MAGNUM P.I. Post-Mortem: Eric Guggenheim on Rick’s Big Gesture

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Wednesday, October 11 episode of MAGNUM P.I.]

As Rick (Zachary Knighton) debated officially going on a date with Piper (Chelsea Gilligan) on the Wednesday, October 11 episode of MAGNUM P.I.—but he found himself struggling to move on from Suzy (Betsy Phillips).

So before his date, he went to see Suzy in “Three Bridges.” At first, she was confused, noting their daughter was asleep. But Rick told her he was actually there to see her. 

“I was on my way to go on a date tonight,” he explained. “She’s funny. She’s nice. She’s smart. She’s pretty. But the thing is, she’s not you.”

“When you said before you didn’t want to keep seeing me, I totally heard you,” he continued. “And I respected that. I still do. But even thinking about going out on a date with somebody else, it just doesn’t feel right. So I’m just going to bring it up one last time, and if you still feel the same way, I promise I’ll never mention it again. So should I go out on this date tonight?”

Suzy paused, before answering firmly, “No.”

“No?” Rick questioned.

“Do not go on a date with her or anyone else,” Suzy confirmed. The duo laughed and then kissed, stumbling into her home together.

“It felt like we had tortured Rick long enough,” MAGNUM P.I. showrunner Eric Guggenheim acknowledged to Give Me My Remote via email. “But, seriously, it felt like it was time. And I wanted to make sure we had enough real estate for the other stories we’re telling.”

Going forward, the showrunner notes, Rick will be busy: “Rick is in TC’s story beginning with 513 and is also heavily involved in the case Magnum is working in 514,” he said. “So it felt like we had to resolve the Rick-Suzy of it all.”

And while Rick and Suzy’s recoupling was inevitable, Guggenheim does have one (tiny) regret. “If I could do it over again, I probably would’ve stretched it out for another episode,” he said. “Because Chelsea Gilligan is really terrific as Piper, and it would have been nice to keep her character around just a little longer.”

MAGNUM P.I., Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC

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