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Follow us @MadMenCtoZ, and find more episode details at MadMenCtoZ dot com.

See more episode details at www.MadMenCtoZ.com, and follow us @MadMenCtoZ

00:00 Introduction of Mad Men S4E10, Hands and Knees

00:41 Joan to Roger: I'm late

03:04 Sally breaks all the eardrums in Ossining

07:02 Lane to his father: Have you brought Nigel?

10:25 North American Aviation, ticket anxiety, and personal favors

12:37 Lane: She's the finest waitress

19:22 Agent: Do you have any reason to believe Mr. Draper is not who he says he is?

24:00 Betty: I don't know if I should even be talking on the phone

26:48 Lane: You're in my life. I want him to know why I'm staying.

30:02 Roger: We came here for your discretion, not your judgment

32:44 Don: It's three lies in eight questions

38:51 Roger: I guess you could keep it. Lots of GIs came home to a little surprise. No one did the math.

42:58 Betty: I just wanted you to know they were here, because I don't want any secrets.

46:42 Pete: I've grown it from cocktails to four million dollars. Don: Get rid of it.

49:40 Don: I'm interested in setting up some sort of trust for my kids.

51:23 Woman: I had her when I was 15 and I don't regret it, but she seems so much younger.

55:34 Faye: You look sick

54:56 Lee Garner Jr: You know I like you, Roger. Hell, you a genuine character.

01:00:26 Faye: If there's no pain, you're not having a heart attack.

01:02:18 Robert: Put your home in order. Either there, or here. You will not live in between.

01:07:36 Trudy: Just remember, everything's good here.

01:10:09 Joan and baby theories

01:13:45 Roger and the Rolodex

01:15:40 Don: I shouldn't have told you, but I'm just so damned tired of it all.

01:18:12 Pete: And then I come here unannounced and there's another thing I don't want to know.

01:20:16 Joan: We avoided a tragedy.

01:22:28 Pete: Unfortunately, this is irreparable.

01:26:10 Dinner plans, Beatles tickets, and lipstick

01:28:07 Closing song, listener shout-out, and episode wrap-up

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Episode Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:31 Lee Garner's on the phone - is that a fire down by Radio City?

06:20 Harry: We're having lunch. Tag along. He always asks about you.

08:27 When you make a friend in the elevator and you didn't need Joan's script to do it

10:27 It was Monday, for cryin' out loud. Why hasn't she told you?

15:44 I don't care. I don't care how I heard.

17:32 Faye runs a focus group with the SCDP secretaries

23:31 You didn't do your homework because your wife is pregnant and your father-in-law told you

25:13 I feel like I gave him everything and I got nothing

29:28 Your problem is not my problem!

32:11 And Crane told me yesterday that you said I was marrying for money

37:43 I don't say this easily, but you are not a good person!

45:06 She's kind of pretentious. I know.

46:20 Every time you jump to conclusions, Tom, you make me respect you less

49:10 It's Don's turn to hide in the dark and slink away toward home

50:29 Peggy and Joyce go out

52:53 The genius writer can't even finish an apology letter

54:13 Peggy meets Abe; police break up the party

58:31 Hello, Miss Blankenship

59:29 Pete takes a victory lap over Vick's

1:00:10 Joey, to Peggy: Do you ever read the stuff between the ads?

1:01:42 Peggy, to Pete: Congratulations. About the baby. I'm very happy for both of you.

1:03:53 Faye and Don argue over the focus group results

1:07:26 Peggy and Pete pursue divergent paths; all the what-ifs in a single glance

1:10:03 Did you get pears?

1:11:13 Episode wrap-up and listener shout-out

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00:00 Introduction

00:40 Joan at the doctor's office (the terrible one Peggy saw in the pilot)

02:38 Don, Allison, and Harry discuss California and New Year's Eve - awkwardness ensues

06:06 Lane: Fried chicken, indeed.

10:16 California: a convertible, Anna, and the introduction of Patty and Stephanie

15:22 Joan and Greg bicker over schedules and priorities

18:01 Anna, Don, and Stephanie go out for dinner ("I Just Wasn't Made for These Times")

28:06 Come on, man. Don't flirt with the niece. Also, you have no idea what's coming.

32:50 Anna: I know everything about you, and I still love you. She doesn't, but she seems to.

35:13 Don: I'm here now, and she's going to see some real doctors.

37:38 Anna: I want you to do everything you want to do. (Except mess with my niece.)

40:58 The moment when Sandy made Lois look competent, and Lane will never send flowers again

43:14 Greg: I can't fix anything else, but I can fix this.

46:00 Paint and goodbyes

48:01 Don and Lane's night out

54:57 Candace and Janine join Don and Lane - "that girl does not go to Barnard."

57:10 Joan: Gentlemen, shall we begin 1965?

58:10 Closing song, episode wrap-up, and listener shout-out

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Our hams are worth fighting for, so re-watch with us!

Find us at Mad Men C to Z dot com, and follow us @MadMenCtoZ

Note: We had a technical issue with sound recording in the second half of this episode, where Jenna's phrases jumped in early and Steve's were late. We were able to edit most of them, but there are a couple of places where it sounds like Jenna is interrupting - we promise this was not the case in real time! We kept those few instances so you could hear the end of Steve's thought and the beginning of Jenna's, and apologize for the issue, as it wasn't apparent during the recording. Please believe Jenna doesn't interrupt Steve (unless he's hogging the chip and dip)!

Our Double Dip question for S3E13 is: What is your favorite episode of Mad Men, and why is it this one?

