The Facts of Life - Season 9, Episode 19

"Will you do me the honor of shacking up with me?"

"Till Marriage Do Us Part"
Original airdate: 2/27/1988

Episode summary: Jo and Rick tie the knot, while Blair and Casey part ways.

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Recap: While the gals are playing Monopoly, Rick drops by Casa Facts gang with a hot blonde he introduces as Miss Wanda, along with a board titled What's My Question? and four hidden words. He then starts acting like a weird game show host as he invites the Facts gang to guess his question for Jo by cracking the the first word (spoiler: WILL) and hints that the second word is a homonym for sheep (spoiler: EWE), and I think it's obvious where this episode is headed. When Natalie correctly guess that Rick's question to Jo is Will you marry me?, Tootie shrieks, "Yes!" - LOL - as the rest of the Facts gang exchanges seriously? looks 'cause of how brief and chemistry-free their relationship has seemed thus far. [Or maybe that's just me, projecting.] Jo tells Rick she'd prefer to not answer such an important question in front of a crowd, so the two head into the kitchen...and a few seconds later Rick excitedly scampers back into the living room to announce that Jo said maybe. He then gabbles about how he has a wedding to plan and rushes off, and Blair shakes her head in disbelief about Jo being proposed to before her. 

Andy asks Jo if he's going to have to wear a suit to her wedding, and she reminds him that she hasn't even decided whether or not she's going to marry Rick, and snarls that she doesn't want to hear anything about marriage or weddings - just as Casey drops by and says, "Hey, there's the future Mrs. Bonner." Jo sighs and says she hasn't actually accepted his proposal, and a bemused Casey tells her that Rick made it sound like it was a done deal. He then says he's here to take Blair out and asks if she's ready for their dinner date, and Andy and Pippa rush upstairs to see what's keeping her. Casey tells Jo that he'd be more than happy to cover for her at the shelter while she's honeymooning - just as Rick arrives and greets Jo with a kiss and, "Hi honey, I'm home", then asks Casey to be his best man 'cause he doesn't really have anyone else resembling a male friend. Jo reminds him that she hasn't actually said yes to marrying him yet, but Rick breezily says it's just a matter of time.

Blair descends the staircase looking gorge in a sexy black dress...and, incidentally, there's no evidence of the grisly scar across her forehead from the car vs. tree accident during the previous episode that so devastated her. After the two head off on their date, Rick tells Jo that he loves her madly and is sure she feels the same way about him. He impatiently asks, "So why won't you just say yes?", so Jo explains that she wants to be absolutely, completely, 100% sure about her decision and not say yes on impulse, which will hurt him if things don't work out. Rick promises not to pressure her, but suggests they have banana splits for their wedding feast. Jo chuckles about offering that kind of decadent dessert to their guests as Rick groans, "We're not going to have to go through all this about sex, are we?" ... and judging from the weird way in which the Facts of Life writers dealt with fully grown Natalie's first time in the sack with Snake, I'd venture to say, "Um, probably..?" 

"I can only hope that our first time in the marital sack isn't going to require the same kind of hoop-jumping that's required to convince you to marry me."

"It's possible it may require another very special episode."

Blair and Casey return home from their dinner date and sit on opposite sides of the living room couch. Blair asks him if everything's OK 'cause of how strangely he's been acting, and he tells her that all this wedding talk with Rick and Jo has gotten him thinking about commitments and the two of them. He adds that he's been trying to think of a clever way all evening to ask her something, then starts to blurt out, "Blair, will you -" but she cuts him off and says she's been fantasizing about this special moment her entire life and would prefer it if he got down on bended knee as he asks what she's clearly assuming is her hand in marriage. He scrunches his face cluelessly while muttering, "Excuse me?", then kneels onto the floor to humor her while she dreamily closes her eyes and holds out her right hand as he proposes, "Why don't we live together?" Oh dear. Blair quietly absorbs the unexpected question, then stares at him with a 'the fuck?' expression, so he explains that while he loves her, he doesn't believe in the institution of marriage, citing the divorces of both their parents. A deflated Blair's like, "But what about our children?" and makes it clear that she can't imagine a life without kids, and he looks weirded out by the prospect of being a father and tells Blair he doesn't want to talk about this anymore, but is certain that they'll somehow be able to find some middle ground. Blair unhappily asks, "What's the middle ground between marriage and living together?" and he just stares back at her mutely.

