Mad Men C to Z S2E10: The Inheritance Transcript

Below, find a written transcript of our Season 2, Episode 10 Mad Men C to Z podcast for The Inheritance.
You can listen to the episode here.
Also, please visit the full episode page with Sterling Lines, Double Dip questions, show notes, time stamps, and more.

[00:00] Intro Music
[00:07] Jenna: Hi, I'm Jenna.
[00:08] Steve: And I'm Steve. Welcome to All Things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou.

[00:13] Jenna: We started this podcast to connect to fans like us who pick up something new each time you watch the show. We break down each episode of Mad Men, from the pivotal moments to our favorite lines.
[00:23] Steve: Be advised, our discussions may include spoilers so we can talk about character arcs all the way through the final season. We won't be gratuitous with the spoilers, but they can pop up from time to time. Let's get started with Mad Men, C to Z!
 
[00:38] Jenna: Welcome to season two, episode 10, the Inheritance. This episode was written by Lisa Albert, Marti Noxon, and Matthew Weiner, directed by Andrew Bernstein.
 
[00:48] Steve: The episode opens with Pete in the office going through a listing of accounts.
[00:53] Jenna: Pete and Paul are preparing to attend Rocket Fair, the aerospace industry convention in Southern California. Don and Peggy are in the office prepping them, and they both seem really excited about the opportunity. But neither of them have read Peggy's prepared briefs.
 
[01:07] Steve: Yeah, I think that's the one point I get out of this one is again, we see the professional competence of Peggy. She's prepared all this useful stuff. And frat boys, Paul and Pete are basically just focused on this junket out to golden California, which at the beginning of the 1960s really was giving off a golden sheen.

 
[01:26] Jenna: Paul uses the word “behooves,” and Don interrupts and says, Campbell, you do the talking. Kinsey, you do the listening, which is pretty on brand.
Although, I guess we could say Pete is stepping up in Don's mind if he trusts him to do the talking. And I don't really get why the writer is going on this trip at all.
Shouldn't it be two account guys like Pete and Ken?
 
[01:46] Steve: Yeah, I would think the same thing. So it's not really clear to me, but we'll see how important it is later in the episode.
 
[01:54] Jenna: In our next scene, we see Trudy. She's got this kind of epic babydoll green nightie. And the way Pete talks to Trudy in this scene is so different from anyone else. And not because he loves her, but because he's so condescending to her. And usually he's trying to suck up to everybody else. So she wants to come to California with him on his trip. He says it will make him look less serious.
And he says, next time. And it's like she's his daughter who wants to stop for ice cream. I really hated it.
 
[02:21] Steve: I think Pete really likes the control aspect. That's his self image of he's large and in charge of his relationship. He has grandiose ideas of his role in the office. What came across to me in this scene was just Trudy is so compelling in her desperation for wanting a baby and now apparently looking at adoption as a possible means of getting one (a baby).

[02:44] And just that yearning that she conveys in the scene. It's so emotionally compelling. And again, it's just one of those little touches with a secondary character in the series. But it does such a good job of conveying that want, that hunger in such a compelling human way.
 
[03:01] Jenna: I agree, and I have sympathy for Trudy. But then she also says things about adoption like, we are ideal candidates. We have means. And she's just so entitled about how, of course, people should pick us because we're so great. And that comes off the wrong way.
 
[03:19] I think that Pete has some discomfort with the idea of adoption. He says it's. Well, he says it's not natural, which is a pretty offensive thing to say. And I believe him that he has discomfort with adoption, but I also suspect his discomfort is more with his lack of readiness to be a parent at all.
And of course, we can't forget he is the biological father of a child who was adopted, even while he's arguing so vociferously against this.
 
[03:44] Steve: But in Pete's defense, he's not aware that he is the father of a child.
[03:49] Jenna: That's true.
 
[03:50] Steve: I agree with you. I think for Pete, you see this difference between the two of them. She desperately wants a child, and he has never really been that enthusiastic about going down this path, whether it was his own biological child or now through adoption. So it's not clear to me that he necessarily has anything against adoption per se.
I agree with you. I think we're just looking at Pete saying, hey, I'm not in any rush to be a parent.
 
[04:16] Jenna: Trudy brings all her arguments to bear. She continues to press on Pete, and she adds at the end of the scene, “we're not related by blood and you love me.” And that should be a logical argument, but it feels like Pete's love is such an ephemeral thing. I don't know if either one of them can really count on that.
 
[04:35] Steve: Yeah, agreed.
The next scene cuts to Don dozing in his hotel room since he's no longer living at the Draper residence. And the phone rings, waking him up. It's Betty, and her father's had a stroke.
 
Jenna: Don is ready to jump into action and pick her up and go there, but she puts him off until tomorrow morning. She's obviously very worried, and she says she's been dreaming about a suitcase. And that symbol pops up a fair amount in a chain of episodes here.
Don uses his signature line in this conversation. He says, everything's gonna be okay. And Betty isn't nodding and smiling this time. “Sure, everything's perfect,” she says.

And I was a little bit surprised that Don was so ready to step in and help her since they're estranged. And it didn't even seem to be, like, a question in his mind that he would do it.

[05:24] Steve: Yeah, I think that's a good observation. And as I think about it, you know, I think he wants to get back together. Like, he's viewing this interruption in their marriage as something that they can overcome and move through.
And I wonder if, on the one hand, he views it as an opportunity to demonstrate his worth, his utility, and his commitment to her in the relationship.

It's an interesting scene because what's Don doing when the phone rings? He's dozing in his hotel room. So obviously his life isn't all full of adventure and fun at this point.
And in this moment of need, who does Betty call? You know, her separated husband? You know, she's got no one else to call. So it is kind of a sad indicator of where they are currently that they end up talking to each other on the phone in this moment of family crisis for Betty.
 
[06:14] Jenna: The next scene cuts to Betty's childhood home. The door opens, and Betty's father's girlfriend, Gloria, is hosting.
Don says they'll get a room at a nearby hotel, but Gloria insists that they stay there.
We get to meet Betty's brother, William Hofstadt, played by Eric Ladin, whom you might recognize from The Killing, Bosch, or the TV series the Right Stuff. And he's quick to notice and comment on Don's new car.

I really appreciate this family dynamic because it doesn't take a lot of lines,
but there are all these little things that create history between these characters that poke and bubble up to the surface.
So when Gene, Betty's father, enters, both Gene and Betty light up. They're truly happy to see each other.
But we see William talking about Don's car, Coupe de Ville, ice blue, white top. You can see he's envious. So you kind of get a sense that Betty and William have some friction.
 