Share your insights, and find out more about this episode of Mad Men at www.MadMenCtoZ.com, and follow us @MadMenCtoZ

00:00 Introduction

01:11 Don: My future is tied up in this mess because of you.

07:46 Is going it alone the best option?

11:02 Bert: Young men love risk because they can't imagine the consequences.

17:28 Roger: Join or die? Jesus, Bert. He was doing better.

23:48 Just when you thought you'd had a rough enough day at the office, it turns out you're getting divorced, too.

26:39 Roger: Don't act like a stranger. We've got tea.

27:48 Henry: I'll take care of them, and I'll take care of you.

30:57 St. John: You'll prove yourself irreplaceable. You always do.

33:13 Fathers, children, and sad things

35:36 Shut the door. Have a seat. (It's so brilliant, this scene!)

41:12 Peggy: You just assume I'll do whatever you say.

43:19 Don: We need you to keep us looking forward. I do, anyway.

49:48 Roger: I acted like a started a business my whole life, but I inherited it.

Don: I need an attorney. Divorce.

Two truths among liars, but each already knows the other's truth.

51:53 Don: You never forgave me.

55:56 Pete: Hey, everybody! Harry Crane is here!

57:41 Divorce talk in the rarely lived-in living room

1:01:07 Don: I don't know if I can do it alone. Will you help me?

1:06:23 Don: Joan. What a good idea.

1:10:13 Allison: We've been robbed!

1:13:06 Don: I hope you get what you've always wanted.

1:14:53 Closing song, episode wrap-up, and listener shout-out

We're not in love with the tragedy of this thing - we want it to happen! So re-watch with us @MadMenCtoZ!

See details for this episode of Mad Men on our S3E12 webpage, where you can answer our Double Dip questions, vote for your favorite Sterling Lines, and find more details about the show.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:44 "Mr. Cosgrove has the rare gift of making clients feel as if they haven't any needs."

Do we feel sorry for Pete about losing this job again?

02:53 Apparently dull men are tolerated, and Karen's calling Peggy on it

03:42 "I don't like her, Daddy, and I've told you I don't want her to be there."

Mona referees the ongoing Roger - Margaret battle over Jane

07:17 "Lane told me Kenny is senior something of accounts and I'm not. I'm head of accounts something. I couldn't even hear. All I could see was his frog-like mouth flapping."

Trudy turns cold casserole into some lemonade for her pouty husband

08:57 Don's actually home when the baby wakes Betty up late at night

A discussion about marriage, detente, and why Don broke things off with Suzanne

13:06 We all know what "I have to go the printer" is code for at this point

14:13 In which Pete and Harry commiserate about who has more toys than they do

14:57 In which Don is complaining to Lane about a budget to hire a new art director

16:02 In which Peggy continues her pattern of poor romantic partners

17:35 News of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is breaking at Sterling Cooper

18:20 And at the Draper house, where Betty, Carla, and the kids are watching TV

20:59 And for Peggy and Duck in the hotel room

22:20 Don Draper processing the news, internally, with Betty, and with his kids

27:46 To attend, or not to attend Margaret's wedding? That is the question for Pete and Trudy.

31:24 Margaret's wedding

33:27 Henry arrives at the wedding

34:57 Toasts and TV

36:41 When you're getting that full Don Draper magnetism, and you're no longer into it

40:03 "He was so handsome, and now I'll never get to vote for him."

Who does Roger call when the world doesn't make any sense?

43:02 Life is short. Take a drive.

"I'm not in love with the tragedy of this thing. I want it to happen."

47:52 Pete, Appalled, and Trudy

48:53 "I don't love you anymore."

54:59 "My mother was crying and praying so hard there wasn't room for anyone else to feel anything."

56:46 Episode wrap-up and listener shout-out

Visit our episode page for S3E11 at MadMenCtoZ.com, and follow us @MadMenCtoZ

If we're to entertain this ballad of dissatisfaction, you might as well re-watch with us! Find us at www.MadMenCtoZ.com - and read the full, human-edited transcript of this podcast episode here.

Mad Men C to Z Timestamps for S3E10: The Color Blue

00:00 Introduction

00:59 "Why don't we go to church every Sunday?" "We don't need to go every week."

Carla, Betty, and the kids discuss their day, but avoid discussing core beliefs.

Don says he won't be sleeping at home tonight, blaming Conrad Hilton.

02:52 Date Nut Bread and The Color Blue

Shockingly, Don lied and goes to Suzanne's, while Betty is home alone with a glass of wine.

11:04 40th Anniversary of Sterling Cooper and Aqua Net - Arrive in Style

Paul Kinsey sets up a double date skit, and Peggy improves it off the top of her head

15:15 "We finally have the answer to the question, 'What makes Don Draper smile?' "

Lane gives Don his $5,000 signing bonus

16:20 "I don't need you to put your little swirl on top of my idea."

You kind of do, though, Paul. Little bit.

21:01 "It's not London. It's not even England."

Rebecca Pryce hasn't warmed to New York, unlike her husband

24:33 "He's arrogant. His plans were interrupted."

Don and Suzanne greet Danny, Suzanne's brother.

29:30 They're celebrating 40 years at Sterling Cooper, but Bert and Roger aren't in the mood

31:42 Who can it be now?

When you have romantic entanglements outside your marriage and you get a mystery call on the landline, things get awkward.

33:25 Paul Kinsey stays late and sets up his ideal work conditions for Western Union.

Paul Kinsey theatre, indeed.

