Last of the $2 Bills
Airdate: January 8, 1977
Director: Stuart Margolin
Writers: Paul Dubov and Gwen Bagni Dubov
Set in: September - October , 1942

Synopsis: When a nazi submarine carrying German agent codenamed Wotan (German god of war) is supposedly sunk in Chesapeake Bay by the Navy, Major Trevor has doubts. Submarines are known to blast debris to the surface through their torpedo tubes to fool ships. Accompanied by Diana, he sets out for a beach off the coast of Virginia where Wotan might land and arrives just in time to see a group of three men arrive in a rubber boat. Steve sends Diana to report back to General Blankenship, and she alerts the war department of Wotan's landing and transforms into Wonder Woman to free Steve who has been overpowered by the agents when he attempted to attack the masked Wotan. Wotan escapes, but not before locking eyes with Diana, who is disconcerted by his piercing gaze.

Several hours later, Etta and Diana are on their way to lunch at the nearby Capital Cafe when they are approached by a bearded street photographer who convinces the WAC and WAVE to have a photo taken. Etta gives him $1.50 and fills out a mailer slip so that three copies can be made and mailed to her. Diana is struck by how familiar the man's eyes are. Meanwhile, Wotan in disguise as the photographer has been taking photos of Capital Cafe owner Maggie Rollins, and her fiancé Hank Miller. Returning to Berlin with the photos a week later, Wotan has two nazis surgically altered to be exact doubles of Miller and Rollins.

A few weeks later, when the photos Etta ordered never arrive, Etta and Diana go to the photography studio listed on the order slip. Etta complains quite loudly to the proprietor that she was swindled by the photographer. However, he claims the photographer in question only used his studio to develop some photos, and is no longer there. Suspicious, Diana investigates the room above the shop as Wonder Woman and discovers a radio. Capturing the shop owner, whom she recognises now as one of the men from the beach several weeks earlier, she rings the War Department and is soon joined by Steve and Etta.

However, Wotan's plan remains hidden. When Steve asks about the street photographer, Etta tells him that he took a picture of her and Diana in front of the Cafe, right across the street from the Bureau of Printing and Engraving where they "make all the lovely money." Wonder Woman is amazed that there is a place where they make money, and Steve explains that they do some top security printing for the War Department as well, and he often checks out their security for them. he invites Wonder Woman to join him the Friday morning, to give her a tour. Etta is suitably impressed that she just watched Steve ask Wonder Woman out on a date.

Meanwhile, Wotan informs his doubles that their plan is to infiltrate the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, steal the engraving plates to flood the Allies with billions of counterfeit $2 dollar bills to decimate their economy. The doubles are to leave Berlin that night, parachute into Canada and be in Washington within the week. Wotan is upset to notice "Hank" has a tooth-ache, and tells him to get it fixed before they leave. When it is revealed that the plastic surgeon is a spy, sending the Allies information on Wotan's plan, Wotan catches the Doctor at his radio, having only managed to send the phrases "Wotan" and "$2 bill."

General Blankenship informs Steve of the truncated message, and he stays up all night trying to puzzle out their meaning. Diana finds him asleep in his chair the following morning, and tenderly brushes his hair from his forehead before he wakes. She chides him for staying up all night long, and he informs her of Wotan's connection to the $2 bill. The talk of money reminds Steve about his "date" and he rushes out of the office to meet her at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Diana however, is starting to get an inkling of Wotan's plan, and is waiting for Steve at the Bureau when he arrives. He tells her he's hoping that touring the Bureau will give him an idea as to Wotan's plan.

Meanwhile, Wotan has returned to Washington, and Maggie has hired him on at the Cafe when her counterman mysteriously disappears. She is thrilled when Hank rings her to tell her that Wonder Woman is across the street, getting a tour. Wonder Woman asks about the printing process, and Hank explains that it involves special inks, paper, and the engraving plates. As the tour ends, Maggie meets Steve, Diana, and Hank in front of the building. Maggie's brother in the army is a huge fan, and she hands Diana a Cafe menu to autograph to send to him to boost his morale. Diana thanks Steve for arranging the tour, and is amazed at how simple the process of printing money is, and points out that anyone with the proper equipment could print all the money they wanted. Steve realises in a flash that this is exactly what Wotan plans to do, and tells a confused Wonder Woman that she's right--the economy would be destroyed. He thanks her, and rushes back to the War Department.

When Maggie returns to the cafe, she is confused to find the 'closed" sign in the window, and when she questions her new counterman, she is shocked to find her double, and a doppelganger of hank. Wotan threatens Maggie and tells her to ring Hank.

Back at the War Department, Steve is filling General Blankenship in on Wotan's plan. They order Secret Service protection for Hank Miller, and Steve sends Diana to pick up some lunch at the Capitol Cafe. Wotan locks the real Maggie and Hank in the basement, and then "Hank" goes back to work, where he is met by Dan Fletcher, his "guardian angel" assigned to him by Major Trevor's office. Diana arrives at the cafe, and as she is placing the order, the counterman's eyes throw her off, and her suspicions are confirmed when she spots the menu she had autographed that morning sitting on the counter. Ducking out, she transforms into Wonder Woman in the alley beside the building. Impersonating Fletcher's voice, Wonder Woman calls Steve at the War Department and tips him off about trouble at the cafe. Wonder Woman returns to the cafe where "Maggie" not only doesn't remember meeting her, but claims that it was for her sister. Wonder Woman accuses the doppelganger, and Wotan tells her that if she tries anything, the real Maggie and hank will be harmed. He takes her to the basement and, taking her bracelets (but not her belt or lasso), locks her in the with Hank and Maggie before revealing the plan to have "Hank" steal the plates.

