Fridge / As Time Goes By

Fridge Logic

• Jean and Lionel probably should have noticed each other's names first in the beginning episode. Finding "Lionel Hardcastle" on your client list or "Jean Pargetter" as the name of the business owner would be noteworthy if you'd had a passionate and heartbreaking affair with someone of that name.
  • Jean Pargetter is her married name, Lionel specifically mentions in the first episode when he asks for her, he doesn't know what her current surname is. Most people conduct business without knowing the full name of the business owner. Likewise, Jean doesn't deal with every part of the business and even if she saw "Mr Hardcastle" on a schedule, it's a pretty common name for her to even think about an ex-boyfriend from 40 years ago.
  • This may have been retconned later in the series; when Lionel rediscovers the missing letter, he refers to it as having been written to "Nurse Pargetter".