34:50 Don leaves his key in his robe, and that's not a euphemism

35:19 "Achilles, I have thought of something very, very good."

If it takes stealing someone else's food from the work room fridge, it will have been worth it.

37:50 There and back again - the journey of the office desk drawer key

38:23 My baby takes the morning train, so I show up to ride along

Don seems in love enough to forgive Suzanne's indiscretion

44:55 "It's always the last place you look."

Lois offers platitudes while Paul self-destructs, looking for last night's great idea

46:29 After 40 years, Sterling Cooper is for sale. Party on, Lane.

49:15 "If you're going to call me, call me. I'm not playing a game here."

Henry is an unlikely candidate for calling and hanging up, but Betty checks, just in case.

52:21 "Who told you I was vain?"

Lane convinces Bert to attend the party, without seeming too desperate or revealing his secret.

53:40 Worst unboxing moment ever

The triumph of finally finding the key to the desk drawer Betty's been rattling for years is overshadowed by photos, the deed to a house in California, and a divorce decree that precedes their marriage by mere months.

57:25 Don attempts to take Danny to New Bedford

This time, he gives his card - not just the money

1:04:37 We were going to have an epic confrontation, but you never came home

1:07:34 "I want to show you off, Betts."

1:10:06 "The faintest ink is better than the best memory."

Peggy and Don empathize when Paul admits he lost his idea.

1:15:57 "Look how pretty Mommy is."

Pre-party taxicab conversations, and a lot of applause for the man with the lies

1:26:31 Episode wrap-up and listener shout-out

Find more about each episode of Mad Men on our website, Mad Men C to Z dot com, and follow us on social media @MadMenCtoZ.

Mad Men S3E9 Wee Small Hours episode time stamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:24 "I want what I want when I want it."

Conrad Hilton, Baby Gene, and Betty's fainting couch fantasies

04:33 "I'm going home. And the whole point is to run there."

Don finds Suzanne in the early morning, Martin Luther King Junior's I Have a Dream speech, and which pieces of history societies enjoy remembering or prefer to suppress

14:30 The first time Don ever got to work early

15:08 An old-fashioned letter-writing romance

17:51 "Give me more ideas to reject. I can't do this all by myself."

20:18 Sal directs the Lucky Strike TV commercial

We compare whether Conrad Hilton or Lee Garner Junior is the bigger bully

24:21 Don goes looking for Suzanne; it's the first day of school

27:58 Lee Garner Junior proves he is the bigger bully

32:29 Letter-writing and Lies, with a side of wine

36:53 "I can't work with him. He's no good."

We beg to differ, Lee Garner Junior. #JusticeForSal

Also, "I'm not going to do anything stupid like I usually do."

#YouAbsolutelyWill,Harry

40:24 "You're like a son to me."

47:02 "I wanted to see you. I drove past your exit a dozen times."

49:04 This Lucky Strike meeting is somehow worse than the one when Roger had a heart attack

50:51 Every time we watch, we hope this scene goes differently

1:00:50 Don, we're hosting a fundraiser

1:02:26 "Good night, boss."

1:03:03 Let's have a fundraiser

1:03:37 "How do you say fresh towels in Farsi? Hilton."

But the lesser bully wanted the moon.

1:09:03 "I'm actually the person who briefs Mr. Francis."

When the guest speaker takes the fun out of your fundraiser

1:15:52 "What do you think accounts does? Besides limit your brilliance."

"I'd tell you, but I don't want to hurt your feelings."

1:17:41 "Maybe it's not supposed to happen right now."

1:21:18 Sal has a genuine conversation with Kitty and lives happily ever after with Elliot from Belle Jolie. He definitely doesn't just call Kitty from a pay phone near Central Park. And he starts his own firm, "where copy follows art, not the other way round," and gets everything he ever wanted. That's what should have happened.

1:22:33 "You only want this because I'm new and different. I know how this ends."

1:24:12 Closing song, Episode Wrap-up, and Listener Shout-out

Find us at www.MadMenCtoZ.com, follow us @MadMenCtoZ, and please listen, like, share, and subscribe - that's what the podcast's for!

00:00 Introduction

02:16 "I don't pity her. Those girls do whatever they want." - Harry, to Pete, about being alone in August.

04:49 Welcome home, I'm working on Junior League stuff, go outside with the kids and catch lightning bugs.

06:11 Pete's never managed fabric before

06:51 "He wants me to fly out and join him in Rome." - Don, to Betty.

10:58 Pete defies his Slytherin nature and spends the day with cereal and cartoons

12:07 "You could put it back in the closet, and when she takes it out, blame the kids." - Pete

"I would never do this!" - Gudrun.

14:05 Betty's day (no cartoons or cereal are involved)

17:37 "And they say you can't fight city hall." - Francine, courtesy of Jack Kerouac.

21:33 "When you have no power, you have to delay things." - Betty to Don, courtesy of Henry

23:37 "I just want to get on a plane." - Betty

24:33 We love Pete returning things in department stores, especially when he gets to talk to the manager of the Republic of Dresses.

29:16 Benvenuti a Roma!

32:24 "Just for an hour or so."

Sure, Francine. Carla's watching three kids 24/7. Why not add two more?

33:00 "You think just because I'm dressed like this I'm shallow?" "I was just hoping you were easy."

37:11 Sally and Ernie, sitting in a tree (or bathtub)

38:30 "Oh, you are so nice, Mr. Peter, but I have my boyfriend." - Gudrun

43:06 "I like sleeping on this side of the bed." Don, to Betty.

