Heavier on sentiment than comedy, this episode is an excellent example (like so many from the first season) of a "quiet" episode, proven to be powerfully effective by sheer nature of being...simple!The plot IS simple: Sam flies off to Paris with Endora when Darrin spends too much time at the office, only to run into Larry and Louise Tate there. Will Darrin be angry when he finds out? No one really cares. For instead of building around that big question (which we already know the answer to) scriptwriter Bernard Slade has travelled a more interesting path by focusing in on Endora and Samantha's relationship -- while giving us a deeper understanding of the special bond between them.
Both Endora's asking of Samantha if now that she's married "what was once between us is no longer?" and later fondly remembering an adventure they had once shared ("We have had good times, haven't we?!") are wistfully sad and poignant when given to realize just how close they once were before someone else came into Samantha's life. Human nature -- illuminated beautifully here.
Highlights include: Endora meeting Larry Tate for the first time; Sam's very cool (and somewhat frightening) float past the airplane window; Endora's cute take to the camera telling us "It's the only way to fly!"; and of course, Elizabeth and Agnes -- looking magnificently elegant throughout. Definitely too good for the Cozy-Have-A-Snack!
GUEST STARS:Blink and you miss her -- Raquel Welch makes a less than impressionable debut as "stewardess" but through no fault of her own. For some inexplicable reason, one of future filmdom's most gorgeous creatures is never even given the chance to show her face!
© Review Copyright 1999 by SCOTT VIETS