[07:06] Steve: Yeah, there's a bit of friction bouncing around the scene because we also know that Betty has friction with Gloria.
And in this scene, I think the writing is very on point with the way Gloria's trying to portray this happy household, and Gene's not in a bad place and she's happy to be the good hostess and the rest of it, but we know there's these other issues bubbling around there.

And even Gene initially seems to be in pretty good shape. Right. We don't really know what to expect. And then he walks in and he's happy to see Betty, and things seem to be going pretty well until he confuses Betty for his dead wife and Betty's dead mother, Ruthie.
 
[07:46] Jenna: And it's uncomfortable for everyone, and everybody collectively decides they're going to gloss over it and move forward.
I like the details about how Gloria and Betty have this passive aggressive fighting over how the house runs too, because Betty turns on a light and Gloria turns it off. And later William opens a window and complains about how stuffy it is. And Gloria comes in and closes it so you can see Betty wants to come home again and recreate it the way she remembers it.

And she resents the changes that Gloria's made to the decor. And it makes sense that Gloria, who lives here now, I mean, she wants things her way.
[08:18] And then we also have the friction of Don and Betty, who are hiding the fact that they're separated. So there are so many undercurrents. And Gloria goes, so, Don, did you take the turnpike?
Yes, he answers. I don't know why people have to talk about their trip route so much, but this seems very real.
 
[08:34] Steve: Yeah. One of the things I love about the show is all these sort of banal details, but they just feel so true and so real. I can think of parallels in my own life with my own family.

I end up finding myself loving scenes like this far more than I really should. Because what's happened here, you know, in this scene, it's nothing all that significant. And if I was telling somebody who hasn't seen the series, they'd say, okay, you're boring me to tears. Who cares about this scene? Yet it is so much part of the backbone of what makes Mad Men special.
 
[09:04] Jenna: Yes, great point.
I also just wanted to bring up quickly this tiny little moment where Betty says,
Gloria, you know, I wish you had called sooner.
And she mentions that other partners at Don's office could recommend doctors. And William has this bristly moment and he goes, in New York, right, where everything's better?

So there are all these points of contention, and that's so true among families. No matter what you say, somebody can read it in a way, whether that was intended or not. And it always brings up these old pain points.
So I appreciate that Mad Men brings these fully formed characters to every scene, even though this is the first time we've ever met Betty's brother.
 
[09:44] Steve: Speaking of awkward, tense scenes, the next scene takes us back to the office where Paul is welcoming Sheila. They're going to go out to lunch.
And he introduces Ken and Pete again.
Pete, of course, spills that Paul is off on this California trip. And then we learn that he was supposed to go on a freedom ride trip down south with Sheila.
And this causes some friction between the two of them.
 
[10:08] Jenna: It's not a great look for Allison, the secretary, who escorts Sheila into the office. She gives Paul some serious side eye as Sheila and Paul kiss hello. And I noticed that Ken kisses Sheila's cheek just like he kissed Sal's wife Kitty when he went over there for dinner.

Paul pulls some of that same condescension in his discussion with Sheila that Pete pulled with Trudy.
And she asks, what is so important that you have to go on this trip? And he answers, it's a convention. I'm not allowed to talk about it.
Which is such an excuse.
So, I mean, Paul is really sliding into serious Pete territory here.
 
[10:46] Steve: Yeah, and it really, Sheila, with that question, is kind of, I think, spoken to your comment when we kicked off the podcast today. Why does Paul have to go? And even he doesn't have a reason. This is a nice junket for him, but there's no practical urgency or necessity for him to go.

[11:03] As the scene goes forward and they get in the elevator, Hollis greets Mr. Kinsey and Paul says, call him Paul. And it's a great touch because we realize he's here with Sheila and trying to show off how, you know, he's very egalitarian and treats everybody with respect and everybody can use his first name and the rest.
So I thought that was a nice touch.
 
[11:22] Jenna: Yes. Paul clearly wants points with both Hollis and Sheila as he introduces them. And Sheila's very polite to Hollis, but she's still upset. And their argument continues in the elevator, which of course brings Paul down because now Hollis is a witness to this conflict they have.
And she asks, did you ever really plan on going down south? And he feels offended.
And he says this really wounding thing to her. He says, you can always get another job at a grocery store. I can't just walk into an ad agency.
 
[11:51] And that felt a little bit like the Betty William conflict to me. Like, oh, this, New York, Manhattan mentality that you're so special.
And we get our first truth call out in this episode as well, because Sheila says to Paul, and this is a huge dose of reality, because we have every reason to believe this is true: All you do is complain about that place and those people.
 
[12:13] And Paul denies it. He says that's not true. He has this line where he says,
can't it wait? And there's a sense he's talking about her trip and her plans,
but maybe also about the larger civil rights movement.
So his individual petty contests are always so big in his mind. He doesn't want to give up the opportunity to gain favor, even for a better cause.
 
[12:35] Steve: Yeah. And we also get a vibe from him in this scene . . . He's nervous about the potential to go down South. You know, there is violence, and people who are seen as outsiders coming down there are not exactly welcome from the forces that are trying to retain Jim Crow in segregation.
So I think, reasonably, Paul has some fear and he's trying to conceal it, but you can see it bubbling up. He's nervous about the prospects of going down there.
 
[13:02] Jenna: Yes, there were campaigns for voter registration, I think, specifically in Mississippi at this time. And there were people who were shot, if you are interested in looking into the history of it. It's certainly a violent time.
And he's right, I think, to feel nervous about going.

But also, he's aware of this issue. And, I mean, I don't know if you can really give him credit because he's so reluctant. But I think there are other people. I mean, Betty probably isn't aware of this at all.
So it's interesting to look at the Sterling Cooper crowd and say, well, at least Paul knows that he should want to make a difference, I guess?
 
[13:37] Steve: Yeah. And I guess maybe to try and be generous here.
There's no courage without fear. So to feel the fear and overcome it, I think is something that we can lose sight of in looking at the fear and nervousness and hesitation beforehand. And to me, the proof is in, okay, what does someone ultimately do, having rational reasons perhaps not to do it?
You know, where do they end up landing? And I guess we'll, you know, we'll see where Paul lands.

[14:05] Jenna: In the next scene, we get another sibling relationship.
And I really love the casting of Pete's brother Bud. I think we talked about it before, but they have this great chemistry. They talk in short sentences like they've grown up together and they understand each other.
But this is such a harsh discussion. They're talking about their family finances, specifically their mother’s after their father's death. And Bud has been going through them.