44:20 "You might want to talk to Sally. I keep talking to her about that temper." - Carla, to Betty

45:22 "Stay away from her, Mr. Campbell. In fact, be smart. Stay out of the building." - Mr. Lawrence

47:50 "Sally, apologize to Bobby right now."

49:48 "I missed you. I missed every part of you." - Trudy, to Pete

52:00 "The first kiss is special." - Betty, to Sally

55:16 "I don't want you to go away anymore without me." - Pete, to Trudy

56:28 "Carlton and I went to Lake George after Jess was born. No problems, no kids. It was magical." - Francine

57:34 "I can have something to look at when I tell the story of the time I went to Rome." - Betty

1:02:28 Comparing Bobbie Barrett to Conrad Hilton

1:03:19 Closing song, Episode Wrap-Up, and Listener Shout-Out

Find more details about this episode and others at MadMenCtoZ.com , and follow us @MadMenCtoZ

Podcast Episode Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:54 Three flash-forwards: Peggy in a hotel, Betty on the fainting couch, Don injured on the floor

01:29 "That's your hearth, darling - the soul of your home."

Betty has hired an interior decorator to re-do her living room.

03:24 "I watched the sunrise this morning." "How was it?" "Average."

Roger is unimpressed with nature, likely because he's jealous of David Ogilvy.

05:35 "Having me in your life is gonna change things." "I look forward to it."

Conrad Hilton surprises Don in the office.

10:26 "I may know someone in the governor's office. His name is Henry."

Betty meets with the Junior League and name drops the guy from Roger's garden party.

11:45 "I know Roger will be the face of this, but I wouldn't mind doing the legwork."

Pete finds a way to ask Don for work advances without attempted bribery

15:57 "I just realized everyone who calls you must want something."

Betty calls Henry's office, and he returns the call immediately

20:14 "Stop barging in here and infecting me with your anxiety."

Pete insists Peggy return Duck's gift - that he only wants to injure Don by enticing them to leave

23:15 "This is the way it has to be. Not just for Conrad Hilton, but for Sterling Cooper."

Don's lack of a contract becomes a meeting

27:41 "I'm a lawyer, but I don't use it much." "We all have skills we don't use."

Betty and Henry meet at a bakery. She doesn't pull out her Italian, but she did major in anthropology.

29:15 "Why can't you stare into the eclipse, anyway? What's it gonna do, really?"

Carlton shares his lack of astronomical awareness and Miss Farrell's running habits with Don

30:59 "Victorian ladies would get overwhelmed and need a place to lie down."

Betty and Henry see a fainting couch in a furniture store window

32:41 "You're all the same. The drinking, the philandering."

Miss Farrell calls Don out for flirting, which he denies

36:46 "Grunt once for yes."

Roger applies pressure to make Don sign his contract.

39:20 "You're good. Get better. Stop asking for things. Close the door."

Don excels at mentorship and manners.

41:41 "Honestly, I find it terribly disrespectful that you would go behind his back," Betty tells Roger on the phone, after returning from the lunch she had with Henry, behind Don's back

42:50 "I was just thinking about all the times I walked by you and didn't even notice." "Oh." "How is that possible?" The nicest thing we can say about Duck is that at least he's not Pete.

46:18 "It's three years, Don. What's the matter - you don't know where you're going to be in three years?

48:01 "Want to know why we're going to Niagara Falls? We're getting married."

Don, this is your survival instinct. Don't smother me with drugs and alcohol when you rage road trip.

53:48 Flash-forwards all revealed and wrapped

54:59 "After all, when it comes down to it, who's really signing this contract, anyway?"

58:08 Episode Wrap-Up and Listener Shout-Out

Follow Jenna and Steve @MadMenCtoZ and visit MadMenCtoZ.com for details about each episode.

Find us at www.MadMenCtoZ.com to vote for your favorite Sterling Lines, offer insights on our Double Dip questions, and find more details about each episode.

Mad Men S3E5 The Fog Episode Time Stamps:

00:00  Introduction

01:08  Sally does need more attention. She's grieving.

04:18  (As Don enters the meeting, late) Better to have a bit of Don Draper than no Don Draper at all

06:10  Dammit, Paul, someone helped Ken cherry pick the most successful accounts and I've been left with the dogs

08:02  They waste paper because they use it to sop up spilled drinks, right after their afternoon naps

10:20  Except I actually have an Uncle Herman, and he's 91

12:13  I don't know why I'm calling. I'm embarrassing myself.

14:13  Hang in there, Bets.

This is all the encouragement a pregnant woman needs before giving birth, right?

17:35  You throw the ball around? Not enough.

Or ever. I think Don has had exactly two scenes with just Bobby. 

24:55  I don't want him. I don't know him. I want my doctor.

28:19  If something happens to her I just don't know what I'd do. And there'd be that baby. How could I love that baby?

31:38  I'm just a housewife. Why are you doing this to me?

34:00  I'm sayin' this to you. I'm gonna be better. I'm gonna be a better man. Tell me you heard me.

36:54  You're a house cat. You're very important, and you have little to do.

Thanks, Dad. Did I mention I'm in the middle of labor?

41:07  I need his initials. Jane's gonna put them on the back of a yacht or something.

42:02  If you want to woo me, you're going to have to buy me my own lunch.

46:12  Look, this is important, and I'd like to have an honest conversation with you. It's just us, Hollis and . . . Mr. Campbell.

