Eric: 1:02

Welcome everybody to Steele watching the Remington Steele podcast that you knew you wanted to listen to, but had to be convinced. I don't know. Anyway, I'm Eric, and I'm here. What can I say?

Sara: 1:20

I'm Sara, and I'm melting. I'm melting.

Eric: 1:24

Okay. Wicked witch of the West. No. You'd be the wicked wis... Witch of the East. I'm on

Sara: 1:29

the West.

Eric: 1:30

Yeah. Anyway

Sara: 1:31

Oh, shit. My house dropped.

Eric: 1:35

We seem to have lost Sara. It could be the heat. You know?

Sara: 1:45

I don't know what happened there.

Eric: 1:46

Anyway, so, yes, the wicked witch of the West had a house dropped on her. You feel like that sometimes, you said. Or

Sara: 1:51

no. Well, don't remember what she Yeah, the had the house dropped on her. The west was melted.

Eric: 1:56

Okay. Well... So whatever. There we are. All right, we are back, everybody. Thanks for your patience. All right, where are we at? Season 4, episode 1, Steele Searching Part 1. Before we get into it, we do have to fix a mistake.

Sara: 2:16

As usual. During the last... Well,

Eric: 2:19

lots of mistakes, but you remember at the last episode at the very beginning, you asked me if there was anything new we needed to discuss before we got into the actual top 5. And it was 1 of those things where the back of my head was saying, yeah, there's something there. There's something there. But the front of my head was saying, bye. And, yeah, we had a new subscriber join in mid July, and we should have said something at that time in that last episode, but we didn't because

Sara: 2:49

We're sorry.

Eric: 2:51

I was being brain dead. So thank you to our new supporter. We appreciate your support. This person is already on our subscriber list for getting to watch the live streams. So thank you thank you again very much for your support. Appreciate it. All right. You... Have you got anything else that you Oh,

Sara: 3:14

Well, I have a few things, like... But they're tied to the episode. So I'll Okay. I'll jump in when we get there. But nothing like... Well, I mean, this is a season opener. So maybe we talk about... I don't know if I'm wrong about this, but it seems like the music underwent a subtle change. So that I noticed.

Eric: 3:34

Yeah. Talking talking about the music, I I did notice that it's changed. It's it's the same basic music as the previous season, but the arrangements and the instrumentation is different, and it's at a faster tempo.

Sara: 3:52

Yep. And that's probably... It's weird because in this day and age when we can skip the music, I usually do. And this was the... Not because I don't like it, but just because, like, when you're watching something this frequently and you hear the same thing over and over, it starts to get... Mhmm. But this is probably the 1st time I've noticed it in like all these years. And I I I kinda went, oh, I think they've added up... Like, feels like they added a few more of those boop a doo boo boos, like throughout the the song and you're right. It is a little faster. It's a little more like, yeah. So I thought that was kinda cool that they... That I don't... That they... Whether they got somebody to come back in and re... Well, they must have gotten someone to come back in and rerecord it. So

Eric: 4:34

Yeah. I I would imagine it was the studio's orchestra, but it sounds like they had a a larger orchestra, more instruments. And, yeah, you're right. The the laser shots or whatever you wanna

Sara: 4:45

call them in Star Wars. I just think it's interesting because it's unusual to see a television show have their opening sequence. Like, I mean, yes, they usually change the visuals in the opening sequence from season to season. That's pretty common. But we don't typically see it get rearranged over and over and over again. Like season 1, you had the voiceover from Season 2, we had... It was slightly different because yes, there was the music, but there was 1st that sort of like, as they went into the theater. Right? And at the end, season 3, it just sort of went straight to the instrumental. And now we're in season 4, and they've sped up the instrumental, and they've added a few more effects and sound, you know, sound effects and whatnot. So it's just kind of like... I don't know. It's kind of odd that they've rerecorded it

Eric: 5:33

I'm the thinking. There have been have been other shows that have changed their theme songs at various points, and I'm trying to remember. I can't I can't think of the name of any of them off the top of my head, but, yeah, some some have changed their theme songs, but probably not as often as as Steele did.

Sara: 5:56

The only 1 that I can think of, and sorry for bringing it up so soon, but Oh, no. No. No. The opening sequence of Buffy.

Eric: 6:09

There is a post. If doing the drinking game, take a big The

Sara: 6:15

the song is recorded by a band called Nerf Herder. And if you're a Star Wars fan, you'll recognize that name because that's what Han Solo calls Chewy in the 1st film. And the band, I

Eric: 6:27

guess, The said real that 1st

Sara: 6:30

Sorry. I should I should state A New Hope. When I say the 1st film, I'm of of the OG state. Yeah. So my apologies. Number 4 for the... If you're looking at the sequence, but... Yeah. Technically, the 1st film. And they put out a call for artists and whatnot in the California area to record something for the show, and they needed something quick. And so this band basically hastily recorded this instrumental and sent it to them. And they're like, yeah, cool. We're using that. And so they used that for the 1st 2 seasons, but the band was never quite happy with it. They felt that the timing was off and tempo wasn't perfect in some areas. And so season 3, they went back in and they had more time and they actually rerecorded it. So if you've watched the show, you'll notice that when it comes to season 3, the tempo is noticeably sped up. The timing is better in terms of like the drums and stuff like that. And it is very, very different. But that's literally the only time that I can think of, unless you're counting like maybe Highlander the series when they redid the voiceover and then they cut it out. But even still the music never changed because it was Queen, Princess of the Universe. So I just think it's interesting that here they've seeming... They've rearranged it every season, and I didn't realize that. I kinda had it in my head that, like, okay, yes, seasons 1 and 2 are different, but once you get to season 3, it's all the same. It's not.

Eric: 7:45

No. So... Now 1 that came to mind is Star Trek, the original series.

Sara: 7:53

That theme

Eric: 7:53

changed Yes. Not dramatically. I I do think they rerecorded it. I don't know if it was in the middle of the 1st season or if it was after the 1st season, but they did change the recording a little bit. They eliminated the the voice. There's no no words to it, but it's a... The female voice doing doing that thing.

Sara: 8:19

Yeah.

Eric: 8:19

Yeah. They eliminated that because I guess Gene Roddenberry didn't wanna have to keep paying the lady. Yeah. Gene Roddenberry, for all his talk about yeah. He he had some issues. Like, he wrote lyrics to the theme music, which were never used, never recorded by anybody, but he got to keep 50% of the royals... Royalties on it every time it got played. So, you know.

Sara: 8:45

There's... And and... Okay. For those of you doing the drinking game, there's Eric's 1st mention about royalties and music. So take a shot. I'm just saying. Yeah. Yeah. Of the things that I noticed, and I realized we haven't even gotten into the episode synopsis. That's right. Other thing that's like, aside from the 1st season, every single opener, 2, 3, and 4 has been on location. Mhmm. So that's also kind of interesting. So...

Eric: 9:13

Alright. Alright. Are we ready?

Sara: 9:15

Yes. We're ready.

Eric: 9:16

Okay. I'm going to give the official synopsis that we're gonna use, but then I wanna comment on the other twos.

Sara: 9:24

Okay.

Eric: 9:25

K. So I'm going with TV Guide. 0.25 season opens in London where both Laura and Scotland Yard want to find Steele, but for different reasons. Meanwhile, Steele is hot on the trail of a man who holds a clue to his past. Now that's the TV Guide listing. Let's talk about the original synopsis. Laura traces Remington to England where he has fallen on hard times while searching for his true identity and running from Scotland Yard officials who suspect him in a modern day Jack the Ripper case. No. They don't. And no. They didn't. DVD liner notes. Remington's search for his true identity takes him to England where he runs afoul of Scotland Yard and becomes the prime suspect in a string of grizzly Jack the Ripper style murders.

Sara: 10:12

No. That's not is true either.

Eric: 10:15

That's right. None of that is true. Well, I mean, most of it's true, but he never was a suspect in the murders. He No. They were trying to stop him because he was about to potentially ruin a possibly innocent person's reputation.

Sara: 10:31

Innocent of murder, perhaps. Not innocent of

Eric: 10:34

Well... Oh, right. But, I mean, he was innocent of the murders.

Sara: 10:37

Yeah. Yeah. I have some issues with the Earl of Cleridge. We'll get into this as we go. Yeah.

Eric: 10:42

Okay.

Sara: 10:43

So... Yes. He's in potentially innocent of murder, but Yeah. He...

Eric: 10:47

He's not

Sara: 10:48

he's not the

Eric: 10:49

nice guy he perceives himself to

Sara: 10:51

be. Yeah.

Eric: 10:51

Absolutely. Guaranteed. Yeah. Well, but you know, that was in the past and we're not gonna look at the past, we're just gonna look to the future and don't hold anything we've ever said and done against us because that's just

Sara: 11:04

not fair. Anyway,

Eric: 11:07

alright. Let's see here. Oh, yes. We we already discussed the theme music, so let's get in.

Sara: 11:12

Oh, and it was written by... Did you do... Did we do the song? No. No. No. I did not.

Eric: 11:17

You got me sidetracked. It's your Yeah.

Sara: 11:21

Sure. Okay. We'll go with that.

Eric: 11:24

The episode... Episode. The episode 1st aired 09/24/1985, written by Michael Gleason, directed by Seymour. Seymour. Seymour Robby. Yes. Our buddy

Sara: 11:38

is playing the home game, I would have been 3. Alright.

Eric: 11:45

We start with montage from the previous seasons. Laura and Steele in a clinch. Laura asking Steele, who are you? Laura and Steele in a clinch. Laura perusing through his passports from the premier episode. And Laura and Steele in a clinch. Laura asking Steele, who are you? Laura prowling through the empty closets in Steele's apartment. Laura asking Steele, who are you? Laura prowling through the empty dresser in his apartment. Laura asking Steele, who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?

Sara: 12:15

Don't know. Stop asking. I have to say this was a... I mean, this was obviously done for the audience's benefit if you're just jumping in, because this is not a... As we've talked about, it's mostly an episodic show. So this was their 1st cliffhanger. They have to do something to kind of like, it's better than doing a previously on and like, have that, you know, run run run of clips. Right? So I actually think as as cheesy as this sort of montage with the who are you? Who are you thing is, it's a good way to get across all of the exposition that you need to get across to the audience without it seeming hackneyed or like, by the way, if you weren't paying attention, this is what you missed. So I do appreciate it for that. And I do appreciate getting to see that shot of her sitting on the bed again as that, you know, the who are you repeated 8,000,000,000 times might get annoying, but like just that shot of her reminding us of where she was and now where where she's at.

Eric: 13:18

Yeah. The only who are you that they missed is from who.

Sara: 13:23

I was gonna say, who are you? Who? Who? I really love it. No. Sorry. It's the musical episode, everybody. We're gonna dance. We're gonna sing. We're gonna

Eric: 13:36

What's more with you make you off chuck your lunch.

Sara: 13:40

Yeah. All of the subscribers are gone. They just got a

Eric: 13:44

subscriber. Everybody pulls their support out. We're we're no longer... Yeah. Anyway, so as you said, we see the final shot from season 3 of Laura collapsing on the bed in despair as an annoying buzzing sound starts to cut through the voiceovers. Then we see that Laura is in her loft, in her bed. She springs up light... Upright. Uplight. David is a rented laps. Thank you, Robin Williams. She springs upright from sleep to what we now recognize is the buzz of a digital alarm clock. It takes several moments for her to gather her wits about her, realize where she actually is at, and what is actually happening. She's been dreaming. It's been a distressing dream, a dream of loss. She finally comes to her senses, reaches over, and turns off the alarm clock. Next, we see she's striding down the hallway leading to the agency's office. Good.

Sara: 14:37

Like that... Like, her wardrobe is fantastic in this episode. It's mainly just like her normal suits and stuff, but like something about the cut of them and just the, like, the cream colored pinstripe 1 that she has on later. This 1 that she has on coming into the office, I love that hat. She's got a fedora later on. Like, they've got her in her usual type of clothes, but it just... It looks really good.

Eric: 15:00

And the fedora is is color matched to her outfit. I mean, usually, you you see a fedora. It's in either a a gray, dark gray, or a black, and this is color matched. So...

Sara: 15:11

Yeah. No. She's... She's... I mean, she... Obviously, this was a grief thing. Right? Like, she was so upset about him leaving that she went on a shopping spree, and she bought herself a new wardrobe. Women do this. Okay? We do this.

Eric: 15:22

Oh, that's so sexist of you.

Sara: 15:24

This is her this is her grief response. She's like living her best life through her clothing. I'm just saying. She looks good. Well, anyway so much.

Eric: 15:38

As she approaches the door to the office, she stops, reads the lettering on the door.

Sara: 15:44

Yeah. There's a pause.

Eric: 15:45

She says Remington Steele, and it just kinda... I... That's kind of I think that... I think there's 2 things there. Well, 1st of all, she's she's gathering up her Steele to

Sara: 15:55

Her Steele? Her Steele? Yeah. Was that intentional?

Eric: 15:59

Well, no, but okay.

Sara: 16:00

Okay. That sounds good.

Eric: 16:01

To to face Mildred. But I I think she's also just... The sign on the door is just kind of 1 of those

Sara: 16:09

reminders of It's gotta halt her every time. Mhmm.

Eric: 16:13

Yeah. It's gotta be painful. It's gotta be maybe even a reminder that none of this happened the way she intended from the from the beginning. It was... He's not supposed to be real. Now he's real, and now he's gone. And I'm back where I started from, concept that I had, and it's just... It's not the same. It doesn't work

Sara: 16:36

My question to you that we should probably get right out of the

Eric: 16:41

Oh, no.

Sara: 16:42

Out of the hop. No. It sounds like it's... Why hasn't she told Mildred? Why? And here's the thing. She wanted to tell Mildred in season 2. She told Steele to tell Mildred. He tried. And Steele

Eric: 16:54

did try.

Sara: 16:55

Well, yeah, he did tell her. He he he said... Like, the only thing he didn't tell her was was what Laura did

Eric: 17:02

isn't even Remington Steele. Yeah. Yeah. He... Basically, what he told Mildred was, yeah. I'm kinda Remington Steele,

Sara: 17:08

but I'm a figurehead.

Eric: 17:09

It's just... Yeah. I'm a front man.

Sara: 17:11

Yeah. And and that literally... He didn't say con man, but he he told everything else. Right? Mildred didn't buy it, and then they just sort of let that fall by the wayside, and they've let it fall by the wayside ever since. Okay. Fine. But now Mildred needs to know, especially since she's got her hunting down his aliases. Yeah. Like, this is this is past the point of... It makes no sense character wise because she wanted Mildred to know from the beginning. And she hasn't told her? Why? Yeah.

Eric: 17:42

The only thing I can the only thing I can say about that is that if you remember right, she wanted Steele to tell Mildred. She didn't wanna do it herself, okay, in in the 1st place, in the 1st instance.

Sara: 17:59

Yeah.

Eric: 18:00

And I think that same reluctance to be the 1 to have to admit, okay. Yeah. I I kinda... Everything that you see here, that's my lie. Not his lie, that's my lie. And I don't think she wants to admit that to Mildred. And I think for that reason, even though now would have been in the perfect time to do that in 1 sense at least, she still got that I don't wanna have to admit that I've lied about everything. And I... Worse, I lost control of the lie.

Sara: 18:39

Yeah. That's true.

Eric: 18:41

I lost control of the lie.

Sara: 18:43

I wonder too if it has to do a little bit, at least, with that halt at the beginning. Right? Where... Right before she comes in, that seeing maybe... Cause Mildred knows that there's something going on between them. Oh, yeah. She's known the whole time. Right? So if she tells Mildred, then she's not only, as you said, confessing about the lie that she created and that she's maintained this whole time, but also the fact that she got emotionally invested. And now she's like been left vulnerable. Because like, she's literally kind of an open wound at the beginning of this episode. She's hiding it well. She's being cheerful and pretending But nothing bothers there's definitely some stuff going on behind the scenes, and maybe she just doesn't want Mildred to know or anyone to know that he got that far under her skin.

Eric: 19:28

Well... And also, since since we're going there, that she's basically responsible for him being gone.

Sara: 19:35

Yeah. I mean

Eric: 19:36

She she basically told him, go away. I want time to myself to to to figure this out.

Sara: 19:42

And Well, I mean, I I don't disagree with you, but he's the 1 responsible for not leaving a note, which now I am vindicated. I am vindicated.

Eric: 19:50

No. You are not.

Sara: 19:51

I am too. Mildred says it, and she says it. She says it when she finds him and after he's been wounded. She she says, no note. She says that to him. I win.

Eric: 20:07

Freaking freaking freaking fucking

Sara: 20:10

your own.

Eric: 20:11

I feel like you're Muttley on the... What was that old cartoon?

Sara: 20:15

The the

Eric: 20:16

the old airplanes and the...

Sara: 20:18

Anyway, yeah. Anyway,

Eric: 20:22

where were we? Yes. At the door, she pauses, takes a breath, that is a sigh of resignation, and trying to Steele herself for facing Mildred. And then after a moment, she forces a smile to her face and strides through the door, jaunty, happy, big smile on the face. Well, Mildred is sitting in the lounge chair in the office. And as Mildred... Or as Laura enters, she greets Mildred with a cheery, morning, morning, morning, and Mildred despairingly says, that's just the

Sara: 20:54

way he used to greet me. She's she's right, though. It's exactly how he used to do

Eric: 21:00

Well, Laura, trying to lighten the mood and to prevent... Or or... And to present as if everything is normal, takes her hat from her head and with the words, Kareem shoots. No. Kareem sets

Sara: 21:11

He sets.

Eric: 21:12

Shoots. Swish. Throws her hat across the room, and it lands on a cactus as if throwing it down to a hat racket. Why? Why? Why would you throw a hat on a cactus? You're going to get needles in there probably, at least 1, that you're gonna have to pull out of that hat or you're gonna stick it on your head and and really regret it. I'm sorry.

Sara: 21:35

That'd be funny.

Eric: 21:35

Dumb, dumb move, Laura. Anyway, Mildred accuses Laura of being awfully chipper, and Laura, of course, lies, saying that she slept like a baby.

Sara: 21:44

Well, actually, I think that's true. Babies wake up a crap ton of times. I'm sorry. That whole statement of, like, slept like a baby to mean, like, you slept well, I had a baby. I remember what that's like. I didn't sleep, neither did she. Like, they wake up all the time. They're hungry all the time. Like

Eric: 22:01

Well, I had 4 kids, and I I can't remember that far back. I can't remember That's because you've repressed week.

Sara: 22:09

You've repressed the trauma there. Okay? Because, like, they sleep... Here's the thing. They sleep really well during the day when you don't want them to sleep. Right? You could go through a freaking brass band and they're just snoring away happy as can be. But the 2nd you put them down at night, they're like an owl. They're like, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo. Yeah. Well, you

Eric: 22:28

know what the trick is? Put them in the the car, drive for a couple of blocks around the block a few times, they'll fall asleep, and then you take them to the house and plop them and

Sara: 22:37

then you put them middle. Stroller for us, but, yeah, I like that. But even still, they would make

Eric: 22:41

Cars are magic things for putting kids to sleep. They're just absolute magic.

Sara: 22:46

She'd wake up so many times. So I think she did sleep like a baby. I think she's being honest there, just not in the way Mildred thinks.

Eric: 22:52

Yes. Well, yeah, Mildred Mildred says, no. She didn't sleep well at all. She's... In fact, she says she slept rotten and hasn't had a good night's sleep since he left. And Laura sarcastically suggests Mildred needs a new mattress. No no ads for Purple in this episode that I recall. Anyway, almost as if she didn't hear Laura, Mildred continues saying that she tried watching television, and there was an old movie on Laura, as if she didn't hear Mildred, asks what's on the agenda for the day. Mildred continues, as if she didn't hear Laura saying, invasion of the body snatchers. She gives the annotations and then editorializes about how Steele loved that picture. And Laura, with vo cheerfulness, says, Roger Mittleman at 10. And then with a despairing tone, Mildred pleads with Laura, where is he? Why has he abandoned us? Laura kneels down in front of Mildred and begins urging her to get a grip, reminding her that she's already told Mildred that mister Steele is away on a case. Well, of course, Mildred's not buying it and asks, what case? Why didn't he tell me? Then says that it's not like him to take off like that without a word, without a note, without a collect call, and you cannot use that as as defense because

Sara: 24:19

But I can use more of saying it later on to him. That's the 1. That's the 1.

Eric: 24:28

Anyway, I like I like the reference that Mildred makes to a collect call because I do love Isn't that so much Remington's deal?

Sara: 24:35

That that is 100%. Like, he would... And and the thing is he would do that no matter how much money he had. Like, he can be as rich as can be, and he'd still call him... Call or collect because that's just what he would do. Absolutely.

Eric: 24:51

And, of course, she doesn't understand the idea. She doesn't seem to understand Steele is the... Yeah. Okay. So, yeah, she understands Steele in that he would make a collect call, but she doesn't seem to understand him in the idea that he wouldn't take off like that without telling her. I mean, after all, he does that regularly. In fact, as recently as Steele of Steele of Approval. True. Times, as a matter of fact, in just that 1 episode.

Sara: 25:20

Yeah. That's true. Well, also with the Ireland episode, he he disappeared there too, and I got a call and had to go chase after him in Ireland.

Eric: 25:28

So Yeah. So, I mean, in in 1 sense, Mildred understands Steele, and another, he... She she just really doesn't.

Sara: 25:35

Well... And and again, because they're all keeping her in the dark.

Eric: 25:38

Well, yeah. That's

Sara: 25:39

true. Right? Like... And and honestly, like, at this point too, I think the hero worship was the reason initially that Laura wanted him to tell her. Right?

Eric: 25:49

Right.

Sara: 25:50

And and I think that this would be easier on Laura if she knew as well, because not not to... Not that bursting her bubble is something that she wants to do. Obviously, she wouldn't wanna hurt Mildred, but Mildred still is hero worshiping him. Hasn't he called? It's not like him. He's... He would never do this to me. Right? All this other stuff. Mildred doesn't understand why he's gone. And to him... Or to her, sorry, he's still that superhero that she sees him as. Right? So it's gotta be hard on Laura to hear Mildred extolling all his wonderfulness and wondering why he's not there.

Eric: 26:25

Well... And it wasn't just the hero worship. It was also the operational kinks

Sara: 26:31

Yeah.

Eric: 26:31

That that hero worship created because they had to explain to Mildred, well, he's the boss, but I'm in charge. But it still was a problem of her being in charge because Mildred still looked to Steele, looked to Steele, still questioned anything that Laura said or did to Steele. So yeah, I mean, like I said, this would be the perfect time operationally, even discounting the hero worship. Although now that I say that, or as I say that, I was gonna say this would be the perfect time for Laura to tell Mildred, but maybe not because then Mildred might view that as Laura trying to undermine the boss. You know, he's not here. He can't defend himself. You're trying to

Sara: 27:17

I don't know. I think Mildred's smart enough to see that stuff has been weird from the get go. I I... She... Because she starts putting 2 and 2 together even before Laura actually tells her what's going on. Right? Like, she... We see it in this episode. She's she's not she's not stupid. And I think she's already kind of suspicious of the fact that like, even in the last episode when Steele said trying to trying to save her agency and Mildred said her agency? And he kind of backtracked on that. So I don't know. I think Mildred would... I think she would see the pieces fall together if Laura were to tell her here in the right way, of course. Like if Laura...

