This episode has three different sides, and in the process, seems like there's a struggle between what is meant to happen and what shouldn't happen. Begins with Charlie struggling with his vows in his room, probably because he's not a guy easy with words, he's good at other stuff, he speaks more through actions. Instead, Kirsten writes something wonderful that only Bailey, Julia and Claudia read and that the public will never know, because those vows won't be mentioned in the wedding (who knows why). Kirsten comes in and asks if he's having a tough time, he says no, that he has some ideas. Suddenly, Julia arrives, cries when she reads her vows and hugs her, saying it's the most beautiful thing she ever read. Seems like Kirsten asked Julia to read her vows to check the grammar. Claudia and Bailey come too, and after reading them, they're amazed too. Feeling curious, Charlie wants to read them, but Kirsten takes the paper away, and tells he'll hear them in the wedding. When the girls leave, Charlie asks Bailey for a quotes collection, so his brother is surprised by his struggles. To himself, Charlie is surprised too. About this scene, I have to say that Charlie's struggles came out of nowhere. In Dearly Beloved, Change Partners or Dance, Where there's Smoke, there wasn't any moment where Charlie'd feel stuck, asking himself what is a wife. In Analogies, he had doubts about plans, travels, or growing old in the same house, but he didn't have doubts about his future wife. So, this episode already starts with a lack of continuity, especially remembering the last scene between the happy couple in 2x07. The next day, Kirsten learns that her sister won't come to share the last night before the wedding with her, she can't get on a plane until Sunday for an ear infection (so I guess the wedding date was november 19, Sunday). She tells Claudia that when Meg got married (surely not long ago, she wasn't wearing a ring in 1x13), they spent a sisters night together, and wanted it to be a tradition. When Kirsten sees Dudley with beers in the fridge, she warns him about the bachelor party, and makes him promise not to get Charlie drunk, not to take adult movies, and not to hire a stripper to tempt him for a last hurrah. Dudley swears for his Nana, but then he asks Bailey to be in charge of it. This scene deserves two highlights. Dudley jokingly asked if Charlie called to cancel the wedding, so Kirsten, with no funny face, told him Meg's news. That line spoiled the writers intention. Then, Kirsten's warnings tell she was aware that a bachelor party would be a bad idea for Charlie, so she wanted to be as quiet as possible. Back to the story, Claudia decides to share the last night before the wedding with Kirsten. At the backyard, Charlie initially asks Bailey to bag the bachelor party because he doesn't have the time, he has to get the tux, stop by the travel agent, and write the vows. But when Bailey doesn't understands his struggles because he won't do better, Kirsten is the best woman he can get, Charlie suddenly changes his mind, and accepts having the party. This was the second incoherent part of the episode, Charlie knows what he has to do, like plan the honeymoon, but suddenly he changes his mind. In the morning, all seems well between the couple, they talk about calling the photographer, if the florist called, before they leave for Saturday plans. She is happy about spending the day with Claudia, and asks him to come home not so late so he can get some sleep, and already is excited about getting married. And the day before disaster starts.
On the happy side, Claudia and Kirsten spend a joyful day-night together, in some ways like a mother-daughter. They go for healing massages, but Claudia got the wrong place from the yellow pages, and they went to a Romanian place for massages instead. Kirsten thinks it wasn't so bad, and then she makes a small pray to God asking for nice weather for the wedding (right there was the Episcopalian raised Kirsten). Claudia turns up the radio to hear a romantic song she asked for Kirsten, but turns out the song is If You Wanna be Happy (for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife), so she gets sad. Anyway, Kirsten knows she meant well, she laughs because it's funny (how pretty she is), and holds her with her arms and happily dance. This was one of the best moments of series, one of the happiest, and tells a lot about the bond between Kirsten and Claudia. They need each other, Claudia is like a little sister, kind of daughter for her. And Kirsten is like a mother figure, all what Julia can't be. Then, Claudia is sad because she got by accident the wrong film to watch, the adult film Bailey bought instead of an Affair to Remember. Here, Kirsten quickly turns off the TV, and to comfort her, tells her how she met the family in the Pilot, being the only nanny interview of 5 she could take (her car was broken). Then, she shows herself with the wedding dress on, to Julia and Claudia. She looks beautiful as an angel, and Claudia says she's as prettiest as the best piece of music she heard.
