Mad Men S3 Episode 2: Love Among the Ruins

 
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Podcast Show Summary: Mad Men Season 3, Episode 2: Love Among the Ruins

Betty and William discuss their father's health and his future, while Roger's daughter plans a wedding. The firm hopes to represent Madison Square Garden, and Peggy is disenchanted with the Bye Bye Birdie ad idea for a diet soda. Change the conversation and rewatch with us!

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Double Dip Question / Point to Ponder
Listeners, share your insights about our "Double Dip" question for each episode of Mad Men. With your permission, we'll share listener insights on a future podcast episode.


    S3 E2 Double Dip Question

Steve's Star of
S3-E2:
Judy Hofstadt
Judy between Betty and William
Betty is a better cook - you always say that
Sterling Script Lines - S3: Episode 2
1) Peggy, about the Patio ad: Let's assume we can't talk them out of the name, and let's also assume we can get a girl to match Ann Margret's ability to be 25 and act 14.

2) Peggy, about the Patio ad: Clients don't always know what's best.
Ken: When we land them, you can start talking to them like that.

3) Paul, about replacing Penn Station with Madison Square Garden: Do you know where the greatest Roman ruins are? They're in Greece. Spain. Because the Romans tore them all down. They tore apart the Colosseum to build their outhouses.

4) The Madison Square Garden rep, in response to Paul: I've got a mailbox full of death threats from beatniks like him who'd rather live in a teepee. This is the greatest city in the world. If you don't like it, leave.

5) Paul, to Pete: It's Penn Station. This city has no memory. Out with the old, in with the new - who says that's a good idea?

6) Lane, to Don and Roger after losing Campbell's Soup: Well, if this is where we wanted to end up, we all did everything perfectly.

7) Betty, to Rebecca Pryce: Do you miss London?
Rebecca: God, yes. But what we lost in London, we gained in insects.

8) Margaret, to Roger about Jane: I didn't want to go to her wedding, but I did. The least she could do is not come to mine.

9) Brooks: How are you, sir?
Roger: Not great, Brooks. Not great.

10) Don, to the Madison Square Garden rep: If you don't like what is being said, change the conversation.

11) Don, about Patio: This is, "Look how happy I am that I drink Patio. I'm young and excited and desperate for a man.'"
Peggy: I don't mind fantasies, but shouldn't it be a female one?

12) William: Look, Don, we're all upset. One thing I've learned from this - don't get old.

13) William, to Judy: You know, Don had nobody at their wedding. Nobody at all.

14) Roger: What would your father have to do for you to not want him at your wedding?
Peggy: My father passed away.
Roger: There you go. You'd do anything.

15) Peggy, leaving the apartment: This was fun.

    Which is your favorite line?

Podcast Time Stamps - Mad Men S3:E2  Love Among the Ruins

 View the full transcript for this episode 

00:00  Introduction
00:34  Bye Bye Birdie: Let's assume we can get a girl to match Ann Margret's ability to be 25 and act 14
04:14  Antique stores might have a weird smell, but Don is backing Betty on this shopping trip
05:08  Penn Station: I don't think it's crazy to be attached to a Beaux-Arts masterpiece
08:21  I don't want to walk down here every time we lose a client. This is an advertising agency.
I'll wear out the carpet.
10:38  Oh, look - Princess Grace swallowed a basketball.
12:26  A dinner no one wants to attend: Like the Bordeaux grape, may we all grow better with time
13:34  Yes, I can blame her. She comes into his life, he suddenly takes ill, and she abandons him!
15:49  Seeing her on my wedding day's going to ruin it. She's young enough to be my sister.
18:08  What does he want? A Cyrano de Bergerac to make New York fall in love with him.
19:37  I even got Gloria a chicken parmesan. Well, great - we'll mail it to her. She's in Boca Raton. She's not coming back!
21:01  It's so crowded in here, I feel like I'm on the subway. [Fawning laughter]
22:28  All of a sudden I could give two craps about that wedding. All I want to do is win.
25:17  Let's say change is neither good nor bad - it simply is. It can be greeted with terror or joy. A tantrum that says "I want it the way it was," or a dance that says "Look - something new."
28:17  Those homes are for people who don't have families, William.
31:37  You're an army man, Gene. Drop your socks and grab something.
36:07  Bye Bye Birdie, Peggy style
38:50  You told me to go out and get this account. I did. I did my job, and now you're telling me it's all for nothing because you forgot to check with your boss first.
40:04  Peggy, you understand how this works. Men want her, women want to be her.
43:46  You're the only one around here who doesn't have that stupid look on her face. 
44:37  Where's your drink?
45:56  You want him? You got him.
49:48  I work at an ad agency in Manhattan. And I work for a real jerk.
52:03  The heat is on. We've got to get rid of the stuff.
53:10  This was fun.
55:17  We dance around the pole in a timeless celebration of the renewal of springtime.
56:51  Want to talk about Pampers?
57:44  Episode wrap-up and listener shout-out


View the full transcript for this episode 
Brands & Companies in this episode of Mad Men - Love Among the Ruins:
Campbell's Soup
Madison Square Garden 
Pampers
Patio (soda)

Things We Should Have Said

  • Betty was mad at Gloria for being with her father, and then mad at her for leaving him
  • We didn't talk about how the episode title, Love Among the Ruins, connects to the demolition of Penn Station, the decay of Gene's health, the general decay of New York City, and the loss of control and agency many of the characters experience, even as they seek love (Don re-comitting to Betty, Peggy in a bar, Margaret's wedding, Roger's insistence that Jane makes him happy).
  • William and Judy's kids are described as wild nightmares, but they are depicted as quietly watching TV twice and briefly noisy twice - it's unclear if that's an intentional exaggeration by Don and Gene, or if more wildness was cut for time
  • When Peggy says, "Clients don't always know what's best," we didn't mention Ken's great reply: "When we land them, you can start talking to them like that." Ken, as a new head of accounts, is more and more confident, but so is Peggy, since she contradicts the guy in that position.
  • We haven't seen Pete and Peggy in a room or meeting together since the Season 2 finale.
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