The Howells are rhapsodizing to Gilligan about the joy of marriage when a radio bulletin informs them that their officiant has just been discovered as a fraud. The others come up with a simple solution — remarry the two. However, multiple problems dog the ceremony, and eventually Mr. Howell cancels it in frustration. Can the other castaways reconcile the couple?
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Delirious Misidentification: The Skipper poses as a hostile native to get the Howells back together after they have a fight and gets hit on the head. He staggers off. Gilligan goes after him and asks him twice if he's all right. The second time he says, "For the last time, I'm all right, Mary Ann!"
- Exact Words: While they're trying to figure out a way to solve the Howells' problem, the Skipper cuts Gilligan off mid-sentence saying he doesn't want to hear any more of his nonsense. Gilligan covers the Skipper's ears and continues offering his suggestion (which is actually pretty reasonable) to the Professor.
- I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: A variant; Mrs. Howell continues to complain about her husband even as she says she won't talk about him. It gets to the point where she obliviously thanks the girls for not mentioning Mr. Howell since she arrived — when she's been doing nothing else. Mary Ann sums up their predicament by saying they'll have to listen as she doesn't discuss her estranged spouse.
- Loophole Abuse: After Ginger comes up with the idea of the Skipper conducting the wedding, the Professor shoots it down, saying that the Skipper only has that authority on the sea, not on land. However, Gilligan points out that the rule doesn't say how deep the sea has to be. A raft on the lagoon would work just fine.
- Married at Sea: The Howells learn via a radio report that the minister who married them was never ordained and thus, they believe themselves to be unmarried. They try to rectify this by having the Skipper marry them, which ends up being organized on a raft out in the lagoon, because a captain only has that authority on the water.
- "Not Really Married" Plot: Mr and Mrs Howell discover they were not really married after hearing a news broadcast that the minister that married them had really been a con man and not actually ordained. Various hijinks ensue. At the end of the episode, another news broadcast reveals that the original broadcast had got the name of the minister wrong, and they actually had been married all along.
- Operation: Jealousy: After the wedding falls through, Mrs. Howell moves in with Ginger and Mary Ann and quickly drives them nuts. To save their sanity, Ginger hatches a plan to make Mrs. Howell jealous. Later, Gilligan and the Skipper launch a similar plan on Mr. Howell.
- Parrot Expo What: When they find out, the girls chorus, "The Howells aren't what?"
- Ship Tease: The Skipper enlists Gilligan and Mary Ann to help him practice the marriage ceremony, including the part where he tells the groom to kiss the bride. Mary Ann, while trying to downplay its significance to the bashful first mate, seems pretty interested in performing that part of the mock ceremony.
- Spoonerism: The entire plot happens because of someone reversing the leading consonants on the minister's name. The fake minister was Boris Nuckley, not Buckley Norris.
- Take a Third Option: While talking Mrs. Howell into making Mr. Howell jealous, the Skipper offers either himself or Gilligan as options for her dinner partner. Mrs. Howell promptly declares that she chooses the Professor.
