‘Night Court’ Recap: ‘The Best Dan’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

NIGHT COURT -- "The Best Dan" Episode 213 -- Pictured: (l-r) John Larroquette as Dan Fielding, Marsha Warfield as Roz -- (Photo by: Nicole Weingart/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Two Finale of ‘Night Court’. To revisit Season Two’s Penultimate Episode, click here.
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Something that is genuinely fascinating about weddings, is that they tend to be an event filled to the brim with discovery. For they truly do teach us of the meaning and the wonder of love. Since they allow for us to be privy to its purest form and that can either motivate a person to seek out that happiness or cherish it, if it is in their lives, and the lessons it brings forth go beyond mere matters of the heart. Because a wedding can motivate a person to take inventory regarding their lives, since they can use the benchmark of happiness in front of them to ponder upon whether or not they have what they want, and it can also prompt a person to just… ponder on their journey. Since weddings are a reflective time as well. 

If anything, the power of the wedding and what it can do for us on a global and personal level is top of mind today, simply because it served as the focus of the season two finale of Night Court on NBC. A feat that ‘The Best Dan’ accomplished, by having an important moment arrive in the Stone courtroom, specifically… celebrating the nuptials of one Rosalind ‘Roz’ Russell. For a suspicious case in front of the Night Court cost her, her venue, and Abby was more than happy to open up the reception area to her to properly close out the wedding. Which Roz accepted and that led to one eye-opening wedding. One where Wyatt, Flobert, Gurgs, and Olivia came to discover there was a saboteur of the original venue and they were able to hold him accountable, thanks to a little liquid courage. Which ensured this union was honest and true.  

But in between that fun little vignette, there was a lot of personal discovery taking place. For instance, Abby, and her date, Jake, were struggling with the power of the wedding. Because they were seeing love and joy everywhere and despite declaring loudly that they wanted to keep their love affair causal in every sense of the word… it became evident that their relationship was growing. To the point where Jake spoke about his absentee father growing up and where Abby began to be cuddly. Because deep down they knew they had something special here. They had a real connection, a real love brewing, and they could either fight it and keep moving at this simpler pace or acknowledge it and embrace it. Of course, they chose the latter, and that brought about real joy and set the foundation for quite the surprise involving one Dan Fielding.

Who spent his time… reflecting deeply upon a past mistake. Because we came to discover that after Christine Sullivan won her election, Dan left Manhattan to be with her, and screwed it up royally. To the point where Christine’s family came to despise him, especially after her passing since Dan wasn’t present at the funeral. A story that came up, simply because Katie Sullivan, Christine’s little sister, was at the wedding and well… that prompted Dan to really ponder upon how badly he wanted to atone for this. Which Abby helped him do in a unique manner, since she forced him to look at his missteps and be objective about them and be honest if he tried to do anything to rectify, and oddly, he did. Because Dan admitted he was at the funeral after all, just in hiding to not sully the day or cause trouble. A truth that Katie heard and accepted, and perhaps made peace with. All because a wedding forced Dan to reflect and think about the journey.

Yet, while those two plot threads would have been enough to carry this episode, there was mention of that surprise involving Dan. Which came about, because Jake got his mother down to the reception, wherein she and Abby were able to chat, and Abby was able to learn… that there’s a fair chance that Dan Fielding might be Jake’s dad. Courtesy of the mannerisms they share. Which would bring about some juicy storytelling in season three, something we here at NTG hope the show gets. But while we wait to see if season three is in the cards, we can celebrate one epic finale. Because Jake returned, and so did Roz, and the story was delightful and fun and so very, very Night Court. And that really is the story of season two, a delightful journey, one that threw in a little depth for good measure and will hopefully continue so we can enjoy more of this magical and downright funny sitcom. 

As a bonus, here are some stills spotlighting the incredible guest stars that appeared in this week's season two finale.

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