On the medium side, Julia pretends Justin will easily forgive her now that Griffin is gone, but obviously that's not the case (she broke his heart). They go to a concert (Sophie Hawkins) with tickets from 2 months ago, before their break up, because Justin wanted to buy her ticket, and she wanted to gift it. There they find Justin's dad with a woman, the perfect situation for Julia to comfort Justin (what a coincidence!). Initially he refuses, is mad at her, and tells that they are not even friends. She says that when her parents died, she called him, so now, she's there for him. Later, he visits her in the prepared backyard, and she convinces him of not telling his mother, because his dad will realize that what he did was a mistake. Justin asks if she feels that way about what happened, and she says she doesn't know. They don't get back together yet, but he seems to leave behind the hate. This part was well written, but I think it was too soon for them, and the situation was very fortunate, and so, a little unrealistic.
And on the bad side, we have the failed bachelor party in a hotel. With Dudley, Bailey, some friends and the stripper stuck in the elevator, a lonely Charlie finds a married woman falling apart with her husband cheating on her and tries to comfort her (what a coincidence!!). They start talking about love, marriage, and Charlie tells he counted 30 women he slept with in his life. Still, after hearing the worst words in the worst case he can be in the night before his wedding, he passes the test and again resists temptation (like he did in 1x15). He tells the woman that 1 year and a half ago, he'd have accepted, but that he's in love with Kirsten, and he'll give up any woman on Earth for her, no matter how tempting can be. Bailey feared about this because after getting out of the elevator he saw him having drinks with a woman, and because he saw his vows struggles, but Charlie calms him down when he tells that he has Kirsten and doesn't need anyone else. Bailey says that he already covered the vows, and tells that his parents are proud looking at him. But as Amy and Christopher got in cruel mode, right after watching Kirsten dressed as an angel, in the next scene at the restaurant, Charlie is having doubts about getting married (likely the most impossible/unbelievable thing to happen on this series). He talks to George, a janitor who was cleaning, and tells how he passed the snake test, but he feels that he has to get away, escape. George doesn't help, he doesn't even think about talking him out of it, like Joe or Nick would. So Charlie flips the coin. This story was the worst of the day. First, I have to say that the chances for Charlie to be caught in that situation the night before his wedding are very small. Against the odds. Even if it made him think, which married man was certain about the future on his wedding? How many well known cases are? Millions got married without doubts, without having guarantees about the future. And Charlie has the infidelity part out of his system, which is great, so what's the problem? He's in the right age to start a family, 25-26 is old enough. So the two writers decided throw to the trash all the job done so far, building a "perfect" relationship, giving happiness and illusion to the Salingers and the fans only to break up the couple in a cruel way. Charlie's doubts could be logical considering his womanizing past, but for what was seen in the last 20 episodes, it's very unrealistic. He grew up, he's a big man. I bet that Matthew Fox (who's about to be 30 years married soon) was shocked when he learned that his character was getting cold feet on his wedding day. After reading what he said sometimes about the series and Charlie, I think that these moments were very unpleasant, he didn't like at all the job he had to do. In a Family Album, he didn't mention a word about what happened here. So here ends the greatest time of the series, the greatest streak of episodes that began in Thanksgiving, it's over. The Salingers, despite the loss of their parents (and Jill), were happy so far, but from now on, sadness will remain mostly until season 6. Right here, the series was about to be renewed, and the writers chose a very different road than the one from season 1. Seems like that they didn't really think in 1994-95 that the series would last 6 seasons, so suddenly they got caught in a hard situation. A decision had to be made about Charlie, Kirsten, Claudia and Owen (by the way, the baby shined for his absence today). The road taken will have some great moments, but the cost was big during next seasons. The excessive drama which started now for these 4 characters, damaged the structure of the series.
On the happy side, Claudia and Kirsten spend a joyful day-night together, in some ways like a mother-daughter. They go for healing massages, but Claudia got the wrong place from the yellow pages, and they went to a Romanian place for massages instead. Kirsten thinks it wasn't so bad, and then she makes a small pray to God asking for nice weather for the wedding (right there was the Episcopalian raised Kirsten). Claudia turns up the radio to hear a romantic song she asked for Kirsten, but turns out the song is If You Wanna be Happy (for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife), so she gets sad. Anyway, Kirsten knows she meant well, she laughs because it's funny (how pretty she is), and holds her with her arms and happily dance. This was one of the best moments of series, one of the happiest, and tells a lot about the bond between Kirsten and Claudia. They need each other, Claudia is like a little sister, kind of daughter for her. And Kirsten is like a mother figure, all what Julia can't be. Then, Claudia is sad because she got by accident the wrong film to watch, the adult film Bailey bought instead of an Affair to Remember. Here, Kirsten quickly turns off the TV, and to comfort her, tells her how she met the family in the Pilot, being the only nanny interview of 5 she could take (her car was broken). Then, she shows herself with the wedding dress on, to Julia and Claudia. She looks beautiful as an angel, and Claudia says she's as prettiest as the best piece of music she heard.