And Pete asks, how long can she afford to live? And Bud jokes, golly, Pete, maybe we can get rid of her tonight.
And then they reference Hitchcock's 1948 movie Rope, which is based on a play by Patrick Hamilton. And it's about two people who want to commit the perfect murder. And then they host a dinner party. So that's pretty disturbing.
 
[14:50] And then in seven short phrases, they have this huge conversation I don't think that they've ever had before where Pete says, does Judy want kids?
We have a five year plan. Trudy?
We've tried.
Well, that must be disappointing.
Adoption.
People do that.
They do.
I mean, this is a huge conversation and it's in as few words as possible. It's genius writing between these two people.
 
[15:17] Steve: I was trying to think why I share your love of the scenes with Pete and Bud. And I was thinking, okay, why is that so much?
And I think one of the elements that I enjoy about it is I feel we're seeing the real Pete in these scenes. He's not putting on airs for Bud, so he speaks his truth, you know, as ugly and callow and whatever it might be.
 
[15:38] But he speaks his truth in a way that's refreshing because I'm thinking of most other interactions. I feel I'm getting a different version of Pete, who's posturing for whatever reason. So it just feels like such a breath of fresh air with Bud.
And I love them when they toast, you know, to the end of the line. You know, again, kind of a smarmy remark about the fact that maybe they won't have kids to carry on the line.
And we can detect this tension that there is within the family. So, you know, how great and awesome has the family line been to this point? But it is a delicious little scene that, that I love far more than probably I should.
 
[16:14] Jenna: Back at the Hofstadt home, Don,William's wife Judy, played by Megan Henning, and Gene are doing a puzzle. And it's so awkward because, you know, Don would never want to do a puzzle. But there he is doing the family obligatory thing.
And Gene is complaining that Don isn't pulling his puzzle weight. And you can just see every fiber of his being hates being there.
 
[16:36] Steve: Yeah, and the interesting thing about this whole interaction, you know, from the phone call from Betty, you know, we've criticized Don a lot to this point about how he doesn't show up or fails to do the right thing or disappears from the birthday party with the cake that he was supposed to pick up.
And this seems to be the contrast because to this point, he's really ticking all the boxes. He's the dutiful husband. He's supportive of his wife. He's doing the puzzle with his father in law, who's not very fond of him.
None of this is Don Draper's ideal trip, but he's stepping up here, jumping through the hoops, as he's expected to do. He's trying to be the dutiful husband here. And it is kind of a contrast for Don Draper.
 
[17:17] Jenna: And remember when Pete's father died and he came into Don's office and he said, go home - that's what people do. And Pete says, is that what you would do? And he says, yes. And we don't have any sense that that's the case. But here, as you say, he really is.
 
[17:30] So I don't know if it's just a role he slips into because it's convenient, because that's what you're supposed to do, or if he really does have some sort of ulterior motive in terms of pleasing Betty, which, again, would be new.
So it is kind of curious to see him behaving this way.
 
[17:47] Betty is examining a large portrait of her mother in the study.
And this is maybe a nod to her mother's quote about, you're painting a masterpiece, be sure to hide the brush strokes.
And here Betty is in her childhood home pretending that everything's fine with her marriage. So she's hiding some brushstrokes there, and William comes in from the treehouse through the large window. Weiner says this is supposed to be like George Sanders’ entrance in Hitchcock's movie Rebecca.
 
[18:12] Steve: Yeah, and clearly Betty is struggling with how things have changed in her childhood home. You know, her mother's dead. Being here in the home drives that point home.

Her father's health is failing. That causes a pain, and things aren't the way they used to be. You've got Gloria as the hostess replacing her mother. And that's abrasive to Betty. So every scene with Betty, we just seem to feel that, yeah, she's worried about her father's health, but the vibe I get is really she's struggling more with the fact that life has gone on and her childhood home is not that place now. That place is in the past, and she's realizing you can't get back to it even if you wanted to. And the stuff and the people and the rest, they can't get you back there. The past is a foreign country, and she's blocked from it.
 
[19:01] Jenna: Yes. And we can chide her for that, I think. But also, you know, she wants to come home and feel safe, especially since her marriage is so shaky and instead her mother's gone and her father's in ill health and her childhood home isn't the way she left it.

And we can say, you know, that's not the most mature take because of course, other people's lives need to move on as well.
But I do think it's a real thing. And I think we know a lot of people who might have that same attitude and approach and have felt those sorts of things prickle, even if they don't throw tantrums about them, say.
 
And as she and William start talking, he's putting some pressure too, because they need to make decisions. So just as is kind of a frame with Bud and Pete talking about for their mother, now William and Betty have to talk about their father.
 
[19:48] And he says, Gloria is helping us. And what he means is with their father's healthcare. So he isn't quite at the level of Pete and Bud's callousness. But he says,
I don't want to get stuck with him, because he cared enough not to move away.
And he says, you only have two kids and Don could afford to build him a new house in the backyard.
 
[20:09] So it feels like William is pushing Betty to step up and look after her father.
And Betty is in such so much denial.
It's not that she doesn't want to care for him. She wants to believe he can be independent and this house can stay the same way it was when she grew up in it.
 
[20:24] Steve: Yeah, Betty's looking backwards.
William seems much more practical. And I like that contrast between the two siblings because, you know, you would see those, those kind of differences. And William seems to be focused on that forward looking of, like you say, we've got to make decisions.
Where is he going to live? Who will care for him? He sees Gloria as something that's a positive contributor here and taking load that would fall on his shoulders, if not Betty's as well.
 
[20:49] And that's a fundamental contrast to where Betty's focus is in the short term. It seems almost like she's still in shock or struggling to get her head around what has occurred here and what this is going to mean going forward.
As we get to the end part of the scene, the puzzle work goes off the rails.

Gene starts to riff on Don saying, look, nobody has what you have. You act like it's nothing. My daughter's a princess.
And Then he gestures to William's wife and says, you know, he has no people. You can't trust a person like that. It's really harsh.
Don sort of sits there glaring and doesn't rise to the bait, but pretty tense for a puzzle session.
 
[21:29] Jenna: And to her credit, Betty walks up at the end of this, and she doesn't hesitate before shutting her father down about this.
Even though he's talking about Don not being trustworthy. She doesn't glance over. She doesn't take a beat. She just says, Daddy.
And the rest of them leave to go eat, and Don says she should get some food. And she shuts him down. Stop it, Don. Nobody's watching.
 