52:14  Wave to Mommy and Gene

52:55  Not all surprises are bad

55:35  We don't talk in the hallway

Is he embarrassed? Is Don not good enough for him? Is he really there?

57:12  This conversation is not worth having.

Admiral declines Pete's marketing recommendation, even though it's financially sound

1:01:09  You have everything. And so much of it.

And yet, he's a soulless husk of a man.

1:05:52  Your decisions affect me.

Yes, Pete. It's all about you.

1:07:52  His name is Gene. (Not great, Betty.)

1:09:06  It seems illogical that they would reject the opportunity to make more money.

1:11:36  How was it? You know. It was all a fog.

1:13:30  Episode wrap-up and listener shout-out

Find us at www.MadMenCtoZ.com

We referenced David Ogilvy's seven rules of advertising in the podcast this week. Here is an overview, and his book is called Confessions of an Advertising Man.

Mad Men C to Z Podcast - The Arrangements Episode Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:47 Go around! Gene criticizes unkempt roofing while his 9 year old granddaughter is at the wheel

02:13 I am one of those girls.

06:07 How about a star-studded musical special with a jai alai match?

11:07 I'm your little girl. And I know it must be horrible to be looking at - whatever it is you're looking at. But can't you keep it to yourself?

13:45 Sal could do it. It's a single shot. It's lifted directly from Bye Bye Birdie.

14:24 Allergic to cats, but will tolerate dogs.

15:10 War is bad. Maybe, but it makes a man out of yuh.

21:12 You know, I don't need that much. But I do need tending.

25:57 My son lives in a cloud of success, but it's my success.

31:04 I don't keep pets. The smell makes them go crazy.

31:46 You remind me more of your grandma than your mother.

33:38 I have this image in my head. It's his 75th birthday. And I give him a team.

38:57 No dull moments or dull men tolerated.

43:11 Fathers, sons, and photos

44:51 You heard him, boys. Don't stop until you see the whites of his pockets.

45:40 Peaches give me a rash. Your sister likes 'em!

46:41 Are you Swedish? Norwegian. Well, we won't tell my parents.

48:12 He's late. And copious amounts of Raid.

48:52 It's not Ann Margret.

52:03 Are you related to Eugene Hofstadt?

53:58 Don't ruin the only good thing to come out of this: You are now a commercial director.

55:05 You got me a new TV because you think I was born yesterday.

58:05 He's dead and he's never coming back, and no one cares that he's really, really gone!

1:03:05 Episode wrap-up and listener shout-out

Episode Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:03 They hate Creative.

04:08 Lovely to see you here, Jane - I mean, Mrs. Sterling.

06:01 Lola said you don't like a second cup of coffee because it makes you edgy.

06:54 I want to go. I bought a dress.

08:03 Bedtime, where we sound out words like "licentiousness"

10:06 Don't I seem as important as Cosgrove? I mean, Campbell makes sense - he's to the manner born.

12:52 Grandpa says you're going to a soiree. Don't bother him.

15:36 No, Ettinger goes at the head of the table. He's the chief of surgery. It's where he always sits.

18:02 I've been robbed. I had $35.00. Now I have thirty. Daddy, you know how forgetful you are.

21:18 Derby Day

22:24 We don't all know each other, Mr. Hofstadt.

23:50 I'm Peggy Olson, and I want to smoke some marijuana.

25:26 It's 1963, Roger. Do better.

27:49 I'm at work disguised as a wedding. I hate other people's weddings. Make me nervous. All those expectations. And these poor kids in here - that is a match made in the board room.

31:05 You're arrogant, and you know what else? You can't sing. Take it back!

33:31 I wish you were waiting for me.

36:24 If Greg becomes chief resident, things will get easier.

38:48 Grandpa, is this it? Is this your money?

41:36 Come on, I'll talk. They want to know we're having a good time. We're really having a good time. 

45:48 This is the way the world ends.

49:04 Everyone gets a bad result once in a while. I don't like to worry Joanie about those kinds of things.

52:45 Aren't they a beautiful couple? I knew you two would get back together.

54:54 I don't know what I did to get under your skin.

56:48 Where were we?

1:03:05 Episode wrap-up and listener shout-out

Podcast Episode Time Stamps:

 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

www.madmenctoz.com

@MadMenCtoZ

Podcast Time Stamps for this Episode:

00:00 Introduction

00:47 Dick Whitman's origin story

05:45 Her name was Lola / She was a secretary. / And while John's accent made her flushed / Peggy looked on in disgust

06:43 "Who was the man who imagined her ecstasy?" "Who, indeed." Is it the sucking up that connects the painting to your business? We have questions, Bert.

13:42 "I wanted to inform you that you're the new Head of Accounts." "Excuse me?" "It seemed like the right thing to do, in spite of your lack of hospitality."

19:12 "I wouldn't be much of an account man if I didn't ask what it pays." "And I wouldn't be much of a financial officer if I wasn't prepared to disappoint you."

21:15 "I've never seen a stewardess that game." Jenna and Steve disagree about Shelly here - Jenna argues it's a departure for Don because Shelly gives no evidence of being complex or challenging, which is usually a requirement for Don's notice and interest.

24:24 "I've always been a big fan of your work, and I've been very vocal about it."

25:27 "I've been married a long time. You get lots of chances." 

35:48 The fire alarm brings everything to a "screechin' halt." What does Don Draper do with someone else's secret?

37:50 "Why is she shamelessly flirting with Moneypenny?" "Don't call him that. He hates that." Why can't Joan and Peggy align and give us the glorious girl power duo we envision?

