Beaver Runs Away

[Scrabjan1]

I agreed with Ward not June. She was too impulsive whereas Ward knew Beaver much better. He would go to a friend’s house. I think Ward was calling his bluff after once again letting Larry talk him into trouble. He had to learn and June shouldn’t have told Beaver Ward ran away. I like how Beaver apologized.

[Torgo]

That was one of June's over reacting moments, I was on Ward's side all the way.

[stevea]

I also liked the fact that Ward admitted his fallibility. That rarely if ever happened in the later seasons.

I couldn't help but notice, too, how well Mathers was acting in this episode. It kind of juxtaposes with the later years, where at least sometimes it seemed like he was just going through the motions.

[Torgo]

I think the first two seasons Mather's acting was the best.

[Hazel Anyday]

Those first few years Beaver acted like a normal kid and talked like a normal kid. But in the latter years Beaver acted like a moron and out of it. Wally was always consistent with his character, he got more mature as he got older while Beaver just turned ridiculously stupid.

[Scrabjan1]

Wally acted way too mature in the later seasons almost like he was a grownup so Beaver had 3 parents. I think in the earlier episodes Wally had bad judgment like when he put Beaver in the badly made kayak, had Benjie climb a ladder and later sent Beaver up a tree in slippers.

He was so adult except when he dumped ice cream over his friends’ heads.

[stevea]

One interesting thing about this episode is that it may have been Madge Blake's first appearance (in network showing order), but MeTV edited her out. It's always interesting when people are in the cast, but they don't appear due to edits.

[Scrabjan1]

We saw Madge this time. She was in the dinner scene once again stating Mr. M had to work late.

[stevea]

Ha! Maybe I was in the kitchen! Sorry 'bout that...

I'm surprised Mr. M wasn't in Cincinnati.

[Scrabjan1]

Madge does this neat thing with her left hand while she’s eating putting her thumb and middle finger together. Larry asks for Pop’s dessert since he won’t be home. Beaver wonders if he can stay at his house forever and Larry says they won’t have enough clean sheets.

They even showed the scene where Beaver is sitting on the curb reasoning as to why he has to run away.

[stevea]

That part I saw. I totally missed him at the Mondellos.

Their edits usually aren't too bad. The ones I dislike (and they do this once in awhile) is when they make an obvious cut at the beginning. They show the house, with music, and it crudely cuts to some scene that's obviously joined in progress.

[Scrabjan1]

I’ve seen that too.

[Hazel Anyday]

See, that little bit of dialog between Beaver and Larry about staying forever, is a great example of honest real kid dialog, neither of them acts stupid or like they're clueless, just honest wondering and reasoning a kid would have. This opposed to when Beaver gets older and acts not like a real young teenager but instead like a moron. I look forward to Eddie's insults to Beaver in these years, he deserves them.

[stevea]

One of the best in the series. Like HA said, I marvel at how much better Mathers' acting is, in these season 1 episodes, than later seasons. HA is right--he is just a normal little kid. Maybe part of the problem is the writing didn't catch up to him growing up, in later seasons.

And again, Ward was actually permitted to be wrong in this episode, and admits it. In later years he is portrayed as a paragon.

[Alex Cooper]

I side with June. Sure, she was babying the Beaver a bit, but I think she realized that the potential dangers a young child could face were greater than Ward proving a point. In all Wally made the most sense in this episode.
This episode is also a great parallel for the second season Munsters episode that kind of follows this plot idea and even references the child psychology of LITB.