On the medium side, Julia pretends Justin will easily forgive her now that Griffin is gone, but obviously that's not the case (she broke his heart). They go to a concert (Sophie Hawkins) with tickets from 2 months ago, before their break up, because Justin wanted to buy her ticket, and she wanted to gift it. There they find Justin's dad with a woman, the perfect situation for Julia to comfort Justin (what a coincidence!). Initially he refuses, is mad at her, and tells that they are not even friends. She says that when her parents died, she called him, so now, she's there for him. Later, he visits her in the prepared backyard, and she convinces him of not telling his mother, because his dad will realize that what he did was a mistake. Justin asks if she feels that way about what happened, and she says she doesn't know. They don't get back together yet, but he seems to leave behind the hate. This part was well written, but I think it was too soon for them, and the situation was very fortunate, and so, a little unrealistic.
And on the bad side, we have the failed bachelor party in a hotel. With Dudley, Bailey, some friends and the stripper stuck in the elevator, a lonely Charlie finds a married woman falling apart with her husband cheating on her and tries to comfort her (what a coincidence!!). They start talking about love, marriage, and Charlie tells he counted 30 women he slept with in his life. Still, after hearing the worst words in the worst case he can be in the night before his wedding, he passes the test and again resists temptation (like he did in 1x15). He tells the woman that 1 year and a half ago, he'd have accepted, but that he's in love with Kirsten, and he'll give up any woman on Earth for her, no matter how tempting can be. Bailey feared about this because after getting out of the elevator he saw him having drinks with a woman, and because he saw his vows struggles, but Charlie calms him down when he tells that he has Kirsten and doesn't need anyone else. Bailey says that he already covered the vows, and tells that his parents are proud looking at him. But as Amy and Christopher got in cruel mode, right after watching Kirsten dressed as an angel, in the next scene at the restaurant, Charlie is having doubts about getting married (likely the most impossible/unbelievable thing to happen on this series). He talks to George, a janitor who was cleaning, and tells how he passed the snake test, but he feels that he has to get away, escape. George doesn't help, he doesn't even think about talking him out of it, like Joe or Nick would. So Charlie flips the coin. This story was the worst of the day. First, I have to say that the chances for Charlie to be caught in that situation the night before his wedding are very small. Against the odds. Even if it made him think, which married man was certain about the future on his wedding? How many well known cases are? Millions got married without doubts, without having guarantees about the future. And Charlie has the infidelity part out of his system, which is great, so what's the problem? He's in the right age to start a family, 25-26 is old enough. So the two writers decided throw to the trash all the job done so far, building a "perfect" relationship, giving happiness and illusion to the Salingers and the fans only to break up the couple in a cruel way. Charlie's doubts could be logical considering his womanizing past, but for what was seen in the last 20 episodes, it's very unrealistic. He grew up, he's a big man. I bet that Matthew Fox (who's about to be 30 years married soon) was shocked when he learned that his character was getting cold feet on his wedding day. After reading what he said sometimes about the series and Charlie, I think that these moments were very unpleasant, he didn't like at all the job he had to do. In a Family Album, he didn't mention a word about what happened here. So here ends the greatest time of the series, the greatest streak of episodes that began in Thanksgiving, it's over. The Salingers, despite the loss of their parents (and Jill), were happy so far, but from now on, sadness will remain mostly until season 6. Right here, the series was about to be renewed, and the writers chose a very different road than the one from season 1. Seems like that they didn't really think in 1994-95 that the series would last 6 seasons, so suddenly they got caught in a hard situation. A decision had to be made about Charlie, Kirsten, Claudia and Owen (by the way, the baby shined for his absence today). The road taken will have some great moments, but the cost was big during next seasons. The excessive drama which started now for these 4 characters, damaged the structure of the series.