Eric: 27:55

And maybe that's the catch is that Laura is concerned that Mildred will see that as an attempt to undermine the boss if she doesn't handle it correctly and she's just not sure how to handle it correctly.

Sara: 28:06

That's fair. Yeah.

Eric: 28:07

So, all right, let's see. Where were we here? Oh yes, Laura stands, begins to pace and then asks Mildred, What has been the progress on the names that Mr. Steele asked her to check out? So I guess Laura actually gave her those names and said that the request came from mister Steele.

Sara: 28:26

So Yeah.

Eric: 28:27

Mildred did actually in... At least in in that sense, have some communication from Steele. But anyway

Sara: 28:32

And this is 1 of those other things that kind of, like, ties into it. Because how long does she think she can keep this up before Mildred's gonna figure it out on her own?

Eric: 28:40

Well, yeah.

Sara: 28:41

Event like... She... Mildred is good. She knows what... How to dig, and she knows how to come up with information probably better than than Laura or Steele do when it comes to things like the computer and tracing somebody and and finding out digging for dirt, essentially. So she's going to, and she does, end up finding his passports. This is a recipe for disaster

Eric: 29:03

Oh, sure.

Sara: 29:03

Unless Laura heads it off of the pass, but she she doesn't. She just kind of... It's almost like she's using Mildred for the information she wants, but she's not giving her the context. Because if she... And I think too, if she did give her the context, Mildred would be more efficient in finding him.

Eric: 29:18

Yeah. Probably. Well, anyway, Mildred stands and walks over to the desk saying that those guys really get around, and the only way she could keep track of them was with a visual aid.

Sara: 29:28

I love her visual aid.

Eric: 29:29

And so she pulls out a world map with lines of ribbon strung across it and begins to explain that Richard Blain went from Los Angeles to Australia then dropped out of sight. But Paul Fabrini left Australia for Italy where he disappeared. Then John Morell left Italy for France where he got lost somewhere. And then after that, Michael O'Leary left Paris for Dublin. And, of course, we know that mister Steele didn't ask Mildred to trace those names. Laura did. So Laura asks about Douglas Quintain. Well, no information on him commenting, Mildred commenting that it's like a big tag team relay. 1 guy arrives, another guy leaves.

Sara: 30:06

So here I'm wondering, like, everywhere that there... That these... That he went under these aliases corresponds to the country he's supposedly from. Right? Richard Blaine, Australia, Paul Fabrini, Italy, etcetera. Mhmm. Did he need to go to all these countries to to get the information that he ends up getting by the time we find him, or was he just doing this to try to throw anybody who's looking for him off off track?

Eric: 30:30

I would say that it's more the latter. But Right. Okay. It's not a very good way of doing it.

Sara: 30:37

No. And talk about your air miles that you're racking up here. Like, holy cow.

Eric: 30:41

Yeah. But you've got diff... Different accounts.

Sara: 30:43

Like, to fly to Australia in and of itself is gonna be several days. Right? Like, from LA to Australia and then to Italy. And then... Actually, you could probably go to Italy to... From Italy to France pretty easily without actually flying anywhere. Although it looks like he did, you could take the train. But... Because Europe, those countries are kinda clustered together. Just the Australia travel would be a lot. So

Eric: 31:07

Well, let's see. Flight time from LA to Australia is not given. Think artificial intelligence. It

Sara: 31:21

it took my husband 22 hours to get there from Scotland. So

Eric: 31:26

21 to 30 hours is typical.

Sara: 31:28

Yeah. It's gonna be... That's a big trip is what I'm saying. And

Eric: 31:32

it's all over water. If that doesn't scare you, then nothing will.

Sara: 31:40

Doesn't really scare me, but...

Eric: 31:44

Let's see. Yeah. Mildred asks Laura what she thinks these guys are up to. Laura says she doesn't know only that Mr. Steele is the only person who knows the answer to that question. And of course, as she's saying that, the printer begins to spit out a page and Mildred calls bingo. It's Douglas Quintain. He's shown up in London. She tears the page off the printer, hands it to Laura, and asks how they get that information to mister Steele. Laura looks at the printout and says, she thinks mister Steele is probably way ahead of them on this.

Sara: 32:16

Which is another really bizarre thing to say, because if he's way ahead of them, I have to do the research in the 1st place. It...

Eric: 32:25

So many so many things, so many clues, so

Sara: 32:28

many Yeah.

Eric: 32:28

Hints. Yeah. So anyway, Mildred excitedly asks, what are we going to do? Well, apparently, answer is go to London. We have a montage of a jet coming in for a landing and then a series of shots of a London taxi moving through the streets of the city, complete with an iconic British double decker bus passing by.

Sara: 32:47

Okay. I love the... I gotta say Mhmm. Those buses are awesome. Because, like, when I lived in Scotland, they still have them. Like, they they... Like, well, in Scotland, they're not red. They're just regular city buses that have 2 floors or whatever. But if you sit up top and you sit like right at the front, there's like this big picture window so it... You can sort of pretend you're driving. But also because those streets are so narrow and so tiny, 0.5 the time, like, trees are coming at you. They're brushing across the... Like, you're almost ducking as you're riding these things. It's pretty cool. And London, Ontario, where I live, back when I was a kid, the city had a couple of those buses as like a kitschy tourist thing. Like, we're not the real London, but we still got the buses. Those are gone. But they are pretty fun.

Eric: 33:34

Then we see the cab finally arriving at a lower rent neighborhood. And Laura and Mildred,

Sara: 33:42

They're in Soho. Well,

Eric: 33:45

am I not wrong?

Sara: 33:47

Yeah. You're right. You're right. Well, Soho is Soho is not great. Yeah.

Eric: 33:51

So Laura and Mildred exit the cab, and we see that they are being observed by a man in a polar hat. Inside, in a room that is apparently part of a small apartment building, Laura is questioning the landlady who is holding a cat stroking its back. I don't know why that's important. It just seems to be. And she's got a

Sara: 34:13

lot of cats. There's like... That whole room is... I don't know if you know, it's full of cats.

Eric: 34:19

She could make a movie. Yeah. Anyway, where was I? Yes. Laura tells the line lady that they are looking for a mister Quintain, mister Douglas Quintain. At the name, the line lady stops stroking the cat and then with suspicion, repeats the name, Quintane, Douglas Quintane. Mildred says that the hotel that he's been staying at left this as his forwarding address. Well, the woman turns, doesn't say anything, just gets up, turns, tosses the cat onto a chair, steps over

Sara: 34:55

to a

Eric: 34:56

window, lowers, and then raises the shade. Like, that's She's really bad at this.

Sara: 35:00

Yeah. She is really bad at this. Like, she could have done this a lot more like, oh, the lights getting in this bothering my eyes. Hold on. Let me fix this. And then like pretend to struggle with it or something. But no, she just stands up and she's like, like, is not suspicious at all. Pay no attention to what I'm doing.

Eric: 35:17

That's right. Well, we see that out on the street, the man in the bowler hat is out on the sidewalk across the road watching, and we figure it out pretty quick. It's a signal. I think Laura probably figured it out. I think even Mildred figured it out. The woman turns to Laura and Mildred commenting, she can never get the shades to stay right. She likes them all being even because it makes a prettier picture from the outside. Sure. And of course, Laura gives Mildred an annoying look. She isn't buying it and knows something is up. Landlady picks the cat back up and, again, begins to stroke its fur.

Sara: 35:52

It's a different cat.

Eric: 35:56

It's a totally different matter?

Sara: 35:58

It does matter because that place is full of cats.

Eric: 36:02

Anyway, Laura, again, begins to question the woman about Douglas Quintain, and the woman asks, Laura, what she wants with him? What does it matter? Right? If he said that he's he's leaving this as a forwarding address and she's asking, have you seen him? Do you know anything about it? We're trying to get in contact with him. What does it matter why Laura wants him? I mean, yeah, could this woman be any worse at this?

Sara: 36:26

It's 1 of those things where either you're trying to protect someone's privacy, in which case you just say, I don't know anything, or you tell them where he went. Like, why just looks even more suspicious as you pointed out because she's already done the bit with this. Yeah, she's bad at this. She's bad at this.

Eric: 36:46

Well, Laura unconventionally says that Douglas is her cousin and that her aunt Millie wanted her to look him up when she got to London. Sorry, love, no Douglas Quintain in her apartments And Mildred, with obvious disbelief, and in a confrontational tone asks, Well, then why would he have left this as his forwarding address? The woman replies, Well, maybe he was gonna come here, but something happened. Maybe the moon fell into

Sara: 37:12

the ocean and caused the tidal wave and he had to go surfing on it. I don't know. She could've just said, yeah, he was here, but he didn't stay. I don't know where he went.

Eric: 37:23

Yeah. I mean, she's

Sara: 37:25

so bad at this. You know? Like, she's really... This woman is really bad at this.

Eric: 37:31

Well, Laura, fully aware she's being lied to, gives up, thanks the woman for her trouble. Somewhat sarcastically, I think. The camera focuses on the woman and we realize that Laura and Mildred must have turned to leave because we see the woman's previously smiling face turn to a hard glare. Outside, the man in the bowler hat is still watching as Laura and Mildred come out. Mildred tells Laura that the landlady was lying, and then she rhetorically asks what that tug of war with the window shades was all about, and Laura replies, Exactly. Yeah. Next we see a lad walking along the sidewalk toward where the man with the bowler hand is standing. The man stops the lad, begins whispering to him, pointing in the direction of Laura and Mildred. Lad nods, man presses a coin into his hand, and then the lad takes off running up to Laura, grabbing her purse from her shoulder, and then running off with it. And excuse me, you mean to tell me that Laura Holt, experienced private investigator, a person who has lived in Los Angeles for all of her life, doesn't know how to securely strap a purse to her person?

Sara: 38:38

Well, her problem is that she's wearing the wrong purse. And I I I just... I completely agree with you here because, like, I wear 1 with a much longer strap so I can strap... Like, I can put it over my shoulder. So you can't just run up and grab it off me because it's, like, it's horizontal. You'd actually have to pull it up and over my head in order to get it off me.

Eric: 38:57

Yeah. Exactly.

Sara: 38:57

You know, like, she's wearing this flimsy... She always she's always had a purse like that. I've never understood women that could just put it on their shoulder. It slips off. What kind of shoulders do you have? Maybe that's what the shoulder pads are for. I don't know. But, like, this is a really stupid purse to have.

Eric: 39:13

Yeah. And and she's... I mean, she could have worn it correctly. She could have worn it with the the bag portion on 1 side and the strap across

Sara: 39:20

I'm not sure the strap was long enough

Eric: 39:21

Behind the shoulder. Well

Sara: 39:22

over like that. She needs a longer strap is what I'm saying.

Eric: 39:26

Well, I mean, the bag portion of the purse is down at her waist. And so, yeah, if she strung it up over her shoulder and, you know, over her head and onto the opposite shoulder, it would

Sara: 39:38

It'd be like right up here a little bit. It would be really uncomfortable.

Eric: 39:41

But, I mean Trust

Sara: 39:43

me. You just... Do you carry a purse, sir? Do you carry a purse? That's what it needs

Eric: 39:48

to be done say, it doesn't... It's not about the comfort. It's about security.

Sara: 39:53

Well, if we had clothing with pockets, we wouldn't have to carry them.

Eric: 39:57

Back to that again. Oh. Always

Sara: 40:01

back to that again. Anyway She does need a longer strap on that purse, and you're right. She should be wearing it across her... Especially in a foreign country because, like, it's a big... Way more of a pain in the butt if you lose your your ID outside of your country because then you have to figure out a way to get it all back.

Eric: 40:20

And that's 1 of the things that security experts are constantly harping on with women who carry purses is how to wear that and hold that. Yeah. I mean, come on, Laura. Okay. It's riding up on the side a little bit, but it's... At least it's safe. Anyway, Laura begins chasing the lad, leaving Mildred standing. She chases the lad into an alley, which ends in a fence. As the lad climbs over the fence, Laura begins to follow, but somebody grabs her leg as she's climbing up the fence and holds her back from following. Laura comes down off the fence and turns to confront the owner of the hands that thwarted her pursuit, only to find it's Steele, somewhat worse for the wear.

Sara: 40:57

Is there I don't a know. I kinda like the hat. I like the hat and I like the longer hair and the scruffiness. I'm into it. I'm just saying.

Eric: 41:07

As I said, his hair is a mess. He hasn't shaved for at least a few days. His clothes appear to have been slept in for at least a few days also. And they look at each other in surprise and then simultaneously ask, what are you doing here?

Sara: 41:18

I got a couple questions about this. 1st... K. Well, actually not... Well, 2 maybe. 1, technically. The the 1st is just an observation.

Eric: 41:29

Stop wandering around and get to the questions.

Sara: 41:33

I don't I don't think that kid... The observation. I don't think that kid expected her to be able to run so fast in heels. Because like he grabs that purse, and then she chases him and the look on his face, that kid's a good actor. He's like, oh, crap. She's catching up. Right? Like... But when Steele grabs her, I'm guessing he did that just because he hadn't... Like, he obviously didn't know it was her because he... They both say, what are you doing here? When when they see each other. So why was he grab... Why why was he grabbing her by She the

Eric: 42:05

has great legs, I guess. I don't know.

Sara: 42:07

Okay. Fair enough.

Eric: 42:09

I don't know. I would say he probably did recognize her as he was grabbing her, but the question was more in a general sense of, you know Okay. Fair enough. What are you doing here in this neighborhood, but what are you doing here in England, period.

Sara: 42:25

Well, if you'd written her a note, sir, she wouldn't be chasing your butt all over the continent. Just saying. Yeah. He didn't

Eric: 42:37

Somebody get the horse out of here. After a moment, something in the periphery of Steele's vision catches his attention. He looks back down the alley, sees the man in the boulder hat across the street, the sight of the man obviously causes Steele some concern. He hesitates as if pondering his options, then begins to climb the fence telling Laura, sorry, can't talk right now. Laura tries to stop him, but he gets over. And as he hangs from the top of the fence for a moment, he tells her, lovely to see you again. Keep in touch.

Sara: 43:08

Okay. So I realize this is meant for a laugh. It's meant to be funny. Right? But given the fact that... And again, this isn't just a poke at the fact that I'm right and you're wrong. But given the fact that he did not write a note. Okay? And that she has not known what has become of him for we don't know how much time has passed. This could be a couple weeks after, this could be a couple months after. We're not really sure. Right?

Eric: 43:32

Well, 3 months because of the end of the season. Before and the

Sara: 43:36

start of the season. By that. Sure. But just like to say lovely to see you again, keep in touch, that seems like a really... That's that's a jerk. That that is a jerk move. That is a jerk move. Like, he he takes off. He doesn't tell her where he's going. He doesn't tell her if he's ever coming back. He leaves her no indication of of what happened to him at all. And, yes, he's being pursued, but he couldn't say, I can't talk right now. Someone's after me. I'll find you later. He says, lovely to see you. Keep in touch. I mean, it's meant to be funny because that's like the typical sort of flippant line that we expect, but like... Yeah. I don't know. Kinda Yeah, bugged

Eric: 44:18

but it seems to be really more in line with his character as a con man and somebody who's basically, his personality is kind of flippant. I don't disagree with what you're saying. I'm just thinking that it's somewhat in character.

Sara: 44:39

I'm not saying it's not in character, but he has to have known that what he did would have hurt her a lot to just disappear out of... Like, to just disappear. And the fact that she's even there shows that she's come looking for him, obviously. I don't know. It just... It doesn't seem like the right time to be making a joke. You know?

Eric: 44:56

Yeah. Or... Yeah. I guess. Yeah. But anyway, he drops off the backside of the fence, leaving Laura standing, and she climbs the fence to shout after him, You creep, keep in touch. I came 6,000 miles to see you. Well, next we see inside 1 of those ubiquitous double decker buses where we see sitting on the bench seat in the back, the London Standard newspaper. And the headline reads, Ripper claims 2nd victim. And actually, the London Standard is a real paper. I did look that up.

Sara: 45:29

So the Ripper, I wanted to talk about this for a little bit because they're obviously... This is obviously meant to emulate Jack the Ripper. Right? And right down to the whole, like, use of the handsome carriage and the the imagery from the 18 hundreds and all this other stuff. For people who don't know, Jack the Ripper was a notorious murderer, mass murderer from Mangland and he was never caught. Like, they don't know who Jack the Ripper was. They don't know... Although now, they think they now know who he might have been through DNA evidence. Have you heard about this? No. Okay. So this is kinda cool. So basically, they had a historian named Russell Edwards who claims to have identified Jack the Ripper as a Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski through DNA evidence linked to a shawl found at 1 of the murder scenes. So historian and true crime sleuth may have cracked a case for the ages sharing his bombshell findings with... And this has been in a bunch of different news outlets. So it's not just 1 place that's reported it. Russell Edwards identified a 100% DNA match to locate the real identity of serial killer Jack the Ripper. The infamous killer who terrorized London women may have been 23 year old Erin Kosminski, who had long been considered a suspect at the time. Without a doubt, 100% it's him, says Edwards, who in 2007 bought a shawl that was found at the scene of the murder of Catherine Eddowes. He tested the shawl using DNA provided by Kosminski's oldest brother's great great grandfather. Kosminski, and there's a picture, but obviously, I'll send you the link after this. But a Polish immigrant became a barber in Whitechapel, England and was in a mental health facility with schizophrenia at the time of his death in 1919. So they had a facial reconstruction done, which is what the picture is. Edwards turned his discovery into a book naming... And this is as of 2025, this article, February actually. So, he turned into a book naming Jack the Ripper the definitive reveal. With the evidence that we have, we can actually place Aaron Kuzminski at the murder scene. And then it says the most interesting piece of evidence he said is the 9 foot long and 2.5 foot wide shawl that helped bridge the history's mystery with forensic DNA. It was in a police filing cabinet for over a decade. According to Edwards, now it's in a bank vault likely to go untested by police. They've never knocked on the door. And when when we originally did this, they certainly weren't interested. It's curious they sort of just didn't bother, Edward said. The case of Jack the Ripper became not a British fascination, not an American fascination, but a global 1. So it's the eternal whodunit. Mhmm. Then it also says forensic DNA interpretation Jack, Jarrett and Beau told News Nation there's nowhere near enough information to definitively identify Jack the Ripper claiming, calling the claim a mile off. He said the DNA testing used was mitochondrial, which is not as accurate as nuclear DNA. It doesn't have the kind of power to identify someone individually that nuclear d... DNA has or cellular DNA. We have the 2nd problem of the fact that the DNA has degraded over the years. The shawl that was used for testing was not preserved as evidence all these years. What about all the other people that touched this item in 137 years between the date of the murder and the date it was tested? Ambo question. The information just isn't there in the science to be able to show exactly when the DNA was deposited and by whom. So, like, who knows if that's right or not, but it is interesting that they think that they've done this testing and they think they have an answer to this case because he preyed on women of the night, as we know. And it was... It is 1 of those whodunits that has been plaguing history or, you know, history fans and mystery fans for quite a while. So I just thought it was kind of interesting. Yeah.

Eric: 49:16

Well, we see someone toss Laura's purse down right on top of that newspaper. Man picks it up, and then we see that the man who tossed it is the man with the bowler hat. He picks up the paper, sits next to the 1st man who opens the purse, paws through it, and then pulling out the passport contained within reads, Laura Holt and comments that she works for Remington Steele Investigations. Man in Boulder Hat informs the 1st man that she's already been to Soho asking after Doug was contained. And the 1st man is concerned that the circle, whatever that means at this point, we don't know, is becoming dangerously wide. Then he tells the man in the bowler hat to use any means required, cut any corners necessary, but find Steele and stop him. The man in the bowler hat nods indicating he understands his sinister instructions. I have a problem with

Sara: 50:09

I have a feeling it's the same problem I have with it, but go ahead.

Eric: 50:12

Use any methods required, cut any corners necessary. The rules don't matter. The law doesn't matter. We have an end in mind that we want to achieve, and by any means necessary is the justification for a multitude of terrible behavior throughout history.

Sara: 50:32

Yeah. You think? I don't do... Yeah. No. I can 100% agree with you. What what bothers me even more is the fact that he's saying this not to actually catch the ripper, but to stop Steele. Like, right? Like, I mean, I'm sorry, but if you are going to potentially ruin your career and or your morals, your ethics, whatever you wanna call it in pursuit of something.

Eric: 51:00

You're assuming that there are any Okay. Ethics involved.

Sara: 51:04

But, like, if you're if you're basically telling this guy, throw out the rule book, do whatever you need to do, It should be to, you know, catch the killer, the mass murderer guy that's walking around killing. Maybe that should be the focus. Not the guy that might accidentally reveal that 1 of the members of the royal family is a serial abuser. Like, maybe that should be public knowledge. I don't know. Just a thought.

Eric: 51:30

Yeah. Sorry. I mean, don't don't get upset about the crime. Get upset about the fact that somebody might be revealing the crime.

Sara: 51:39

Right. Like, if it... Yeah. Like, this this whole this whole thing really bothers me. And maybe that's why I wore this shirt today, too many unnecessary opinions and judging the show by today's acceptable behaviors. But, like, I don't know about you, but, like, I think the more important thing here is to find the guy killing women. Crazy thought, but maybe maybe do that. Do that instead.

Eric: 52:03

I wore my shirt because my other 1 was in the loathing.

Sara: 52:06

That's fair too. That's fair too.

Eric: 52:09

Anyway, let's see. Next, it's night. We see an old fashioned horse drawn carriage moving through a dark secluded fog swirled street in Whitechapel, the infamous stalking ground of the original ripper.

Sara: 52:21

Yes.

Eric: 52:21

It's too dark to make out any details of the driver, but we can see that he is clad in a long dark coat and topped with a top hat, Dark, black, hidden. The carriage stops in front of a pub called prospect of winter.

Sara: 52:39

This is a real a real pub. I looked this up. Is it? Yeah. Yeah. Because I was... It's actually quite interesting because I, like, I thought... The reason I looked it up was because the name was interesting. Usually, pubs in in England have, like, you know, the barking frog or the elephant in castle, like these weird little names. This... The prospect of Whitby is just a really odd name for a pub. So I looked it up, and it says here

Eric: 53:07

Note that they did change it at least from prospect of Whitby to prospect of winter for the show. So

Sara: 53:14

No. Not not not that I saw because that's how I knew to look it up. I looked up Whitby.

Eric: 53:19

Okay. Let me go back and check. Looking at the video. You're right. It does say that. Yeah. But why... I don't know. It... May... Maybe my autocorrect double crossed.

