Mad Men

[Mela99]

I love Sally this season. She ain't taking shit from daddy anymore.

[MamaJunebug]

Holy moley --- FREE BOBBY!

[Lillybee]

I think that Betty is doing the dexie/miltown combo that many women did back in the day. BTW, if Peggy were real, she would be five years older than me. In between college semesters, I worked for a very classy temp agency in NYC, and I am amazed that the office settings are so very accurate. On a frivolous note, I had a few of Peggy's outfits including that very ugly yellow plaid suit. Don't snicker, my mom bought it for me and made me wear it. But I did wear my skirts as short as Megan's.

[kpmom]

Betty is not a likable person, but she's in a position so many women were back then.

Brought up to be a stay-at-home wife and mother, she cannot adapt at all to the changing times. She's desperately unhappy, but probably has no clue as to why.

I can't tell if she was contemptuous of Francine for having a career, or jealous.

What will become of Betty, I wonder? She's not terribly flexible.

I just don't see a good ending for her, but I could be wrong. Maybe she'll get a real estate license, open an office with Francine, and become successful.

[crazyforkate]

Well, here's the recap. Don is driven to make a decision. Peggy is an awful person. And it may be 1969, but everyone still wants a computer.

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... ield-trip/

[MamaJunebug]

crazyforkate, I'll be reading that soon because I can't for the life of me remember why Peggy would've been so foul to Don.

January Jones KILLED it -- I watched that arc twice and both times, shivered at the way she withdrew from Bobby and wouldn't. let. it. go.

All I can figure is, Betty sees *any* disappointing behavior from *anyone* as evidence of pure hatred for her. Even when it's a childish mistake by her loving little Bobby. Gene's only immune, at this point, because he's pretty much non-verbal in the way of many 3-year-olds. Travel-agent-lady disappoints Betty by not being "old-fashioned." Bobby by doing a girl a good deed without thinking - but he was thinking about his mom, he was jealously guarding her place on the picnic blanket!!!!

What's the name for neurosis [sic] like that? Also, did Don's years of disappointing her make her this way? Was she a lovely, flowers-that-bloom-in-the-spring kinda woman before she met the diabolical Draper????

CFK, ETA that I loved the recap - SC Yabba Dabba Doo! - and hold no ill will for not reminding me why Peggy hates Don. ;) I'll have to refresh my memory ... but I wanted to say, the recap was great. Enjoy Poland, you lucky thing!!! Travel well.

[PennySycamore]

crazyforkate, I'll be reading that soon because I can't for the life of me remember why Peggy would've been so foul to Don.

January Jones KILLED it -- I watched that arc twice and both times, shivered at the way she withdrew from Bobby and wouldn't. let. it. go.

All I can figure is, Betty sees *any* disappointing behavior from *anyone* as evidence of pure hatred for her. Even when it's a childish mistake by her loving little Bobby. Gene's only immune, at this point, because he's pretty much non-verbal in the way of many 3-year-olds. Travel-agent-lady disappoints Betty by not being "old-fashioned." Bobby by doing a girl a good deed without thinking - but he was thinking about his mom, he was jealously guarding her place on the picnic blanket!!!!

What's the name for neurosis [sic] like that? Also, did Don's years of disappointing her make her this way? Was she a lovely, flowers-that-bloom-in-the-spring kinda woman before she met the diabolical Draper????

CFK, ETA that I loved the recap - SC Yabba Dabba Doo! - and hold no ill will for not reminding me why Peggy hates Don. ;) I'll have to refresh my memory ... but I wanted to say, the recap was great. Enjoy Poland, you lucky thing!!! Travel well.

Betty's a classic narcissist. She may even have borderline personality disorder.

I think she's always been screwed up. There were some hints in one episode that she may have been molested by her dad.

[MamaJunebug]

Ew - and she name the last baby after him? Gross.

I guess narcissist could explain it – it's all about her and will be tied whoever doesn't cheat her like a queen. Absolutely love that they had her wear a DT pink suit John a farm field trip. Loved it.

[crazyforkate]

I think Gene's closer to 6, which makes it even weirder, because she was certainly going crazy about Bobby and Sally when they were that age or younger. How time flies on this show.

[PennySycamore]

Great recap, crazyforkate!

God, Betty was such a bitch this episode! Here her son Bobby saved a place on the blanket for her and she ended up chewing him out because he shared his lunch. Betty, Bobby still probably loves you at this age, but he might now always if you continue to treat him like you did on the field trip.

I wonder if the dairy farm that they went to might end up figuring into one of the seminal events of the Summer of '69. Could that have been Max Yasgur's dairy farm made famous by being the site of Woodstock?

