TVSquad

That blackface episode was not their wedding; it was just a party. Roger's wedding happened between seasons, and we only got a whiff of his honeymoon by his Greek souvenirs in the first episode.

My bet is that Sal is back next week. Aqua Velvet is a mess, they can't find a replacement, and the world has changed. What seemed so important earlier is not anymore.

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To be fair to Duck, when he unplugged the TV all they had said is that there had been an attempt on Kennedy's life. Not that he was dead. The news report he was watching was making it sound like Kennedy was alive.

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I was 10 years old on 11/22/63 and remember a lot but what stands out most is seeing all the grown-ups crying. The scene when Sally and Bobby came home from school was amazing for me, I relived it all. When Karla lit up I remember one of my mom's friends who hadn't smoked in years do the same. For most watching that is what we remember now...the grown-ups.

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I knew the show's writers would not be so cliché as to end the season on Nov. 22. How the events of that weekend affect the characters is the real story here.

The original footage was well handled, woven seamlessly into the background of the show. The dark, almost shuttered Draper house and equally dead SC offices showed how we felt that weekend.

It was so powerful, I kept thinking something awful had happened in real life. That's how accurately the feeling that weekend was depicted. It was a defining moment in our lives. Sad when it happened, but it certainly influenced us boomers.

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The wedding was the day AFTER Dallas.

And remember - none of the characters have seen the Zapruder film yet. The fact that the AquaNet campaign is almost a shot for shot recreation will certainly get the concept scrapped.

No convertibles in commercials for YEARS!

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Roger's wife was my favorite "grown-up" in this episode. The scene with her on the phone with Roger was great!

Only one week to go? When does Breaking Bad start up again?

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Yes, the wedding was the day after the assassination. When they show Roger's daughter in her wedding dress, it was probably a last fitting or something.

I thought the "grown-ups" thing was ironic. Roger's daughter and his new wife both behaved like spoiled children, not adults.

Betty may not love Don anymore, but she is a fool to think that she could be in love with Henry, and that he will definitely marry her. They barely know each other!!

Also, wasn't the girl talking to Betty her roommate?

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oh yeah, that's what I meant :)

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This was not the way it happened. The overuse of the television intruded on the story and was more appropriate to a 9/11 storyline than the Kennedy assassination. We were not glued to our TVs as most of us did not have them. Radio was how Americans primarily followed this event. Too much time was spent on the newsclips. As the episode piled on more and more of the "most important/historical" television moments of coverage it overpowered the characters. I was only a boy at the time, but a neighbor of my parents--who worked in advertising at the time--still lives down the street and viewed the episode. I was so distressed by this episode that I paid him a visit. To his experience, this portrayal was nothing like what he and his office mates experienced. To his memory, it was both more emotional and less connected to the television. He was a Kennedy supporter, but most of the people he worked with on Madison Avenue had not voted for Kennedy (if you remember, he squeaked by in the election). For him, what was most remarkable was the reaction of those who were disgusted by Kennedy the man/president, but were destroyed by the idea that anyone would kill him. With that in mind, I think the writers of MAD MEN missed the appropriate angle to present this episode. Remember, this is the firm that was hired by Nixon and went to bed thinking they'd scored a win. The reaction of Pete was entirely out of character: if anyone at Sterling/Cooper is a Republican, it would be Pete. This exemplifies what I believe is the false tone of this episode. There is no connective emotional connection between these characters we love, their lives as we know them, and the assassination. In this episode, our characters spout writers' assertions and seem, throughout, to be disconnected from their core. In the end, it is the very poor choice of a boring European director for this episode that highlights the disconnect between this episode, it's characters, and how this American tragedy played out. Additionally, while the Don/Bets throughline was well done in it's matching the "End of Camelot" with the end of their love, I think the most important opportunity was lost in not leading into this with the very important emotional context that like Bets, the Kennedy's had just had a child. Her child with Don survived, but the Kennedy's child died. Dallas was the first time since that death that the Kennedys appeared together in public. This should have been the focus for Don and Betty's episode arc.

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The Carla/Betty scene is perfect as a symbol of union and equality of classes upon pain and uncertainty.

Such moments suspend every prejudice, rank or authority to show us how equal we are behind social standards.

Sit together, cry together, smoke together. Two human beings trying to understand.

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how does ""Everthing's going to be fine." - Don
"How do you know that?" - Betty"

make it in to the quotes but...

"You've been drinking?" - Trudy
"The whole COUNTRY'S been drinking!" - Pete

doesn't?

another great episode for a great show!!

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