Sara: 53:34

It could be. Yeah. It could be that actually because Whitby is... Like, it it wouldn't be the word you'd you'd think would be the... Anyway, looking it up

Eric: 53:41

Oh, I'm sorry. I I... I'm I'm going to deny responsibility and throw somebody into the bus. I got that from the transcription from from the Steele and Love website. So sorry. I I don't remember who who runs that website. I I I just threw you under the bus. I'm sorry.

Sara: 54:02

It... I mean, people like... Yeah. It's fine. But...

Eric: 54:06

I still blame autocorrect.

Sara: 54:08

Place was going... Autocorrect. Yeah. Nobody ever means ducking. So, yeah. The pub was built in 1520, and it is the oldest Riverside Tavern in the country. Saturn wapping on the edge of the Thames and surrounded by Dockland area. So it's probably not technically where it's supposed to be in this episode. It's the perfect place to rest in a family friendly atmosphere. So it says all

Eric: 54:31

sorts Doesn't look very family friendly for a No,

Sara: 54:32

it doesn't. I think it's supposed to like, that's the point, but it's, says all sorts of people from sailors to British movie stars have tread over our original 400 year old stone floor. And now you're 1 of them. This is on their website. So, yeah, I just thought it was kinda cool that like, I looked... I was like, I wonder if that's an actual place because it's such a unique name. I thought this... But, yeah, it's a historic pub on the Northern Bank of the River Thames, East End Of London. It is in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. And they... Like I said, they do claim to be the oldest Riverside Tavern dating from around 1520. It does say though, it was formerly known as the Pelican, later as the Devil's Tavern on account of its dubious reputation. All that remains of the building's earliest period is the 400 year old stone floor. So it has been redone. It features 18th century paneling, 19th century facade, and it was the usual place for the hanging of pirates and sea rovers at the low water mark. And there to remain till the tides had overflowed them. So it it... It's a good 1 to use if they're trying to make it like a sketchy area because it's apparently a place that had a iffy reputation. So...

Eric: 55:36

Well, the the fact that the only thing remaining is the concrete at the bottom of the building reminds me a little bit of the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Sara: 55:47

Yeah. I

Eric: 55:50

was a kid. I would've been in like 7th grade, I think, at the time. And of course the story behind that is that McCullough, the guy from the chainsaw company, bought the London Bridge to bring over and set up to entice people down to Lake Havasu City because he owned property there. He owned property in, I think it was Colorado, and he'd fly people back and forth and people from Arizona, he'd sell property in Colorado. People from Colorado, he'd sell property in Arizona because, you know, Arizona people, oh, it's so nice and cool and crisp and green. The Colorado people, oh, so nice and warm and dry. And so he bought the London Bridge thinking he was getting the Tower Bridge. He got the old London Bridge, brought it over, they were talking being rebuilt stone by stone. It's a concrete bridge, reinforced rebar, standard construction. All they did was slap the facing stones on it and cut up everything from inside and sold them as souvenirs. So

Sara: 56:50

That's funny.

Eric: 56:52

That is funny. That kinda reminds me of when you say that. Anyway, inside, in this family friendly environment, we see a very, very rough crowd.

Sara: 57:01

Yeah. Yeah. It is a rough crowd.

Eric: 57:03

In front, we see a woman looks like a bit a bit like Mildred's bag lady from Lofty Steele. Yeah.

Sara: 57:09

Thought that too. I thought that too, that she looked that that... Yeah, it looked like Mildred after she'd been bathed in Oda Fish. Yeah.

Eric: 57:17

Anyway, she's a char char woman complaining about her working conditions and the people she works for and her condition, her with a condition sitting in

Sara: 57:27

the Is the condition alcoholism? Is that the condition? Because that's kinda the question. My god. Was that... That was the condition.

Eric: 57:35

Well... Yeah. But you know

Sara: 57:36

how it is. Yeah. I... I've I've got

Eric: 57:38

a condition. It's alcoholism. Okay. So what's your cure? Well, I need my medicine. What's your what's your medicine? It's alcohol.

Sara: 57:43

It's whiskey. Yeah. I gotta say, though, I I have to hand it to this actress because her role was so tiny. Mhmm. It was so tiny. Like, literally, she just exists to get murdered. Yeah. But she... Her presence is huge in this episode because, like, she just gets that little rant about it. And I got me a condition. Right? And then when she's out in the street and then finally, like, when she's killed, you're just like, you don't forget her. You're not gonna forget her. She's good. And

Eric: 58:11

you're not sure if you should feel sorry for her or be cheering the ripper.

Sara: 58:14

It's like, well, you know what? She was really irritating.

Eric: 58:20

Anyway, we see that sitting in another corner of the bar is a man having a pint, and it turns out that it's our Steele. He pulls the pocket watch out from his pocket, the 1 which he perceived... The 1 which he previously received and Steele your heart away. And he looks at it. And as he does, we hear a voice over of Steele reading the note, which had been included in the watch. Your father always wanted you to have this, signed Patrick O'Rourke. Then we hear Laura in a voice over saying, to SJ from KL, the initials on the watch, 1 of these must be your father. Steele picks up his glass to finish his drink, but he's... As he does so, he hears a voice saying, make it a quick 1, Billy. And recognizing the voice, he turns and sees a man across the bar who also sees Steele. And in a panic, the man runs. Steele immediately begins pursuit. And as he's running through the crowd, he bumps into the charwoman who hollers after him, hey. Watch it. I've got a condition.

Sara: 59:24

So I I have a question here about the people that Steele is interacting with because Mhmm. We know Scott Linyard is after him. Mhmm. But basically, he comments on how all his friends run the other way when they see him. And Chalky turns him in. Felicia even turns him in. I wonder if 1 of the things the inspector is doing, they don't really answer this question as to why they're all turning against him. But I'm guessing based on what Chalky says later on about putting a good word in from the magistrate is that he's getting... He's leaning on all of Steele's old contacts and basically, like, turn him in or we we get you on something. Like, I'm thinking he's even threatening to fit them up. Like, I should've... Yeah. Right? So because By

Eric: 1:00:08

any means necessary.

Sara: 1:00:09

By any... Because... Yeah. Because when you said that, like, click that into place. The other thing I wanted to comment on... And again, kudos to the wardrobe department for this entire episode. It is flawless. Like, Mildred's looking fantastic. Laura's looking great. Steele looks like he's been dipped in dirt. Like... And and and I know I said I'm into it because, like, the whole 5 day shadow, like, that whole, like, hair thing, the hat, I'm loving it. But, like, he also looks like he smells bad. He really, really does. Like, Chalky makes a comment on how he he smells a little ripe. Yeah. He's... His jeans... Like, usually on TV shows when they wanna make a character look bad, they just have him get a bit of stubble and that's good enough. But, like, all of his clothing are caked in in grime. Like, his jeans are dirty. Like, his whole outfit looks like he's been sleeping in an alleyway for for days. Mhmm. They did a fantastic job of making him look awful. Still into it, but like, they did a... Hey, I'm not picky. You know? But just... Yeah. And then like the the handsome carriage, the whole like thing got the... It's all great. Everything about the costuming in this episode is fantastic.

Eric: 1:01:22

Anyway, we then see Steele chasing the man through the fog of the dark streets only to lose sight of him. Outside the pub, we also see the charwoman come stumbling out. She sees the horse drawn carriage sitting outside and thinking it must be a tourist attraction. She says, well, ain't we splendid? Off to see the royal mom, are we? What some people won't do for the Yankee dollar. All dressed up like Oliver Twist, so they'll toss you a quid or 2.

Sara: 1:01:51

She's really bitter. Oh, yeah. She... She's begrudging The tourist's the carriage a few quid just What because she's got an kills me about this is that I've spoken to a... Like, having lived in The UK, right, and specifically in Scotland where opinions on the English range from either being proud to be British and being perfectly fine with... Maybe not perfectly fine, but accepting of the political structure as is to being very anti English and wanting to separate. The royal family is a very divisive topic among a lot of Scottish people. Some people are very in favor of the royal family still being there as they bring a lot of tourist money. That's often the reason that they give. Like, well, they do a lot of charity work, but they also bring in a lot of tourist dollars. And then oftentimes you'll get other opinions where they're very anti monarchy because if you think about it, the monarchy is the largest example of living off benefits that I can think of. Right? I'm a monarchist myself. Being a Canadian, I'm like, we don't need her on our money or him. Sorry, actually, it's gonna be... They haven't changed that yet, but hey. So I just think this is kind of... She's not Scottish, but this is emblematic of that whole like either you are in favor of the monarchy or you're very much not a fan. She seems not a fan because she doesn't seem to like the idea of, Oh, you know, you're here for the tourism, I wanna seem quaint and cute and whatever. And then she gets killed. So I don't know if that's a commentary on that or who knows?

Eric: 1:03:31

Well, I've often said for years that Canadians are the same way, particularly those in the Yukon, because as you're traveling through on the Alaska Highway or the Alcan Highway, through British Columbia, it's nice. You get into the Yukon, it's decent until you start getting closer and closer to that border that separates Canada and the Yukon and Alaska. And as you're getting closer, the road gets worse and worse and worse and worse. And it's it's... I've said for years that it's like the folks in the Yukon are saying, yeah, we like your money, but we don't like you traveling through our roads. So we're gonna make life miserable for you as much as we can the closer you get to Alaska because we know once you get there, you're just leaving anyway. So Right.

Sara: 1:04:22

I've always... I know this might be not a popular opinion, but I've always kind of thought of Alaska as kind of like 1 of us. Just you know,

Eric: 1:04:32

people in the Lower 48 kind of think of us as... You know, I've even had people say that when trying to mail packages to Alaska, that they had trouble because the post office clerk wanted to charge them international rates because Alaska's another country. I've had packages that I've ordered from eBay that I am absolutely convinced were shipped through an overseas shipping service, even though it was originating in The US, it was shipped to, you know, because somebody doesn't understand, You know? Free shipping anywhere in The US. Then you call them and say, oh, 0, no. Not Alaska and Hawaii, only The US.

Sara: 1:05:20

You saw that episode of Simpsons. Right? No. Where Homer, like... Oh, okay. Homer wins. He he... I don't know if he wins it or if he exposes a company for something. But basically, they give him free travel to anywhere in The US. And then they say except Alaska and Hawaii, the freak states. And then he goes home, and he says to his kids, like, we can go anywhere we want. And then Bart's like, Alaska. And Lisa's like, Hawaii. Oh, and we've got a comment here. Yeah. Some people think Puerto Rico and Hawaii aren't in The US. So, yeah. Like, there's a lot of... Some people think that the capital of Canada is Toronto. That drives me nuts. I'm like, no. Nope. It's capital of You

Eric: 1:06:00

know, that's... This comment includes Puerto Rico. And that's... I kinda feel sorry for the people in Puerto Rico because... And I think also The Philippines. Technically, they're in a no man's land because they're not states. They're not US states, but they are US territories.

Sara: 1:06:20

Well, like our territories. Right? Like, if you think about it, our territories are not provinces. They're territories.

Eric: 1:06:26

Yeah. So they're they're kind of, but they're not really. And so they've got some of the benefits, but not all of them. Some... A lot of the drawbacks, but... Yeah. It... It's that's a messy situation.

Sara: 1:06:41

Too many unnecessary opinions.

Eric: 1:06:43

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Get back into the story here. Okay. As she begins... As the char... Charwoman begins to walk down the sidewalk, the carriage driver urges the horse forward and begins to follow the woman. Charwoman who started to sing suddenly realizes that the carriage seems to be following her. She picks up her pace. And as the carriage continues to follow her, she begins to run because the carriage picks up its pace and continues to follow her. She ducks in a doorway, which gives her some cover. She sees the carriage pass by and relieved tells herself that she just must be getting dottie in her old age. Must be her condition.

Sara: 1:07:24

We've also got a we've also got a corrections here. Philippines are its own country. You might be thinking of Guam, a US territory, which I remember now was how The US processed all of the Vietnam refugees. Mhmm. They did so by sending them to Guam to process them there and then bringing them in. Anyway, sorry. That was just a random fact that entered my brain. But, yes, it must be her condition.

Eric: 1:07:47

Yeah. Oh, 0, speaking of glum. Yeah. That reminds me. I used to work for a car dealership up here, and part of my responsibility was to track and log in all the parts that we received that were going to go on the new cars, the the dealer installed options. And they were constantly screwing up, sending parts to the wrong place. We got parts for a dealership in Guam. Yeah. Not quite the same. Anyway, as the charwoman is telling herself that it must be her condition, she comments that they'll drive a person to the grave if you let them, the swines. I guess she's talking about the, you know, the people that are making money off tourism, or maybe she's talking about her boss. Who knows?

Sara: 1:08:35

Well, I mean, char... Like, being a a char person, I guess, would be the phrase. Like, that is a hard, grueling physical job. So she is made fun of kind of, like, with her, I've got me a condition, but, like, she would be basically doing backbreaking work every single night. I don't begrudge the woman a few pints at the prospect of whit me.

Eric: 1:08:58

But... No. I I don't either. But I just... Her comment about they'll drive a person to the grave if you let them. It's not clear whether she's talking about her employers or the people that she just referenced who are making

Sara: 1:09:09

money I think she's talking about everyone. I think she's bitter. The whole Yeah.

Eric: 1:09:15

So anyway, she resumes her journey with a bit more urgency than when she began maybe, but not as much as she had when she was... Thought she was being stalked. Well, she comes out on the side street into an intersection, but stops short. Carriage is there waiting for her, and the driver is standing by. The driver dismounts the vehicle, begins to approach her, and she's backing away from the driver in the carriage. And then we see a figure come down the street out of the fog. At the same time, we can make out that it's Remington. We hear the woman scream. Steele pauses, hearing the sounds of activities. He looks around suspiciously, glances up at an elevated walkway, and then darts off to the side. Next, we see a man running across that elevated walk... Walkway. And as he gets most of the way across, Steele steps out from the other side and grabs him, throwing him back into the middle. The other person is chalky, presumably a friend of Steele's, but seemingly having ducked out on Steele at the pub.

Sara: 1:10:15

Yeah.

Eric: 1:10:16

As Steele tells the man that he'd been sitting at the pub waiting for 2 nights. Chalky says, he's been busy. Honest. I'm sorry. When somebody says, oh, I've been busy. Honest. Yeah. Yeah. Not not so much.

Sara: 1:10:31

Not so much.

Eric: 1:10:31

Steele angrily tells Chalky that he can't get back to his flat because there's a bloody army back there waiting for him. Plus, he hasn't changed clothes in a week. And Chalky, inappropriately trying to lighten the mood with a bit of humor, suggests

Sara: 1:10:44

that, yeah, Steele is

Eric: 1:10:45

a bit ripe. That's nothing that a tub and a shave won't... And Steele cuts him off, demanding to know who they are and why they're after him. Chalky, deciding that the lighthearted approach wasn't working, says that he doesn't know who they are or why they're after him. All he knows is that it's not too healthy to get too close to Steele these days. And Steele asks why. Why is it is it he don't oh, what is it he... Boy, I can't even read my notes asking what is it that he's not telling him. Chalky jumps the track saying that he'd run into Felicia and thought that maybe Steele and Felicia had something going on like the old days.

Sara: 1:11:25

Felicia. I love Felicia. Sorry. Felicia. Just had a girl named Felicia. Oh, bye, Felicia.

Eric: 1:11:36

Steele raising his voice says that he doesn't know what Chalky's on about and that he doesn't even know that Felicia's in London. And then lowering his voice, he says, it's not about business. It's personal. And Chalky owes Steele a name. Chalky insists that he's working on it, working his fingers to the bone he is. And you know what you get when you work your fingers to the bone?

Sara: 1:11:57

Bony fingers?

Eric: 1:11:59

Bony fingers. Bony fingers. Hoyt accident. Yes. Steele, apparently suspecting that Chalky is holding out on him, suddenly grabs the man by the back of his neck with 1 hand, jerks him over the safety rail of the elevated walkway, holding him partway over the railing, and then grabs his jaw in the other hand, positioning it to snap his neck.

Sara: 1:12:20

Yeah. This was this was... So I know we've we've commented on, especially in season 2, how they kind of like escalated Steel's tendencies towards physical threats and things like that. And some of it felt unearned. But... And even though we don't know... We don't really know at this point who Shocky is to Steele and and what is going on presumably. You really do feel like Steele is at a point where he's desperate Mhmm. Where... And you kind of feel... Because we've only ever seen him living the high life. We've really only ever seen him in his con man glory as Remington Steele. We have not seen him in the places that he grew up, which we know parts of those places are on the streets. And he's talked a little bit about those moments, but it's fleetingly, right? Like he mentioned Brixton. He mentions sleeping in alleyways. He's alluded to these parts of his past, but this is the 1st time we really see that there's a darkness in him that is real. Like, that's... This doesn't feel like he's just kind of lost his crap at the car, you know, at mister... At Mueller, the German dude for no reason at all. This feels like he's back in... It's almost like he's been put back to factory settings. You know? Like, he's in that space, that headspace of having lost everything, sleeping in alleyways, not knowing who he is, searching for answers. And and, yeah, like, seems extreme to threaten to break his neck. I don't think he was actually ever gonna do it, but, like, that threat alone, I think, was enough to be scary, which

Eric: 1:14:09

Well is interesting. I I think we can get the feeling from from the situation, from what he said to to Chalky here and also maybe a little bit of his run-in with Laura. His back is against the wall.

Sara: 1:14:23

Yeah. Exactly.

Eric: 1:14:26

You know, there's an old axiom that says that the most dangerous person in the world is the person who's... Or the most dangerous animal in the world is the 1 that's that's trapped and cornered.

Sara: 1:14:38

Yeah. Exactly.

Eric: 1:14:39

Because they've got nothing to lose.

Sara: 1:14:41

Precisely. And he's already lost it all. Right? He's he's not, like, he's not going by Remington Steele. He's going by every other name in the book, literally, that he's ever used, but it's not Remington Steele. It's it's Harry or it's Michael.

Eric: 1:14:52

Worse. Everybody he's depended on in the past, everybody who's been a friend, put that in sarcasm quotes, in the past, that somebody... You know, people that he could go to and even if they, you know, we're not totally trustworthy of him, would at least give him a little bit of a break that he could kind of... Even if he he had to be a little bit manipulative, he could use them, and they would be begrudging, but they would help him. They're gone. They've turned against him. Everything that he ever had as a fallback has been pulled out from underneath him. So, I mean, yeah, he's got nothing to lose.

Sara: 1:15:38

And I really like... I think this... We we saw in Still Trying, Laura makes that comment about how he's the thing that she has to guard against when it comes to herself. Right? How that sort of unveiled 1 of her fears that she herself, like she has a part of herself that is a bit wild and a bit reckless. And she's trying to keep that in check because he brings that out in her. I think this shows us without explicitly saying it. 1 of the reasons why he's so reluctant to trust because the the show sort of focuses on her a lot about her being reluctant to trust him. But he's gotta have some trust issues too because it... Where he came from growing... Like, going from person to person, family to family, being a con man, having these people that you just, like, as you just pointed out, can be trusted to a point. Only to a point. He has never had anybody that he could put implicit faith in to back him up ever, except maybe Daniel, and Daniel's not here. And I think even he might question that because he doesn't really know yet who Daniel really is. Laura's been the only person that has really, really been there for him, and she just severed that tie. So, yeah, he he definitely is. And and 1 of the commenters just pointed out... I forgot to mention this, but I think most seal watchers know that Felicia... This is the final appearance of Cassandra Harris, Pierce's wife at the time who tragically passed away a few years ago or a few years after this of ovarian cancer. So, yeah, this was... It's it's always nice to see him and and his and his wife just together even if it's just in the series because Mhmm. That had to have been a a major blow for for the actor to to lose her. So I... But I just... As a fan, I just love the character. I love Felicia. I love her. Hate Felicia. Might... See, I hate Torah.

Eric: 1:17:32

As a character, I I I don't hate her in the sense that... She's a hateable character. That's that's the sense that I hate her in. She's she's manipulative. She's abusive.

Sara: 1:17:46

She That's why I love her. I don't know. I just love her for now.

Eric: 1:17:50

But... Okay. So I love to hate her.

Sara: 1:17:51

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. She's... That's literally what she's supposed to be. She's supposed to be... You love to hate her. Like, she's she... You can't trust her.

Eric: 1:17:58

She's she's gonna turn

Sara: 1:17:59

on you 100%. She's like a cat with its claws. Right? Yeah. But at the same time, she's fun. Like, she's just fun. Hello, darling. Like, I don't know. I just... I like her.

Eric: 1:18:11

Anyway, Steele seems to be threatening Chalky to break his neck and throw him over the side. And he kind of completes that threat saying that if he broke Chalky's neck ever, ever so slowly, would the name that he wanted catch in Chalky's throat?

Sara: 1:18:29

Oh, it's such a, like, really descriptive way to threaten his life, isn't it? Like, ah, kudos, Steely. You're really... Chef's kiss.

Eric: 1:18:38

Yeah. Would you get it out before I completely snap your neck?

Sara: 1:18:43

Crush your neck. Would it just be

Eric: 1:18:45

kind of... Come out as kind of

Sara: 1:18:46

a... Anyway. Another comment on Felicia adding that this person loves her acting and that she does a really good job of creating a character who is despicable. Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. Anyway... Yes.

Eric: 1:19:02

Despicable her. Chalky finally gives up the name of Jenny Buchanan, and Steele can find her at Paddington Station.

Sara: 1:19:10

We just watched Paddington in Peru, like, literally before I went to do this recording. The the Paddington movies based on the Paddington books.

Eric: 1:19:20

Mhmm. K.

Sara: 1:19:20

They are... They're like family kids movies, so that's probably why you haven't seen But, like, they have every single British actor ever in life in those movies. Like, they've all... Like, Hugh Grant, Olivia Coleman was just in the 3rd 1 that we watched. Like, everybody's in it. Right? I would die for that bear. That bear is flipping adorable, and I love him. So when he's Paddington Station, I'm like, oh, like Paddington Bear. Commenter actually just says the woman who... Like, that Felicia's like the woman who played Umbridge. Hate. So difficult to believe her as the queen and the crown. Actually, yes. Olivia, Imelda Staunton. Yeah. British British actors. They're just everywhere. Yeah.

Eric: 1:19:57

Well, next we're at Scotland Yard. And why is Scotland Yard called Scotland Yard if it's not in Scotland?

Sara: 1:20:04

Did did you Google this?

Eric: 1:20:05

I did.

Sara: 1:20:06

Well Okay. I was gonna say, do you...

Eric: 1:20:08

Alright. Microsoft Bing copilot Fair. Okay. Automated idiocy says that the name Scotland Yard originates from the area where the Metropolitan Police was 1st established in 1829. The police headquarters was located at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a back entrance on a street known as Great Scotland Yard. Yes. The street was named because it once housed a royal palace used by Scottish royalty during their visits to London. And as the police force grew, the entrance on Great Scotland Yard became the main public access point leading to the building being commonly referred to as Scotland Yard. And over time, this name became synonymous with the Metropolitan Police itself.