"What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 300,000" "The New York State Thruway is closed, man."

WehjMZcQqPA

For the old flute player in me, the quintessential song from Woodstock;

Hf0Dm-OaTNk

[crazyforkate]

Wouldn't that be hilarious!

[MamaJunebug]

I think Gene's closer to 6, which makes it even weirder, because she was certainly going crazy about Bobby and Sally when they were that age or younger. How time flies on this show.

Making her picking him up and carrying him to the tub ever odder.

Girlfriend's psychotic, in Dr. MJB's opinion. I wonder if she's going to do some violence to her kids or herself, and that will be part of Don's undoing - if indeed boyfriend is gonna be undone.

Enjoying the discussion, morbid tho it may be!

[kpmom]

PennySycamore, LOVE your theory about who the farmer might turn out to be!

MJB, do you remember several seasons ago when Don was thinking back to when he was talking to the original Mrs. Draper about needing to divorce her so he could marry Betty? She was asking what Betty was like and Don said, "She's so happy!".

Dang, that didn't last, did it?

[MamaJunebug]

PennySycamore, LOVE your theory about who the farmer might turn out to be!

MJB, do you remember several seasons ago when Don was thinking back to when he was talking to the original Mrs. Draper about needing to divorce her so he could marry Betty? She was asking what Betty was like and Don said, "She's so happy!".

Dang, that didn't last, did it?

Oof!!! You know, somehow I haven't seen a lot of the first or second season episodes. But holy Tamoli, that's something else!

I do remember the episode where Betty was a model for a fleeting moment for some cola company, only to be fired when the company fired the agency. Or something like that. Anyway, they have a picture of January Jones where she is smiling like she means it, and Don looks at it was such fondness and affection. I remember thinking that I didn't expect either January nor Betty to be able to smile that genuinely.

I have a feeling that Betty might not survive the series.

[Mela99]

Betty is horrible.

Love Sally still.

[crazyforkate]

This week, Don gets a new assignment and we finally meet some honest-to-god hippies!

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... -monolith/

[MamaJunebug]

What an episode! A 40-something friend complained that "nothing's happenng" and left the room.

I could only say, "guess you had to be there."

I'm not sure about DD expiring when the series does. Does he still have title to the real DD's real estate out West? Maybe life's not a carousel -- or maybe there's a way to disembark, for some lucky few.

ETA that the cohesiveness of the themes impresses.

And that I hate TPTB for making us wait till 2015 to see how it all turns out. Shoot, we could all be dead by then!

[kpmom]

It won't be on again until 2015??? :cussing:

I assumed the 2nd half of the season was coming on Fall of this year, kind of like Breaking Bad did it.

Boo!

Do we know when in 2015?

MJB, we're just going to have to plan on staying alive, that's all there is to it!

[MamaJunebug]

Kpmom, I guess so!!!

The way I understand it – and this could be totally off base – there are three more episodes over the next three weeks, then nothing until 2015. Argh!!

I'm here, could somebody refresh my feeling memory – how is Don responsible for Lane's death?

[crazyforkate]

Brief serious note: Once, when I was at the depths of depression, I decided I wouldn't do anything drastic until Mad Men ended. And then Liz Lemon said the exact same thing on 30 Rock when she thought Jack was suicidal and I lol'd. How can a show be so spellbinding?

(Doing better now, thanks.)

[kpmom]

Kpmom, I guess so!!!

The way I understand it – and this could be totally off base – there are three more episodes over the next three weeks, then nothing until 2015. Argh!!

I'm here, could somebody refresh my feeling memory – how is Don responsible for Lane's death?

Lane tried to fake Don's signature on a check, as I recall. Don fired him, but he could have called the police and had the guy arrested. He was better to him than he could have been.

I think any business would have fired the guy, so I don't see how Don's responsible.

crazyforkate, glad you're doing better.

[MamaJunebug]

Ah yes, kpmom!!

I thought Don had a real Scylla and Charibdis thing going on there, too, now you remind me of it. Thanks again.

[Mela99]

I looooooved the hippie stuff. I want more of it. Am I right in assuming that the fight with Brooks was over him not letting her take Ellery with her?

[crazyforkate]

Anytime Roger goes off the beaten path, things get interesting. First LSD, then this. Awesome. And I'm pretty sure the rest of the season is scheduled for spring.

[MamaJunebug]

Anytime Roger goes off the beaten path, things get interesting. First LSD, then this. Awesome. And I'm pretty sure the rest of the season is scheduled for spring.

Second (last) seven episodes of the season will air in Spring 2015.

http://www.vulture.com/2013/09/mad-men- ... split.html

Ugh. I wish you were right, crazyforkate!!!!