Julia: The Pete Campbell in me wants to take that bet on whether this season will conclude with the JFK assassination, and raise it from a single old-fashioned to a baker's dozen. But the Ken Cosgrove in me won't allow it. Just about the only thing Matthew Weiner has revealed about this season is that he doesn't plan to dramatize Nov. 22, 1963: "I can say one thing in advance: the Kennedy assassination is very well-trod territory, and I just don't see myself adding to that," he told the Newark Star Ledger. Surely, though, the assassination will cast a pall over some part of the season, as, I suspect, will Vietnam.
A piece of Mad Men arcana: Burt Peterson isn't, strictly speaking, a red shirt. In Season 2, Episode 5, Pete mentions Peterson to Trudy in what seemed at the time a throwaway line. (I know this only because I rewatched that episode over the weekend.) Had Weiner already foreseen needing such a character to dispatch come Season 3? Perhaps not, but it's yet another indication that very little happens by accident in a Mad Men episode.
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StumbleUponSpeaking of Trudy: Julia, are you still planning to name a Mad Men fashion statement of the week? If so, I humbly submit the hat Trudy is wearing when she comes to deliver the "Buck Stops Here" desk set. I can only describe it as haute-Shriner.
A quick note about the final scene. I thought Sally's discovery of the stewardess's wings was a bit telegraphed—we glimpse her beginning to root through Don's luggage and know that can't come to any good. But I loved the exchange between Don and Sally regarding the damage she'd inflicted on his valise: "It will come out of your allowance," says Don. "I don't have an allowance," replies Sally. "Then don't break things," says Don. His response is so quick, the exchange at first plays like expert daddying, not a sad betrayal of how ignorant Don is of his own household.
Patrick, I agree Don's "Love Potion No. 9" effect on women is wearing thin. As you say, this isn't Entourage. It's not The Wire, either, but did you guys also love it when Sal, er, Sam, told the stewardess that he and Bill were headed for "Ballmore"? He almost sounded like Prop Joe. Almost.
Best,
John
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Series creator Matthew Weiner has stated he leaves nothing for future seasons and puts everything out there each season, like its the last, and this episode could almost double as a series finale. I think when Mad Men eventually ends its run, there will be discussion whether this episode was the proper series finale and should have called it quits right here, or will Weiner have new and interesting places to take us in season 4?
-- guyroy
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"And the way that they saw themselves is gone." Julia, I think this pretty clearly refers to Peggy having her child and giving it away. Until Peggy told Pete about the baby, Don was only person on the show outside of her family and priest that knew her secret. Don was the one that visited Peggy in the hospital after she gave birth and had been out of work for a while.
-- BumblebeeMan
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Who's in charge, Betty or Henry? Something that surprised me was the amount of involvement Henry had in Betty's divorce advice. Does it ring true for the period that Henry went to the lawyer with Betty and apparently also knew the lawyer and may have selected the lawyer for Betty? And, when Betty told Don that she would be consulting with a divorce attorney and Don should too, was she simply parroting Henry's words?
Certainly since Henry's divorced he knows the routine and I can understand him giving Betty the benefit of his experience. Last episode Henry was willing to give Betty the time she needed and he would wait. Now, things are fast-tracked to Reno. I'm sure that it's been hard for Betty to continue to live in the same house with Don who continues to deny Betty's feelings. But, seeing Betty sitting in the lawyer's office on the sofa with Henry, reminded me of Betty sitting on the sofa with Glen last season. Then, when Don confronts Betty about Henry, they seem to be having their first real fight.
Anyway, I wonder if Betty/Henry are the 'lasting love' mentioned in the Roy Orbison song at the end.
-- lkd711
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I think season 4 will include a serious health issue for Don-perhaps lung cancer. Note the cough at the beginning of the last episode. Also the brief scene when Sterling's dog food heiress old flame states that her first husband died of lung cancer, there is a brief cut to Don lighting up another. Thoughts while I write an order for Don to get a screening cat scan.
-- ldbmd
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