Sara: 1:20:50

Yes. And I I think that's a... I I just... I love that background, and I'm really interested... Like, I've just been watching through all of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. Was telling you a little about this series, and it focuses on the British police service. He's a chief inspector, and I have... I had to bring up the hierarchy here because it was bugging me. Because in the show that I've been watching, the main character, Gene Hunt, is a DCI, which is a detective chief inspector.

Eric: 1:21:21

Detective chief inspector. Yes.

Sara: 1:21:22

Yeah. And then Sam Tyler is a DI, detective inspector.

Eric: 1:21:26

Inspector. Yeah.

Sara: 1:21:27

But they seem to kind of, like, alternate in some ways, like, rankings because he's a chief inspector, which is also a DCI. Apparently, they're the same thing. I had to Google that because when they said CI chief inspector, I'm like, wait, I don't remember that from the show. And so I was like, is he above or below? And I... Yeah. Anyway, so he'd be the same as as DCI Hunt for those of you who have seen life on Mars, same same rank. Anyway, sorry.

Eric: 1:21:54

Then we see a copy of the London Standard newspaper sitting on the desk with the headline which reads Ripper 3, Scotland o.

Sara: 1:22:02

This is kind of like ballgame. Yeah. It's like a like a... Like foot... Soccer or footy for those who who who pay attention. This is kind of hilarious that they're giving them... It's almost like the paper's taunting them. Like, you guys haven't caught him yet. He's got 3 now. Ouch.

Eric: 1:22:18

Can you can you just hear the the announcer and the the Euripur has got...

Sara: 1:22:22

He's he's running down the road, and Scotland Yard is behind, and then he's kicking in as a goal. Oh, the charwoman's dead, and the... And Scotland Yard still hasn't caught him.

Eric: 1:22:33

They're too busy to see television. Yeah. And did you did you notice the the the wonderful outfit that the the ripper is wearing? I mean, just beautiful black, long lines.

Sara: 1:22:44

Really brings in the time period. Makes you... Makes it really come to life. You know?

Eric: 1:22:50

Anyway, we see a suited arm, clearly the arm of a man, pick it up and walk toward the door of an office as we hear a knock. The door opens, and it's Laura. Looking good in that pinstriped suit. Arm invites Laura in and we pull out to see that it's the man from the bus, the man who had instructed the man in the boulder hat to find Steele and stop him at any cost. Well, it's chief inspector Lombard by name. Laura says that an officer had told her that her purse had been recovered, and Lombard walks back to his desk, been around it, pulls her purse from her drawer, hands it to her saying that the money is gone, but everything else is intact.

Sara: 1:23:31

So this is his 1st mistake because how would he know? Like, how would he know all

Eric: 1:23:35

the Right?

Sara: 1:23:36

Like, how would he know everything's in... Like, what did he know about her... What was in her purse before? Yes. Good point. Also, this actor has appeared in a bunch of stuff, but I know him best as the Nazi in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He bay... Or... Yeah. He he hires Indiana Jones to go after his dad who's gotten lost looking for the holy grail. And then it turns out he's working with the Nazis to try to find it himself. Anyway, just thought I'd put that in there. But, yeah, he's he's been in everything. He's 1 of those actors that just kind of pops up everywhere, and you're like, I've seen him in something. Mhmm. And then you have to go down a rabbit hole. So I did that for you. You're welcome. Yeah.

Eric: 1:24:18

You know, speaking of actors you've seen somewhere else, somebody posted in the Facebook group about a show called The Catch. And I looked at it and I I clicked on the link and they showed this this little promotional video. And it's like, I've seen that actress before.

Sara: 1:24:36

Yeah. Where?

Eric: 1:24:38

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just... Anyway, as Laura begins looking into her purse and through it, the inspector asks what she was doing in SoHo, looking for a friend. Did she find him? No. Not yet. The inspector sees from her identification that she works for a private investigation firm in America. Yes. Remington Steele Investigations. Is he here on a case? What makes the inspector think that mister Steele is in London? Well, you just assume, you know, with her being there and all. No. She's just on vacation.

Sara: 1:25:08

Laura's good here because she obviously knows that something's not right. I mean, let's face it. Scotland Yard... Like, the chief inspector of Scotland Yard is not gonna call you over purse snatching. They'll have an officer at 1 of their stations give you a call, and you go in and pick it up. Yeah. So, like, that alone has to be raising some major red flags. But she's good

Eric: 1:25:26

at And she does mention mention that in just a little bit here. So stop jumping ahead.

Sara: 1:25:31

Oh, I just mean she doesn't tip her hand yet. Like, she knows that... She knows something's not right from the 2nd she walks through the door.

Eric: 1:25:38

Yeah.

Sara: 1:25:38

But she lets him continue to ask his questions and plays along until it's clear that they're both... Like, the subtext is text at that point. Mhmm. And that's when she's like, yeah, since when do chief inspectors get involved in person hatchings? Like...

Eric: 1:25:54

Yeah. Yeah. As the conversation continues, the inspector suggests that maybe he can help her locate this friend. And she says, well, you know, that's kind, but it's not important. And in what is clearly a veiled threat, the inspector suggests that she give places like Soho a wide berth, suggesting that it would be a pity if something were to happen to her, and he can almost guarantee it will.

Sara: 1:26:16

Yeah. That's definitely a threat. Yeah.

Eric: 1:26:18

Unless she keeps to the more traditional tourist attractions.

Sara: 1:26:21

Interestingly, though, now, SoHo is considered to be like a a cultural hub. Like, they've they've really... It's sort of really undergone a transformation. It was starting that transformation back in the eighties, but it hadn't really happened yet. And and fun fact, we also have a Soho in London, Ontario because, of course, we can't do anything original. And it is also maybe not the best area of the city, although it's not as bad as Just like in London in Northern London. It's not quite as bad as what we call the EOA or East Of Adelaide. Anything East Of Adelaide Street, wanna avoid. There's even a song for it that a a group called Bobnoxious recorded that's like couches on the front porch, EOA, old abandoned shopping carts, EOA. Yeah. So you wanna stay away from there. But SoHo here stands for South Important Street. So it's still not the best place to go, but it's not the EOA. Yeah.

Eric: 1:27:13

Well, Laura gets up to leave, but as she's moving toward the door, as you indicated, she asks, is it customary for a chief inspector of Scotland Yard to involve himself in a purse snatching? And the inspector gives her a sinister smile, ignores the question Yeah. And then suggests that should she speak to mister Steele, the inspector is most anxious to meet him. Whew. Laura leaves, but then we see Chalky walk into the inspector's office and tell him that he came as soon as he found him, referring to Steele.

Sara: 1:27:44

Steele. Yeah.

Eric: 1:27:45

And when the inspector asks where he is, Chalky reluctantly admits that he kinda gave him the slip. The inspector disgustedly asks, well, then what good are you? But Chalky smiles and says, because I'll know where he's going to be. Yep. Next, we see that we are at Paddington Station. The train is pulled up, doors have opened, and a horde of passengers exits the train. Then we see a tall, extremely skinny blonde, disgustingly skinny.

Sara: 1:28:16

Well, not a natural blonde.

Eric: 1:28:18

I don't know.

Sara: 1:28:19

That's clearly bleat. But anyway,

Eric: 1:28:22

she's I just... A line from an episode of The Office just popped in my head.

Sara: 1:28:29

That actress has also been in a few things that people would recognize. And I had it on my notes, and then I, for some reason, lost it. But she's... You know what I said about how they treated Clarissa in Steele and the Family and how they... The show was actually quite sensitive to the concept of a prostitute and sex work and didn't really shape her and blah blah blah. This episode kind of sucks for that because not the way Steele treats her. He's very kind and respectful to her. But just the whole concept of like the fact that the Earl of Cleridge was known for fits of drunken rages and gleefully beating up prostitutes. And they've... They're... Everyone's just cool with covering that up. And they all treat him like he's some sort of nice guy when like, I'm sorry, shipping somebody to... 1st of all, Canada, we're not a penal colony. Don't send us your your criminals.

Eric: 1:29:23

But 2nd, like, That's called Australia.

Sara: 1:29:26

But it's not even just like they're criminals. Like, they're sending all the royal family members they don't want because they've done something wrong here. But, yeah, they just seem to be like, sort of really glossing over this aspect of it as if it's fine just because... Well, I mean, she's a prostitute. Who cares? Right? Like, beats a prostitute. So it's,

Eric: 1:29:46

you know... Except that's not really the show so much as it... Is that the show is reflecting the reality of a situation.

Sara: 1:29:53

Okay. Yeah. Well... And and... Okay. So I found her. Sorry. I just found... Her name's Catherine Goodall, and she's been in a bunch of stuff, but she's including... You remember when we spoke to Kate Callan and she mentioned that short film that she did, So Torn. She's in that 1. But she's also better known for... Like, she's got a huge, huge catalog of films here. So I'm just trying to find the thing that I think people would recognize the most here. Just bear with me. But she's a really... Like she's been in so many things. She's been in The Crown. That's it. She played Lady Doris on The Crown. She was also in Midsummer Murders. Like she's been in a bunch of British TV series, including like Dorian Gray. Anyway, there's there's... There was 1 thing in particular, and I can't seem to find it now. But when I come across it, I will I will yell it. Oh, the princess diaries. She's the mother, which I know you won't have seen, but

Eric: 1:30:50

Julie either.

Sara: 1:30:51

Okay. Fair enough. But like print... The Princess Diaries was Anne Hathaway's 1st, like, film that she did as a 17 year old. And it also had Julie Andrews who's better known for playing Mary Poppins as the queen of this fictional country called Genovia. And so she played her mother in that film. Also a comment saying the storyline is about a high born privilege people getting away with stuff. And that is... And yeah, as this commenter pointed out, that's the charwoman's grape. So I completely agree, especially the commentary at the time, because the Royal family has a history of doing this. So I don't have an issue with this in general. It just feels like even Remington and Laura kind of brush it under the rug when they're more concerned about finding out if he's really his father. Because they know what kind of person he is. Like, I don't know about you, but I would not want that person as my dad. Well... But... Yeah.

Eric: 1:31:45

Yeah. But 1st, you have to have to confirm if they are or aren't, and then you can cut them off.

Sara: 1:31:51

True. True. But... Yeah. Like prince Andrew. Right? Prince Andrew has a host of unsavory accusations leveled against him, and it seems like at least some of them are true, and they've just kind of like, we'll just pretend these aren't real.

Eric: 1:32:04

Nothing to see. Carry on.

Sara: 1:32:06

Carry on. Nothing to see. I I I agreeing that the British royal family has a history

Eric: 1:32:10

of Well, it's not just

Sara: 1:32:12

covering up... Anybody anybody who's who's rich enough and well off enough to get away with stuff can get away with stuff. So that is a... And if they were commenting on that, but they're not. They're just sort of, like, pointing it out and then just sail it on past it. So it's like... Yeah. I don't know.

Eric: 1:32:30

But, you know, again, I I think it's... They're not portraying her, Jenny,

Sara: 1:32:37

in a No. No. Jenny's wonderful. Jenny's Jenny's wonderful.

Eric: 1:32:41

Just the situation that they're presenting is just the situation that is there. It's a real life situation. And they're just simply saying, okay. Yeah. That's what it is, but here's this woman. And even in this context, we're going to kind of treat her with a little bit of...

Sara: 1:32:59

Oh, Steele is extremely respectful. If anything, she's she's kind of the 1 telling him like, you sure you don't wanna get a bath? Like, you know, she's she's like, yeah, I think maybe you need some help there, my friend. But yeah, no, I agree that Jenny is portrayed with dignity and respect, and I don't have an issue with that. I just kind of wish that they didn't use prostitutes as like the shorthand for he's bad. Here's why. Because obviously if somebody has a history of getting drunk and beating specifically prostitutes, they have issues a with sex, they have issues with violence, they have issues with women.

Eric: 1:33:33

They have issues with alcohol.

Sara: 1:33:35

And alcohol. And all of those things put together is not a good recipe. So rather than dig into any of that, they're just like, oh, he's fixed. He went to Canada for 5 years. Now he's fine. Like, okay.

Eric: 1:33:47

He he he became a calm, laid back Canadian.

Sara: 1:33:50

He just had a bunch of timbits, and now he's good to go. Like, it's it's cool. We put drugs in those, you know? That's we don't have it's why we don't have any crime here. Like, what? Well I'm I'm being so deeply sarcastic, obviously.

Eric: 1:34:04

Anyway, so she's approaching men as they come off the train. And after several unsuccessful approaches, we see Steele or hear actually Steele call her name, but apparently that's not her style. So she looks off in his direction telling him to bugger off.

Sara: 1:34:21

No. Well, she takes 1 look at him and she's, he must really smell. Okay? If you... Because, like, look at him. He is a gorgeous man. Even when he's, like, grimy and gross, he's still gorgeous. So he must smell real bad. He must smell like Mildred after after her carp issue situation.

Eric: 1:34:43

Steele is close enough that he grabs her arm and tells her that he only wants a few minutes with her. And she doesn't seem to have a problem with duration of the proposition, only the source saying that he's got some nerve thinking she'd be available for the likes of him. After all, she's got standards.

Sara: 1:34:57

Yeah. Ouch. Ouch. Like I said, he must really smell.

Eric: 1:35:02

Steele slips in what seems to be a cheap shot that she misses saying that he's sure that her standards are incredibly high, but all he wants to do is talk to her and he'll even pay for the privilege. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a fold of bills, and peels off a tin. She takes the money, but suggests that he could put it to better use by getting himself a nice bath.

Sara: 1:35:23

Real tactful She's real tactful here. She's like, yeah, maybe you could use this for other things, honey.

Eric: 1:35:30

Yeah. Steele tells her that a man named Patrick O'Rourke sent him a watch. It has to do with his past, but before he could find out exactly what, O'Rourke died. And Jenny seems to be overtly insistent that she doesn't know anybody named Patrick O'Rourke. And she makes a move, has to leave, but Steele insists that she hear him out. He says that he traced O'Rourke back to London where he used to work at a white cap pub as a barman or a white... At a Whitechapel pub as a barman. Also, was another fellow about 4 or 5 years previous who had been hanging around the pub where he worked, and O'Rourke used to look out for him to keep him away from the coppers, that sort of thing, because this fellow had a kind of a, okay, nasty habit of getting drunk and beating up girls like her. Well, Jenny's heard enough.

Sara: 1:36:18

Like, a habit. That's not a habit. You know what's a you know what's a bad habit? Biting your nails. That's a bad habit. You know? Getting drunk and beating a prostitute, that's not a habit. Just saying.

Eric: 1:36:30

It's a hard habit to break. Anyway, Jenny's heard enough. In a panic, she tells him, time's up, and then starts to take off, but Steele again stops her, insisting that she knows who he's talking about. He tells her that he knows it's painful, but it's very important to him. He tells her that it took some doing, but he's dug up a name, Kevin Landers. He shows her the watch pointing out the initials, KL, on the watch are the same. And really nervous now, Jenny insists that she never knew who he was. Kevin was all he ever called himself. And Steele urges her to tell him where he can find this Kevin Landers. She begins to laugh, saying, He hasn't been looking very hard. He's all over the place these days. She grabs his arm, leads into a newsstand, and points out a photo on the front page of the London Standard. It's the issue with the 3 and o headline, which is hanging from a clip on the post. There, she says. There's your Kevin Landers. And Steele pulls off the paper and reads the headline beside the photo. Earl of Cleridge announces nuptials. Steele is stunned. He raises his head from the paper, looking around as he's changing his focus from the photo to his surroundings as if that's gonna help him comprehend the situation, the revelation, and what it means. And as he's looking around, he spots the inspector and the man in the bowler and several police officers at 1 end of the platform walking his direction.

Sara: 1:37:57

So just before you get there, I thought... I I was curious because, obviously, these titles, they have various different backgrounds and histories and things like that. Duke of this, Earl of that. Duke. Duke. Duke of Duke of Sorry. But I... Like, for example, the Prince of Wales is the the title of... Well, was the... Right. Like, they they seem to have these various different titles that they get. So I was curious to see if there really was an Earl of Cleridge. And I I I assumed there wasn't because if there was, you would be risking some fallout here by implying that the Earl of Cleridge has some habits. Mhmm. So as I as I assumed, I was correct. There is no Earl of Cleridge. The title Duke of Clarence has been created multiple times, most notably for prince William Henry who later became king William the 4th. He was also created Earl of Munster and the peerage of Ireland at the same time. There's no record of an Earl of Cleridge title nor is there historical or contemporary peerage title associated associated with the name Clarence. The famous Clarence's Hotel in London is named after the original owner John Mackie, but not after a peerage title. So there is no Earl of Clarence, but if you were to assume that it was taken from anything, the closest thing you could assume it was taken from is maybe the duke of Clarence.

Eric: 1:39:18

Wasn't he an angel in that movie, It's a Wonderful Life? Possibly. Clarence?

Sara: 1:39:26

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But the titles have traditionally been awarded to junior members of the English and British royal family and are now all extinct. So it's kind of a title that has petered out. Anyway, I just thought that was interesting.

Eric: 1:39:38

Okay. Anyway, yes, the inspector and the man and the bowler and cops went from 1 direction, so Steele turns the other direction, sees more officers that are also coming at his direction. So he, as casually as possible, begins to move, thanking Jenny for her help and telling her to take care of herself. He begins to walk toward the inspector and the entourage, and as he gets near, he raises his hands partway in a gesture of openness and submission.

Sara: 1:40:06

Yeah. Sure.

Eric: 1:40:07

But then he grabs an awning off of a nearby flower cart, pulls the cart over into the space between himself and the inspector, turns around, grabs a bag of something from a stack of bags conveniently there, swings it at the officers who are approaching from the other direction, knocking over 1. And then he cuts to his right, rushes through the door of the the open door of the newsstand. I'm not sure why that door was open. Anyway, he pulls the support down from the front window cover, causing it to drop down on the officers who had rushed up to the front of the stand. Why did they rush to the front of the stand? What are they gonna do, crawl over the... And through the window to get to him? Dummies. Steele then dives out the opposite end of the stand and onto another pile of bags of something, climbs over and off, and then takes off running.

Sara: 1:40:51

They almost looked like sandbags, which They do. Is weird because, like, why would you have sandbags? It's not World War 2. You're not... Anyway.

Eric: 1:41:00

Yeah. And several of the officers have recovered from their misadventures and began pursuing. Steele, in an effort to toss more obstacles in the way of the officers, grabs grabs an innocent passenger. Guy who's just

Sara: 1:41:13

walking down the platform to wait for his train. A guy didn't do anything has nothing to do with the pursuit of

Eric: 1:41:20

Steele and throws him on the ground in front of the officers. I mean, come on.

Sara: 1:41:25

Justice for that guy. Hey. At least that guy's got a... At least that guy has a story when he gets home. Honey, you'll never believe what happened at Paddington Station today. Some random guy, he smelled really bad. He grabbed. Just saying. So

Eric: 1:41:44

rude. So rude.

Sara: 1:41:45

Yeah. It is not very nice, I think.

Eric: 1:41:47

Steele then begins running alongside of the train, matching its speed, then jumps on the train, grabbing the door handle and planting his feet on some sort of running board that's on the side. He works the door open, climbs inside, closing the door behind him, then leans out and gives a chef kiss to the officers he... That he left back on the platform. Seems a bit unsafe to me for the doors to be able to be opened while the train's in motion. I mean, that's just me.

Sara: 1:42:11

Yeah. No. I don't disagree with you, but I always get a kick out of, like, the the way that they say stuff on the trains in in Britain because, like, this train will terminate at this station. You're like, you know what? I'm... What? Like, Mind the gap. Anyway.

Eric: 1:42:31

Yeah. Somebody confirms that Clarence is the angel in It's a Wonderful Life. So,

Sara: 1:42:35

yes. Yeah.

Eric: 1:42:36

I am vindicated. Yay. Oh.

Sara: 1:42:38

Aw. You're right about 1 thing.

Eric: 1:42:41

Oh, no. That was just that was just cruel. Anyway, back at the apartment building. I guess it's the original apartment where the landlady was. We see Mildred trying to use a credit card to force her way into 1 of the units. And my question is, okay, if this is the same apartment building, how did they know that that apartment that they were in originally wasn't Steele? I mean, I I presume that that was the landlady's apartment. So how did they know which 1 was steals? Or they're just gonna break into every apartment until they find the right 1.

Sara: 1:43:12

There's a lot of questions with this. Like like... Yeah. I wonder the same thing because obvious... We we learn later on that Laura didn't even know where she went. So Mildred's doing this on her own. Mhmm. And also, why haven't they taught Mildred how to properly pick a lock?

Eric: 1:43:27

I I... Yeah. It seems a perfectly good way to ruin an otherwise perfectly good credit card.

Sara: 1:43:32

Yeah. Exactly. Well... Yeah. So I don't know. And also... And I know that this is 1985 and I know that... But like that whole exchange with the kid, it's like they put in every offensive stereotypical statement that they could put in there. The wampum, the my kind of savage, the firewater, like, they couldn't have picked more if they tried. It was just like, you know, and and again, 1985, it it wouldn't get written that way today, obviously, but it was just like, wow. I don't know. It was like they were throwing a dart and trying to hit all the things that I Well,

Eric: 1:44:08

in fairness, the kid was presumably playing cowboys and Indians. He had on headband with the feathers sticking up, had the face paint on, and Mildred being the grandmotherly type would tend to get into the role play with the kid and talk that way to the kid.

Sara: 1:44:32

I'm not ragging on Mildred. Like, this was something that would not have been

Eric: 1:44:35

That entire scene would have been done differently. Yeah.

Sara: 1:44:38

I'm just saying, like, it's just 1 of those, like, reminders that this is the eighties.

Eric: 1:44:42

Yeah. I've got another question about this, and I'll get to it in here in a minute.

Sara: 1:44:45

So There's a comment here that also says Mildred's action start of the arc of her learning more about the business of... Yeah. Like, this is a really... Mhmm. This is a good episode for Mildred entirely because she she shows some real... Aside from the card... The credit card problem, she shows a lot of initiative in finding out this information, confronting Laura with it, knowing something's not right. Like, she's she's here on her own. She she didn't tell Laura where she was going. This is this is showing Mildred is really having picked up a lot and she's using that knowledge. I like But

Eric: 1:45:19

it also it also shows up the fact that for 2 years, they haven't done what they should have in terms of even just

Sara: 1:45:27

Oh, yeah.

