Fear Is My Co-Pilot

When Diane was in Europe, she had a fling with a sort of Hemingway knock off. He shows up at the bar and is about as boorish as one can get, throwing his roughshod masculinity all over the place. Sam and Diane agree to go on a flight in his private plane and some interesting things develop. It's very intense.

After repeat viewing, this episode has grown on me. At first Jack Dalton seemed more annoying than funny, but he serves a purpose: he's the catalyst that puts the plot for the rest of the season in motion.

In a way the main plot is a mirror image of the Sam-Diane-Claudia triangle in The Bar Stoolie. Unlike Claudia and Diane, Jack Dalton isn't really a Sam clone, but he has a similar macho swagger and bloated ego. (It's not surprising that Diane ended up with Jack right after leaving Frasier.)

Jack isn't really interested in Diane romantically; mostly he wants to free her from what he sees as her staid existence. Sam is along for the ride, and in the ensuing in-flight chaos both end up having major realizations.

As with previous years, the next few episodes will lead up to a major finale involving a big life change for the main characters. Pardon the aviation pun, but it's stormy skies from this moment on.