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Storyline: Micks's ex-wife begs Mick to investigate the reported death of her new husband while on assignment for the DEA in South America. Location named is San Sebastian. |
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Was there a female director for this season, or better yet, for THIS episode? Apparently someone behind the camera suddenly realized just how gorgeous Rick's chest and tummy is and decided to make him go unbuttoned for most of the show. (or was it ALL of this episode? Yep, I think so…) Maybe they were going under the showbiz notion that `sex sells,' and well, if you have Rick Springfield running around bare-chested on the beach and in the South American jungle…I'm SOLD! Obviously I feel lame bringing this up immediately in the review, but it's so `there' throughout the whole 40 minutes, it's impossible not to mention it. And you'd have to be blind not to notice! In fact, it was almost distracting trying to actually catch the story being told. I found that in every scene where Joey was beside Mick, I hardly even realized Joey was there, except that his voice was coming through the speakers. Joey? Joey who? Ok, in all seriousness now, this was a pretty good episode in my book. Down South is a Mick show, all the way. We are `introduced' to Mick's ex-wife Maddie, who Joey claims---`broke his heart.' On a side note here: I thought it was quite ironic how his ex-wife (his only wife in High Tide, so far as I know) was named Maddie, short for Madeline. Since Rick's return to General Hospital in `05, we have learned that the name of Noah's only wife was also Maddie. Strange, eh? Is this a pattern?! I thought that was interesting. The look on Mick's face when Maddie appeared on the beach and caught him sunbathing was cute. With eyes closed he says, "Is it me, or did it just get 20 degrees colder?" He looks shocked when he hears her speak behind him, scolding him, "Is this what you call work now?" Joey makes it very clear from the get-go that he is not fond of Maddie. He's still holding a grudge over the divorce and the heartache she put Mick through. Maddie needs Mick's help to find her husband Paul. Oh gee…so you come to your EX-husband for help? Makes sense. *scratching head* I guess she really trusts his `cop instinct.` Mick is none too thrilled either, but he agrees to meet her for lunch. She tells him to `wear some clothes, and be sure to wear socks.' As IF he's going to listen to her?! Ha! Well of course Mick shows up in shorts, an unbuttoned shirt and I believe he has on sandals! LOL! Mick narrates that he and Maddie were very young when they married. He had just become a cop and she was `fresh out of law school.` He strolls up to the table (with that Rick Springfield saunter), flashes a sweet grin and says, "Hey" sitting down with a sigh. Their lunch `date' is at the very restaurant where she dumped him. Mick's sarcasm here was funny, but it's also apparent by his expressions that he was in love with her at one time, and that she hurt him deeply. She thanks him for coming and he asks, "Did you have to pick this place?" She says, "We always liked it here." He tells her, "It's a great place to say goodbye. It was at that table right over there. I remember it well. You had the Caesar salad and I had the heartbreak. Then you told me that you were in love, with someone else. Something like that." Mick says, "You look good Maddie." But she smiles and says, "You need a haircut." REALLY??? How so? It's quite short if you ask me! I think she realized how `motherly' she sounded and as an afterthought she tells him he also looks good. Mick is not convinced she means it. We learn that Maddie left Mick because she wasn't into cops, but yet she hooked up with his lieutenant, Paul. Maddie tells Mick that Paul went on a case in South America and now the DEA (who he works for) says he's dead. Mick tells her he's sorry…and he appears to truly mean it. Maddie says the weird thing is, she got a package of film that morning with pictures of Paul, so she doesn't believe he's really dead. I really liked the scenes with Sam (his female cop friend) and Mick. He calls on her for help and shows her the pictures Maddie has received. It's obvious these two are attracted to one another. (But I think Mick has the hots for alllll the female cops at the local station!) Later on, Buddy (Paul's partner), shows up at the restaurant explaining that Paul has escaped and he's safe. He asks for the photos so that the `operation' will work. Mick butts in, "If he wanted you to have them, why didn't he send them to you?" Buddy pulls a gun on Maddie, Mick and Joey and demands the film. Mick gives it up so the guy won't hurt Maddie. Buddy throws Maddie across the table and takes off running. Joey chases him down to the beach. He loses sight of him, but sees a car tag and says, "Bingo. Nark mobile." Just as he's about to approach the car, it explodes into a massive inferno. Joey---"Whoa. Somebody break out the marshmallows." Maddie, Mick and Joey are suspicious of the stories from the DEA agent on the scene of the car explosion. She insists Paul is still alive. Mick tells Joey privately that he knows Paul Thomas and he's not a dirty agent. Joey says, "He stole your wife." Mick looks solemn---"He didn't steal her. I lost her." |
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| Down on the beach we have a nice scene where Mick is checking on
Maddie. Mick ends up telling Maddie that the DEA thinks Paul was dirty too and he assures her with a warm hug. She cries on his shoulder.