Eric: 1:45:27

Teaching her the business, not not not even getting into the issue of Remington Steele and who he is or isn't, but just the basics of learning the business because we've already seen that she's been involved in cases. Yeah. So if you got... And and it's not that... It's not like the 1 with the dog where she took it on her own. She's been brought into cases by Laura and by Steele. So if you're gonna do that, you better give them the tools to know what they're doing in situations. But... Yeah. Anyway... Yes. After Mildred has destroyed her credit card, she hears a young lad giving a stereotypical American Indian war hoop as he comes running down the stairs complete, as I said, with feathered headband and face paint. And as you said, Mildred stops the lad, asks him if he wants to make some wampum. She just rented this little teepee, only she lost her key. And does he think he can open the door for 5 buffalo head nickels? Where did Mildred get 5 buffalo

Sara: 1:46:22

head nickels? I don't think she actually has 5. Like, I think that was just part of the

Eric: 1:46:27

The role play? Okay. Yeah. Because I was gonna say, with the last ones having been minted in the late 19 thirties, they are not commonly available and are worth more than their face value. Values can go as high as $350,000 for an uncirculated example of the rarest versions, with even the poorest examples being worth 15¢.

Sara: 1:46:48

They're in England. The kid would have no use for them anyway. Right? Like, in terms of, like, his view of things he would want.

Eric: 1:46:53

Well, yeah, except, you know, a cool collector. Oh, look what I got from an American lady, an American buffalo had nickel.

Sara: 1:47:01

Yeah. No. I think she was just being... I think it was part of

Eric: 1:47:03

the role play. Alright. I didn't go that far. Anyway, alright. The lad gives out with an ugh, and with Mildred telling him that he is her kind of savage. Yeah. Obviously, she reads Charlotte Knight and not some of the historical romances.

Sara: 1:47:23

Anyway, I don't

Eric: 1:47:25

know where that came from. The lad steps to the door, hits his fist against it,

Sara: 1:47:30

This and the door pops is funny. This is funny that the kid's just like, yeah, I can get you in. Well,

Eric: 1:47:37

that's like a story I heard about some guy. I don't remember the details. It was something like some issue with a naval ship, and they bring a guy in after they've spent weeks and weeks trying to solve the problem, and he's there for 5 minutes and he does some little thing and solves the problem and then sends them a bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And they ask him, Well, you were only there for 5 minutes. That can't be worth a $100,000. And he says, No, the 5 minutes is only $25. A $100,000 is is for all my years of experience so that I knew what to do in those 5 minutes.

Sara: 1:48:18

Yeah. Exactly.

Eric: 1:48:20

So, yeah, Mildred gasps and is presumably disgusted that she just ruined a perfectly good credit card trying to force the the lock of the door open.

Sara: 1:48:30

Right.

Eric: 1:48:31

Especially if she had just bumped into the door, her problem would have been solved. Anyway, Mildred gives the lad his coins with the admonition not to spend it all on fire water. Inside, she begins to poke around, and at 1st, she doesn't find anything. All the dresser drawers are empty. She finally spots a matchbook on the floor, partially hidden under the dresser. She picks it up and reads, prospect of Whitney Alehouse. She places the matchbook in her purse, then continues her search over at the bed. She pulls out a suitcase, begins prowling through its contents. It's full of clothes, but she digs to the bottom and finds a stack of passports. Open mouth, she begins to inspect them. John Morell, France. Paul Fabrini, Italy. Douglas Quintain, England. But all with a photo of Remington Steele. And a look that could be confusion or confusion mixed with vague comprehension covers Mildred's face as she lets out a gasp of shock. Yep. Next, we have a close-up of a doorknob. We hear a knock and a female hand reaching to the knob. Door opens. A man is standing outside the door, bouquet of flowers held up to hide his face. Then we hear Steele's voice say, flowers for the lady, toughen's a bunch. He moves the flowers down and reveals himself to Felicia. She greets him as Michael and says that she thought he was safely tucked away in Los Angeles playing that paragon of virtue Remington Steele. They move into the room and he makes a passing acknowledgment of her convent and then apologizes for dropping in without invitation, confessing that he's got nowhere else to run. Is that a backhanded compliment of some sort? I mean, I've got nowhere else to run, so I guess I gotta come see you.

Sara: 1:50:21

Yeah. I mean

Eric: 1:50:25

She sits on the coffee table. Well, I mean, at least she's not sitting on the floor, but I I didn't know that coffee tables were considered to be a replacement for chairs. Anyway, she tells Steele that he looks like hell, and he says, well, thank you. Heavily tinged with snark. He clarifies then that he's been reduced to sleeping in doorways like when he 1st hit London.

Sara: 1:50:49

Yeah.

Eric: 1:50:51

And she... He tells her that all his old mates practically run the other way whenever they see him. Oh 0, and on top of that, Scotland Yard is after him. And Felicia, with a tinge of dismissiveness and insincerity, says, it sounds as if he's been a naughty boy. Steele says, well, but that's the problem. I haven't done anything. That's gotta

Sara: 1:51:12

be the worst part. Like, for Steele, that's gotta be the worst part because he's used to being chased by the authorities. That's nothing new, but it's usually for things he's done.

Eric: 1:51:20

Yeah. I mean, that's fair.

Sara: 1:51:22

He hasn't done anything. He's like, come on.

Eric: 1:51:26

And, oh, by the way, Chalky seems to think Steele and Felicia have something brewing. And with an overly solicitous tone, Felicia says that all they have together are memories. Steele wonders if those memories will be sufficient to buy him a place to stay for a while. She says, that wouldn't be wise. Steele wonders if

Sara: 1:51:46

she listen, though. He just completely ignores her.

Eric: 1:51:50

Well, not entirely because his next comment about wondering if she's up to something that might might attract undue attention seems to be kind of an acknowledgment of what she says.

Sara: 1:52:02

Not Right. But then he goes he goes into the bedroom and literally lays down and goes to sleep. Well, okay. Yeah.

Eric: 1:52:11

Felicia Felicia with a faux innocence says that she's simply there to see a few shows, buy a few guns, break a few hearts, purely recreational.

Sara: 1:52:21

Right.

Eric: 1:52:21

And of course, Steele isn't buying what she's selling. He gets up, and as you said, goes to the bedroom, and we see that men's clothes are on the bed. Steele looks at him, tosses them to the side, and then lays down on the bed saying that he hopes whomever he is isn't the jealous type.

Sara: 1:52:35

Are those Daniels? Like, I... I'm not suggesting that she and Daniel are having, like, a relationship or anything, but, like, I'm wondering if implied. No. No. No. No. I'm just wondering if Daniel is is staying there too or if that's actually maybe Daniel's flat and that she's just there. I don't know. Like, I'm just wondering if who... It's interesting that they'd have men's clothes there because they don't appear to have any other connection in the episode for anything. He just kinda shoves them to the side and says, hope he's not the jealous type. And then we never see who those clothes belong to. So I wonder if Daniel is... Or if they're just like... I don't know. I just wondered if that was his stuff.

Eric: 1:53:10

Maybe the the... They're from whoever's buying her apartment for her this week.

Sara: 1:53:16

Oh, that's true. Could be. Or maybe it's not even her apartment. Well, it could be too. It could be on that it could be on that list, you know, that that they have of, like, apartments that are owned by people who have gone on vacation, and then, you

Eric: 1:53:28

know, you can... Yeah. Yeah. Isn't there a app for that?

Sara: 1:53:33

Anyway Yeah. We decided there there has to be an app for that.

Eric: 1:53:36

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Felicia tells Steele that, well, you know how it is. I can't spend the rest of my life pining for you. Besides, unrequited lust can be so tedious and very lonely. I... Is that a shot at him and his feelings for Laura?

Sara: 1:53:58

No. I don't think so. I think she's just being snarky and sarcastic because she's not used to him. Like, the last time they met, he turned her down, and I don't think she's used to being turned down. So I think she's still a little bitter about it.

Eric: 1:54:09

And I understand that on the surface, that's what she's referring to. But I don't know. I just... For some reason, I had the feeling when I was rewatching this and and that mind came across that she was taking a shot at him and his feelings toward Laura. Maybe Well,

Sara: 1:54:25

I just don't know how she would be... Like, because it's been 3 years. So theoretically, the lust... Like, she doesn't know if the lust between him and Laura is requited or unrequited or otherwise. So Well, okay. Wouldn't know how their relationship has or hasn't developed. So I I think it's more just about the 2 of them.

Eric: 1:54:43

Okay. Anyway, he pulls his cap down over his eyes, snuggles into the pillow and tells her that he's glad that he's found her again. And suspiciously, she comments that his timing was always superb. Yeah. That's gonna be leading to something interesting. As Steele falls to sleep, Felicia gets up, leaves the room, and shuts the door behind her. Not that that's suspicious. She moves to the phone and quietly tells the operator that she'd like the number for Scotland Yard. We have a time jump. In her apartment, Felicia goes to the front door in response to a doorbell. It's the inspector and 2 other police officers. When they ask where he is, she directs them to the bedroom. The inspector tells her to go get him into the living room. Why not just go there yourself? Go to the bedroom, open the door, walk in,

Sara: 1:55:38

and say, hey, buddy. You're busted. I wondered that too. I wondered why she had to be the 1 to, like, lure him out. Yeah.

Eric: 1:55:46

So, anyway, the inspector and the officers follow her to the bedroom door. She knocks and calls out to Steele asking if he's awake, telling him that she's got a breakfast for him, everything he likes, bacon and eggs, that special jam from parrots. She pauses and Inspector Lombard scowls. She urges him to come and get it before it gets cold. If Steele had still been there, I would thank her claim to have made his breakfast would have been a tip-off. I mean, Felicia, making any sort of food, doing any sort of cooking. I mean, it stretches believability

Sara: 1:56:24

to the point of breaking. I wonder if that was the point, though, because... And not to give not to give Felicia too much credit, but, like, we get the impression that Lombard is leaning on all of his old contacts. Right? So they are under... They are being sort of forced. So I wonder if her

Eric: 1:56:40

That was

Sara: 1:56:41

her to him was her way of saying, like, I'm not being legitimate here. You need to get out.

Eric: 1:56:46

See, I I took that as her playing to Lombard, know, playing the role of the dutiful girlfriend. But, no, I didn't think about that, that that was her code to him to get out.

Sara: 1:56:58

Yeah. Because it

Eric: 1:56:59

Why would... Well, okay. Yeah.

Sara: 1:57:00

She... Because her best interests if he escapes. If only if only because someday she might... They might need each other's help again. I think it's walking that fine line of, like, she's gonna give him a warning. She'll give him a head start. If he's caught, he's caught. But she's done her part. She called Lombard. Whatever he's got on her, he's not gonna use against her now. She's she's made may or may not get away.

Eric: 1:57:22

And she's put on the show of cooperating with Lombard while he's there to get Steele. Got it. Got it.

Sara: 1:57:27

She's always kinda playing both angles, so that's kinda how I saw that.

Eric: 1:57:31

Hey. I may be slow, but at least I'm stupid. No. That didn't come out right. After getting no response, the inspector gestures with his head. So Felicia opens the door to the room, the inspector and the officers rush in only to find the bed unoccupied, window open, curtains blowing in the breeze. We see Steele running through a narrow alley, scaling a couple of walls to make his escape, except that as he's running out of the alley onto the sidewalk, he runs into mister Bowler who grabs him by the collar, telling him nowhere to run now, mate. Steele breaks the grip, punches the man in the stomach, gives him a hard shove, and then jumps up onto a metal fence.

Sara: 1:58:14

Where he proceeds to gore himself.

Eric: 1:58:18

Yes.

Sara: 1:58:19

That

Eric: 1:58:20

Not intentionally, though.

Sara: 1:58:22

No. But, like, he should have died. He should have bled out

Eric: 1:58:26

and died. I've got ish... Yeah. I've got a whole issue about that. But, yes, you're right. I mean, that that... Those injuries would be considered life threatening. Mean, it's like He being

Sara: 1:58:36

stepped over and accidentally pricked the skin a little bit. He bent... They went in. They would've punctured some organs. That was not

Eric: 1:58:45

Yes. Or at least some accordions. Yes, as you said, as he's trying to go over, he's impaled on several of the sharp spikes, which... Yeah, that's got to hurt. Mr. Bowler Hat grabs Steele's foot and begins trying to pull him back. But Steele raises himself up off of the spikes, kicks the man, finishes climbing over the fence, and while holding his abdomen, stumbles down the street. At the London Hampton, Laura is pacing in her hotel room when Mildred comes in. Laura's not happy. She demands to know where Mildred has been because she's been stuck in the room all afternoon waiting for her. Mildred says that when Laura didn't come back from Scotland Yard, she got antsy. At the window, Laura informs Mildred that she's picked up a new friend, and she spent all morning trying to ditch him, but he's still out there as she directs Mildred to look out the window to the street. And after looking out the window, Mildred clearly has something that she wants to say to Laura, but seems to rethink what she wants to say or how she wants to say it. But she asks if the name Quintane or any of the other names that Steele had her looking up have ever come up before before this case? Laura says, no. Not that she can recall and asks why. And Mildred reaches into her purse and then hesitantly says, well, according to her background checks, some of them are pretty shady characters. Laura passes it off as, well, you know, it's possible mister Steele has come across them at some point in his career. Melders says that she's never asked about it before because she's never thought it was important, but just how much does Laura know about the boss, you know, from before the 2 of them hooked up? And, of course, Laura, fully knowing where this is going, politely asks Mildred why she's suddenly so interested in mister Steele's past, and then pointedly asks, exactly where have you been? Now defiantly, Mildred says, Quintane's flat.

Sara: 2:00:48

Where... I mean, if she shouldn't... Obviously, she should have told her before this, but this this this is the moment. Like, if if no other moment, this is it. Because obviously Mildred has found something. Mhmm. Laura knows it. And she's not telling her, which gives like... I think Mildred hesitates for 2 reasons. 1, she's not sure if she can trust Laura anymore, but also potentially, she's not sure... I think she's thinking that either Laura is lying to me or Laura's been duped. Either way. Right?

Eric: 2:01:19

And that's why this would be the perfect time for Laura to reveal it because Mildred knows something.

Sara: 2:01:27

Yeah.

Eric: 2:01:27

And Laura can say, okay, it's obvious you figured out part of it. Let me tell you the rest of your

Sara: 2:01:32

Let me fill in the rest. And then she's gonna be believed because Mildred has the evidence in front of her. She's literally holding Evidence onto the

Eric: 2:01:40

that in her mind, in Mildred's mind, Laura doesn't know about.

Sara: 2:01:45

Or... Well, or if she does, she's been keeping from her.

Eric: 2:01:49

It's Right. But most likely, would think Mildred would would... Just from her approach because... And her and her question, you know, what exactly do you know about the boss from She's before you kind of coming at it from the standpoint of, yeah, I think Laura's been duped. She doesn't know this information. I found out something she doesn't know. And for Laura to come along and say, oh, yeah, that... I know about that. Let me tell you about that.

Sara: 2:02:13

Right. Like, this is this is it. Perfect. Yeah. This is the time. This is when she should have told her. And she... It's not like they didn't have the opportunity. They... She's been stuck in the hotel all day. Like, you know, they're they're not able to go anywhere. She should have been honest with her here. Yeah.

Eric: 2:02:28

Well, Laura asks, you know, and and Mildred responds, and? And then pauses. And then more gently, Laura asks Mildred just what exactly she's found out about Douglas Quintain. Mildred turns, starts to pull out the passports, but looks at Laura with a sad look because again, I think she's under the impression Laura's been duped.

Sara: 2:02:52

Yeah. No. I I agree with you.

Eric: 2:02:54

Slips them back into her purse, pulls out the matchbook, and disgustingly tells Laura that she can probably find him at this joint, and hence the matchbook tour. You know, Mildred should have probably also jumped in on it at this point. It's it's really not... I can understand her hesitancy, but, you know, this might be important information to the case.

Sara: 2:03:19

Yeah. Yeah.

Eric: 2:03:20

She should probably bit the bullet and told Laura, I found some passports. And if she'd even just said, just something like that, just that little bit, it would've been the opening Laura needed. Again, another opening that Laura could've used. Anyway, we jump to a nurse leaving a hospital, walking through a deserted hallway toward an elevator. We hear the of an elevator alert and the nurse calls out, going down. And we see a hand come out from inside the elevator car and grab the door and hold it open. The nurse enters and we see that the hand belongs to a figure, completely covered in medical scrubs, including hair and a surgical mask.

Sara: 2:04:07

I I like the way they keep focusing on his eyes. Yes. I think that this is really well done because it it really sort of hammers home how cold blooded this person is. Right? And and, obviously, it's meant to imply that this is the Earl of Cleridge that's doing this, but we find out later it's not.

Eric: 2:04:25

Especially when we get a shot of the Earl of Cleridge's eyes in close-up. Yes.

Sara: 2:04:29

Yeah. And this guy is just pure evil. Like, he's... Yeah.

Eric: 2:04:35

Yes. The eyes are the window to the soul, and there is nothing behind those eyes.

Sara: 2:04:42

No. Like, he's blank and, like, he... Yeah. It's just really... It's chilling whenever you see that close-up. It's it's it's very chilling. Mhmm.

Eric: 2:04:51

Well, the nurse presses the button for the 1st Floor. She takes out her compact and begins to powder her face, then turns to the figure and says, am I glad that shift is over? You're lucky, doctor. You get them when they're unconscious. Can't complain. If it's not the food or a draft, it's what's on the telly. And we see the face of the clothed figure, and we can see, of course, that it's a man, And we see him pull out a scalpel and give the woman a hard stare. At this point, she should be freaking That's

Sara: 2:05:20

not right. Don't see... They don't wander around with their scalpels just like

Eric: 2:05:25

really telling around with their their surgical masks on either.

Sara: 2:05:29

I mean, they might if they've just come out of surgery, but I don't think he'd see them on an elevator.

Eric: 2:05:33

They're gonna pull... Yeah. As soon as they get out, they're gonna pull it down so they can breathe. So... Yeah. So, this nurse apparently totally oblivious and not considering a doctor pulling a scalpel from his pocket in an elevator strange, smiles and says, well, this is where I leave you.

Sara: 2:05:50

Yeah.

Eric: 2:05:51

And next we see that Steele is in a dark alley leaning against a stone wall. His blood covered hand is holding the cloth to his abdomen, attempting to stem the bleeding from his injuries.

Sara: 2:06:01

So, like, I have to think that even if he hadn't stabbed himself too deeply Mhmm. That just the fact that he is so filthy and that he's on the streets, like, that's an infection risk waiting to happen right there.

Eric: 2:06:17

Yeah. Although as long as the blood is flowing, I would I would think that the infection risk is is reduced because the contaminants... The blood is carrying the contaminants away from the skin. But, yeah, as soon as he stems it

Sara: 2:06:28

Yeah. Like, if he's put something dirty against it to stop, like, just... Blah. Just doesn't look like he's... And and it doesn't look... There's nothing about that situation that looks survivable. You know? Yeah. It it doesn't look like a good thing.

Eric: 2:06:42

Yeah. His mind wanders, perhaps hallucinating, hearing a distorted version of the music from the pocket watch, and hearing Laura's voice say to him, to SJ from KL, the inscription on the watch, 1 of these must be your father. His uncertain response, perhaps... Laura's indignant, perhaps you can't have forgotten your own father. His response that he has a feeling that he never knew who his father really was, that he's never even seen his birth certificate.

Sara: 2:07:11

So here's here's a question. Why do you think the show never focuses on on his mother at all? There's never, like, side

Eric: 2:07:21

Trump important.

Sara: 2:07:21

I mean, what's mother have

Eric: 2:07:23

to do with him?

Sara: 2:07:24

Well, but I

Eric: 2:07:24

mean, you about she gave birth to him.

Sara: 2:07:27

I mean, I get that... Fair. Right? I get that a pocket watch is is is something that would be more associated with, like, a father passing down to a son, that sort of thing. So I get why he automatically assumed it was from his father. But there's not any mention of of him wondering who his mother was. If he's never seen his birth certificate, he doesn't know his name. And it's implied later on that he's just been passed around. Like, you'd think that he'd be equally curious as to the person who literally birthed him as he is about... Maybe it's just that this is the 1st clue he's had to any of his parents at all that that's causing him to focus on that. But the show never even asked that question. Like, even when Daniel reveals it, he he sort of

Eric: 2:08:10

Yeah. Not even impression.

Sara: 2:08:10

Offhandedly comments on how he came about. But, like, Steele has never wondered, which is, I think, kind of odd.

Eric: 2:08:19

Yeah. The only explanation I had come up with was the 1 you you said before I had a chance to jump in and interrupt you was that the watch is the 1st clue he has to any... Anybody. Yeah. So, you know, if he can use the watch to find out who his father is, since that's the only clue he's got, the only direction he's got to go right now, then maybe that would eventually lead to his mother. But, yeah, I mean, you'd think that in conversation at some point, it would've come up. You know? Do you know who who, you know, who I am? No. I don't even know who my mother and father

Sara: 2:08:53

are. Yeah. Because Laura says, don't don't don't tell me you've forgotten your own father. And, I mean, we picked apart the whole fact in that statement alone that she knew he had amnesia. But, he says, I feel like I've never known who my father is. I've never seen my birth certificate. She could have said, and your mother, or she could have said it later on, like Mhmm. When his memory came back. So do you mean to tell me you don't know who either of your parents are? Have you never? Right? It... It's just his mother's never mentioned, like, at all. I just... I don't know. I find that very odd.

Eric: 2:09:23

The only other explanation for Steele not mentioning it or asking about it or commenting on it would be as if he knew something about his mother already.

Sara: 2:09:32

Yeah. Somehow he knows that she's dead or she's... Yeah.

Eric: 2:09:36

And and he just chose not to mention her in in whatever context the conversation brought would've brought it up. But yeah, Laura at least would've... You would've thought at some point asked about mother and father since most people have, you know,

Sara: 2:09:52

Well, and 1 even if they're not together, you know what I mean? They still exist.

Eric: 2:09:56

Yeah. I mean,

Sara: 2:09:58

There's an ingredient. There's a recipe. Like Yeah.

Eric: 2:10:02

There's there's the daddy flower and the mommy flower, and they get together, they they have a little cabbage. Anyway, yes. His mind is wandering, and through the mental fog, he sees a vision of Laura asking, is that why you won't tell me your name? Because you don't know it. Don't know it. Don't know it. Don't know it. The vision fades, and in its place is the face of a young lad staring at Steele.

Sara: 2:10:28

Same kid that took Laura's purse?

Eric: 2:10:32

I think so, but I'm not positive.

Sara: 2:10:35

Because, like, every child they've shown in this episode, there's been 3, has been a redhead. And that's, I mean, that's a lot of gingers. That's like a plethora of gingers in this episode. So I gotta think that that... Because, like...

Eric: 2:10:48

That's not. It's it's not. I just

Sara: 2:10:50

don't think They just they just really like their gingers. Okay. Yeah.

Eric: 2:10:55

Yeah. I can't say I am all that fond of redheaded men, but

Sara: 2:10:59

Well, I mean, my

Eric: 2:11:00

husband female side, lots to be said for him.

Sara: 2:11:03

My husband's a ginger, so I'm fond, but it just seems odd that all of the 3 child actors they hired had a similar look to them. Right? To the point where I'm like, is that the same 1?

