Date of airing: January 17, 1998 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 12.90 million viewers, 8.3/15 in Households
It didn't take the show a long time to get away from the things that made it an interesting television series during the first season, and move towards the silliness and absurdities of the plot again. Although it can be said that this episode had some charm and romance to it that almost made this hour taste like a chocolate cake (there is nothing wrong with chocolate cake, as long as you only have it once a year), it's not like every episode of the series' second season is going to turn out important or necessary for the character arcs. And yet, the writers made sure that this episode had a subplot about Gary's importance for the people of Chicago, and how he has been seeing it as his obligation, his duty, maybe even his job. If the people of Chicago can't depend on him, how much bad stuff is going to happen? With that view on his obligation, Gary was finally able to tell someone else how important that kind of obligation is, and how you can't just drop it and do whatever it is that pleases you. Sometimes, having to be there for your people is more important than a social life. That is the lesson Gary taught Sibella, and for that alone, the episode succeeded in being good.
It also showed what a love story can look like if writers don’t have 90 minutes or two hours to spare, and instead only get 40 minutes to begin and end a romance. Princess Sibella and Gary maybe fell in love with one another (she more so than he), and because they both knew this was only a romance for one day, their lives will be defined by heartache for the next couple of days. It probably was a good thing that Sibella and Gary didn’t have an entire night of free time in a city like Vienna, because then, there love story would have been absolutely epic. But there is no time for such a love story in Gary's life – he has lives to save, people to stop from doing bad things. Who knows though, maybe Sibella will return to Chicago one day and meet Gary – just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.
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| It's not easy to entertain a privileged woman in Chicago. |
The episode was okay. One might think that it’s illogical for Princess Sibella (Hayley DuMond in her debut role) to run away from her group, when all of Chicago should be nuts about royalty being in their city, but then again, Sibella comes from a fictional country that is so so small that Chicago's news media is most likely not even interested in following this personality, or even knowing anything about the country she is from. But one might also think that Sibella had all the reason in the world to say “No” to her family and staff, and spend the day sightseeing on her own terms, instead of having to follow the agenda of her country. Being a princess might be a job for her, but even she is allowed to have a day, or at least a couple of hours, off for her own leisure. In hindsight, having a princess in town should have kept the paparazzi and other press on her, making it impossible for Sibella to roam around Chicago unnoticed. But the episode did well in creating a character here. Showing Sibella with her staff who was pressuring her in following the schedule and prepared statements, it showed that she was not courageous enough to disappoint her country or her parents back home, making her a weak character in the beginning. And after spending a day with Gary and Chuck, she learned what it's like to just be normal, but to also have a responsibility that you can't just leave behind. However, Sibella's episode-opening weakness was the biggest weakness of the episode – the writers essentially downgraded her to a little girl, unable to speak up for herself, and who needed alcohol to find the courage to run away and live life on her own for a day.
At least Gary was somewhat non-caring about a princess being in his four walls, not forcing himself to tell her that she shouldn’t be running away or doing this and doing that. It’s almost like he did not want her around him in the first place (since she would have disturbed him doing his “errands”). Still, Gary had an attractive woman in his apartment, who didn’t want to get away from him that quick, and he was a good-enough human being to not use her, because she was trustworthy and desperate to experience the Chicago life on her own terms. Not to mention that Gary had a woman in his apartment – what was that doing for the guy who got divorced a year and a half ago and was since them looking for some normalcy or a relationship in his life?
Anyway, Sibella could have been a bit of a better character. She was a bit boring for a romance story like this, since the only thing she attempted to do was experience Chicago on her own and then immediately fell in love with the first guy who did not see a princess in her. Maybe she could have been in a bit of danger, maybe the writers could have created a fourth or fifth assassination attempt this season and Gary had to save her life repeatedly. After all, Gary was ready to do some stunt work in this episode. I mean, what the heck was that thing about danging on the truck about, when he could have found any other, more safer, way to stop the truck? Gary became an action hero in this episode, and it is kind of weird to see him that way. Usually, he runs from place to place to prevent an accident from happening, but this time around he actually jumped. Onto a moving truck. And then hung from its side.
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| It's not easy to hang on the side of a moving truck. |
One might also find humor in this episode, when Chuck and Sibella's staff member, who was looking for the princess, walked past each other on the bridge, and Chuck’s
phone signal was suddenly transferred to the other guy's phone. The episode
might have aired 1998, but it was written and produced in 1997, when
cell phones were up and coming, so obviously, people thought that this
would happen – but did it actually happen? In hindsight 25 years later,
it seems bonkers that this could happen and you could eavesdrop on another person's phone call, but I guess an absurd twist was needed for the story to move to the next chapter. It was a hilarious scene when you watch this
episode in 2023 – back in 1997, only
two people crossing the bridge were using cell phones, and this freaky
thing happened. 25 years later, everybody is on their phone as you walk past them.
