He asks if she knows who the woman they met yesterday was. Maggie says she doesn't know, and that she hasn't seen her since. Sam tells her to find out who the woman is. Maggie asks why, and Sam refuses to explain why. He asks Maggie to go through the details again, and Maggie brings up her telling the story of the phoenix. That causes Sam to pause. He abruptly leaves.
Joe asks Maggie what's up with her father. She says he's on his way to the Blue Whale to solve all his problems. Joe offers to keep an eye on him, and leaves as well. After he does, the mysterious woman enters and orders a coffee. Maggie asks if she heard about Matthew Morgan being found dead of a heart attack. Maggie suggests he died of fright after seeing the ghost of Josette Collins. The woman licks her lips and holds her hand to her head like she has a headache. Maggie asks if it was good seeing her family again, and the woman confirms she hasn't seen them yet. She says it won't just be a surprise, it will be a shock. The woman lights a cigarette and stares into the burning flame. Maggie asks if she may have seen her before, and the woman says Maggie would have been a teen the last time she was in town. Maggie finally introduces herself, but the woman leaves without telling Maggie her name.
In The Blue Whale, Sam spills his drink on the bar. Joe is next to him, listening to his drunken ramblings. Joe asks Sam what's bothering him. Maggie arrives to join them. Sam asks Joe if he can talk to Maggie alone. Maggie says she tried to get information from the woman, but had no luck. Sam implies that he thinks he knows who she is. He storms out, convinced he has to find out who she is himself. Joe offers to give Maggie a ride home.
Sam shows up at the hotel, and in the empty lobby, reviews the registration book. He appears to tear out a page, and then goes to the phone booth. He sees the woman arrive and go upstairs, and then he calls the Collins house.
Roger answers the phone. Sam tells Roger to meet him at The Blue Whale, explaining the worst possible thing that could happen has happened. Roger grabs his hat and coat, and heads out.
Sam throws back another shot. Roger arrives, and tells Sam he doesn't like to get phone calls like Sam's. Roger asks if Sam is going to tell him why he called him there before he passes out. Sam asks Roger what's the worst possible thing that could happen to him. Roger answers Sam becoming his social equal. Roger threatens to leave, and Sam grabs his arm. He says he saw someone that neither of them ever expected to see again. Sam asks who is the person who could ruin Roger's life, as well as Sam's. Roger says there's only one person - and Sam say's he's right—his wife Laura is back in town.
Our thoughts
John: Boy, Joe's getting awfully touchy-feely with Maggie now that he's done with Carolyn. Or perhaps the pat on the butt was an acceptable interaction with waitresses in 1966.
Christine: I thought Joe Haskell was such a nice young man, but I'm revising my opinion of him. It was inappropriate behavior considering the current state of their relationship. He further insults her by calling her a "brassy dame" while copping a feel. Maggie needs to don her blonde wig and deck him across the chops.
John: Sam is a pain in the ass (more than Joe's slap). He wants things from Maggie and never tells her why. Speaking of which, why hasn't she read Sam's letter in the safe yet?
Christine: Sam has gone back to bingeing on alcohol at the same rate he was when Bill Malloy was alive, so it would seem the arrival of Laura Collins has got him worried about the incident from ten years ago once again.
John: Okay, they've done a good job setting up the Laura Collins storyline as Matthew's wraps up. It will be interesting to see how this affects the other characters—particularly Burke Devlin.
Christine: I'm more interested in seeing what happens when she meets up with her dear husband, Roger. I wonder why the legend of the phoenix keeps coming up.
Joe's behavior is only problematic when viewed through a 21st-century lens. In the 1960s, a pat on the butt between friends--and keep in mind, Joe and Maggie have known each other since childhood--was not considered a sexual thing. And the "brassy dame" comment was just something people said in the '60s, no different than people calling someone "bitch" today in joking terms.
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