Eric: 2:11:16

Let's see. Yes. Young lad staring at Steele somewhat shock... With a somewhat shocked look on his face. Steele smiles the smile of a man in the giddiness of shock, perhaps reaching out to the fading image of Laura and with the bloody cloth still clutched in his hand. What?

Sara: 2:11:34

It was creepy. I'm grinning and, like, reaching out with his bloodied hand. Like, I realized I realized why. He's... Like like you said, he's probably still seeing Laura's face, but, like, yee, that did not look... Like, he's like, yee. Yeah.

Eric: 2:11:46

So he reaches out, leans forward in the direction of the boy who then turns and runs off, apparently in fear. And seemingly coming back to his senses, Steele draws his hand back and then leans back against the wall. Next, we see the horse drawn carriage coming down the street. It's dark, it's shrouded in the fog, and a paralleling figure is walking down the sidewalk. As the figure passes into a stray pool of light, we can see that it's Laura. And as the carriage passes, we can see the bloody body of the nurse inside the carriage. Carriage continues on. Laura has paused to look up at something that has caught her attention. It is the sign declaring the property to be the Prospect of Whitby Ale House. She pushes the large glass door open and enters. We cut back to the carriage. It's come to a stop on a deserted street, and the cloaked driver gets down, opens the door, and pulls the dead nurse out. As he lifts the body of the dead nurse over his shoulder and begins carrying her off, a gold lighter falls to the ground. The driver sets the nurse's body down, leans it up against the wall. At the same time, Mildred comes walking down a nearby sidewalk. She sees the figure of the driver bent over the body of the nurse and takes off running in a panic. Yep. But the driver has seen her and chases her down. He grabs her by the hair from behind, throws her up against the wall, grabs her, hits her, and then begins to choke her.

Sara: 2:13:15

Poor poor Mildred. Like, she... She's been kidnapped. She's been returned. She's been... Like, this just sucks for Mildred. I'm just saying.

Eric: 2:13:28

A man walking down nearby sees the scene before him and yells at the driver to stop. Turns out he's a police officer in street clothes. The driver runs off and the officer runs to Mildred and begins to help her up. As he does, he spots a pile of passports on the ground and picks them up. We then cut to the young boy that Steele saw earlier, and he comes running up to the wall where Steele has been laying. Chalky is with him, except Steele isn't there. But Chalky spots something and leans over to inspect it. It's blood. Suddenly, Steele grabs Chalky from behind, arm around the man's neck. He accuses Chalky of sicking the cops on him, but Chalky is hurt by the accusation, telling Steele, If I didn't love you like my own, I'd be cut to the quick. But the pain and injury is too much. Steele cannot maintain his hold over Chalky, and

Sara: 2:14:23

he

Eric: 2:14:23

collapses. Chalky bends down to check out Steel's injury. At the same time, the sounds of police sirens can be heard in the distance.

Sara: 2:14:31

I'm sorry. Don't know why. Chalky tells us- It's terrible. It's terrible.

Eric: 2:14:40

You'd think I'd be doing stuff like this in the last episode when I had to get through it with a couple bottles of ale. Chalky tells Steele that it's not safe for him to be out on the streets. Steele just needs to stay put and Chalky will get some band aids and some hot food for Steele. But, But of course, Steele doesn't have to be told to stay put. He collapses because he can't remain even sitting up.

Sara: 2:15:01

Yeah.

Eric: 2:15:02

Next, we see Laura come running out of the pub at the sound of the sirens. Spotting the commotion of police officers, cars, and more, she runs over to see the inspector kneeling over the body of the nurse. Laura spots Mildred off in another direction and runs over to her asking if she's alright. Mildred apologizes, saying she couldn't let Laura come down here alone. The inspector directs an officer to take Mildred to the hospital and coldly tells Laura that he's sure that she will want to accompany Mildred since Laura's blatant disregard of his instructions resulted in the attack.

Sara: 2:15:34

Way to blame the victim there, Lombard. Like, I mean, I realized that Laura wasn't the victim, but he's basically saying, if you come down here and you get attacked, it's your own fault? Okay?

Eric: 2:15:46

Like Not only that, but this has... No. It it it... That's not how that happened. Laura, she didn't get attacked because she was down there. She got attacked because she saw a crime in progress.

Sara: 2:16:01

Yeah. Well, that too. Like... And it wasn't... Yeah. Like, it That

Eric: 2:16:04

that could have happened anywhere.

Sara: 2:16:06

Yep. Oh, yeah. For sure. Like, Lombard is kind of crap at his job. You know?

Eric: 2:16:10

Well, he's kinda crap as a human being too.

Sara: 2:16:13

He's got crap priorities also. Right? Because, again, still more concerned with covering up the stuff about aerial eclipse than he is about finding the actual murderer. A murder has been committed, and he's still worried about

Eric: 2:16:24

2 of them. 4 now. 4.

Sara: 2:16:26

4. Yeah. Because they're... Like, yeah. Like, come on, buddy. Like, how about priorities here? That did... You know?

Eric: 2:16:33

Ripers put another 1 between the goals.

Sara: 2:16:36

And sure enough, like, you would think that... Because he suspects the Earl of Cleridge might be up to his own... Well, he says, could be an innocent man. So they don't know. Right? But I think it's obvious the Earl isn't doing this simply because of the victims that are being targeted. The Earl, 1st of all, never killed anybody. Not that that's an excuse for what he did. He's still a crappy human. But also, this person is not targeting prostitutes only. Mhmm. Right? He killed a charwoman. He's killed a nurse. Like, his victims have been varied classes of society at this point. So

Eric: 2:17:15

Of course, is he is ignoring the possibility of escalation.

Sara: 2:17:19

True. And I mean, you're right. But I mean, if it was escalated, he would probably still be targeting prostitutes because if that was like, serial killers tend to have... Like, they don't tend to branch out like that. Right? So I don't know. I... Again, it's 1 of those things where there's enough differences in this case that I

Eric: 2:17:38

can at least

Sara: 2:17:39

Yeah.

Eric: 2:17:40

Raise some questions. Yeah.

Sara: 2:17:41

Yeah.

Eric: 2:17:43

So anyway, as the inspector is walking away and Laura is accompanying Mildred in the same general direction, the inspector spots the lighter, which the cloaked driver dropped. I'm like, I'm never... I've never been quite sure if this was unintentional or intentional that he dropped the lighter.

Sara: 2:18:02

I think it was a mistake. I think it was an accident that he dropped it. Yeah. I don't I don't think it was intentional because it's kind of a red herring because later on when the earl goes to light his

Eric: 2:18:14

Right.

Sara: 2:18:14

Cigar, he doesn't have his, and Galt does. But I have a feeling that Galt took the earl's because he... His was missing, and he needed to have 1 so that he wasn't a suspect. And that's why he says missing your lighter gun.

Eric: 2:18:27

It's just not really clear because I could also see it as being intentional to

Sara: 2:18:34

Or to throw them off. Yeah. It could be either. Well, but then if he gave it to a bunch of people, like Yeah. It's... You know what I mean? It's not that much of a pointed smoking gun, so to speak.

Eric: 2:18:44

No. But it's it's sowing confusion.

Sara: 2:18:47

Yeah.

Eric: 2:18:48

Could be. As Tony Curtis said in operation petticoat, in confusion, there is profit.

Sara: 2:18:54

The

Eric: 2:18:56

inspector picks up the cigarette case or lighter bare handed. Okay. So, yeah, Laura You notices know? Because this is obviously... This is this is bad form.

Sara: 2:19:11

But she's done this 1000000 times.

Eric: 2:19:12

This is

Sara: 2:19:13

the Laura Holt school of forensics right here. Like, she's-

Eric: 2:19:17

Well... But that's different. See?

Sara: 2:19:19

Oh, okay.

Eric: 2:19:21

And Laura notices and with an accusing tones tells the inspector that it's a pity he won't be able to get any fingerprints off the lighter now that he's handled it, obviously intending to damage the fingerprints. So she begins to blackmail him by telling him that unless he tells her what's going on, she will be forced to inform his superiors about the evidence that he's obviously trying to conceal.

Sara: 2:19:42

Except, a, he literally just picked it up. Okay. He did it poorly, but, like, there's no evidence to her other than the fact that he's picked it up and that he's planning to conceal it. He he might have just screwed up. He's not a very good chief inspector. But, also, that could have been dropped at any point during the day. There's no guarantee that that's connected to what's happening right now. People drop stuff all the time. So, like, it's not... Again, it's not exactly a smoking gun. She's kind of taken a bit of a leap here.

Eric: 2:20:11

No. But it's a it's a leap that is kind of... It's it's based on enough facts that she is playing a bluff because he does... He he picks it up and he he curls his fingers over it. He holds it in his... Like he's palming it, and and she sees that motion. So she's she's gambling that he is trying to to hide it or conceal it or or manipulate the evidence. And if she's wrong, well, then he just simply has a justification and he he tells her, well, you know, this is this is not what it seems, and this is the explanation, and we go on from there. But, yeah, she's just gambling that he really is trying to do something. And so by calling him out on it, even though it's a bluff, he'll think that she knows more than he does and

Sara: 2:21:11

so I'm just not sure I'd I'd wanna be blackmailing law enforcement officials in a foreign country.

Eric: 2:21:17

It's not blackmail. Yeah. It is blackmail, but, you know, you don't call it that. You call it creative negotiations. Okay. To be fair, the last proposition.

Sara: 2:21:30

The last inspector that they worked with in a foreign country turned out to be the bad guy. So Yeah. Yeah. Maybe she's thinking of, you know, back in Cannes. Yeah.

Eric: 2:21:41

Well, we jumped to the inspector's office. Laura is holding the lighter in her hand and a book entitled, Their Noble Lordships, The Hereditary Peerage Today. And she reads, the family crest of the earl of Cleridge, 10th in line to the throne of England.

Sara: 2:21:56

I kinda wonder who he is because, like, I I know an embarrassing amount about the royal family. Not because I not because I I necessarily even want to, but a combination of my history degree plus just being in Canada. So at this point, you would have had... This is pre Diana's death, but Diana was in the picture. Like, they're they're married at this point. So you've got, like, you've got the queen. You've got... She's got a sister. Then you've got her 3 sons. And then Diana, I don't know if William had been born at this point. I think he might have been. Like, that's a lot of people already. He's gotta be really close, as a relation in order to be 10th in line for the throne because, like... Anyway.

Eric: 2:22:46

Well... But, you know, sometimes it's it's not a direct and obvious connection. My little sister, she worked for Disney for... Actually, she she works for Disney again. But for many years, she was in charge of procurement for the amusements division and then for the entertainment division. So she she handled all the stuff that was coming into the parks all around the world and then ABC, ESPN, and all that other stuff. And at 1 point, I had figured out that... Or I think she and I maybe had joked about it, how if 26 of the right people died in a plane crash, she would be running Disney. Fair. Fair. And her job, I mean, there was no way you could draw a line to her position from the leadership position, but, you know, sometimes the path from 1 point to the other point is crooked and obscure, but it's there. Anyway, so yes, as Laura finishes reading about the family crest, 10th in line in the... 10th in line to the throne of England, she closes the book, looks at the inspector, and adds, and possible mass murderer. The inspector states that there is no proof that the earl is responsible for those killings. Laura holds up the lighter and says, isn't there?

Sara: 2:24:11

Come on, Laura. You're better than this. Right? This is not... This is this is circumstantial at best. It was found near the murder site, but she wasn't... She... 1st of all, she wasn't killed there. Mhmm. And secondly, that could... Like, as I said before, that could have been dropped at any point in the day. Yeah. And as the inspector points out, those are given out to various people. So... Which she didn't know that, but like...

Eric: 2:24:34

Right. But the chances of 1 of those people being in that that area of town, especially at night, probably pretty slim. True. But

Sara: 2:24:42

I mean, just being there doesn't... Like, it's not a smoking gun. It's It's

Eric: 2:24:46

not. No. Yeah. No. Maybe a flaming arrow, but not a smoking gun. Anyway, as you say, the inspector informs her that those are gifts that the Earl bestows upon a great many people and that any 1 of them could have dropped it. Laura says that's his problem. Hers is trying to understand why he had her purse snatched and why he's had her followed and why he's watching Douglas Quintain's flat. And he challenges her saying that he's prepared to be candid with her, so why won't she extend him the same courtesy? She scowls and then hands the lighter over to the inspector who continues to tell her that they both know who Douglas Quintain really is. Well, Lord tries to play dumb, but the inspector, not a total moron, isn't buying it. He tells her that soon after the 1st murder, Quintane started making inquiries about Kevin Landers. Inspector did some checking and soon discovered, much to his dismay, that Douglas Quintane was actually Remington Steele, and he has to wonder why her chief is pursuing this case so relentlessly. Laura tacitly confirms the inspector's information by assuring him that she is back at the starting line on this case and doesn't understand what the connection is between the Earl and Kevin Landers and why that is so disturbing. The inspector explains that Kevin Landers is the name that the Earl used on his forays into Whitechapel 5 years previously. He was given to drunken rampages, gleefully beating up prostitutes. And it was all dealt with very discreetly, of course, with the earl being shipped off to Canada where his family has extensive holdings.

Sara: 2:26:20

Yeah. See this?

Eric: 2:26:22

Now we know what kind of people Canadians mingle with.

Sara: 2:26:24

You know? But, I mean, just the fact that he describes him as gleefully. It's it's...

Eric: 2:26:32

Mhmm. Yes.

Sara: 2:26:33

You know, like, he puts that in there, and then that that... He never saw jail time. There was no... Just just

Eric: 2:26:40

go away. Don't bother someone....

Sara: 2:26:41

Whatsoever. It was just, let's let's ship them off to Canada, and then we'll just pretend different... Happened because royalty, like, it just... And I get it. I get that they're making commentary on how the wealthy and the rich, regardless of whether or not they're royalty, rarely ever get, you know, face consequences of their actions. They're often just... And this is this is something

Eric: 2:27:04

Slap that on the hand for the sort of thing that somebody else would

Sara: 2:27:07

be totally destroyed for. To... Yeah. To hear the the inspector using even those adjectives, like gleefully beating up prostitutes. Like, this is not a nice guy. This is a bad person who never saw any consequences, who's now just apparent... Yeah. Welcome free.

Eric: 2:27:30

Laura labels the earl a royal remittance man before the inspector concludes, saying that immediately upon the earl's return to England, the killings began, and the 1st victim was a white chapel tart.

Sara: 2:27:43

Charming.

Eric: 2:27:44

Laura catches the inspector's exclusion of the other victims from his summation. Yep. The inspector steps over to his desk, picks up the file on the case, and begins handing Laura crime scene photos and reads, Emily Brent, solicitor secretary. Hilda Lake, charwoman. Barek Clathorn, nurse at Grand Ormond Street Hospital. And Laura understands the significance of the killer not selecting only prostitutes.

Sara: 2:28:09

Yeah. Like, she's pointing that out. He's not confining himself anymore.

Eric: 2:28:12

Well, actually, it's the inspector kinda pointing it out to her.

Sara: 2:28:17

Yeah. Okay. Well, true.

Eric: 2:28:19

True. And the inspector reinforces the point by stating that this is another reason why Steele must be stopped, because if he makes the information public, it could ruin a potentially innocent man. Okay. Innocent of the murders.

Sara: 2:28:32

But still kinda deserves to get ruined though for other things. Like

Eric: 2:28:36

Well... Yeah. But see

Sara: 2:28:37

be clear. Like

Eric: 2:28:38

Well... But see, here's here's the real motivation here. Worse, the inspector concludes, is that he could be reduced to search... Station sergeant as a result.

Sara: 2:28:47

This is what he really cares about is his career. He doesn't care that these women are killed. He, you know, hey, could ruin an innocent man. He's... He should be ruined, not for the murders, of course, but for the the assaults, the multiple assaults that he clearly committed against other women. Like, yeah, I get I get not wanting to... If you're a good cop, if you're an honest cop, you're not gonna wanna see somebody go down for something they didn't do. So if he's not a murderer, then sure, make sure he doesn't get arrested for murder. But like... Yeah. He's more concerned with with Steele and in his own career than he is about the fact that several people have been murdered. Like, this is a serial killer now. We... We've... We're in the multiples. Like, do your job, man. Do your job. You know, every time

Eric: 2:29:42

I hear that word... That phrase or that term serial killer, all I can think of is Kellogg. I know. Anyway, the phone rings, the inspector answers, and after moment, he tells the caller, no. Don't do anything until I arrive. He hangs up and tells Laura that it seems that 1 of their chickens has come home to roost. Well, it's still night, and Laura is accompanying the inspector and a cadre of officers back to the location where Steele had been found by Chalky. As a matter of fact, Chalky is there to greet the inspector, suggesting that he's done his bit for queen and country, and the inspector will whisper a word in the magistrate's ear. Right? Obviously, something has hanging out there over Chalky, some some court hearing or whatever. He's buttering his bread. But Steele has done it again. He's made a fool of Chalky who protests to the inspector that he was right here. He has to

Sara: 2:30:37

be here. He was too hurt to go anywhere. I agree. Clearly, the scriptwriters don't, but I agree.

Eric: 2:30:45

Well, as Chalky's trying to explain himself, Laura, who's off to 1 side, becomes aware of something dripping on her shoulder. It's blood. She looks up and sees Steele hanging from a pulley suspended above the... And how could somebody

Sara: 2:30:58

How? Help her disband me? He seems to be How in the monkey climbing hell did he get up there in that condition? Yeah. How? Anyway, Laura sees Steele give her the quiet shush.

Eric: 2:31:18

So she calls out to the inspector pointing down the street to an opening in the wall, saying that she thought she saw something move right over there. And of course, the inspector and the officers and Chalky follow her lead, but she isn't leading. She lets them go, and instead she runs over to where the rope for the pulley is secured and loosens it, lowering Steele to the ground. Unfortunately for her and for Steele, the pulley squeaks, and the inspector hears it, prompting him to lead the officers and Chalky back toward Laura and Steele, except now they've made their escape running down the dark fog enveloped street. Next, Laura and Steele are led into a very rundown apartment by a grumpy landlady who in no uncertain terms tells him, 10 a night in advance. Lose down the hall, no baths after 10, and no flushing after 11. Laura helps Steele onto the bed as the landlady looks on. Laura slaps a bill into her palm, telling her, Thank you and good night. The landlady doesn't move, prompting Laura to tell the woman again, Good night, the 2nd time. And when the woman yet again doesn't take the hint, Laura starts to push her out toward the door. Laura gets her out, closes the door, looks at Steele for a moment, and then strides toward the table and water pitcher that are at the side of the room, beginning to fill the small basin with water from the pitcher. All the while, she's scolding Steele that if he wasn't such a pitiful wreck, she'd clobber him from walking out on her like that without a note, without a word, a collect call. Shut up.

Sara: 2:32:55

I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? Could you say that again? Shut up. There was no note. Shut up. What's... What what was it Jackie Gleason said? 1 more word, Alice. Bam. To the moon.

Eric: 2:33:18

She she ceases chastising him long enough to order him to take off his shirt and then begins in on him again. What kind of relationship did they have or ever hope to have if every time she turned around, bingo, he was gone?

Sara: 2:33:32

Have to I have to think that she doesn't know just how badly he's injured because, like

Eric: 2:33:40

Apparently, he doesn't either.

Sara: 2:33:42

Because, like, this this is... You cheap medical attention should should be the priority here. Not not the conversation, not the the hospital. Like, yeah. She just... I I don't know. Maybe she just thinks he's a little bit, like, got, like, a little tiny wound or something like that, but the man was gored. Like, he needs he needs a doctor. Yeah.

Eric: 2:34:03

Well, he hasn't removed his shirt. He's obviously in too much pain to do so. So she orders him to lift his shirt. And then when he doesn't respond quickly enough, she jerks it up and roughly shoves a water soaked cloth onto his injuries.

Sara: 2:34:16

Poor guy.

Eric: 2:34:17

He groans at the treatment and then reminds her that it was her. She was the 1 who said that they needed to spend some time apart.

Sara: 2:34:26

He still could have called. He still could have written a note. He's still gonna let her know where he went.

Eric: 2:34:31

Shut up.

Sara: 2:34:36

So you decided to spend

Eric: 2:34:37

an account in a way, she quips. And I'd like to point out to Laura that apart is apart. It either is or it isn't. You're apart or you're not. The distance doesn't change the basic definition of apart.

Sara: 2:34:53

I would also like to point out that 1 of the commenters has just written, yep. No. No. Just as Sara said, us girls go all along.

Eric: 2:34:59

Alright. You're banned. You're banned. You're banned.

Sara: 2:35:03

I'm just relaying to you what the comments are from the listeners. And the listener's banned. The listener's banned. It's not my fault that I'm writing you wrong. Anyway, just keep going.

Eric: 2:35:15

Fine. Fine. Well, Steele softly explains to Laura that he needed to find something. She looks at him for a moment and then asks, well, what was it you needed to find? And Steele gives a cryptic 1 word answer, me. Laura snarkily says that he was in Los Angeles last time she looked. And Steele asks her, what's been the major stumbling block between them? Laura, not wanting to give up on her snit, sarcastically responds that perhaps it's his aversion to legwork. No. He says he means his name, his real name. He knew that Laura would not be or he knew that Laura would not be... I have no idea what I wrote here. He knew that Laura... Would that be... He would think that he couldn't be honest about other things if he didn't give her her name. I think that's what I meant to to write.

Sara: 2:36:11

Yeah.

Eric: 2:36:11

Yeah. But my computer outwitted me. Alright. Are you smarter than a computer? No. Apparently not. No. Laura throws up her hands in the air in frustration telling him that she doesn't care anymore about what his name is. He can just make 1 up and she'll be alright with it. But Steele's response is that it's more personal than just his perception of Laura's need. Introspectively, he tells her that when it seemed that they might be going their separate ways, he realized that Remington Steele was just another name he had borrowed. And if he was going to have to give it back, he wanted something to replace it with that was truly his.

Sara: 2:36:46

I like this. I mean, I I have issues with how he left. I have issues with the fact note that he left

Eric: 2:36:55

that explains all of this?

Sara: 2:36:56

He did not leave. Because because that whole ending of seal of approval where he gets her the the license back Mhmm. And he leaves, it's understandable that he thought that... Like, it was another breakup. Right? And it was. And so I I don't fault him for for leaving because he... In that in that season, he was jerked around so many times. It was like a a merry-go- wheel. Right? But...

Eric: 2:37:25

I get...... Wheel?

Sara: 2:37:26

The thing we go around on. Shut up. But the lack of note come... Like, if he had written down in a note and said what he just said to her. Right? Literally what he just said to her, that if this is it between us and this name is just another 1 that I've taken in a long line of fake names, I think now I'm ready to find out what my real name is. Like, that But why would he tell

Eric: 2:37:53

her that in a note? She's already kicked him out, basically. She doesn't... Obviously, she doesn't care enough about them to to work on resolving the problems in their relationship. Her solution is just go away. Leave me alone. Why would he tell her any of that?

