(S03E05) Time is moving on and the time's are a-changing. Sally has had a difficult adjustment to the loss of Grandpa Gene, so much so that Betty and Don actually have to act like parents and attend to her needs. The family was a big part of the episode, not just the Draper family, but the Sterling Cooper family, too. More on the latest Mad Men episode and the changes after the jump.
Sally's teacher, the same one that Don was entranced with at the Maypole dance, called Betty and Don in to talk about Sally. At first, it seemed like she was really special, understanding and sympathetic. But later, when she called the house, it seemed like Miss Farrell was yet another woman who finds Don simply irresistible. Why else was she sipping a drink and her bra strap hanging out? And why did Don tell Betty that nobody was on the phone?
In typical Betty fashion, she just wants to put Sally's grief behind her, much like she wants to put her father's death aside. But it's on her mind at the hospital. During labor, she has two fantasies -- a strange one that's very pastoral involving a green caterpillar. But in the other, she sees her father mopping up blood. And he tells her to listen to her mother, to Ruth's message -- "Be thankful for what you have." Gene then encapsulates Betty's vision of herself with the words, "You're a house cat and have very little to do." "You're a house cat. You're very important and have little to do."
Later, after Betty gets her way and baby boy Draper is named Eugene Scott (for her father), she describes the pain and discomfort of giving birth as being in "a fog." The fog, though, might be a more apt description of the time she's been sharing with Don in anticipation of the baby coming. It had been a happy fog, with Don faithful (as far as Betty knew) and there for her. At night, the first night home, when the baby cries, it's Betty who gets up to care for little Gene. The happy fog is replaced by cold reality and a crying baby.
While waiting for the baby to come, Don befriended Dennis, a corrections officer from Sing-Sing who impressed Don by bringing a bottle of scotch along. Sharing scotch and waiting, Dennis thought he got Don. He called Don an honest man, and even offered him his confession, as if Don were his priest. "This is a fresh start. I'm going to be a better man," he told Don. But later, when they passed in the hallway, Dennis couldn't look Don in the eye. Was the bonding only real in the confessional of the solarium and nowhere else?
In the other major plot point, Peggy and Pete were wooed by Duck to go to Grey's. Duck has little luck with Pete, probably because Pete doesn't want to be seduced as part of a team. He's already frustrated by sharing accounts with Ken. He doesn't want to share being seduced to Grey's, so he rejects Duck out of hand.
Peggy doesn't reject Duck; she listens to him. When Duck says it's her time, she buys into it. When she later asks Don for a raise -- to finance that move to the city? -- Don gives her the thumbs-down because of Pryce's penny-pinching. He says it's the wrong time, but Peggy may not be willing to wait. Peggy wants what Don has. Like she tells Don, "You have everything. And so much of it." Don can't deny it.
Finally, there's Pete stumbling into a successful idea. Integration. Admiral TV hates the idea of ads targeted at both races. They're offended by his pitch, and Pete winds up being "flogged" by Roger and Bert. But Pryce likes the idea and from his "stranger in a strange land" perspective, he sees that America is undergoing a change. More than that, he loves money and wants to make more. That's his bottom line.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-14-2009 @ 9:47AM
The1337 said...
it’s the fifth episode and I’m starting to see problems with the season not really having a direction. Unlike the other seasons where there was a clearly established path, so far, there have been numerous amazing moments, but no direction. Pete was awesome in this episode with his idea to market to blacks and then his timeless reaction to Peggy. Full review of the episode on my blog.
http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-mad-men-season-3-episode-5-fog.html
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9-14-2009 @ 10:25AM
Bob Sassone said...
I think this is the episode that actually gives the show a little direction this season finally. Betty has had the baby, battlelines are being drawn at Sterling Cooper. I like how it's shaping up.
I could have done without that dream sequence though.
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9-14-2009 @ 11:22AM
Modwild said...
No longer must-see tv for me. Something magical is missing this year. I don't know if its the new ownership of Sterling Cooper or just that everyone is struggling so much that it's no longer fun. It just seems so morose. I can't even explain it. There's little mystery, nothing to look forward to with a happy face. The first two seasons I clapped every time it came on - now I usually dvr and watch as I'm falling asleep. What happened??