[21:50] All they ever did was for other people. It's so different to see her stop pretending with him.
I've seen this take where the “nobody has what you have. You act like it's nothing,”
could be the philosophy for all of Don Draper, but I think that's a little bit unjust to him because there are so many other characters who act selfish at different points, too.
And this idea that you can see Gene saying, my daughter's a princess, and Don doesn't treat her that way. And I think Betty is resentful of Don that he doesn't treat her as if she's a princess.

[22:22] And that is that thing that Weiner is always trying to say about Betty still being a child. I think there's this thing - she wants to be cherished and nurtured.
And Don is emotionally unavailable.
So it isn't that he doesn't want to appreciate her or even logically that he doesn't recognize what he found in his partner, but he's just so shut off that it's difficult for him to express anything. As time goes on, I don't know if those are real feelings between them anyway.
 
[22:51] Steve: Well, and the further irony is we actually see Don in a moment of non selfishness, right? Like this whole trip doing the puzzle that this is Don Draper at his least selfish.
And he still gets a strip torn off by Gene. So there is a almost you can't win Don Draper vibe to this episode for sure.
 
[23:10] Jenna: I mean, there's nothing he can say back to him. Normally he would,
but I mean, the guy has just had multiple strokes. It's not like now is the time to take him down.
 
[23:19] Steve: The next scene cuts to Pete and his brother with their mother going through the paperwork where they're basically liquidating all the assets in order to have the funds to pay for her upkeep.
The inheritance has been spent away. So it's not a very happy moment to the two brothers, who probably hoped that there would be something left for the when the music stops.
This rolls into more family tension about the relationships, the history, and then current plans.
 
[23:47] Jenna: Bud is clearly the favorite child, and his mother makes a comment about how he's doing all the work.
Then, as Pete comes in, she continues saying, I hope you don't get too used to this family.
She's heard he's considering adoption. Truth call out, she says, is this true?
Pete looks at Bud. The only place this could have come from.
And Bud shrugs and goes, it just came up. And Pete goes, how is that possible?
 
[24:11] Because, yes, but this is so how families are. There are secrets everywhere, and at the same time, everyone tells on everyone else.
So Pete's mother continues to say she'll exclude him from any inheritance and write him out of the family if he proceeds with adoption plans, which is maybe the best help Trudy could have ever asked for.
And then she has one of the coldest lines in the series.
 
[24:35] Steve: Yeah, she says, you're pulling from the discards in reference to adopting a baby. And the irony here is Pete isn't keen on adopting. This is Trudy's thing. And he's not listening to his mother, I don't think in defense of Trudy,
it's that his mother is trying to trample on things that are not her affair.
And this gets his back up. This is the culmination of a lifetime of similar intrusions and bullying and obnoxious behavior, and he's really fed up with it. It's hilarious because we know there is no inheritance to cut him out of.
 
[25:11] It quickly becomes apparent that Pete is going to lay that on the table.
 
[25:15] Jenna: Yes. Her line is so hateful. And you believe this woman who values her name and generational pull, she believes that she is superior by birth to most other people.
And she probably spent her life on charity committees, you know, that are ostensibly supposed to do good work. And this is how she treats her son.
So Pete's vengeance is to tell her, your husband spent everything you had spent it with strangers, all of it.
And he's not upset. He's calm and clear, and he doesn't seem sorry after he says it. And, you know, I don't blame him in this moment. I'm not looking at Pete going, oh, that was the wrong call. I kind of feel like that was called for.
 
[25:54] Steve: Yeah. And to the point about Bud being the favorite, she turns to Bud and says, you know, what is my fiduciary state?
She's not taking Pete's announcement at face value until Bud admits, yeah, you know, they've had to liquidate all the assets in order to cover her living costs.
 
[26:10] Jenna: And I think this take on adoption is so painful and harmful.
She's shown to be not the warmest human being on the planet, but just having voiced it this way is so ugly, and I feel like it really sticks with you in maybe the worst way. It's just such an evil line.
 
[26:30] Steve: I'm going to step out of Mad Men for a minute and just make a PSA from a personal standpoint.
I was adopted as a baby, and you hear a lot of stories about adoption where it doesn't go well or there's problems or anything can happen in any human life, in any family.
 
What I wanted to say, and I've expressed this in a number of other forums, just pushing back against this narrative that adoption is doomed or flawed at its heart or somehow can't succeed.
I won the lottery when I was adopted.
My adoptive parents are the most outstanding people I've ever met in my life. They saved my life, they've made my life. Everything I have today is thanks to them,
and it is a great, happy story. I'm so grateful and happy I was adopted by them. My life has turned out wonderfully.
 
[27:19] I would highly recommend anybody considering it to go ahead and consider it. And just know there are stories of success and happiness out there just as much as there are stories which are not that.
And there's no rule there. There's no fate or, you know, rigid path it has to follow.
And there are so many variables and things. So I just. For anybody who's contemplating it and wondering if it can succeed, you know, are there any success stories yet? Yes, there are, absolutely.
 
[27:49] I was even thinking, I love that line, you know, and like you point out, it's just the most cruel, nasty line you're pulling from the discards. But I was thinking, gosh, if I ever wrote an autobiography or something, I'd call it, like, you know, Life from the Discard Pile or something like that, just to kick at that nonsense. It's like, there are no discards. You know, there are people, and people are loved and cared for.
 
[28:08] Yeah, I'll get off my soapbox now. But needless to say, I'm. I'm not a fan of Pete's mom's attitudes about adoption.
 
[28:16] Jenna: I think you should start writing that memoir.
 
[28:20] Back at Betty's childhood home, she and Don are in the same bedroom, pretending they're not separated for the rest of Betty's family, and it's really awkward.
 
As they're undressing for bed, Betty wordlessly hands Don a blanket, and he grabs a pillow, and he sleeps on the floor while she takes the bed.
And then later, Don is sleeping, and Betty joins him on the floor, kissing him.
And both of these scenes are without words.
 
[28:43] Maybe the sex has been the best part of their marriage, or maybe Betty's been lonely, or maybe it's a power move here. I was definitely surprised.
 
[28:51] Steve: I agree that I do think there's a physical element to it, just a instinctual human need. I agree. I think they're both extremely lonely. So I think that informs this a lot, too.
I will say I don't perceive it as a power move or a manipulation in any sense of the word. I think this is a lonely person in the wee hours of the night, reaching out for human companionship. And in the cold light of day, can we say, gosh, is this the best idea? Or is this misleading, or is Don gonna misinterpret this?
I think all that's true, but I think I also really buy into just the compelling human need in that moment and defaulting to it in a way.
 
