Love is complicated. You can’t help who you love, and you certainly can’t help who loves you. You can be a nice, wholesome girl who is kind, gentle, and compassionate, and discover that the smart, funny guy you’re going out with is also, you know, a crime boss who shoots a guy in front of you. That’s no one’s fault. I mean, it’s his fault for shooting a guy, but if you didn’t know he was that kind of person until you were already in love, what are you going to do? Though I suppose figuring that out shows your own character.
Jim is hired by a beautiful, scared young woman (Joan Van Ark with her name spelled wrong) to find her. It turns out she’s afraid of being found, and she wants Jim to prove to her that it’s impossible. Alas for her, it isn’t; mostly using his connections with Dennis, he finds her all right. It turns out she’s on the run because she saw Ralph Correll (Paul Michael Glaser) kill a man. Understandably, this upsets her; she steals fifty grand from him and flees. Further alas for her, that Jim manages to find her, and tells Ralph, lets Ralph know she’s still out.
A nice detail about the story is that the DA investigating the crime Barbara, as the woman turns out to be named, witnessed is that he’s named Tallman. This is after William Tallman, best known for playing Hamilton Burger in the classic Perry Mason. The show would routinely drop things like that; it’s a show that’s aware of its roots and its genre. Jim is not alone, and the show isn’t in a vacuum. Oh, sure, he’s not Paul Drake, but he’s still in the same area.
Do I think Barbara would necessarily be better off with the cop who’s so upset with her for getting involved with a lowlife? Nope. I don’t even think Barbara would be better off with Jim. I think Barbara needs to figure out who she is, and I think she needs to be free for a while. But, you know, she’s a client, and the general rule with those is that we’re never going to see her again. We’ll never know what happens with her.
Jim told Marilyn last episode that he wouldn’t marry or kill for money and would do pretty much anything else, but we know this isn’t true. For one thing, we know he wouldn’t set someone else up to be killed. Which may seem like a fine distinction, but we have seen plenty of other people who are willing to pretend their actions won’t get someone killed. It is, however, true that he’d be perfectly willing to take crooked money, if it means he gets paid.
Take Care of Rockford Files: Jim’s beaten up and hauled in front of a crime boss. Kind of a light week; he could use one for a change.