39:42 " 'Our worst fears lie in anticipation.' That's not me - that's Balzac."

42:08 "You're each taking half the company. Of course, it's possible someone could distinguish himself. It would be easier that way."

45:48 Limit your exposure

47:47 This office comes with a complimentary ant farm

48:46 "The buck stops here unless it stops over there. There are two heads of accounts. Kenny Cosgrove and I are sharing it." 

55:12 Just kidding - you aren't worthy of the ant farm. It's unseemly.

58:08 What did you bring me, Daddy? Well, I inadvertently brought home a stick pin belonging to the stewardess I slept with last night. Would you like to wear it?

1:01:01 Mad Men S3:E1 wrap-up and listener shout-out

Read the Mad Men C to Z Season 3 Episode 1: Out of Town Full Transcript on our Mad Men C to Z website

Jenna: Hi, I'm Jenna.

Steve: And I'm Steve. Welcome to All Things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou.

Jenna: There's so much to love about this amazing show, and we're happy to connect to fans like us, who discover new things with each rewatch.

Steve: Be advised, while we aren't gratuitous with spoilers, they can pop up as we discuss character arcs through the final season.

Let's get started with Mad Men C to Z.

Jenna: Welcome back to season three of Mad Men, C to Z!

This episode, Out of Town, was written by Matthew Weiner and directed by Phil Abraham, and It takes place six months after season two ends in April of 1963.

As we open, Mad Men loves to show Don's back to camera. It's always reminding us that we can see him, but it's making us wonder if we really know who he is.

And we're also getting a closer look at that before time. With a bit of creative license, we're going back in time to Don Draper's, or rather, Dick Whitman's birth.

Steve: Obviously, Dick Whitman doesn't remember his own birth, as Matt Weiner mentions in the commentary. It's terrifying. It's an awful origin story for anyone to walk around with.

Jenna: We see that Abigail Whitman lost several babies, but she does want a baby very much. Earlier, in the Mother's Day episode in season one, we saw how she gave birth to Don's brother Adam and called it a miracle.

And this, of course, is before Adam was born.

So we learn that Archie Whitman visited a young woman working as a prostitute, and he didn't have any protection.

She mutters curses as we see her later delivering the baby that the midwife delivers back to Abigail, saying his name is Dick, after a wish his mother should have lived to see.

Steve: You also see how it's possible that this story could have taken a different turn. You know, she really desperately wanted a baby. Now she's getting a baby, finally. So there's this glimmer of possibility that this could be a positive thing.

But as we all know, Dick Whitman's upbringing is terrible. She's an awful mother. You know, she's resentful of her husband seeing a prostitute and this child, you know, from the prostitute.

So we know the whole thing goes off the rails. But I did get a sense in this scene that there's an alternate universe where it could have been more of a positive thing.

Jenna: Yeah. I have a related question for you. As you mentioned in the commentary, Weiner says this is an extremely inauspicious way to come into the world. He's unwanted by his biological mother and father and raised, but shoved aside by his father's wife, who later gave birth to Adam.

We see Don getting frustrating as a character because he can be so selfish. But do you have more pity and understanding for him when you see his early life here, or do you feel like he should have straightened himself out by now or someplace in between?

Steve: I think on that question, I probably fall more to the latter.

Not that Don Draper hasn't overcome a lot to get where he is,

but I think he's benefited from a lot of gifts. You know, he's. He's intelligent, he has judgment and an ability to make decisions.

And I feel that at this point in his life, he has an awful lot of agency.

So to default to victimhood or this sense of, you know, fate has trapped him or blocked him from behaving better and making better choices. I don't get that vibe so much from Don. I feel that he's probably got as much agency as anybody in the series.

Jenna: Yes, I agree. And he's all about talking the good game about moving forward, but his past is really clinging to him and he can't seem to shake it.

Steve: An interesting bit of this scene is how it ends, with modern day Don Draper delivering the warmed milk up to Betty. And it's a very loving, tender scene. And Phil Abraham, the director, mentions in the commentary that we don't get a lot of scenes like this with the two of them where it seems to be just a loving scene where they're riffing a bit on how will the baby turn out.

And Don is obviously caring for his pregnant wife and trying to ease her discomfort. It's a bit of a contrast to what we see typically between Don and Betty.

Jenna: Yes. And we see Betty seems really happy with this reset. She says she wants the baby to come into their home at its best.

They seem happy. Don is really making an effort here, and he isn't looking for credit or begrudging it either.

I don't get a sense that he's frustrated or impatient, but he also doesn't seem exactly content. And maybe, as usual, that's more about him and his issues, remembering his birth and everything, than it is about his relationship with Betty.

Steve: Yeah, and he uses his Mad Men skills, you know, as an advertising person, to picture this bit about a warm, sandy beach and the smell of coconut oil and the rest, you know, and just using his gift with words to try and soothe Betty as well, which, it feels sweet.

But I also have this nagging little voice in my head wondering, is it a more calculating gesture? That's where Don Draper's character leaves me. I'm always sort of wondering about his motives.

Jenna: Yes, you're never really sure. It always feels like there are multiple pieces of intention with his actions.

We also see Don preparing for a trip, and Betty packed his suitcase - so often a symbol in Mad Men. In the Jet Set, he went with Joy without any of his things from home.

And here Betty is sending him with things. So maybe Don is a little less empty than before. Maybe the love he wanted to find with Betty can be had in their recommitment now.

But he is Don Draper, so maybe not.

In the next scene, Peggy's in her office, and she has a secretary and no copier, so we can see that she's kept the status she claimed last season.