[29:34] And like you pointed out there, there are no words here, so it's. It's completely told visually.
And then as a viewer, I think it raises this question or hope of, is this the sign of a rapprochement that will happen here?
 
[29:48] Jenna: So the next morning, Don wakes up alone. Betty's already downstairs with her father and Gloria.
She's wearing a pink floral dress and a headband. And she's pretty, but it seems really out of place to me. It's too youthful. I'm pretty sure that's intentional. It looks like the part she's trying to act, the part of her younger self when she lived in this house and her parents were both healthy and she didn't have to decide what to do with her cheating husband.
But it does seem she’s turning her back on the I'm gonna drive my adulthood bus right now.
It's very much like, I just want to keep pretending and playing this part.
 
[30:24] Judy, William's wife, comes in lugging the jardinier, which looks incredibly heavy, actually. And I love this actress so much. She is so sincere. She apologizes and she says, I didn't know your mother promised it to you.

[30:37] And Betty tries to make her stop talking about it, but she's doing the kind thing here to bring it back so you can see she's not money grubbing. She's not trying to take something away.
So Betty can't blame Judy, which I think we've seen some kind of offhand comments about my brother and his wife are scheming or whatever. And sometimes I think, again, in families or siblings make these comments.
 
[31:00] But Judy, I mean, she sat there doing a puzzle with Gene, and when Gene said a rude thing about Don, she corrected him. And here she is bringing this thing back.
She doesn't want her husband's sister to be upset. So I just think this is such an important thing because there are all these good people walking through and trying to navigate these incredibly tense circumstances. And I think that we don't always see them.
But I love that Mad Men includes this moment.
 
[31:27] Steve: Yeah, but I like the realism of everybody's not a villain. We're this complex jumble.
And to your point, it's very clear Judy isn't trying to vacuum up everything of value to bring back to her place. And honestly, I've never heard of a jardiniere before.
And I speak French, so it makes me laugh that there's a name for this thing. And to see it brought out, I guess, you know, it's just a function of certain social economic strata, which, you know, has nice outdoor landscaping with jardinieres.
 
[31:57] Jenna: Well, there was a cute moment earlier when Betty mentioned it to William, and she said, and the jardiniere, where did that go? And William is like,
what's that?
And she goes, it's the vase. It's the urn. And he's like, oh, I think we have that.
It's a weird humor thing, but it works.
 
[32:14] Steve: And getting back to the scene, which I think you correctly call that, Betty is desperately trying to cling to this past, this age when things were how she remembered them and they were safe and comforting and loving.
What could be a more horrific way to put a giant crack down the middle of that than your father mistakes you for his wife and grabs your breast and suggests they go upstairs.
It's an awful moment in the scene, and you can just see the horror all over Betty's face. Don jumps up from his seat, and Gloria jumps in to try and wallpaper over this giant hole that appeared in the wall. But it's such a train wreck of a moment.
 
[32:54] Jenna: Worst breakfast ever.
Yes, Gloria and William are really uncomfortable, and Don is protective.
And I think it really underscores for Betty, finally, that she cannot sweep her father's health under the rug. This is a real problem, and it's serious.
 
[33:09] Upstairs we see Betty In a scene with Viola, who has worked as a maid in Betty's household since she was little.
And they have a real conversation about Gene's health. And Betty is tearing up, but she says she's relieved to hear somebody say the truth about it. Viola says he's very sick, and I went to the doctor's office with them, and they said it's just going to get worse.

[33:29] You can see they're very close and have been for a very long time.
But Betty doesn't tell Viola about her separation from Don, so she won't be fully real with her or her father or her brother.
It's a hard thing to see Betty and Pete struggling with parental health problems and hesitating to fully step into their adult selves.
But, again, I appreciate that this show, ostensibly about advertising and glamour, delves into these kinds of topics, too, because it's just rare on TV.
 
[34:00] Steve: Yeah. And Viola is an interesting character in this scene because she's not especially warm or comforting to Betty for the most part. She gets there in the later stages of the scene, but initially it feels like Betty wants to kind of call the shots and, you know, walk Viola through some responses that Betty wants to hear.
 
And it's clear Viola is not having any of it, and she holds her ground. And I think it brings Betty up short a little bit.
And then we see Betty relenting and sort of weakening and softening, and it becomes clear just how desperate she is for some comfort and reassurance here.
And it feels like Viola reads that and then makes an effort to provide some of that to Betty, but also sticks rigorously to reality here, or at least reality as she understands it, because, like you mentioned, she doesn't know what's going on in Betty's marriage.
She can only speak to the situation with her father and what the future looks like there for him.
 
[34:59] Jenna: And she has this line, it's all good outside that door. And Betty, of course, knows it isn't, and she won't tell Viola otherwise.
 
[35:09] Steve: Yeah, this is a device that we see a lot in the writing, that irony and that contrast between what the character has expressed and what we know to be true. It's such a great device for getting us as viewers to think about that contrast and that gap between the perception and the reality.
 
[35:27] Jenna: So Betty and Don arrive at the Ossining house, and Don starts to go upstairs to take a shower. And Betty says, I think you should leave.
And Don resists a little. She gives him a dig. She says, I know how you feel about grieving.
Last season, he said something about how mourning is just extended self pity when she was remembering her mother.
And then she twists the knife when she says, nothing's changed. We were just pretending.
 
[35:51] And he takes his suitcase, which I think is important, and goes.
And he told Roger he was relieved to be separated, but he does make some noises about staying. So it's not clear to me if he's conflicted, as Betty seems to be, or if he's just putting on a play of what he's supposed to say.
 
[36:07] Steve: I think he's conflicted. I honestly think he's conflicted. I think it's problematic for somebody whose view of life is, go forward, never look back. Okay, what do you do when something that you realize, even in hindsight, that you want to retain has been broken or fractured, when your whole spirit is, oh, I'm gonna go forward. And then now it's like, actually, I'd like to circle back and revisit this and fix it.
 
[36:33] The vibe I get is that Don Draper is very much interested in getting back to a place where they were.
I agree with you. You know, in this moment, Betty is quite determined. Betty's got ideas in her head about what she needs to hear from him or see from him in terms of behavior or commitment.
And if he doesn't tick those boxes, then the door stays locked.
That's contradictory to the earlier scene we talked about where they have the physical intimacy.
 
