Episode 10 begins with Marian Starett (Jill Ireland) and her son Joey (Christopher Shea) shopping for fabric in Grafton’s Store. Joey’s not that excited about the shopping experience so he’s just goofing around when he comes across a flyer for a dance in the town of Viator, WY. He shows the flyer to his mom, and you can immediately tell that she would love to go to a dance, even if she won’t say it out loud. Shane (David Carradine) notices how Marian’s face brightens up when the dance is brought up again later that night back at the ranch. He decides right then and there that the family is going to that dance, even though it’s a three-day ride by carriage. Tom Starett (Tom Tully) doesn’t see how they can abandon the work that needs to be done at the ranch, but he relents to Shane when he sees how important the dance is to Marian. 

So, the family heads out on the three-day trip to Viator. They sing and laugh and are having the best time as they make camp on the first night. Unfortunately, a group of thieves attack them and steal their food and many of their other belongings. Not to be deterred, Shane convinces the family to keep moving forward to Viator. Thanks to some brave work from Joey and Shane, Marian still has the special dress that she plans to wear to the dance. As they close in on their destination, Shane goes ahead to make arrangements for the family. When he arrives, he finds that Viator is now a ghost town and that the flyer was actually from the year before. The community’s mine flooded about six months earlier and just about everyone left to restart their lives elsewhere. Will Marian still get to dance? Will Joey get to see his mom happy? Will Tom stop thinking about chores? The answers are all here for those who are truly interested! 

Episode 10 is the most romantic episode of the SHANE TV series that I’ve encountered so far. The needs and desires of Marian Starett take center stage and Jill Ireland is quite wonderful in the episode. Every action Shane takes is to make Marian happy. When Marian won’t admit that she even wants to go to the dance, Shane knows her true feelings and he’s going to take her no matter who objects. When the thieves steal Marian’s dress and conk her on the head, Shane risks his life to get it back because he knows it carries a special meaning in her life. When they make it to Viator, even though they got the date wrong and the dance hall is now a dusty, cobweb filled mess, Shane wants Marian to wear her dress. He asks her if he can remove the wrap that she is wearing, revealing her in her dress, and for the first time in the series, we see Jill Ireland at her most beautiful. She’s stunning. Shane sweetly begins pretending that there are people and music in the dance hall just so Marian can enjoy herself. She happily plays along and Shane and Marian dance together to the music in their minds and stare happily into each other’s eyes. Tom and Joey walk in and watch them dance. Joey asks his grandpa, “How can they dance? There isn’t any music.” Tom replies “Don’t be too sure of that boy.” It’s an endearing exchange and a testament to just how happy Shane and Marian are in that moment. Next week Shane can get back to being a badass. In Episode 10, he just wanted to make Marian happy, and he did.