Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A | 374 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT Roman Holiday
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 8 | Aired on 2009.10.04
Pete shows up at Gudrun's service door with the new dress. She can hardly believe her luck, but when he suggests they celebrate, she balks. Oblivious, he asks what she likes to drink, and continues, "You're German, right?" and offers to get some "beer, or Riesling. Schnaps?" Gudrun tells him he's so nice (...), but she has a boyfriend, and he doesn't bother protesting that that's not what this was about, but doesn't press the issue when she gives him a quick kiss on the cheek and bids him goodnight...
...but we cut to him pouring himself a drink in his darkened apartment...
...and then he's back knocking on her door, looking disheveled and inebriated, much as he did in the pilot when he showed up on Peggy's doorstep. She answers in a robe and asks what he wants, and he slurs that he went to a lot of trouble to solve her "dress problem," and he'd like at least to see it on her. After a moment of consideration, she agrees, but says he has to be very quiet, no doubt because the kids are asleep. She takes him into her room, and then pauses for a moment like she knows what's about to happen, which is a nice bit of business from her. And indeed, when she offers to go get the dress, he closes the door instead and says he'd like to kiss her. She gives him neither encouragement nor discouragement, and he chooses to go for it, and after he's kissed her passionately for a few moments, we go to commercial. And while I don't think he physically intimidated her (I mean, look at him, how could he?), he obviously took advantage of the situation. I think he did feel bad for her when he offered to help her out, and if she'd invited him in willingly when he first turned up maybe there wouldn't have been a problem, but she made it clear earlier that she didn't want to do this, and taking advantage of her fear of being sent home, even if he didn't explicitly say anything about that, is at the very least horribly awful and gross. Oh, Pete, like people needed more reasons, you know?