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Previous episode: The Club Election                Next episode: Lucy Changes Her Mind

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Plot[]

Ethel hits Fred square in the face while opening the door. Fred says that he's going to get a black eye, and nobody will believe that he actually got his injury from getting hit by a door. Ethel says that everyone should believe Fred when he tells the truth. After all, that's what really happened. But Ricky makes them remember a time when the Mertzes didn't believe the real story about how Lucy got a black eye.

Lucy and Ricky are reading a thriller novel together. Lucy gets really into it, acting out the argument parts. Fred and Ethel overhear Lucy from outside the Ricardos' door, and they think that Ricky and Lucy are having a huge fight, and that Ricky hit Lucy. Right before the Mertzes phone to come visit, Ricky tosses Lucy the book, and it hits her hard, giving her an instant black eye. When the Mertzes see that Lucy got a black eye, they think Ricky really was the one who gave her it.

The next morning, Ethel goes to see Lucy to get the true story of the black eye, still not buying the book story. Lucy decides to have fun with her, and she makes up a tale of how Ricky found out that she's in love with another man. Meanwhile, Fred wants to patch things up between the two falsely fighting lovebirds, so he sends Lucy some flowers that are supposedly from Ricky. But he signs the card with his own name!

When Ethel finds out that Lucy got flowers, she instantly thinks that they're a gift from the "other man." Lucy lets Ethel read the handwritten card, to show her that they've got to be from Ricky. Ethel sees Fred's handwriting and signature, and thinks that Fred is Lucy's lover! Ethel swats Fred with the box of flowers, and on the way out of the Ricardos' apartment, Fred meets Ricky in the hallway and slugs him for causing all this trouble.

The next day, Fred and Ethel go back to the Ricardos'. They now believe the true story that Lucy got her black eye from being tossed a book, because the same thing happened to Ethel the previous night. Now, all four of them have a black eye!

Trivia[]

  • The book about Madge and Gordon that Lucy and Ricky were reading was an extremely action-packed thriller. In the book, Madge tried to poison Gordon, who seemed to be her lover. When Gordon found out Madge's plan, he ran her over with is car. Later in the plot, Gordon somehow died, and the police were going to drag the river for his body. Madge was said to be sobbing over the loss of Gordon, which doesn't make sense out of context, considering she tried to kill him herself earlier. We never get to learn all the details of what happened between Madge and Gordon; we never learn the name of the book, either.
  • When Ricky reads something in English, he translates into his native Spanish as he goes along. This is an incredibly common technique for someone who is bilingual.
  • Lucy and Ricky think nothing of putting slabs of raw meat on their black eyes. They're lucky they didn't get E. coli!
  • Fred steals a dying flower from the florist to use in his boutonniere.
  • Fred sends Lucy gladiolus that are supposed to be from Ricky.
  • Lucy got her black eye from Ricky's bad book toss, Fred got his from Ethel beating him with the box of flowers, Ricky got his from Fred punching him, and Ethel got hers from also getting hit by a thrown book. Lucy and Ethel get left black eyes. Ricky and Fred get right black eyes.
  • The trajectory at which Ricky threw Lucy the Madge and Gordon book looked to be incredibly low for it to have hit her in the face. And it is highly illogical that Fred got a black eye from getting hit by that box of flowers, which would have been incredibly light.

Quotes[]

  • Fred: (about Ethel hitting him in nose with door) I may never smell again!

Ethel: Wanna bet?

  • Lucy: There's a new rule- readers keepers, losers go look at television!
  • Lucy: Can you see alright to read?

Ricky: Sure. "Madge went into the darkened room, and there she saw..." ...Lucy's thumb.

  • Ethel: Anything we can bring? Cookies? Ice cream? Iodine?
  • Ethel: (looking at Lucy's black eye) Oh, boy! That rat really gave you a mouse!
  • Ethel: What started it all? What made [Ricky] so mad?

Lucy: I don't know.

Ethel: You don't know?!

Lucy: No! We were just sitting around, talking abotu the weather, his new show at the club. I told him I was in love with another man, and all of a sudden, for no reason...

  • Fred: (to florist) Wait 'til you hear what I wrote on the card! "Darling, I love you, I love you, I love you. Eternally yours, Fred."
  • Lucy: Ethel, you certainly don't think these [flowers] are from Fred Mertz, do you?

Ethel: Well, this card certainly wasn't written by Fred MacMurray! Fred, my beauitful, fat old goat, YOUR mystery lover!

  • Ricky: (after Fred punches him) Wha' happun'?!
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