His name suited him well. Knowing how this plays out, SPOILER ALERT, I don't know how in the world Marie breaks her engagement to Joe and goes back to Dick. I can't imagine how that plays out. Joe was really good to/for Marie and Dick was just horrible.
Those episodes are much better when you watch them knowing the context. For example, Robin and Bert give each other a lot of looks with nothing and the looks have so much more meaning when you know what was going on between the two at the time. You realize why Bert is being so cold and fake and why Robin is giving her the F.U. looks.
EDIT: Sorry, my last paragraph is referencing the episode that's out there from January, 1961. Not the two that you posted. But any of the episodes are more enjoyable when you know the whole context.
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Reverend Ruthledge ·