[37:02] But it seems here in the cold light of day, Betty is holding her ground and continues to hold it in a way that it almost strikes me as he's a little surprised that he really thinks, oh, you know, I am staying here.
I'm going to go up and have a shower.
And he's not asking when he says that. He's announcing it as if there'll be no issue with this. And then he gets called up short on it.
 
[37:25] Jenna: I appreciate what you said in a previous episode about Don wants to go back to the way things were and not acknowledge his mistakes.
And Betty needs him to acknowledge his mistakes and apologize for them in a particular way.
 
For her, it's just untenable that he's going to go upstairs and take a shower and never say, I'm sorry I hurt you, or, you mean something important to me. And all he wants is to just sweep it under the rug and never have to look at it or talk about it again.
That has been Betty's M.O. since we met her.
And so this is a huge change for her to say, no, I'm drawing this line in the sand.
And it does feel like it would be much easier for her to let him go upstairs and have a shower and pretend again just because that would be so easy and comfortable.
 
[38:10] And they know those habits.
But you have to admire her a little bit for saying, I need something more than this from you. This isn't enough for me.
 
[38:18] Steve: Yeah. And it's such a contrast to what we've seen out of Betty to this point in the episode where there is this nostalgia, this sentimentality, this desire to go back to an earlier time and place, yet suddenly snap back.
And here we are with Fierce Betty saying, you know, we're not going back and I'm the gatekeeper here. And I agree. I think there's things she wants or needs to see and hear out of him, and he's not providing them.
 
Just in terms of the acting. I really feel this episode highlights the sweet spot for Jon Hamm as an actor. In my opinion, I think he's at his best where there's relatively sparse dialogue for him and it's about that look conveying of emotion on the face.
And all these scenes where, you know, he's getting ripped by Gene doing the puzzle or the look on his face here at the door as Betty announces, you know, he won't be staying.
To me, this is where he's at his best as an actor.
 
[39:12] Jenna: So Don returns to a very quiet office. He notices the California brochure on a secretary's desk.
He makes his way to the conference room where the office is hosting a baby shower for Harry Crane, who's wearing this enormous baby bonnet. And the gifts are all client products like Lucky Strike.
 
[39:28] Harry makes a short speech and he seems happy about his baby to be. And it's kind of a nice palate cleanser that somebody's parent child relationship doesn't seem to be a raging failure here.
 
[39:39] Steve: I think given the circumstances of his marriage with Betty. The vibe we get is Don is looking to escape this. That like he. He needs a getaway.
 
[39:49] Jenna: There's a baby shower gift from Jane and Roger, which I think makes Joan particularly happy to step out of the room and talk to Don.
He tells her he's going to California and Roger has already prepped Pete, so now Paul will have to give up his spot.
 
[40:04] Steve: Yeah, it's going to be a brutal lesson of rank has its privilege for Paul here as Don muscles him out.
Of course, we've seen in the past Joan seems to take a special pleasure in being cruel to Paul. She does it here as cruelly as possible. You know, in the conference room in front of everybody,
Even as she's taking away his trip, we can see the grins and smirks on the face of his co workers like Ken and Sal. There's not much sympathy for him here at all.
 
[40:33] Jenna: It's not very likable, their reaction. And he's so indignant and so disappointed.
Yes, she definitely does it in the most cruel way possible. She literally centers herself in front of the entire office crew. They're all flocked around her as she asks for his badges and his tickets.
 
[40:49] I also wanted to point out a moment at the end of the baby shower. There is a great detail showing Hildy awkwardly congratulating Harry.
Remember, they got together during the election night party and it seems she still has some feelings for him. And I appreciate that the show takes this moment to include dialogue between them.
 
[41:05] I don't really get why Hildy is into Harry when she's so great at seeing through Pete, but I do appreciate because she says, I'm just so happy for you and you're going to be a great father and I'm just so happy for you.
She's had a little too much to drink and it feels so real because you can tell she's tried really hard to make this speech very appropriate and it can never be anything but awkward.

[41:27] Steve: Yeah. And again, we've spoken of this previously. Harry oozes that awkwardness and discomfort and it just goes so far to sell the scene to the viewer and feel this discomfort of Harry coming through the screen.
 
[41:42] Jenna: So Paul takes the remnants of his dignity and he tries to turn it around in a scene on the phone with Sheila. And he says, I'll go south with you.
We’ll make a stand arm in arm.
So maybe Don's last minute shove will be good for Paul's relationship.
 
[41:57] Steve: Yeah. And I think, you know, at this point, what can he do? He. He makes lemonade out of lemons. So now he's on the. The freedom trip. And I think, you know, as much as we're critical about Paul, we know the fear and nervousness.
We know there's real danger and peril down in the deep south.
And he's going to go on this trip. So tip of that cap to Paul here.
 
[42:19] Jenna: Later, the office is clearing out and Peggy's on her way out when Pete calls her over.
Peggy admits she wishes she was going on the trip and she's never been on a plane. And he points out that he's going on a plane for the first time since his father died in a plane crash.
 
And he seems to really want to be close to her, but her response to this feels like she's keeping him at arm's length. And it's a little bit funny. And again, it's a little bit of that. Peggy doesn't always quite know how to handle people.
She goes, statistically speaking, it's very unlikely that it would happen to two people in one family.
And that's a truth call out. Pete goes, oh, yeah, that's true.
 
And then he says, I hate my mother. You must have an opinion about this. And she's like, I really don't know the circumstances, you know?
And then he continues, who's to say it wouldn't be better? Like, Bud and I turned out so great, and we can infer that's about adoption. But Peggy has no context for this. And she's like, I don't know what you're talking about, but I think your flight will be fine. You should go home.
 
[43:15] And then Pete, who has always had money and privilege, says to Peggy from Brooklyn, the only female copywriter in the office who just came back to work after having Pete's baby.
Pete says, everything's so easy for you.
 
[43:30] And there are a hundred or so retorts I want her to give him, and most of them end with a smack.
But she says, it's not easy for anyone. Pete, have a great trip.
 
[43:40] And I do not get why he keeps going back to her. I don't see what he expects from her.
At least, though you can see definitively she is not tempted by or distracted by him anymore. Which, good for you, Peggy.

[43:53] Steve: Getting to sort of desired responses from Peggy to Pete in that response to, you know, everything's so easy for you, you'd really. I'd kind of like her to just punch him in the groin as hard as she can.
 
[44:04] But in hearing the response and seeing it, I think what she does is such a great response. You know, it's not easy for anyone, Pete. And we know that, and everybody knows that.
And Pete privileged Pete, as much as anybody should know that. So it is an incredibly awesome response.
 