Sara: 2:38:09

Well, I mean, it... It's... You tell them something.

Eric: 2:38:13

Okay. Fine. I'm... You don't want me around? I'm out of here. Bye. Which is what he said, really, when he left.

Sara: 2:38:19

Like, let her know something at least. It it was a it was a jerk move not to write a note to to... Because, like, he's

Eric: 2:38:27

It may have been, but I mean He's

Sara: 2:38:29

I think that he he knew how that would hurt her. He knew. He had to know, and he did it anyway, and he he didn't But let her

Eric: 2:38:40

but, you know, it's 1... It's human nature. You you... Yes. It hurt her. Yes. It was a jerk move. Yes. It was probably deliberately intended to hurt her. But, I mean, she just got done kicking him in the, you know,

Sara: 2:38:59

with her with go somebody via a text. If you've had 3 years of a relationship, whether it's on and off or not, you you let them know something. You don't just disappear. Because for all for all she wouldn't know, maybe he was killed. Like, they they have a a a violent line of work. He should have let her know something. I'm alive. We're over.

Eric: 2:39:19

But from his perspective, okay. It's over. She doesn't care anymore. So why do I owe her anything?

Sara: 2:39:26

Because he loves her. It comes back to that.

Eric: 2:39:30

But, obviously, she doesn't love him.

Sara: 2:39:32

So so She does, though. She does. She just kicked him in

Eric: 2:39:37

the gonads, metaphorically speaking. I mean, that's that's going to elicit a response, and their response is, you just hurt me. It's just a natural response to hurt you back. And that's what he did. He left without a... I didn't say that. He left and and he heard her in response. I mean, I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying that that's what it was. So, yeah, I I don't think he would... Even if he had left her a note, which I can, I still contend that he did, he wouldn't have put all this stuff in it? It would have just been short, simple, to the point. Fine. You want... It... You want it to be over? Fine. It's over.

Sara: 2:40:26

I think but here's the thing, like... And again, not to get too far into the weeds with Steele of approval because we we... I have issues with both of them in that episode. Right? Her for putting in the blame of the agency and for taking off and for all the stuff. That conversation they have at the end where she says, like, we need to figure out who we are outside of the agency. Yes. Subtextually, it's a breakup. But it's a soft 1. It's not 1 where it's like, we'll never be together again. She's clearly confused about her place and his place and everything else that's going on. Right? So I don't know that he didn't give up on her when she put the CAN agreement in effect, when she was like, no, it is over. We are not together. We're just partners. He stuck around for a whole year. I I don't know that that this would be the thing that, like...

Eric: 2:41:20

But Steele of approval felt different.

Sara: 2:41:22

It did. It did. And you could see it on his face.

Eric: 2:41:26

And so I I think to her, it may have been a soft breakup. I don't think that's how he took it.

Sara: 2:41:34

No. I I agree with you. I agree with

Eric: 2:41:36

you because

Sara: 2:41:36

he wouldn't have left if he did.

Eric: 2:41:38

So in context of how he perceived it, I don't think... I I don't think he would've told her anything. If he had left her a note, it would've just said, okay. Fine. You wanna call it off? It's off. Bye. I'm out of here. I don't think he would've told her all this stuff about giving the name back,

Sara: 2:41:59

frankly. Know. I just think there's enough of him that knows... There's enough of of her hurt that he knows about that I think as hurt or as angry as he may have been, he should have taken into consideration and at least

Eric: 2:42:12

But said that's what people go for. When you're hurt, you aim for their weak spot in response, and that's her weak spot, is people walking out and leaving her without a note, without a phone call, without a message. Nothing. That's her weak spot, and that's where he would hit because that's how people respond. When you're hurt, you go for their weak spot.

Sara: 2:42:35

See, I don't think he did it intentionally to be cruel, which is why I think it's even worse. Like, I think he just left because it was the only thing he knew how to do. And I I... Like, I honestly think... Because he says here that if he has to give this name back, he wants to know. This is probably the 1st time he's chased down this information because it is so hurtful to him. Right? So, like, I think

Eric: 2:42:56

But see, that none of this has anything to do with Laura.

Sara: 2:42:58

None of that has anything to with Laura. Because he he starts it off by saying to her that he was trying to find out his name because it mattered to her. So I think there's a part of him, not the largest part, but I think a part of him that was thinking that if he came back with a name, that things might be different between them, that he might have more to offer her. Or he might have something of more understanding of himself so that... Because she did say, like, literally was her... When she worded the breakup was that, who are we outside of this agency? He has no answer to that. He has a handful of names, none of them his. Right? She has her background. She has her education. She has her family. She has presumably at least some acquaintances that she knows and whatnot. He's got nothing. So I think

Eric: 2:43:50

Except part of he does. He has his entire life history. The only thing he doesn't have is a name, which in the big picture is really kinda meaningless because the name doesn't change who you are. I mean, I can call my Fred... Myself Fred Jones. You know? That doesn't change who I am. That doesn't change my background. That doesn't change anything except my name and how people address me.

Sara: 2:44:18

Well, I mean, I think it's the same reason people do those, like, DNA tests, those 23andMe DNA tests, because they wanna know their background. They wanna know their lineage. They wanna know... Because he doesn't know... He doesn't even know when the... His birthday is. Right? Like, finding out that information alone. Just like, when was I born? Are there any genetic illnesses in my family? Do I know... Does he know his blood type? Probably not. Right? Like...

Eric: 2:44:44

Well, he's been in the hospital often enough.

Sara: 2:44:46

He should. That's true. They've probably taken enough of his blood, but, like, just stuff like that. Like, I don't even think he's looking for a family reunion, but it it would be good to know because he probably doesn't even know what his background is. He's Irish. Sure. He was born in Ireland, but is that his background? Were his parents immigrants? He has no way of knowing any of that. Right? So I think that just... Especially when he's changing his name every time he takes on a new role, I think it shows that Remington Steele was not just another con because if it was, he wouldn't have cared. This was a name he wanted to keep. When it looked like he didn't... Wasn't going to be able to do that, That's when he decided, you know what? I need to know what the actual name is.

Eric: 2:45:32

I don't necessarily think that Bremington Steele was a name he wanted to keep. I... I'm not saying it wasn't. I'm just I'm just saying I don't know if that's necessarily the the important part here. I think the important part is that he has changed over the time of being Remington Steele, that his entire life perspective has changed, and he is no longer the man he was. He's no longer... I mean, he's still... Historically, he's still a con man, but I think from what he's saying here is in the context of getting back to his roots, he's wanting to say, okay, if I'm not reminiscentile and if I'm not a con man, what am I? Yeah. And he perceives getting that name as being the 1st step toward identifying who he is, ignoring the fact that he's, you know, still got all this this personal history. He is still what he is, who he is. That doesn't change just because he changes his name or his occupation.

Sara: 2:46:40

We mentioned this before, though, that all of his contacts are people that he can only trust to a point. Right? He doesn't have... Aside from Laura and maybe Daniel, there's nobody in his life. How many people do you

Eric: 2:46:54

have in your life that you can trust beyond that 0.0, tons. 1?

Sara: 2:47:00

Tons. Tons. I've got Scott. Definitely. My I've I've got my mother. I've got my friends.

Eric: 2:47:09

Like, I... Obviously, your family and my family are different.

Sara: 2:47:12

Well, but... I mean, in more more so my... Like, I've got quite a few friends that I've known since childhood that I would trust with my life. Like, I... In fact, on... When we did our will, we chose a friend to be Keira's guardian should something happen to Scott and I. And she was somebody I've known since high school. So like there are... I do have people... But he doesn't have anybody. He's got nobody. He's got Laura and he's got Daniel. And everybody else is somebody that he can trust to a point. But when push comes to shove, they're probably gonna turn on him. And that alone probably makes him... I don't think he's looking for a family reunion. But if you don't have a story, it's hard to build everything again. He's gotta start over again. So he probably wants to know what that story is. Why was he given up? Why was he passed around? Why is he here? You're right. It doesn't change his history. His history is always gonna be the same. But And

Eric: 2:48:09

none of that is actually even gonna change who he is. No. It just gives him it just gives him a emotional

Sara: 2:48:21

Starting point?

Eric: 2:48:23

Not not even a starting point. It just... It's an emotional period at the end of a sentence because he's he's he's saying is perceiving that he can't proceed forward without knowing all these things, which is not true at all, but emotionally, that's how he feels. And so emotionally, he feels like he needs to get this information in order to be able to move forward because he's just... I don't wanna say he's obsessed about it, but it's it's obviously... It's an emotional stumbling block.

Sara: 2:48:56

Yeah.

Eric: 2:48:57

That it doesn't need to be. But I mean, I

Sara: 2:49:00

How how somebody... How we feel isn't always rational either. Right? Like, I think Laura's breakup really did a number on him. And he... I honestly think that even he hadn't subconsciously realized that he was planning to stay. And it wasn't until she she came around with that 2nd breakup. Because if you look at now, you Steele it, now you don't, when he tells her he loves her. Right? Even if... No. It's not really her, but, like

Eric: 2:49:25

He verbalizes it.

Sara: 2:49:27

It's it's clear that he is aware of his feelings for her. He's aware how deep they are. He doesn't realize she feels the same way, but she has said to him... She has given him indications of it. You're the part of myself I have to guard against.

Eric: 2:49:39

Well, that's that's not that's not saying I love you. That's saying you're a problem.

Sara: 2:49:45

No. It is in a way because she's someone who's always in control and she's afraid because he's the person that causes her to lose those inhibitions. And that's... That is her saying, you make me vulnerable. Vulnerability is what scares her.

Eric: 2:50:03

So Yeah. But vulnerability doesn't necessarily come from love.

Sara: 2:50:07

She doesn't get vulnerable with anybody else, though. Like, Wilson never made her vulnerable.

Eric: 2:50:12

But again, it it still doesn't mean it's love because there's a lot of things that can make somebody vulnerable. And so to say, in essence, you make me vulnerable isn't necessarily saying, I love you. It's you're bad for me. It could be

Sara: 2:50:27

1 version of how she perceives it, But I I think that she does love him. Like, I think she perceives it as being bad for her because if she loses control, then she possibly risks losing her agency. She's... She goes back to being the person that drove Wilson away. Right? So she has to guard against that. But at the at the root of it, she she feels as deeply for him as he does for her. It's just... It's... She's she's coming about it a different way. And both of them are not healthy. Let's be clear here.

Eric: 2:50:58

And neither 1 of them are communicating

Sara: 2:51:01

properly. They're communicating now. He's telling her now, I needed this for myself. I do think he should have left a note. Even if it was a note that said, I'm leaving and I'm not coming back. I should... I I think there should have been some communication just so that she didn't think he was dead. Because let's face it. They've had situations where he's disappeared or somebody's kidnapped him or whatever. Like, you know, he had to... Like, I don't know. But I agree. Maybe he wouldn't have told her that in the note. Maybe he wouldn't have trusted her enough to tell her that in the note. I I do think part of the search is motivated by her. I don't think all of it is, but I think part of it is. Whether he felt like he was coming back, who knows? Maybe even he didn't know that. But I think part of it was him saying to himself, she wants a name, I'll give her a name. And part of it was him saying, I don't know who I am now because I'm not a con man. As you said, I'm not Remington Steele anymore. So I need to know what my story is so I can build another persona. I can figure out who I am going forward.

Eric: 2:52:06

Anyway, getting back into the episode.

Sara: 2:52:09

This is a big moment.

Eric: 2:52:10

This is an

Sara: 2:52:10

important conversation.

Eric: 2:52:11

After my beating after my beat down here. Where was he? Yeah. But they... Yeah. Steele says that he's come up with a name for 1 set of the initials on the watch. The name's Kevin Landers. And Laura turns her head, not wanting to face him until she can gather her wits about her to possibly reveal what she knows. But Steele continues, except Kevin Landers isn't the man's real name, and not realizing she already knows, he asks if she's ready for the big twist. Grinning, he reveals that Kevin Landers is really the Earl of Cleridge.

Sara: 2:52:45

You gotta you gotta love the the fact that he's kind of, like, really tickled about this because he obviously doesn't know about about the earls, other exploits. But, like, the idea that the guy from the streets Mhmm. Could be royalty is just like that to him, that's a kick in the pants. He he finds it funny. It's it's the ultimate joke. Yeah. And you can see Laura when she says, and did you? That's that moment, her whole tone, her whole body language, it all softens. She forgives him for all of it right there because I think she understands that his need to find his past was important enough for him to go. And then, of course, when he reveals the KL connection that you can see it on her face, as you said, she doesn't wanna tell him because... Oof. That would that wouldn't be fun. Yeah. Maybe he is your dad, but he also might be a murderer. And, you know, even if he's not a murderer, he likes to beat up prostitutes. So that's that's...

Eric: 2:53:47

Yeah. There's that. Yeah.

Sara: 2:53:49

There's that family heritage. Yeah. Plus all the inbreeding. Sorry. Yeah.

Eric: 2:53:56

Well I'm kidding. You know what they say. Not really. Yeah. Laura gives him a nervous smile, and Steele, without humor, says, wouldn't it be a cork if it turned out he was related to royalty? After spending 0.5 of his life in dumps like this place, always been afraid of looking too deeply into the past, afraid of, and then he breaks off saying that he'll pay his lordship a visit in the morning. But Laura, both because of his condition Yeah. He's no condition to do it himself.

Sara: 2:54:25

He's... No.

Eric: 2:54:26

They would

Sara: 2:54:26

let him on the... Like, come on. Some dude comes staggering up looking like like like he looks right now smelling like he probably smells and bleeding from the the open chest with him. They're not gonna be like, why, yes, come in and visit the earl. Yeah. It's not happening.

Eric: 2:54:42

Well, plus, I mean, Laura's really wanting to keep control of the situation until she Yeah. Gets more details and facts that Steele doesn't have which she needs to approach objectively because he won't. She won't hear of it. She tells him that she'll do it. So she kisses him on the cheek and then says that before anything else, they have to get him a doctor. Finally. Thank you, Laura. Oh, you've been bleeding all over my floor? Oh, yeah. This is this is... You know? Hey. Let me chew you out 1st and then... Oh, it's been an hour. Yeah. Let me get a get a doctor for you.

Sara: 2:55:17

I I I have to hope that she just didn't know the severity of his wound until she started treating it and then saw, oh, wait a minute. This is something that requires medical attention. Yeah. You know? It's not a head wound, so, hey. Yeah.

Eric: 2:55:32

So next, we get a close-up of the open watch. The music is playing as we read to SJ from KL. We see that Laura is holding the watch, that she and Mildred are in the backseat of a taxi driving through the countryside. Mildred has a very nice camera set up in her lap. Yep. And she's saying that they have his passports. The police confiscated all 5 of them. 5 passports from 5 different countries with 5 different names, but only 1 picture, his. And Laura, at least here, acknowledged that she knows the story by saying, I know Mildred, but she's unenthusiastic as she says it. Yeah. And when Mildred insists that she has a right to an explanation,

Sara: 2:56:16

Laura responds, yes.

Eric: 2:56:18

Laura responds that, yes, she will get 1, but 1st they have to help mister Steele or whoever he is, Mildred darkly quips.

Sara: 2:56:26

Yeah.

Eric: 2:56:27

Laura runs down the game plan with Mildred. Laura's playing a part of a reporter. What's that?

Sara: 2:56:32

I wonder if Laura I wonder if Laura is just... Like, when she says I know, like... And she's, like, visibly upset. I wonder if it's just because Laura is now realizing it's gonna be a heck of a lot harder to get him out of the country if the police have his passports. Yeah. This has now become a much more complicated situation. Yeah. He doesn't have a passport that's just Remington Steele.

Eric: 2:56:52

Plus

Sara: 2:56:53

So

Eric: 2:56:54

they now know some of his aliases and can connect him to all his past indiscretions.

Sara: 2:57:01

Is bad. This is extra uber bad. It's bad when the sight of bad.

Eric: 2:57:06

I'm bad, bad, really, really bad.

Sara: 2:57:10

This is the musical episode.

Eric: 2:57:12

Well, Laura's playing the part of a reporter, Mildred is a photographer, and then she points out to Mildred that she won't get any award winning pictures if she doesn't take off the lens cap. That's an SLR camera. She had known that the lens cap was on as soon as she put her eye to the eyepiece. Anyway, Tacky arrives at the Earl's estate. Inside, the Earl's bride to be, Catherine Galt, is getting her official portrait painted.

Sara: 2:57:33

Does Catherine Galt know about her husband's former habits? Because I gotta think she probably doesn't.

Eric: 2:57:41

Not unless he's keeping them in the closet and she spotted them there.

Sara: 2:57:44

Right? Like, I can't imagine any woman... Yeah.

Eric: 2:57:47

Catholic habit.

Sara: 2:57:48

I can't imagine any... I get it. Any woman willingly getting involved with a man who's like, yeah, so I used to get drunk and beat up prostitutes, but, like, I'm totally over that now. So Yeah.

Eric: 2:57:59

Well

Sara: 2:58:00

want it. Like

Eric: 2:58:02

She is a commoner, so, you know, she might be a little more forgiving than if she was coming from royalty. Anyway, she's getting her official portrait painted. The Earl brings Laura and Mildred in and introduces them as American journalists, which is what he believes them to be at present. Catherine is relieved at the opportunity to take a breather complaining that she hasn't sat this straight since miss Percy's school for young ladies. Mildred chuckles, and Laura suggests that they get a few shots of miss Galt while she has a chat with his lordship, tapping the lens on the cap Yeah. As a reminder. Well, next, Laura and the earl are walking the grounds with Laura conducting the interview. Yeah. The earl has been away from England for about 5 years, tending to his family interests in Canada. That's where he met Catherine, but England is his home, so he decided that's where he wanted the wedding.

Sara: 2:58:53

How lovely how lovely for the serial abuser. I feel so happy for him. Sorry. I'm just a little... Hate this man.

Eric: 2:59:01

Laura wonders about the inconveniences of being recognized anywhere he goes because of the publicity surrounding his impending marriage, his picture in all the papers, on television, and so on. The earl, recognizing a possible trap, asks her why she would suggest that he would have to go around London without being recognized. She says that, well, you know, as beautiful as it is on this estate, he must get the urge to stroll through Hyde Park, visit a museum. She pauses. The earl notices his cigar has gone out, and he's patting his pockets, apparently looking for his lighter. Laura concludes with emphasis, take a ride in a handsome cab.

Sara: 2:59:43

Careful, Laura. Don't make him mad. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. Same.

Eric: 2:59:54

Anyway, the Earl, realizing that there is a motive other than an interview Oh, yeah. 100%. To know what she's driving at and what sort of interview this is. And at that moment, Bradford Galt, Catherine's brother, appears with his lighter just like the 1 that was found at the crime scene, and he lights the Earl's cigar and comments that the Earl must have lost his again.

Sara: 3:00:15

Yeah. He took it.

Eric: 3:00:18

My favorite off thing. The Earl Bradford saying that it's around somewhere. And after he introduces Bradford and Laura, he tells Bradford with a great deal of irritation that miss Holt is 1 of those American magazine writers, no doubt with a deadline, and would he be kind enough to entertain her before she's forced to leave? Well, the earl storms off before he turns green. Bradford comments that he's... See what I did there?

Sara: 3:00:46

I got that. Yeah. I saw that. I saw that. I saw that. That was good.

Eric: 3:00:50

Bradford comments that he's supposed to that he supposes he'll have to get used to reporters. When Laura asks if he has something against publicity, he responds that he led a quiet life in Canada and finds it very disconcerting to have someone trying to snap one's picture all the time. Laura notes that his accent is more English than Canadian. Bradford acknowledges that, yes, he and Catherine were born in London. However, Canada seemed to offer more opportunity.

Sara: 3:01:14

Yeah. Like, escape from the law, apparently.

Eric: 3:01:18

Or French victims. Who knows?

Sara: 3:01:20

Yeah. Right.

Eric: 3:01:21

Anyway, Laura and Bradford have been walking out in the garden and into a driveway where they come upon a handsome cab. Laura comments that it seems to be strangely out of place here.

Sara: 3:01:31

I don't think it is. This is this is an an English estate that belongs to somebody who is royalty. It makes perfect sense they'd have. It could have belonged to the family. It could have gone back generations. Like, this isn't an odd sight at all. I've been through these estates.

Eric: 3:01:49

It probably isn't, but Laura, I think, is fishing for information.

Sara: 3:01:55

That's true. That is true.

Eric: 3:01:57

She... She's using using supposed surprise and misunderstanding as kind of bait, trying to try and get get something that she can use.

Sara: 3:02:11

That's fair. Yeah.

Eric: 3:02:13

Bradford explains that Thiero's ancestors all rode to their wedding in 1 of these, and he plans to carry on the tradition. He knows that his lordship is a stickler for tradition to the degree that he has even sequestered Catherine and himself in a Mayfair flat. No hanky panky before the vows are exchanged.

Sara: 3:02:30

Okay. Here's where I wanna psychoanalyze the Earl for a 2nd because... And I realized that this is not something the writers would have considered in the slightest, but be... It's just because they've, like... They introduced this past that he has, which is brutal and violent, and then they brush it aside. Right? They... Once he's cleared of the murder, it's like, yeah, he gets another chance. He's fine. He's good now. He's getting married. But I'm gonna I'm gonna put forward this theory, this psychoanalysis theory, that based on what Bradford has just said, he's a traditional... A stickler for tradition. No hanky panky before the wedding to the point where he sequestered her somewhere else so that he can't get to her. Right? But we know that he's doing it anyway. So I'm gonna go ahead and pose this theory that the Earl of Cleridge was brought up in a way where he was taught so much about tradition and how you have to be proper and how... It's like a Jekyll Hyde situation. Because if you've read that book, doctor Jekyll was the proper Victorian man in every way, shape or form. And he was rebelling against Victorian norms by creating this potion that would allow him to release all his inhibitions as mister Hyde and still be the proper doctor Jekyll by day. Right? Obviously, the potion gets out of hand. He starts to be able to uncontroll... He... He's not able to control the change, etcetera. The earl being a man who was brought up to always observe, like, royal tradition, which, by the way, is insane. They have so many, like, ways that they have to do things, took to going out at night and going to these pubs, getting drunk with and hiring these prostitutes, but then was so disgusted with himself and with them because they're giving sex away freely, which he would have been taught was no no, that he would then take out his rage on these women. Right? And presumably somehow got over that. Whatever. Now with with Catherine, he's exhibiting that same behavior. Only this time, she's a willing participant because, you know, they're they're getting married. So he's maybe excusing it that, and that's why it's not driving him into a rage filled frenzy. There's my psychoanalysis for the day. I am not a doctor. I just play 1 on TV. Thank you for listening to my Ted talk. Alright. We can keep going.

Eric: 3:04:51

Well, either that or he was frustrated before because he wasn't getting any, and now he too.