Awwww! I thought it was kind of cute when Maddie and Sam end up meeting at the shop & both are there to see Mick. But Mick has gone out. I like how Mick comes in, sees both women there and looks like a man caught in the middle! Sam fills Mick in with info about the man in the photos, LeRocha, the leader of a drug ring in S. America who is such low profile dude that no one can catch him. Did I sense a slight bit of jealousy here on Mick's part? Sam had lunch with "Bill" a DEA agent and gathered all this information, info that might normally be hard to come by! Mick says, "Must've been some lunch." Mick realizes (because he has a `hunch') that it probably wasn't even Buddy killed in that car, that he split off with the photos and faked like he went up in flames. He asks Sam to run a check on the body in the car. We find out later it was a homeless person. So the three of them head to beautiful South America in search of Paul, before LeRocha (or as they are calling him---"Roach") can get to him. They scope out the surroundings when they arrive and Mick says, "Kinda like Beirut without the charm." (Ha…sort of like a `Honeymoon in Beirut?!`) They rent a Jeep so they can chase the drug lords. Maddie and Joey squabble. She insists that she is going with them on the search for Paul, despite Joey's wishes. Mick likes to go `unbuttoned' in Sputh America too! We see a scene with Buddy giving the film to Roach, but Roach sees it's the wrong film and he burns a hole in it with his cigar. Roach tells Buddy to go back to the states and `get it right' and to find those negatives or else he's dead. Roach is holding Paul hostage. He roughs Paul up over the trouble he caused by sending those photos to Maddie. Just to rub it in, he says, "While you're in here, she's sleeping with Mick Barrett. I believe you know him." Paul worries, "Mick. Mick. No way." Roach gets a phone call about the "Americans" arriving in San Jose. He sends Buddy out to find them. The scene in the Jeep driving out to find the compound is comical. Maddie and Mick argue like an old married couple. She fusses over his driving, to which Mick gets quite defensive. It's hotter than 40 hells out there and the two are getting on Joey's nerves! Suddenly, they run out of gas. Lovely! The scene flashes back to Roach and we see that Paul has swiped a dinner fork from his tray after creating a distraction. As soon as Roach is out of sight, he begins to sharpen the edge of it on the concrete floor. Mick, Joey and Maddie are on foot now, trekking along a river bank. Maddie gets something in her eye and pulls out a MIRRORED compact to get it out. Smart…just brilliant! Some gunmen see the reflection and begin shooting. They run for their lives through the jungle with an army of machine gun toting men & dogs on their heels. The three hide under some low palm trees. (Palmetto bushes?! LOL) And for some reason, this is a strikingly colorful scene to me. Mick looks awesome crouched down with the palms hanging down around him. Did I forget someone? Oh yeah…Maddie and Joey are there too! *smile* They lose the men and walk a bit more. Joey needs to take a potty break. He tells Mick, "I need to go to the little boys bush." haha Once alone, Maddie tells Mick she's so sorry for acting `like a bitch' while he's out here trying to rescue Paul. Mick tells her, "Forget it. You used to do the same thing when I'd leave the toilet seat up." It's obvious there is some sort of tension between them. I think it's supposed to be a combination of an attraction that is still there, for the both of them…and a bit of hurt and regret mixed in, not really knowing HOW to act around each other. Maddie blurts out, "You know I actually think this might be worse than that weekend at my parents ski lodge." Mick with his head cocked and a killer grin says, "Actually it was hotter at your parents ski lodge." As in ice melting fireworks maybe? *wink* He gets a smile out of Maddie on that one. Mick wants to know if they were really `so bad.' (their marriage). Maddie, "No Mick. It wasn't so bad. We just wanted different things." Mick tells her, "I did love you Maddie." Sweet! :-P Suddenly Mick tells her that when Joey gets back, he's taking her to safety because he doesn't want her to get hurt. But she won't hear of it. She says she is NOT quitting on him this time. They get into a bit of an argument. She blurts out and confesses that his `protective' nature is one of the reasons she left him. Mick is hurt and apologizes sarcastically that he wasn't a `good husband.' He gets in her face. She exclaims that that was part of the problem, that he was too "perfect" and that she needed a little "imperfection" in her life. Mick looks at her angrily, but with a bit of disbelief and says, "Did you just call me `perfect'?!" Maddie---"Yes." Mick grabs her and kisses her. She grunts as if it's against her will and pushes him back. Then she looks him over for a few seconds and grabs him into a kiss! LOL! But she breaks it off, as she is a married woman, and I think she also doesn't want to get swept away by Mick once again. She kind of freaks out---"I need a little air." (Um, I'll BET! ) Mick tells her, "Maddie, we're outside." She stumbles back away from him, (nearly falling it appeared because she's obviously flustered) and says she thinks the `air over here is…better.' She takes off around the path to get away from Mick. Joey returns and sees the funny look on Mick's face. He asks what's wrong and Mick tells him that he thinks he's still in love with Maddie. Meanwhile, Buddy has grabbed her at gunpoint. |
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| Mick is whispering, "Maddie, Maddie…we need to talk," when Buddy appears with
Maddie, demanding the photos & negatives. Mick drops the film and steps away so he won't hurt
Maddie. But Buddy tells him she is coming with him as a bonus for Rocha. In comes Joey to save the day. He points a stick at Buddy's back, tricking him into dropping the gun & releasing
Maddie. But the gunmen are shooting again and they run. They make it to the airstrip and discuss how they can escape with Paul. Maddie informs him that she took flying lessons! Back at the mansion Rocha is pleased to have the film, but he tells Buddy he doesn't need him anymore and he shoots him dead, telling his thug to get rid of the body. Mick is in the mansion snooping around, kicking ass on the `guards' and taking over a machine gun. He finds the room Paul is being held in and tells him to 'come on.' But Paul is shocked to learn Maddie came looking for him. He says she had filed for divorce and that he only sent the pictures to her so she could take them to the DEA. He tells Mick, "I had no idea she still loved me." Mick---"I had no idea either." (I'm guessing he means that she filed for divorce.) The men take off. Meanwhile, Maddie and Joey sneak near the planes. Maddie uses some sexy female charm to lure one of the guards away from duty so Joey can bring him down. They make for the plane and hop inside, but outside there are a dozen or so gunmen who approach the plane and force them back out with their guns. BUT…we have Mick the `hero' of the day who slips up behind the gunmen with Roach at gunpoint and Paul on the other side guarding him. The men surrender their guns. Maddie is thrilled to see Paul and grabs him in a hug & kiss. She mouths, "Thank you" to Mick. Paul thanks Mick for saving his life. Since the plane is a two-seater, Mick instructs the two of them to leave first and he'll take care of Rocha. Maddie has a private chat with Mick before leaving on the plane. She starts to tell him she's sorry about what happened and tells him how she thought she and Paul weren't going to work out. Mick tells her sweetly, "It's cool. You love him. He needs ya now. Get on that plane." Maddie is thankful for Mick. She pulls him in and gives him a peck on the cheek. Mick has a faraway look in his eyes and is looking like he `lost' the girl once again, but also like a man who knows it can't be. After she walks off he says, "You're welcome Maddie." Paul and Maddie fly away into the sunset, while Mick and Joey load up Rocha. The final scene has Mick narrating---"There's an old saying that goes, `Trouble comes in bunches.' Fortunately, so do waves." Ahhh…we have one last scene for this show of Mick in nothing but some blue swim shorts, carrying a surfboard. He has been giving Sam surfing lessons. She tells Mick she cannot believe those two were once married. Sam says that she doesn't think Maddie was really his type. He wants to know what his type IS. She lists off personality traits…"smart," "strong," "funny." To each one Mick replies, "Maddie." Ok, could she make it any more CLEAR Mick that she's flirting with you?! LOL! Finally Sam says, "I'm talking about me you dope," and walks off. Mick laughs and says, "Man…you take a ladies badge away, she loses her sense of humor!" When they get back to the shop, Joey is hanging cool pics of himself on the shop wall. Sam teases him saying that next to the surfboard he looks so `tiny.' Joey tells her, with a jab against Mick's back, "Well, not all of us can be 6-Foot-2!" (Hey, they didn't get Rick's age right, with reason I`m sure…but at least they did know his height! - Kelley Pearson |
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