"The Monkees" Rewatch: The Prince & the Pauper

“The Prince & the Pauper” begins with the Monkees waiting at an embassy because they read that “they” might be holding a ball and the group had been lacking in gigs. Soon enough, someone ushers Davy into another room, telling him, “The Count has been looking everywhere for you.” Before Davy can explain the band’s dilemma to the Count, Prince Ludlow walks in and he’s a dead ringer for Davy. Ludlow asks that they be left alone and explains to Davy his own dilemma, which is that he has come to America to find bride, since Peruvian law says if he is unwed by his eighteenth birthday Ludlow’s rule passes to Count Myron. While Davy finds the rule crazy, he also believes the prince shouldn’t have a problem since he’s a prince and has a lot of good qualities. Unfortunately, Ludlow’s shyness hinders him and when Wendy Forsythe comes for a visit, the other Monkees force Davy to impersonate him and talk to her for the prince. After the meeting goes well, Ludlow asks Davy to keep impersonating him for a few days to woo Wendy for him and he agrees. While Davy and Mike stay at the embassy, Peter and Micky take Ludlow back to the pad in order for him to “learn how to act after you got her.” Ludlow’s inexperience isn’t the only problem the band must contend with, since Count Myron and his toadie Max have been plotting against the prince in order for Myron to take the throne.

This episode marks the beginning of, I suppose you could call it, a running gag of the band coming across a doppelgänger of one of the boys. Though, unlike “Pauper” not all doubles serve as the focus of the story for their respective episodes, but we’ll get to that when it becomes relevant. Anyway. Beyond being fairly crucial to the story, Ludlow is definitely a highlight of the episode. Davy’s performance (as in actor-Davy, not character-Davy’s impersonation) as Ludlow is super endearing, if a bit forced at times. One example of such being Ludlow’s stuttering and tugging at his medals when he and Davy first meet, but I feel like I’m kinda nitpicking since most of the time Ludlow is utterly precious. Davy Jones had charm for days, so of course the shy, wide-eyed innocent routine will be a heart-melter coming from him. Or maybe it’s just me. Davy’s scenes with Mike at the embassy serve as the episode’s other big selling point, because the guys play off each other really well. 

As for Micky and Peter, well, after Mick suggests Davy talk to Wendy and they take Ludlow back to the pad, they don’t really have very much to do beyond eating potato chips and watching Ludlow fumble through conversation with some random chick. That’s not automatically a bad thing, by the way, after all, there’s only so much time per episode, so they can’t always all contribute to the same extent. However! I’d like to point out that twenty-one episodes in and still no Micky-centric story. The show freakin’ dual-wields Davy before it focuses even once on Micky. Sigh. Disappointing.

Another disappointment I should mention, I find it vaguely annoying that at one point Ludlow kind of implies that shyness equals shallowness, meanwhile Davy instantly cheers up about Ludlow and Wendy’s marriage after meeting Wendy’s doppelgänger even though the show gave no indication that he was into Wendy until a minute before her double shows up. Obviously, Ludlow and Wendy’s relationship isn’t exactly a love story for the ages, they’re basically on a Disney timeline, but at least they’d, y’know, talked before taking a liking to each other. Yes, Davy falling in love at first sight on a near daily basis is par for the course for the show, but this particular example highlights just shallow it is. Like, “Whoops! I lost this girl I liked, but at least I stumbled upon someone with the same face!” The potential for absurdity makes me wonder how “Pauper” would’ve turned out if it had been made during the even more self-aware, self-deprecating season two.