Sara: 3:04:58

And angered by the fact that these women were so loose with their their morals or whatever he saw it. But, like, it maybe. Yeah. Who knows? But either way, like, he's he's scum. He's just scum. I don't care. Well,

Eric: 3:05:12

as as Bradford is continuing his conversation about hanky panky and such, there's a sudden cry of distress from inside the house. Laura and Bradford rush up and inside and find Mildred on the floor, Catherine and a maid trying to help her up in the midst of an overturned tea cart, tea set, and multitude of broken dishes piled up on the floor everywhere around the cart. Concerned, Laura asks, what happened? And Catherine informs her that Mildred became dizzy. Mildred, seeing the mess on the floor, apologizes. Katherine tells Laura that it might be best if she took Mildred upstairs to lie down for a while. Of course, the Earl doesn't like this idea suggesting it's all nonsense. It's probably nothing serious. And at that, Mildred starts to pitch forward again, grabbing at her leg in the process. Again, she apologizes saying that she's afraid she's hurt her ankle. So Katherine insists that the maid take up... Make up some rooms for Mildred and Laura so they can stay until Mildred is ready to travel.

Sara: 3:06:10

I have to wonder why Mildred chose to do this. I wonder

Eric: 3:06:14

Is this if part of the plan?

Sara: 3:06:15

Yeah. It was, a, was it part of the plan ahead of time? And b, if it wasn't, did she see the Earl storm in Sans Laura, realize that it hadn't gone the way Laura had wanted it to go, and decide to try to extend their visit somehow? Those are my 2 theories.

Eric: 3:06:30

It's never explained. Yeah. I I can't believe that Mildred would go to such an elaborate ruse on the spur of a moment with absolutely no information on which to base it.

Sara: 3:06:43

Sure. So it must have been the plan ahead of time then.

Eric: 3:06:46

Or at least a conditional plan, maybe. Yeah. Under certain circumstances, this is what we're gonna do. In other circumstances, we'll do something else. I don't know. But it it just seems like it had to have been in some way coordinated

Sara: 3:06:58

with She had to have somehow known that things were not going well, that they weren't getting the information they needed.

Eric: 3:07:04

Yes. Well, Laura helps Mildred hobble out. And in doing so, they miss that the earl is glaring at them as they leave the room.

Sara: 3:07:13

Get the close-up on

Eric: 3:07:14

his close-up eyes. Of his eyes.

Sara: 3:07:17

And I I get that that close-up is meant to hint that he is the killer, but they're not the same eyes.

Eric: 3:07:24

No. But there is the same contained rage.

Sara: 3:07:28

Yes. Because he... Because he's a horrible human being who beats up women for fun. Like, that's that's not a murderer, but it's

Eric: 3:07:36

not house when they've hurt their ankle.

Sara: 3:07:39

Yes. Yeah. He's not a murderer, but he's not really that far behind. Right? So... Yeah.

Eric: 3:07:45

Anyway, we have a time jump, and we see that it's night. Laura and Mildred are in a bedroom at the Earls Manor. Mildred is pacing while Laura is peering out the window from behind the curtains. Mildred wants to know what's going on. I mean, why did they have to make sure they spent the night?

Sara: 3:08:00

But what hasn't she told her?

Eric: 3:08:02

When Laura doesn't respond right away, Mildred pleads with her to tell her, assuring Laura that she can keep a secret. Laura assures Mildred that she may have to keep more than 1 if things turn out the way she thinks they will.

Sara: 3:08:14

Yeah. No kidding.

Eric: 3:08:16

Something out the window catches Laura's attention, and she jerks up focusing on the driveway. It's the carriage with its horse standing by and the earl cautiously moving toward it. The earl climbs aboard, takes up the driver's position, and urges the horse forward. Inside, Laura tells Mildred to hold the fort and then takes off. She runs outside the driveway over to the side where she spots a carport with various cars. She runs over, looks in a couple for what she can start, then climbs into a cut down Jeep like vehicle. Although, technically, this 1 is called a Moke.

Sara: 3:08:51

How do you know that? I was looking for for that.

Eric: 3:08:54

Zoomed in really, really tight. I got video editing software. I zoomed in really, really tight and I could read the label on the front. It's a model, which is a recreational vehicle currently manufactured by Cherry Automobile in China since 2013 and assembled by various companies in The United States, United Kingdom, and France. Design by British industrial designer Michael Young evokes the classic Mini Moke built from 1964 to 1993. The name Mini Moke combines mini with moke, which is an archaic term for mule. The new version is simply called the Moke. The Mini Moke was originally conceived and manufactured as a lightweight military vehicle by British Motor Corporation, BMC, and subsequently marketed for civilian use by that company's various successor companies and subsidiaries. It was known for its simple, straightforward, doorless design and for its adaptability. While the original design was also sold for utility purpose, the new Moke is mainly meant for recreational use such as a beach car or a neighborhood vehicle. The Moke revival began as a joint venture between Jaguar Land Rover and the Chinese automaker Cherry Automobile. Talk about selling out to your... Never mind. Although ownership of the Moke trademark is disputed. Well, of course it is. Look who you're doing business with. Moke America LLC distributes the vehicle in The United States while British Moke International Limited handles the British production and was restarted in 2018.

Sara: 3:10:24

Anyway Interesting.

Eric: 3:10:26

Suddenly, Steele, is very much recovered, leaps Apparently

Sara: 3:10:30

totally fine now. Like, what?

Eric: 3:10:32

Leaps from the way back of the Moke into the back seat, grabbing Laura and covering her her mouth with his hands. But Laura, not realizing who it is, tries to put up a fight until she recognizes Steele's voice shushing her. Surprised, she asks why he isn't where she left him. Steele turns the question around on her asking where she's been, saying that he's been waiting for her to come back with some news about who he is. Laura says, well, we didn't get around to that, but what are you doing? And Steele reminds her that this is his path they're chasing, pointing forward. Laura starts to smoke and Steele asks, now this is a problem. Steele asks if she's ever driven 1 of these things before. It's a car.

Sara: 3:11:13

Well, okay. So I have 2 theories. 1, he could be referring to the fact that most of the vehicles driven in The United Kingdom are manual, not automatic. So that could be 1.

Eric: 3:11:26

Except that at this particular point in time, manuals were a far more common option. In fact, they were the the standard option on cars, and automatics were an upgrade and were not the standard. That's reversed now.

Sara: 3:11:42

He could be referring to the fact that the steering wheel's on the other side. And believe it or not, that is harder than you think. Because when I went to Scotland to marry... To get married to Scott, my dad... Now my dad has held every license under the sun. Okay? He had a license to drive a motorcycle. He had a license to drive a bus. He used to drive a bus, both Greyhound and City Bus for a living. He had... Like, could drive... If it had wheels, he could drive it. Okay? So they're coming to my wedding and my dad's like, ah, I can get an international driver's license based on, because we have an agreement with The UK. Right? So I'll just rent a car from the airport and I'll drive. And I'm like, are you sure you wanna do that, dad? Because it is not as easy as you think to drive on the other side of the road if you've never done it. Like, it really isn't. He's like, no, no, no. We're good. We're good. That ride from the airport to the hotel, I I swear to God, saw my life flash before my eyes. Okay? I have never been more terrified as a passenger because the problem is when you move the steering wheel to the other side, you, like, get off. Like, when you think about where the wheels go, where you naturally gravitate to, we were, like, really close to the barriers and, like, other cars because he would, it was bad. So I don't know if he's just commenting on, like, can you drive this side of road?

Eric: 3:13:07

Here's the thing. Laura says, well, of course she can. She saw Smoking the Bandit. In my notes, I I do acknowledge some of those things that you mentioned, the fact that it's a right hand steer, so the placement of the gear shift and and all that other stuff is... Could throw her off. But, yes, she knows how to drive. The truth is, though, I think that this line is orphaned from an earlier version of the script.

Sara: 3:13:28

That's that's... That could be it too. Like, I'm not denying that it's it's maybe an awkward line, but, like

Eric: 3:13:32

Here it goes originally. Yeah. Exterior grounds, night. As Laura charges out in search of a conveyance, she comes upon a small shed and discovers a motorcycle inside. Her eyes light up as she sees a key in the ignition, and she lugs the bike out. Now we jump forward. Remington, do you know how to drive 1 of these things? Laura, determined. I saw EZ Rider. I think they wanted to get... Keep a movie reference in there.

Sara: 3:13:57

Right. Right.

Eric: 3:13:58

But they changed it from a motorcycle, maybe because Stephanie couldn't drive a motorcycle, maybe because they, for safety reasons, didn't want to go that route. They changed it to a 4 wheel vehicle. They needed to keep the joke in there. They kept the line even though in

Sara: 3:14:13

sense, really makes sense. He's driving a big rig in that movie. I've seen that movie too. Right? He's not driving a small little Jeep. He's in a truck.

Eric: 3:14:24

Well, Smokey and the Bandit, well, there's also that Firebird. But

Sara: 3:14:28

Okay. Yeah. Fair enough. He's got that.

Eric: 3:14:30

It would have been better if this question that he asks was rewritten in a way to, have you ever driven a right hand steer on a right hand... On a on a left left hand side drive street or something. So it's something more appropriate. But, yeah, they

Sara: 3:14:47

they And then she could have said, yeah, I've seen the Italian job. Yeah. Right? Like, there there could have been a reference there because it's a European car. They're in Europe. Like, it it could have been... You're right. It is an awkward line, and I I kinda flagged it too. But, like, then I recall back to the harrowing experience I was driving over from the airport. And I will point out too that Scott, when he 1st got here, had a a habit of drifting to the other side. And and there was a few times where I I took, like, there was a couple times where he went the wrong way down a 1 way street, and I'm like, not in Britain, not in Britain, not in Britain. He had to fix, like, where he was going. And then the 1st time, and he'll hate that I'm putting this on the podcast, but just... I'm doing it anyway. When he 1st came to Canada and rented a car, it it... I'll I'll... It's a good thing that he got the insurance.

Eric: 3:15:37

Believe it at that. He backed

Sara: 3:15:39

into a Tim Horton sign, which is the most Canadian way you can damage a car. But, like, you know, there we are. He's backing up, and I'm like, don't hit the pole. Don't hit the pole. Don't hit the clunk pole. Right? Because, like, he wasn't used to looking for the blind spots where they were. So, yeah, it is a lot harder than people think.

Eric: 3:15:58

Anyway, Laura and Steele follow the earl in the carriage upon which he rides to a house in the city. They observe the earl walk up to the door and then let himself in. Let himself in. As Laura and Steele sit observing, Steele wipes his face, probably both in frustration at the lack of action and information, as well as the frustration of his still dirty and disheveled state and asks

Sara: 3:16:22

Poor guy.

Eric: 3:16:23

Yeah. His injury has nothing to do with it at this point because he's fully recovered. Yeah. Now that we've seen London by Night, would you mind telling me why we're following someone who could very possibly be a very, very close relative of mine and why incidentally he's bouncing around on the top of that carriage? Laura hesitates, takes a deep breath, then begins in a distracted and indirect way that she has when she has something unpleasant to say and wants to just come right out and say it. She observes and doesn't want to come right out and say it. She observes that Steele has been a little busy trying to track down his past, and he probably hasn't paid much attention to the news, the happenings of the day. Steele scratching at his lip muses that he can always tell when she's about to impart some very unpleasant news. At this, Laura, not looking at Steele lifts her eyebrow, nice touch on Stephanie's part to fill in that. Steele says she's got a revealing tell, concluding by saying she lifts her eyebrow. No, her left eyebrow starts twitching.

Sara: 3:17:26

Starts to twitch, yeah.

Eric: 3:17:27

Laura raises her hand to her eyebrow, covering it, running her hand across it, and denies that she does that. The silence between them sets there for a moment. Then Laura continues to pretend that his comment about her eyebrow didn't get to her, but then as they're continuing to sit, the quiet is broken by the sound of a door being hurriedly closed. We see the infamous coat carriage driver, their suspect, come from the house. The figure climbs down into the carriage and begins driving. Steele cluelessly asks what they're doing. Laura intently tells him that they are chasing a murderer. Steele is stunned. In disbelief, he begs for clarification, asking, the earl of Cleridge is a murderer? Laura shrugs her shoulders in resignation. She didn't wanna tell him this way. Still stunned, Steele asks how he intend... How she intended to tell him. Send him a postcard?

Sara: 3:18:19

I like that line.

Eric: 3:18:22

They take off in pursuit of the carriage. Racing through the once again fog shrouded streets, they eventually, but suddenly, come upon the carriage, nearly running into it before they stop, only avoiding hitting the carriage by running into a wall. With the impact, Laura falls out of the moke. Steele jumps down next to her, Steele fully recovered from his injuries. She is lying

Sara: 3:18:43

Of course.

Eric: 3:18:43

Holding her knee. Steele helps her up and seats her on a tarp covered crate or some such thing that just happens to be there. Yeah. He tells her to stay put then takes off after the earl. As she is sitting, staring off in the direction of Steele's departure, a shadow appears on the wall behind her. It's the shadow of the man in the tall hat, just like the 1 the cloaked figure wears. And as the music, vaguely reminiscent of the psycho music, though much less intense, the camera moves into Laura, and isolating her from the background creates this unwelcome feeling of closeness.

Sara: 3:19:20

It's good. It's good the way it's kinda like zeroing in on her.

Eric: 3:19:24

She turns her head and then sees the figure. As she begins to cry out in surprise, the figure reaches out and grabs her by the throat. He lifts her up and begins shaking her like a wolf with prey between its teeth, ferociously shaking the animal to further subdue it and hasten its death. The figure throws Laura onto the hood of the moke, allowing him to increase the pressure on her throat to further subdue her and hasten her death. In the struggle, Laura manages to reach out and press the horn button on the steering wheel of the vehicle. Some distance away, Steele hears the horn, giving him an unsettling feeling. He calls out to Laura in an attempt to confirm that it was somebody else sounding the horn and not her sounding it as a signal. Getting no response, which wouldn't have been very likely in any case given the apparent distance between them and the fog, which would have acted as a damper, he takes off running back toward Laura. We see that Laura has managed to get to her feet and partially away from the earl, but as she attempts to escape, he easily catches her, grabs her, and hits her, knocking her down. He picks her up and places her in the carriage. He climbs up onto the carriage and drives the horse forward, but Steele, running up out of the fog yells, woah, and grabs at the horse and reins. The figure begins to strike at Steele with the horse whip, but the figure is still holding on tightly to the reins so that when Steele grabs them from the side of the horse and yanks, the jerk of the reins jerks the figure forward, throwing him off balance and off the side of the carriage. Steele, foolishly ignoring the figure because Steele doesn't know the rules, which dictate that you secure the scene 1st.

Sara: 3:20:58

Of course.

Eric: 3:20:59

You secure the suspect 1st before you start searching for victims. He starts in toward Laura to check her out, but the cloaked man isn't unconscious, as Steele had presumed, and attacks him from behind. Steele is thrown up against the side of the carriage. No abdomen injury at all.

Sara: 3:21:14

No. Of course

Eric: 3:21:15

To affect his ability to fight. Punches are thrown as Laura, still sitting inside the carriage, is observing as she is recovering from her own attack. Steele gets the upper hand, and with her suspect pinned against the side of the carriage, and with Steele delivering a few final blows to the suspect's face, Fred Jones and the Scooby Doo... Steele pulls up the villain's mask, revealing his face, and Laura tells us his name.

Sara: 3:21:40

It's old man Thompson.

Eric: 3:21:42

Bradford gulped, prompting Steele to ask,

Sara: 3:21:45

who the hell is he?

Eric: 3:21:50

The next day, we find ourselves back at Scotland Yard, and the inspector is with Laura and Mildred, telling them that Galt is 1 of the most cold blooded killers he's ever encountered. Lombard explains that from what they've been able to determine, Bradford Galt worked as an odd man job in a boarding house for women several years previously. Rumor had it that the old lady who kept the place had a considerable sum of money hidden somewhere in the house, so Galt, being the ambitious type and hungry for a proper start, began searching for the money. Unfortunately for her, she surprised him, he killed her, then fled to Canada. However, he left a bloody fingerprint on the hammer used to bludgeon the woman. Laura surmises that Galt must have realized the publicity surrounding his sister's marriage would spill over onto himself. Inspector concurs. There he'd be escorting her up the aisle, picturing all the newspapers and on television, and surely 1 of the women from the boarding house would have recognized him. Mildred says, yes. She understands that, but she doesn't understand why it is that the earl was running around in a carriage. Laura explains that as Galt truthfully stated, the earl is a very proper man. He didn't want anybody to know that he was boinking... Seeing his fiancee before they were married. The inspector adds that the reporters from some of their more sensational tabloids had been camped outside the estate, But with the handsome cab, the earl could cut across the grounds and leave without being seen. Laura adds 1 final detail. Galt knew that he had several uninterrupted hours to use the earl's carriage.

Sara: 3:23:23

Several hours?

Eric: 3:23:25

Yeah. Apparently, he he very dedicated to his job. Yeah.

Sara: 3:23:30

I guess so.

Eric: 3:23:31

The inspector stands looking at his watch then asks, mister Steele is going to join us, isn't he? Laura pauses, takes a deep breath, and then hesitantly says that, well, he just needed a few moments to make himself presentable. Inspector picks up the multitude of passports Steele had previously used, advising the women that he simply can't look the other way on them and that he does hope that Steele has a passport in his real name.

Sara: 3:23:56

Yeah.

Eric: 3:23:56

Laura raises her eyebrows problem. Looks at Mildred who also has raised eyebrows.

Sara: 3:24:03

Yeah.

Eric: 3:24:03

And then we see Steele casually walking down a sidewalk. Off to the side, we spot 2 men, not too casually casually leaning back up against a car. You know how people who try to be casual are obviously not casual? Yeah. That's what they're doing. As Steele nears, the 2 men raise themselves then step towards Steele, 1 going behind, the other man coming directly on, raising a pistol and shoving it into Steele's chest. The man from behind grabs Steele's arm and angrily tells him he's late. Confused, Steele says, I am? As the men shove Steele into the car, he apologizes, saying he didn't think they'd take it that hard.

Sara: 3:24:41

Well... And it's... He's... I I I should point out, he's finally cleaned up. He's got a suit, his normal suit on. He looks good. He looks clean. Right? This is probably the 1st episode where we've seen Steele barely wear a suit. Right? Like, it's the last 30 seconds of the episode. But also, just going back to what the inspector said, he... Unfortunately, I can't look the other way on this. Really? Because you see him okay. He was looking the other way on, like, the guy that beats up prostitutes, but the passport thing, that's where... Okay. Anyway. Sorry.

Eric: 3:25:13

We have our standards.

Sara: 3:25:14

Yeah. Right.

Eric: 3:25:16

Inside the back seat of the car that they're shoving Steele into, Felicia is waiting for him and greets him saying it's nice to see him again. Steele, perhaps realizing he's been unceremoniously thrown into a role for which he was uninformed and unprepared Yeah. Plays his part by responding, it's nice to be seen. Felicia tells him that she hopes he's prepared. And when Steele asks what he's supposed to be prepared for, Felicia purrs. Like, Donald, you're going to kill the Earl of Cleridge. And Steele What? Was What did I do to get into this, and what do I do to get out of this look on his face as the car pulls away from the curb and the screen freezes and we see the words,

Sara: 3:25:59

to be continued.

Eric: 3:26:04

Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Anything else to add? I mean, you've already said everything. I mean, what else is there to say? Right?

Sara: 3:26:12

There there was no note. It's a crazy season opener. Like, I I have to give them props for taking such a big swing with everything that is going on in this episode. The atmospheric fog, the the illusions to Jack the Ripper, all of the stuff with him searching for his past. Like, I think this is 1 of the better openers that we've had. I I enjoy it. I don't know that the 2nd 0.5 feels as coherent as the 1st 0.5. I think because it... It's like, I don't know. It it Well feels like a completely different story that they're just sort of shoving in there just because they have to be in England.

Eric: 3:26:55

Yeah. It kind of is a different story, but there's that continuing thread of Steele and the earl carrying through.

Sara: 3:27:02

Yeah.

Eric: 3:27:02

So it's nice in that they are both separate episodes. You can watch 1 without watching the other. Are self contained in the sense of the major story here concludes, and then we go on to the next 1, and the major story there, you can pick it up without having to Yeah. Do the 1st But it's got that continuing thread that goes through it, Steele, the Earl, possibly being his father. And...

Sara: 3:27:29

It sets up a lot of the threads we're gonna see unravel in season 4, specifically Mildred's disillusionment with him and that hero worship that goes away, which I really like how that gets followed throughout the season. Mhmm. Because it does come up in a couple of spots where she kind of... She doesn't just get over it, and she shouldn't because

Eric: 3:27:48

They lied to her for 2 years.

Sara: 3:27:50

They lied to her. For... Yeah. For 2 years, they lied to her. I mean, you can make the argument that Steele did tell her, but he honestly knew that she didn't really believe him. He didn't make an effort to follow that up. So... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good... I I I mean, aside from the fact that I enjoy this 1, and I I, well, may have ranted about the Earl of it, but other than that, you know, it's it's a good... I'm just saying. It's a good episode. It is a good episode.

Eric: 3:28:18

Alright.

Sara: 3:28:19

Yeah. Well, if there's nothing else,

Eric: 3:28:20

I will remind everybody about the website, steelwatching.com. There you'll find the show notes, Amazon link to Smokey and the Bandit, and a link to all sorts of other resources such as

Sara: 3:28:33

Oh, also, what about Invasion of of the Buddy Snatchers? That's our other movie reference. Right? Beginning. Mildred tells Laura... Really great beginning. She tells her that she was watching an old movie on TV. Just saying that was also a film reference.

Eric: 3:28:49

Alright. I didn't... I I guess I just kinda dismissed that because it wasn't directly tied to the story. But... Okay. Yeah. It's in there too. So 2 movies. 2 movies.

Sara: 3:29:00

2 movies. Yeah. Alright. Sorry.

Eric: 3:29:04

Other resources, that would be you.

Sara: 3:29:06

That is our Facebook page, our Twitter, and Instagram, as well as the unofficially, officially, unofficial Facebook group, Steele watching... Steele watchers Facebook group. So you can join us there. You can debate about the note. Feel free to set up a poll if you like. I don't know. But also, we do other things.

Eric: 3:29:27

Somebody get this horse out of

Sara: 3:29:29

here, please. It's stinking up the place. You can also you can also support us either by buying us a coffee, a 1 time sort of donation, or become a subscriber and comment in real time as we discuss the important issues such as the note life Minor minor

Eric: 3:29:48

point. Minor point.

Sara: 3:29:51

But either way, you can you can do that too. So those are the things that Yeah. We have.

Eric: 3:29:56

Yeah. And if you make a comment in the chat for the livestream that I don't like, I will banish you.

Sara: 3:30:03

It's alright. I'll bring you back.

Eric: 3:30:06

Anyway, alright. Well, that ends this 1. Steele Searching part 2 is the next episode, and that's gonna be Sarah's lead. So I guess that's it. So Yep. Bye bye, everybody.

Sara: 3:30:19

Bye bye.