Review of "Kitty Lost," season 3, episode 5 of "Gunsmoke"

Review of

Kitty Lost, season 3, episode 5 of "Gunsmoke"


Four out of five stars

A little jealousy from Matt would have helped

 This episode took place before there was the development of an underlying romance between Matt and Miss Kitty. A strange man dressed in very fancy clothes comes into the saloon and strikes up a conversation with Kitty. There is a full moon that night and he manages to talk Kitty into taking a midnight buggy ride with him.

 When neither of them has returned by the following morning, the townspeople assume the worst of the stranger and Matt and Chester ride out to follow the trail of the buggy. It turns out that the buggy broke down after Kitty went ballistic when the man tried to kiss her. He is from the east coast, so is unfamiliar with life on the frontier. He gallantly tries to protect Kitty, only to have her be completely unappreciative. Matt then comes to his defense and saves the day by repairing the buggy.

 In this episode, Kitty is portrayed as being less than the overly nice woman in the other episodes. She plays the role of the pampered woman, although she points out that she is half Native American. While Matt shows concern for her welfare, there is nary a hint of romantic entanglement between them that was such an underlying characteristic of later episodes. A hint of jealousy on the part of Matt would have made it a better episode.