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9-14-2009 @ 11:59AM
Vijay said...
I feel as though this season is doing the same thing T:SCC did in its second season - slowly threading a lot of plot strands together into a huge narrative arc that will end with a crash. To me, these first few episodes of season three are essentially a pregnant pause (literally and figuratively).
At the season's beginning, all the characters were placed into positions of impending monumental transition where they could only act as if nothing is really new. The lead women were the first to see change in their lives: Peggy intentionally transforming herself is the first domino to fall, along with Joan's realization that she's too good for her husband. The last two episodes have been Betty realizing that she wants to be more than a housewife.
Pete (and Pryce) realizing that "integration" is useful is another domino. This dovetails with Pete's apparent disgust with Sterling's blackface routine.
Best line of the episode...
Pete: "Where are you going?"
Peggy: "To the ladies' room. You want to join me?"
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9-14-2009 @ 4:51PM
bcarter3 said...
T:SCC?
Have no idea what this means.
9-14-2009 @ 5:43PM
BiteMe said...
bcarter3: It means Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles.
I'm not sure where this season of Mad Men is going either. I wasn't into the first couple of episodes of season three. The characters and story lines seemed scattered then. I'd like to see how these plots line up with the coming historic events and how the characters are affected.
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9-14-2009 @ 9:14PM
Zamir said...
is the actress that played Miss Farrell that girl from all the twix commercials
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9-15-2009 @ 12:46AM
Jimmy said...
The dream sequence made me think Denis Leary wandered into the writers' room!
I'm enjoying this season. The first episode struck me as odd, but the ones since then have been great. I think there is plenty of direction, especially if you consider Peggy as the central character, not Don.
My only complaint so far is the heavy-handedness of the race storylines.
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9-15-2009 @ 6:04AM
Allison Solow said...
Correction made on the line about the housecat. Thanks for the info.
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9-15-2009 @ 10:37AM
Georgia said...
The heavy-handedness of the race storylines is important because that was the change coming. The conversation with Pete and the elevator man was very important and really summed up the time well. I was thinking while watching it, a conversation like that could never happen today because it would not be "politically correct" in many different respects. (I hate that the world is so sensitive that we have to be PC correct all the time.)
Another thing that was surprising was that Don went to the school. Fathers rarely dealt with those types of things back then. Mothers took care of everything.
I also wondered if it was safe to leave Don in the room with the teacher alone. Maybe Don went to the school because the teacher appeals to him, though he was short with her when he just flat out asked "What happened?" like he did not have time to deal with her babbling.
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9-17-2009 @ 12:05AM
Wooks said...
I was thinking while watching it, a conversation like that could never happen today because it would not be "politically correct" in many different respects. (I hate that the world is so sensitive that we have to be PC correct all the time.)
It wouldn't happen today not because it's un-pc, but because it's stupid to think that by surveying one black guy, you would find out what all the other "Negroes" are buying. Could you really say what type of TV all your friends have or are buying? I can't even name the brand of TV that most of my friends have.
9-16-2009 @ 10:01AM
the dude said...
i think "the fog" refers to the drug induced state that delivering mothers were put into for delivery back in the days. that is connects to the "you know" reference near the end of the episode on the couch.
the hanging bra strap? mmmmmmm, sorta a 50's 60's movie thing that sorta implied that teach was a little tipsy and ...... perhaps, loose.
i am getting the feeling that one has to look at the show from a 60's ish perspective to get into it at times.
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9-20-2009 @ 9:21PM
Kiko said...
"i think "the fog" refers to the drug induced state that delivering mothers were put into for delivery back in the days."
Right, it was the demerol. Puts you out between contractions, but the labor pains shine right on thru.
9-20-2009 @ 10:51PM
Kiko said...
"i think "the fog" refers to the drug induced state that delivering mothers were put into for delivery back in the days."
Right, it was the demerol. Puts you out between contractions, but the labor pains shine right on thru.
9-18-2009 @ 1:20AM
Ex Suit said...
Allison - Another small correction: Duck Phillips' new home is Grey, not Grey's. But at least you spelled it correctly, with an "e", not an "a"!
Thanks for your recaps - I really enjoy them.
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