Ep 11. The Passports

Lucy is back with her signature antics and mishaps in the fifth season, and the eleventh episode of this welcoming sitcom is named The Passports. This episode features Lucy once more teaming up with her husband Ricky, who is desperate to obtain passports for their trip to Cuba. These passports not only prove tricky to obtain, but the couple's marriage is also put to the test as misunderstandings and crossed wires threaten to derail their plans.

As usual, the episode opens in the Ricardo's apartment, as Lucy is finishing up a deep conditioning treatment for her hair. Her trumpet-playing neighbor arrives and is invited in, offering the couple a valuable piece of information - that passports can be obtained in record time from a travel agency he knows of. Ricky is ecstatic at the prospect of avoiding the usual wait and recurring back-and-forth with the consulate, until Lucy reveals they need passport photos, which requires an urgent trip to the drugstore to obtain.

Hilarity quickly ensues as Lucy tries to do-it-herself in the darkroom, with a comical result that sees their photos squished up, blurred, and discolored. Realizing they need to do something fast or risk being marooned in the United States, Ricky does the only sensible thing: hires a professional photographer to come to their home, make them look presentable and take their passport photos for them.

While everything seems to be going smoothly, misunderstandings continue to mount. When the photographer asks for the couple's names, Lucy becomes confused and, to Ricky's frustration, begins reciting her maiden name instead of his. With their photos done and dusted, the couple breathes a sigh of relief, only for the confusion to continue.

Ricky overhears Lucy telling Ethel on the phone that she may have to leave without him, which leads him to believe that she's leaving him in the lurch. Matters take an even more dramatic turn when, on arriving at the travel agency, the hapless couple realizes that they've left their coveted passport pictures at home. With tensions already running high, this mistake sends them tumbling into another disagreement, with both sides laying on thick the blame on each other.

Despite everything going wrong, the couple finally manages to retrieve their photographs. They are determined to present their application forms to the travel agency in perfect order, which would guarantee their passports are ready the following day. Only some small print on the forms proves to be a further cause of confusion and consternation, with the couple squabbling anew over how to fill it out.

The couple's tumultuous dynamic is at the heart of this episode, fueling its humor and highlighting the underlying love they have for each other, despite their frequent misunderstandings. As always, Lucy provides the viewers with her favorite brand of slapstick humor, leaving them in stitches with her comedic timing and antics. The picture-perfect ending sees the couple finally receiving their passports and realizing that, in spite of their differences, they truly are meant to be together.

The Passport episode also provides a glimpse into the social context of the show when it aired in the mid-1950s. The episode content broadly revolves around Ricky & Lucy's visit to Cuba, turning the passport application process into a comedy-drama. With tensions high between Cuba and the United States during the era of the Cold War, the couple's trip was almost a political statement in itself, highlighting the way in which television has always reflected the politics of the day.

All in all, The Passport episode is yet another classic episode of I Love Lucy, and the fifth season has continued to provide the show's signature laughs and quality entertainment. The mishaps and misunderstandings between Ricky and Lucy provide endless entertainment, and the audience can't help but fall in love with the quirky couple all over again.