Meanwhile, "Hank" has tied up Fletcher and is in the process of stealing the plates. Steve arrives at the Cafe, but there is no sign of Fletcher. He asks "Maggie" when the last time she spoke with Hank. She gets "Hank" on the phone, and Steve asks him about Fletcher. "Hank tells him he thought Fletcher was outside, when in fact, Fletcher is tied up in his office. "Hank" leave a bomb set to go off the following day, to disguise the theft of the plates. Steve meets "Hank" in front of the building, and when "Hank" complains of a toothache, insists on taking him to his personal dentist. "Hank" tells Wotan that Trevor insists on taking him to the dentist, and Wotan tells him Trevor must be eliminated.

Wotan goes down to the cafe basement, tells Wonder Woman that he has the plates, and bids them farewell before leaving. With Wotan gone, Diana uses her strength to break the chain on the locked cage, and lures Wotan's man closer and gets the gun away from him. Freeing Hank and Maggie, she locks the agent in the cage, and tells the couple to go to the War Department and tell General Blankenship what has happened.

Meanwhile, the dentist tells Steve that the "Hank's" filling was steel--not gold, and that the Nazis use steel for filings. Steve tells the dentist to play dumb for now, so as not to tip "Hank" off. Meanwhile, Diana lures "Maggie" downstairs, and uses her lasso on "Maggie" to find out where Wotan is meeting the submarine to get him and the plates out of the country. Steve and "Hank" arrive at the cafe, where a patron tells him Maggie went down to the basement. Steve offers go take a look, but Steve reminds him that he's "top priority" just as Wonder Woman slips out the basement door to follow Wotan. "Hank" trips Steve on the stairs, and "Maggie" tells him that the real Miller and Robbins have escaped, and that Wonder Woman knows the plan. Steve is held at gunpoint by "Maggie" and locked into the cage. "Hank" tells him Fletcher is locked in the vault with a bomb, before they flee.

At the War Department, Etta tells Hank and Maggie that Gen. Blankenship is in a high level meeting at the White House, and they tell her Wonder Woman gave them instructions to only tell Blankenship. Etta calls the White House, while Steve picks the lock on the cage and sneaks out the basement door to try and save Fletcher. The nazi agents meet up with Wotan just as the submarine is due to surface. Wonder Woman arrives to stop Wotan, throwing her tiara to puncture his rubber boat. He mocks her, telling her that Trevor and Fletcher have been "taken care of." Diana rushes back to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to find Steve has freed Fletcher and defused the bomb.

The next day, Steve gives Etta a copy of his report and tells her and Diana that the government has decided to take $2 bills out of circulation. Diana mentions that she had read Dan Fletcher's report, about how Steve defused the bomb, and Etta mentions that Steve left that out of his report to the General and gave all the credit to Wonder Woman. A flustered but sincere Steve insists that Wonder Woman deserves it, and extols her virtues. Etta wishes she was more like Wonder Woman, and Diana says that the best she or any woman can do is strive to be the best women they can. Steve commends her on the sound advice, and Diana responds with a smile that it is just something her mother used to tell her.

Curiouser, and Curiouser...
"Wotan" is another name for Odin All-Father, and is depicted in mythology as a master of disguise. The husband and wife writing team of the late Paul Dubov and Gwen Bagni developed Honey West for television in the mid-1960s for producer Aaron Spelling. Based on the novels by G.G. Fickling, Honey was one of the first series to feature a female lead and a major influence on Spelling's Charlie's Angels. The series was based on detective novels where the stunning Miss West solved crimes and was ever in need of rescuing by her detective partner, Sam Bolt. The pair were also no stranger to crime fighters, having penned an episode of The Green Hornet (following the adventures of the descendant of The Lone Ranger Britt Reed and his partner, Kato), and written the pilot episode of The Mod Squad.

Applause-worthy: While over-plotted, this episode showcases several strengths of the group ensemble. Diana and Steve's relationship is put into the spotlight, with the simple but elegant scene in which Diana finds Steve asleep in his chair (one of the series most romantic moments), and Steve's "date" with Wonder Woman. But more than that, the episode shows how they work together to solve the puzzle, using their wits more than anything else. On another front, Etta and Diana's friendship is given a great deal of screen time, and Etta herself gets some lovely bits. Not to mention Diana's wistful desire to send her mother a photograph of her in uniform, and her very amusing attempts to teach herself American slang, so as not to be caught flatfooted by Steve and Etta when they use slang she's not familiar with. This episode is in fact packed chock-full of great character development for all three. Moreover, it's nice to see Steve Trevor getting himself out of a jam! It reminds the viewer (and the other characters) that Steve is neither helpless nor stupid, and a hero in his own right.

Cringe-worthy: Why on Earth would Major Trevor knowingly take his secretary Diana into what could be a potentially dangerous situation like Wotan landing on that beach? It's a blatant plot device that contradicts what we know about the character. What's more, it's only purpose is to make Diana suspicious of the "street photographer," which could effectively be done by having her suspicious raised when she and Etta pay a call to the photo shop. It's just another example of the needlessly complicated script. Also, $1.50 was an exorbitant sum in 1942. It is also difficult to believe that Diana does not know who Thomas Jefferson was, even if her naivete about American culture is played up in the script. With this episode taking place over the course of several weeks, one has to wonder how busy Diana was in September 1942!

Episode entry by Yeoman Prince