Lola, her secretary, is played by Tricia Lafache. You might have seen her in Garden State, or the TV series Jury Duty.

But Lola's busy listening to the new British assistant flirting at her desk instead of focusing on her work. And we know Peggy has no patience for that.

Steve: Yeah, Peggy's all about the work, and John Hooker seems to be enjoying the attention he's gathering in the office from the various admins.

Jenna: John Hooker here is played by Ryan Cartwright, recognizable from Kevin Can Wait, Bones, and Alphas.

And we also hear that Lola, Peggy's secretary, is engaged.

And Peggy says, enough, Lola. When we last saw Peggy, she was telling Pete that she wanted other things besides marriage and family.

But I think she still wants that for herself. And maybe it prickles a little bit to see the other women around her getting married, even if that isn't the right path for her right now.

Steve: From here, we cut to Lane Pryce in Bert Cooper's office, looking at a rather interesting octopus painting from Japan.

Jenna: Lane Pryce is played by Jared Harris. He might be recognizable from The Crown, Fringe, Chernobyl, and Foundation.

He's also Richard Harris’s son, which is especially fun to note if you're a fan of Unforgiven or Gladiator or the first two Harry Potter movies.

Steve: And A Man Called Horse and Orca. I am a Richard Harris fan, so Jared Harris is all right in my book.

Jenna: We hear a lot about Richard Harris in our house.

So observing Lane fitting in to the group makes us feel a little behind as an audience, maybe. Like, we missed his intro, but it cuts us right into the action.

And as you say, he's looking at this painting, which is a real painting, called The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife by Katsushika Hokusai, and it references a story about Princess Tamatori from the Edo period. In this story, she's a shell diver searching for a pearl that a dragon stole from her husband's family.

She visits the dragon's undersea palace, cuts her breast open to hide the jewel, but dies of her wound when she reaches the surface.

And I feel like hiding things in wounds is pretty on brand for Don Draper, who also enjoys an assortment of liaisons, although none with octopuses, at least that we've seen.

Steve: I enjoyed when the conversation turns to London Fog and Lane explains that there really never was any London fog. It was coal dust from the industrialization era, and it's past now.

So this famous raincoat brand, which, you know, there's plenty of rain in London, but this notion of fog is a bit of a fallacy.

Jenna: And London Fog is an American company founded in Baltimore in 1922. So again, it's pretending to be something it isn't.

So Bert Cooper, Lane, and Don are talking about Don's trip when Burt Peterson comes in. They're making cuts.

Steve: Yeah. And Burt doesn't take the cut lightly. He starts sounding off, I think, in a very stereotypical expressive American way, which is out of place to someone like Lane, who's just getting to know these Americans.

And then Roger hilariously walks in and asks, you know, what he's missed, and then realizes that it's this serious meeting where they're terminating somebody.

Jenna: It might be kind of a fine point, but Burt doesn't actually get upset until Roger comes in. And I think this gives us a real clue about Lane as a character.

Also, we should mention that Burt Peterson is played by Michael Gaston. You might recognize him from The Mentalist or The Man in the High Castle. He's been mentioned before, but we've never seen him on screen. And when we first see him, he's being fired.

Lane is practical from the financial side, but he's also not unkind.

He says they realize Burt's wife has been dealing with some health issues, and they waited to fire him while they were dealing with that.

So we see that Lane is a number cruncher, but he's not without some heart or empathy.

And it isn’t until Roger goes, oh, it's that meeting, when Burt gets mad and he tells Lane, you're the dying empire, we're the future. And he storms out, where he proceeds to find Lane's assistant, Mr. Hooker, yelling, “Drop dead, you limey vulture!”

Which is pretty excellent.

Steve: I really do enjoy the little barbs that go between the Brits and the Americans here. To me, the writing really speaks to that fragility here in terms of Sterling Cooper is the one who got acquired. But really, at this point in the 1960s, the American empire is ascendant. You know, it's probably close to its peak power.

So the fact that there still seems to be this scratchy, itching, irritation vis a vis the mother country that Burt expresses in his personal frustration, I think is just delicious writing that's very fun to watch.

Jenna: And as Burt storms out of the office, the camera takes us to Harry, gossiping with Paul and Pete about taxes and the cuts. And in this environment, Hildy says to Pete, “Mr. Pryce wants to see you.”

She says it in front of the other guys.

And of course, he's nervous about his job, since Burt Peterson just got fired. So he tries to say, oh, oh, I'm at lunch.

And remember in the finale of last season, everyone was on edge about the Cuban Missile Crisis. And here we can see all of these job cuts being anxiety-inducing.

Steve: Yeah. And I love the way Vincent Kartheiser acts this conversion of Pete because he's in a sort of comfortable, safe state of mind. And then Hildy instantly shatters that.

And it's just really fun watching him in that scene make that physical change and realizes he's trapped. And then it's even funny the way both Paul and Harry basically tell him he won't be joining them for lunch because he's been called into the office of doom of Lane.

Jenna: So now that Burt Peterson has left the building - not quietly,

Mr. Hooker and Joan have a scene. And everything about this really magnifies her competence.

He is taking the opportunity to complain to her about his title. He should be called Mr. Hooker, not John. He's not a typist.

And he says, you Americans don't know how to handle your emotions. Which is kind of a fun dig, to your point earlier, but it's completely misapplied to Joan. She's totally cool and collected.

She explains if he had notified her that this was coming, the office drama about Burt Peterson's exit could have been avoided. And she's helpful and direct to him by saying this, but he thinks he knows better.