Rick knocks on the outside of Jo's bedroom window with a sock puppet on his hand, and Jo tells the puppet she needs more time to contemplate the prospect of marriage to a man who thinks it's reasonable to communicate via sock puppet. Rick then climbs on a higher rung of the ladder so that he can lean against the window sill and mime for Jo a pretend photo album that their future children cobbled together for them on their fiftieth wedding anniversary, chronicling the various milestones of their not yet existent family. He earnestly promises to get a regular job on the concert circuit and will take a night job if that's what's required to provide for her and their future children. A touched looking Jo asks, "You really mean that, don't you?" and Rick says that, yep, he does and assures her that despite the fact that he acts like an immature assclown most days, "Deep down there's a very serious guy who would do anything to be married to you." Jo chews on that for a few seconds, decides that that pronouncement is good enough for her, and happily accepts his proposal of marriage. 

"Somewhere inside this man-child is a serious adult who will be good husband material."

"In that case, I do!"

As Blair enters the bedroom, Rick blurts out, "She said yes!" and falls off the ladder in the process - but he hastily assures Jo he's fine, and that he's off to call the caterer. Blair congratulates Jo on her impending nuptials, then looks deeply touched when Jo asks her to serve as her maid of honor. Jo then says that Casey has been tapped to be Rick's best man, and teasingly adds, "Who knows where that might lead the two of you..", and Blair keeps mum about her last troubling conversation with Casey and says, "You never know", but then stares sadly into space when Jo's not looking.

The Facts gang (sans Andy) are in the communal bedroom, chowing down on snacks and enjoying Jo's bachelorette party, while the menfolk (Rick, Jeff, Snake, Casey, Charlie, and Andy) are in the living room, smoking cigars and drinking beer. Andy tells Rick to soak up bachelorhood before he's permanently stuck with the ol' ball and chain, and Charlie wryly reminds him that the ol' ball and chain to which he's referring is his daughter. 

The ladies and the menfolk gabble about the pros and cons of marriage - until both Jo and Rick decide they can't listen anymore and take a break from their respective parties.  They run across each other in the upstairs hallway and agree that all this talk about 'the give and take' of marriage is freaking them both out, but then lean into each other for a passionate, pre-matrimonial smooch.

The next day, Jo and her mom Rose enjoy some special mother/daughter time before Jo has to change into her wedding gown...and, wow, these nuptials are really moving along at breakneck speed. After that, Blair enters the room and gushes to Jo about this being her big day, but also the end of an era of four Facts gals living under the same roof with a housemother year after year despite them having been fully grown women by mid-series. After Tootie and Natalie enter the room to gush about all the romance that's in the air, Rick knocks on the door and insists on speaking to Jo asap. The Facts gals warn that it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding... but when he says he thinks they might need to postpone the wedding, he's permitted inside the room with his eyes covered. He explains to Jo that the American Philharmonic Orchestra just offered him a job, which is excellent [yet somewhat implausible] news, and will entail him going on tour for a month starting at 6:00am tomorrow morning. Jo looks unfazed by the unexpected development and points out that it's only a month, and that she'll stay at Casa Facts gang to ride out the remainder of Season 9...and when he returns, they'll look for their own place. Rick is thrilled by how supportive and understanding she is and happily declares the wedding back on.

Inside the chapel, Charlie and Rose compliment each other on the phenomenal job they've each done raising Jo...and a few seconds later, the guests and wedding party assemble for the ceremony. As Charlie walks Jo up the aisle, he covertly tells her that if she has any second thoughts about marrying the man-child, his car's out back with the motor running...but Jo chucklingly tells him that she's A-OK being legally shackled to a sophomoric imbecile for the rest of her life. As the ceremony gets underway, the minister announces that he has a special reading that the couple gave to him, which amounts to: "Marriage is a wonderful thing." LOL. The two then exchange vows and rings and are pronounced husband and wife...and Rick says that since he's about to go on tour for a month, they're outa there. 

"I'm so proud to call you my wife."

"And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you were serious about your serious side."

As Casey escorts Blair down the aisle, he acknowledges that their coupling is suddenly facing a problem that has no solution. He says that the two of them being together is a wonderful thing - but she reminds him how crazy she's always driven him...with which he concurs, then tells her she's going to make someone a great wife. She replies, "Yes, I will" and I guess that's the end of that. 

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