Going Dutch Recap Season 2 Episode 11: Maggie’s Big Decision Changes Everything

Tensions rise in Going Dutch Season 2, Episode 11, “General Dearest,” as personal relationships and professional boundaries collide in unexpected ways. When General Martin arrives at Stroopsdorf under less-than-transparent circumstances, Colonel Quinn finds himself losing control of both his base and his relationship, while Maggie is forced to make a career decision that could change her future. With shifting power dynamics, awkward romance, and plenty of offbeat humor, this episode sets the stage for a major turning point.

Sergeant Conway, Corporal Papadakis, Captain Maggie, and Major Shah take a break while still on duty and lie out in the sun on the beach. Conway has sculpted a mermaid tail out of sand around Papadakis and tells him it’s the best he’s ever looked, while Maggie lies on a beach towel sunning herself with another towel next to her. Shah walks over and asks if the towel is taken, sparking a flirtatious moment when Maggie says she was saving it for him, and he sits down and thanks her.

She says they should have taken a holiday like this a long time ago, and he agrees, but the moment is interrupted when Colonel Quinn suddenly appears and demands to know what’s going on. They explain they were supposed to fill sandbags but ran out, so they started playing in the sand instead, and Quinn reminds them he assigned the task because he believes a storm is coming.

Later, Quinn joins them at the lunch table in the Stroopsdorf Biergarten and tells them the NATO base in Mons has flooded, so he invited his girlfriend, General Martin, to stay in Stroopsdorf until things are cleaned up. The group teases him about the situation, and Maggie later tells her dad it’s not a bad thing that he’ll get more time with Martin, but Quinn worries she might see this as a step forward in their relationship. Maggie insists that it is and that he should accept it, while Quinn resists the idea of change, saying what they have now is fun, sexy, and built on scotch and innuendo, with drinking and messing around as their foundation. Maggie unsettles him by suggesting they might be meant to be together, and just then Martin arrives, telling Quinn to get her out of her clothes and pour her a scotch before heading to his quarters. Quinn jokingly asks Maggie who’s sexy now, making her uncomfortable, and she reminds him he sometimes forgets he’s her father before he quickly follows Martin.

At the Stroopsdorf dining facility, Martin and Maggie oversee NATO and American soldiers mingling, and Martin asks Maggie to serve as her aide while she is on base since she currently doesn’t have one. Maggie eagerly agrees, but when Jan approaches with a tray of s’mores ingredients, Maggie signals him to leave, which Martin disapproves of, especially after noticing a soldier earlier in pajamas. Later, as Quinn and Martin prepare for bed, he jokes about putting maple syrup on everything and admits having a Canadian roommate isn’t so bad, but just as he leans in to kiss her, she puts in her mouth guard, quickly falls asleep, and starts snoring, making the relationship feel far less fun and sexy for Quinn.

The next morning, Martin asks Quinn what he plans to do, and he says he’ll be sharpening his hunting knives and needs to focus alone, while she casually says she’s going to watch human cockfighting. This startles him, but she takes him to the dining facility where soldiers are engaged in pugil stick fights and hand-to-hand combat, and Papadakis immediately asks if there is a softer weapon, admitting he was told it wouldn’t hurt. Martin questions how someone like him got into the army, and Maggie defends him by saying he has many talents, though hand-to-hand combat isn’t one of them, as he is quickly knocked down and begins snoring on the mat. Conway attempts to bribe her opponent, first offering 50 euros, then 100, and eventually escalating to a fake Louis Vuitton luggage set, while Quinn is thrilled by the intensity of Martin’s troops and tells Shah it’s great to have real soldiers on base, noting he hasn’t seen a single pair of open-toed shoes. Shah points out their soldiers are getting pummeled, and Martin tells Maggie she needs her aide to be completely by the book with no surprises like her previous aide, which Maggie agrees to as Conway continues bribing mid-fight and eventually offers real Louis Vuitton luggage.

At the bar later, Maggie, Conway, and Papadakis talk about their experience, with Papadakis repeatedly saying he got hit in the head and clearly showing it, while Conway explains Martin discouraged visiting the medic to avoid appearing weak. Maggie reassures them Martin will only be there a few more days and suggests they try to get along with her soldiers before walking off, and across the room she and Shah exchange flirtatious looks as he drops his pen and exaggeratedly picks it up, making her smile shyly. Meanwhile, Conway and Papadakis search Martin’s temporary office for paintball guns, with Papadakis finding paintballs and chewing them like candy until his mouth turns blue, while Conway finds a map of the base that raises suspicions. Quinn later visits Shah and excitedly describes a YouTube compilation he and Martin are watching of elderly people falling, paired with a drinking game, clearly enjoying her presence and admitting it without needing a therapist, while Shah encourages him to take risks before Quinn quickly leaves to return to Martin.

Back at his quarters, Quinn and Martin discuss disciplining soldiers, with her emphasizing the importance of silence between commands and him admitting he prefers yelling for several minutes before throwing something, usually a chair. When Conway and Papadakis arrive with the map, Quinn brushes off their concerns but is visibly unsettled, and later Maggie shows up at Shah’s door and immediately kisses him, brushing off his attempt to talk as they finally give in to their feelings. At the same time, Quinn grows suspicious of Martin’s intentions, and when he questions her about remodeling the dining facility, her overly detailed answer deepens his doubts.

Quinn then confronts General Davidson in Baumholder and asks if Martin is taking over his base, and Davidson confirms that NATO is acquiring it as part of a major deal, with Stroopsdorf included as a bonus. Quinn is stunned and furious, accusing Davidson of humiliating him, but Davidson reminds him that he invited Martin in, effectively making her his superior. Afterward, Maggie and Shah lie together reflecting on their relationship, but Maggie reveals she has accepted a permanent position as Martin’s aide with a promotion and relocation, which shocks Shah since he submitted his retirement paperwork the night before. Their moment quickly unravels as they realize they made major life decisions without discussing them, and Maggie pulls away, insisting they are not on the same page.

At the same time, Quinn packs his belongings while confronting Martin, who admits she wasn’t allowed to tell him about the base takeover yet and begs him to stay, but he refuses and reveals he planted a hidden alarm in her quarters designed to slowly drive her crazy, which immediately starts going off as he leaves. Later, Maggie and Quinn commiserate over drinks, both feeling betrayed by their partners, and although Maggie initially says she won’t take the job, Quinn insists she should and suggests she use the position to gather information on Martin. Maggie then calls the soldiers to attention in the library as Martin announces the base is now under her command and that training is on hold due to stolen paintball equipment, while Papadakis quietly tells Conway he has been eating the evidence, which only makes things worse. Martin makes it clear she expects order and normalcy moving forward, and Maggie echoes the command as she follows her out.

This episode marks a major shift as Stroopsdorf becomes a NATO base, raising questions about Quinn’s future, Shah’s possible retirement, and whether Maggie and Martin can coexist in this new structure, while the clash between Stroopsdorf’s eccentricity and Martin’s strict discipline creates a promising and interesting new direction for the show. I enjoyed this episode and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

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