[44:22] I do think the question of, you know, what does Pete want out of Peggy in this moment?
In listening to the commentary of the writers, it seems like even they are a little in disagreement about this. Weiner suggests that, you know, Pete still wants to sleep with Peggy again and maintain some sort of relationship.
 
[44:39] Lisa Albert doesn't allude to what she thinks Pete wants, but says, you know, he wants something and he's not getting it out of her in this, this scene, I think I'm probably more in the Lisa camp.
 
I don't get the sense that there's any sort of sexual fishing or attraction going on in this particular interaction with Pete and Peggy. It feels to me like he's got his personal problems and he's looking to confide in somebody.
 
[45:02] He goes about it horribly because she has no clue what he's even talking about it and she doesn't know this backstory of the cold parent. This episode, I think, flies so under the radar in that there aren't the huge, big memorable scenes that you would call out if you were talking about high points of the show.
 
But this episode seems packed with these really rich little scenes that are so critical to everything that's awesome about this series and these characters and their. Their arc. I think this is an underrated episode.
 
[45:34] Jenna: I guess when you overshare your hunting fantasies with somebody, you just really burn the bridge for confiding in them in the future. Pete's already used up his ticket with Peggy on that front.
 
[45:44] I really am noticing also how Pete and Betty are very similar, raised in privilege, and both of them are maybe a little more childish or expecting that the world will treat them well no matter what, just because of where they've come from.
And I think that it's easier to compare maybe Don to Pete.
But I do feel like Pete and Betty have a lot in common.
 
[46:07] Steve: Yeah. And, and I will also, just to wrap up this scene, say Peggy is very on brand here, right? Like she is continually having people confide to her or probe her for things and she puts up the wall of professionalism and dignity and doesn't give them anything.
And I think same in this scene. Peggy's not going to get sucked into the soap opera of Pete's life. He's not going to get sucked into his self pity.
[46:32] She draws a line at when he says, you know, that she has it easy, but. But she does it in the least revealing possible way and sort of puts a stop to it and exits the situation.
 
[46:42] Jenna: And good for her, but I kind of wish she'd looked at him and said, I don't like you like this.
 
[46:49] Steve: That would be good.
 
[46:52] Jenna: Next we see Betty at home alone. She's got wine and the dog is lying there on the carpet.
And the next morning she lets the dog out in the yard and discovers Glen, Neighbor Glen hiding in the playhouse that Don built for Sally's birthday.
 
[47:06] She brings him in the house, fixes him a snack, they have really awkward conversations and watch some TV together before Betty's kids come home, and Betty finally calls Helen.
 
[47:16] So we mentioned last season, this is a storyline that's not our favorite. I really think it does a disservice to Betty.
It is a weird thing to really love a show for its writing and then to disagree with the writers of that show, as if you know better.
 
[47:31] And at the same time, you cannot convince me Glen is necessary to Betty's story.
I think Glen illuminated Betty's sadness with a mitten in season one much better than Arthur did in the stables (in season 2).
But he has nothing interesting to say.
 
[47:46] He just complains about his mother, and he mostly just smiles at her, and it feels really creepy.
There's a truth call out when he says, my mom doesn't care, and Betty says, I'm sure that's not true. And there's another one where Glen says his mother doesn't understand, and Betty says, oh, that's true.
 
[48:01] Everything about this is weird.
 
[48:04] Steve: Yeah, I mean,
[48:05] I'm with you. I feel this discomfort to deviate, you know, having listened to the writer's commentary, feeling I disagree with the writers when it's their creation, you know, so how. How dare you? What right do I have?
 
[48:17] In my head, I situate this as the biggest value of this whole interaction to me is it feels like Betty has a bit of a simplified escape sort of play date with Glen where the stakes are low. You eat a sandwich, you watch some tv, sip a soda, and it sets up the later conversation with Glen's mom, which I do think is really interesting and full of nuggets, you know, but that's. That's a later scene here.
 
[48:45] I do struggle with the Glen stuff. I'm not a fan of it.
[48:50] Jenna: I get that it's supposed to be about Betty recognizing her adulthood and taking on responsibilities.
 
[48:56] She's been putting up with Don's nonsense and had to deal with all those feelings alone, much as Peggy did with her pregnancy.
And we've seen multiple examples of Pete, Roger, and Dawn acting childish across all the episodes so far.
 
[49:09] But Betty has to spend the afternoon with the odd neighborhood kid and listen to him criticize her for preparing him a sandwich with meat in it.
 
[49:16] And I also get that it's supposed to be like Betty sees Glen as a kinder, gentler version of Don for Betty.
So one who appreciates her, one who does see her as a pretty princess, like her father said.
And it's supposed to be that neither of them are fully mature, so they pretend together. I mean, he was literally in the playhouse when she discovered him.
 
[49:39] And there are these echoes written in too? Like, Don wanted to run away with Rachel. She says, you know, well, I have money. And here Glen wants to run away with Betty saying, I have money.
 
[49:48] But Betty could bat her eyes at any of a hundred men.
I mean, subbing in the neighborhood, kid, especially on a show with all these deliciously detailed real moments.
 
This whole plot line doesn't feel true, and not just because it's uncomfortable.
And it is, it really is.
But Betty made a very adult decision to call Don out.
And this relationship with Glen, I think makes her look ridiculous.
And I think she cares about her appearance to a rather ridiculous degree. But otherwise, to this point in the show, she isn't a ridiculous human.
 
[50:18] I mean, she's been admired her whole life, so why should she care that Glen does?
 
[50:24] Steve: Maybe Glen is the contra Don gnome that appears in the playhouse that Don so begrudgingly built.
 
[50:32] Jenna: So this is just like his evil spirit?
[50:36] Steve: Yeah, like, like, like the evil gnome is coming to the playhouse now and contaminating the house. Yeah.
[50:42] Jenna: So I guess you just shouldn't build a playhouse and drink a whole lot of beer and not feel happy about your daughter's birthday.
[50:49] Steve: This is what attracts this sort of element into your backyard.
[50:52] Jenna: Clearly not okay.
 
[50:54] Steve: We cut from this scene to a scene on the freedom bus headed south with Paul and Sheila. And I have to say, this is another really quick little scene. But I just love it because the production design is perfect.
[51:07] It's really well cast in terms of the folks sitting on the bus. And here we see vain, selfish Paul pontificating about advertising within the civil rights movement on an actual freedom bus headed south.
 
