Time References in Every Scene of Mad Men S3E5: The Fog

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This post is an in-depth look at all of the time references in Mad Men's The Fog, scene by scene.

Scene 1: Betty and Don are called into school to talk with Miss Farrell about Sally's behavior

• Betty says, "My father passed away a week ago - two weeks now."
  
• Miss Farrell tells Don, "There is a very special pain to losing somebody at that age. I don't know if you can understand that."
  
• Miss Farrell tells Betty and Don, "It's going to be a beautiful summer."
  

Scene 2: Lane is holding a meeting about wasteful spending at Sterling Cooper
Don arrives at the meeting late, and leaves early

Scene 3: Pete is complaining to Paul and Ken stops by

• Ken shows off his Mets tickets and the new gold watch the clients gave him.
  
• Ken says, "What time is it? What time isn't it."
  

Scene 4: Lane and Don talk about wasteful spending

• Lane brings Don the minutes of the meeting after Don walked out
  
• Lane says creatives waste paper "because they use it to sop up spilled drinks right after their afternoon naps."
  
• Don sighs and says "I don't want to talk to you this way. I've tried it before, and it never works."
  

Scene 5: Duck calls Pete, wanting to meet
Duck says, "Campbell, I won't waste your time."

Scene 6: Miss Farrell calls the Draper house
Miss Farrell calls to apologize about that morning's meeting, saying "my father died when I was eight, and I may have overdone it, relating to Sally in that way."

Scene 7: Betty's having a baby
Betty tells Don, "Time to go"

Scene 8: Betty checking into the hospital
The nurse asks, "When's the last time you ate?"
Betty asks, "When will Dr. Aldridge be here?"

Scene 9: Don and Dennis are in the waiting room, and a nurse enters
Dennis says, "I haven't seen anybody in an hour!"
The nurse promises, "We'll update you religiously."

Scene 10: Don and Dennis in the waiting room

• Don tells Dennis he'll have a drink, and Dennis asks, "Right now?"

"Whenever you want," Don replies.

• They talk about babies being born, and Don says, "My daughter took forever."

Scene 11: The nurse preps Betty for delivery
The nurse tells her she'll give her a quick enema

Scene 12: Don and Dennis waiting 
Don's watch has stopped
Dennis says he'd like to have a gold watch, but he can't have anything on him like that.

Scene 13: The nurse injects drugs and Betty experiences a dreamlike state
The nurse seems to tell Betty "We're on Chapter 12."

Scene 14: Don and Dennis in the waiting room
Don: Our worst fears lie in anticipation.

Scene 15: Betty in delivery
Betty asks, "Where's Don?"
The nurse answers, "He's in the waiting room."

Scene 16: Dennis has a baby boy
Dennis says this is a fresh start. He's gonna be a better man (now).
He exits the waiting room, but Don is still there.

Scene 17: Betty's dream takes her to her kitchen
Betty's parents and Medgar Evers are there. It's a hallucination, not a flashback, but Betty's mother passed away before she knew about Medgar Evers and his death, so the scene is mixing time and place.

Scene 18: Betty, Don, and the Baby
Betty says, "His name is Eugene."
Don says, "We don't have to decide that right now."

Scene 19: Don returns to the office

• Allison asks if Don got any sleep, and he answers, "No, and I don't expect to for the next six months."
  
• Roger calls saying the office work is stalled without Don, who protests, "I missed half a day."
  

Scene 20: Duck meets with Pete and Peggy

• Pete says, "Two months at Gray and you're already having a nosh?"
  
• Duck thinks Peggy and Pete worked together to oust Freddy and get her promoted, saying, "I've been doing this a long time."
  
• When Pete is reluctant, Duck says "Don't be a baby. You should be taking meetings like this twice a week."
  
• When Peggy is reluctant, Duck says, "This is your time."
  

Scene 21: Pete and Hollis talk about TVs in the elevator
This scene doesn't have an explicit reference to time, but the scene does bring the civil rights movement into focus, which of course is a critical inflection point in American history.

Scene 22: Sally and Don have a midnight snack.
Don says, "I thought you were gonna be a boy. Not all surprises are bad." And then he tells her, "Everything's gonna be fine."

Scene 23: Don and Dennis cross paths in the hallway
Neither speaks. Okay, this scene doesn't fit the pattern. But if we stretch it, they are out of the waiting room, each moving forward in opposite directions.

Scene 24: Pete presents his marketing strategy to Admiral
They're behind the times and reject his thinking.

Scene 25: Peggy goes to Don's office to ask for a raise
She sees all the baby gifts and muses, "I wonder if it's the best time."
She argues, "They passed a law saying women get equal pay," and Don replies, "It's not a good time."
She looks at the baby gifts and says, "Third time. It must be old hat."
He says, "You see what's been going on here the last six months."
She asks, "What if this is my time?"

Scene 26: Betty fills out paperwork to name her new baby after her father, who has just passed away

Scene 27: Bert, Roger, and Lane talk to Pete about his strategy for Admiral
Roger says, "Half the time, this business comes down to 'I don't like that guy.'"

Scene 28: Don and Betty bring the baby home
Just as it ever was, Betty smiles for the neighbors by day, and then wakes up in the middle of the night to care for the baby - it's a less glamorous life than she dreamed - the reverie dream music plays in the background.