[51:21] And I just love it for the sheer banality of. For all the danger and peril we've talked about and the epic importance of this movement to improving America and addressing injustice and wrongs.
We have the banality of a long bus ride with some guy yapping the whole time and just loved it.
 
[51:40] Jenna: Remember, Don had said about their trip to California that Campbell was supposed to do the talking, and here Kinsey is doing all, all the talking.
And I did notice that Sheila looked at least a little bit pleased with him instead of annoyed. And that surprised me a little bit.
 
[51:55] Steve: Yeah, I mean, he's. He's on the bus, he's walking the talk, as far as that goes.
[52:01] Jenna: Now, you know, it did not look like the rest of the bus was so . . .
[52:02] Steve: Yeah, I was going to say they're probably all wishing that noise cancelling headphones had been invented.
 
[52:08] Jenna: Betty does finally call Helen Bishop, who comes over to pick up Glen.
And he says, I hate you to Betty. It's. There's a truth call out here, too, because Helen says, apologize. And he goes, no, it's true. I hate you.
And she's very calm, and she says, I know.
 
[52:22] And then she turns and mothers her kids,
and she still has an estranged husband, an ill father, no career or fulfilling hobbies. None of those problems are resolved for her.
I'm not really sure why she spent the day with him.
 
[52:37] In the next scene, Helen Bishop comes over to talk to Betty without Glen, and she says, Betty has to stop seeing Glen, as if that's been what's happening. And Betty flips it on her and says, Glen feels alone.
 
[52:50] You're his mother. And he gets nothing.
And Helen doesn't fight it.
She says, Glen's right. I'm not a very good mother anymore.
And I think it's this honesty -- Helen admits something ugly and true-ish, at least,
even though they're not exactly friends.
 
[53:07] And then Betty says, Don isn't living here.
Helen is the first person she told. Not her family, not Francine, not Sarah Beth. And Helen, to her credit, fully absorbs the import of this.
 
[53:20] And we heard Don talk about it to Roger, but we haven't been sure about Betty. So when Helen asks, is it over? And Betty says, I don't even know, that's some clarification for us.
 
[53:33] Steve: Yeah, I really like this scene because it sets up as a confrontation when Helen comes over and you get the sense, okay, these women are gonna fight because Helen is not liking that Glen is over at Betty's house, and she's told her previously to stay clear.
 
They had that confrontation in the grocery store. There's a lot of tension.
And I love the way the scene rolls out where I think you're right. Helen's admission of the truth of Betty's accusation that her son feels alone and she's not been a great is a real icebreaker.
 
[54:06] And I totally agree with you. I think that creates the window in which Betty decides to share her own bombshell. And just the way the change comes over Helen in that instant, where we go from prim and proper, judgmental, perfect Betty Draper having some sort of untoward relationship with my child to through the Looking Glass.
 
[54:27] Betty Draper's marriage is in tatters. Your husband doesn't even live at home, et cetera, and you just feel the animosity drain out of her.
 
[54:37] And then you get two women who are facing challenges and struggling,
and they're having a very honest discussion between themselves. And as you pointed out this hasn't been Betty's habit in the past, this sort of honesty in there.
 
And of course, they're sitting there smoking as they have this discussion, and they're almost seated a little too close to each other, which I think further enhances that sense of intimacy and sharing that they're having. But a subtle scene, but I think it's so crucial and fundamental to what's happening emotionally for these characters.
 
[55:07] And then this big reveal and almost reconciliation as they share their truths with each other.
 
[55:14] Jenna: And a couple of notable things that Betty says here.
[55:17] She talks about how Don takes the children to dinner, and they don't know what made them so special all of a sudden, which I think is a real thing. He's always taken all of them for granted.
So that echoes back to what Gene said about him, that you have everything and you act like it's nothing.
 
[55:33] Betty also has this line where she says she might float away if Don isn't holding her down.
But I don't quite think it's Don for her. I think it's her whole expectation of adulthood and married life.
And I think she doesn't have a concrete picture of what her life could be, if it's anything different from that expectation.
 
[55:52] So she was always so curious about Helen Bishop in her life and what she does. And even when Glen is over, she says something about, oh, does your mom have a lot of boyfriends? So she's just really curious about any other world other than the one she's been raised to have.
[56:05] And here she is on the brink of maybe diverging from that path, but she doesn't know what she's going to, and that's so scary.
 
So Helen has this amazing line where she says the hardest part is realizing you're in charge, which has to be terrifying for Betty.
In some ways. It would be a lot easier to blame Don than to make all the decisions.
 
[56:28] Steve: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's the gift of Helen Bishop to Betty Draper: acknowledging you have agency. And we saw earlier in the episode where Betty was exercising her agency. But I think you highlight the question: is she aware of it and actively owning it and leveraging it?
 
[56:46] I don't get that sense. It's almost like she stumbles across it, or it's just when her emotions are so strong and she refuses to yield one more step that the agency pops up.
And I think what Helen is shining a light on is, that's true, and maybe that's where it starts for you. But you have more agency than that, and you don't have to be sort of emotionally cornered in order to exercise it again.
 
[57:08] It just seems like a very magical moment between the two women where by exchanging their truths and discussing their situations, they're seeing that they're not alone, they're not the only one.
And they're also reinforcing each other in a sense of, I think, almost camaraderie in this world. That, you know, they've got some hard decisions and things to decide as they go forward.
 
They're capable of looking after it. They're not unarmed in this world.
 
[57:35] Jenna: The next scene is Pete and Don leaving for California on the plane.
Pete's got his sleeping mask on.
He's distinguished from the other passengers who are smoking, including Don.
 
[57:47] And we get the closing song, 1962's Telstar by the Tornadoes.
 
[57:52] Steve: It's such a great song choice because I think Weiner on the commentary says, you know, it's almost got a futuristic sound to it. And it really does. It's an oddball song that doesn't really fit the era per se, but you immediately recognize it as being part of the era.
 
[58:07] And I think, you know, Don doesn't have a sleeping mask on, so he's, he's seeking his escape. He's going west to leave some of his troubles behind him.
I think that's the perfect look for someone who is always moving forward. They're not blind to it. They're actively looking down the road and seeking what might be there.
 
[58:25] Jenna: We'd like to thank Shelley U in Florida for listening to and supporting our show. We appreciate your positive feedback!
 
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[58:44] Steve: That's it for this episode of all things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou. Visit our website Mad Men C to Z dot com to vote for your favorite Sterling lines and to share your opinions on our Double Dip questions for each episode.

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[59:05] Steve: Thanks for listening, everybody.