And I think she has a pretty good read on him. He's another man who needs to feel more important than the women in the office.

Steve: Yeah, Joan is pretty scorching in this scene. And for all his airs and his accent, you know, Mr. Hooker, I think, comes out looking the weaker for this interaction.

And again, they do this a lot in Mad Men writing. The comment is directed at the wrong person. So, like you mentioned, Joan is handling her emotions, and we've seen her handle her emotions again and again in all sorts of situations.

Burt has walked out the office and slid all the stuff off the desks in a rather explosive exit. But, you know, he's long gone when Hooker's making this statement to Joan, generalizing about Americans.

Jenna: And again, it's Roger coming in, and he didn't even remember that he was having the meeting, I think, that really turns the tide for Burt to get that upset in the first place. So whose fault is it really, exactly?

They haven't explained why they're doing all these cuts. So I think we can infer that PP&L are looking to cut costs, but it's not clear if the business is in trouble.

It's very clear from these small bits of conversation that there have been a lot of people losing their jobs in the company.

Steve: Yeah, there's a lot of fear. And I was just going to say about Roger Sterling, it seems to be another data point that suggests he's not taking things seriously.

He's not engaged, he's late. He forgot what the purpose of the meeting was. Really? Like, you're a partner in this business who needs to be leading by example. And it seems like he's almost a dilettante, and that's not who Roger Sterling is supposed to be. So I think it's a bad look for Roger.

Jenna: So Pete does go into Lane's office. He's nervous about keeping his job. He's fluttering around. He's making excuses for not seeing Lane socially.

And when Lane asks if something's wrong, Pete is direct:

I don't know. You just removed the head of my department and now you're offering me a chair.

And you can see Lane gets this immediately and he regrets the impression that he gave about that. So, again, Lane isn't some hard boiled, I'm trying to make you nervous kind of a person, in spite of some of the cuts and things that he's planning.

Steve: Yeah. But I think what it does convey to us is even if we say there was no bad intent in Lane, he's not trying to freak Pete out.

He's oblivious to it until it's brought up to him directly. So I think it tells us that there's an aspect around Lane that he's not cognizant of the emotional impact of these things.

And. And maybe that's a blind spot for him that we'll see in the future.

Jenna: That could be. But I also think it really reinforces his outsiderness. He doesn't quite know how things run around here, and we saw that with Duck. Again, not quite feeling like he's enmeshed in the system.

So even though Pete has all his Peteness, Pete is definitely part of the ecosystem, where Lane is still a little bit of an outsider, even though he's representing PP&L which is in charge.

Steve: Pete is the character I love to hate, and I just love the way Kartheiser plays his sycophantic, ingratiating, initial talk with Lane until he realizes this isn't what he fears it's about to become.

And again, just watching him go through those emotional states, until Lane gets to the point and says he wants him to be head of accounts. We can almost physically see the weight lifted off of Pete's head in this moment.

Jenna: Pete is stunned and he asks, is this really happening? I need to know i's certain.

Pete has a bad history with this job. He wanted it desperately enough to blackmail Don for it at the end of season one, and then Duck promised it to Pete at the end of season two, and then after Duck was pushed out, apparently Burt was given that role.

So we missed it, but we can infer that Pete probably had a giant temper tantrum over not being chosen then too. Especially because Don gave that non apology for running off in California, and then he told Pete that he thought he was ready and could handle the business.

So Pete has had multiple opportunities that he's wanted this job and not gotten it, and now Lane is handing it to him.

Steve: Yeah, and we can further, you know, reinforce how important it is to Pete because as he exits, he quickly goes into his office and does a funny little dance that both the director, Phil Abraham, and Matt Weiner both were referring to as the Grinch dance of triumph and pleasure that he got the job behind the closed door of his office, before he calls Trudy and and shares the good news.

Jenna: This dance is awkward and gleeful, and you almost never see Pete that happy, but he does manage to make it slightly sinister.

And we posted side by side photos of Pete Campbell and Tom Riddle on social media in season one. And there is a Voldemortian quality to Pete that just can't be denied.

It's so great because it's so uninhibited and it's real.

I don't know, maybe some people look cool when they get good news, and the rest of us just do stupid dances in our offices.

Steve: I also like the little production tidbit from the commentary that Vincent Kartheiser did five takes of the Grinch dance before they found the one they liked. So I just imagine them sitting there and saying, action. And he closes the door and does the dance, and then they do it again and again.

Because, like you say, all those emotions are wrapped up in it. There's a nerdiness, an awkwardness to it. There's an inappropriateness to it. So many pieces rolled up into this character that many of us love to loathe.

Jenna: Going back to this conversation with Lane and Pete quickly, there do seem to be some organizational questions. Duck was going to be president of the company, but Lane isn't that. And he's also not head of accounts. So we're wondering who is or will be the new Sterling Cooper president and exactly what Lane's role is if he's not head of accounts, but he's in Duck's old office.

Steve: Yeah, it's not clear. I think we're starting to see that Lane has certainly got his hands on the money bag. So, you know, that CFO type role seems to be definitely one of Lane's responsibilities.

Jenna: Pete makes his victory call to Trudy, who is hosting an appropriately posh group of women for a committee, and she is genuinely proud and gushing over his success.

Steve: Yeah. And when Pete says he's maybe should call his mother. I love the line that Trudy gives, and she says, don't go to the well. There's no water there.

And she's not saying it to put him down or to take a shot at his mother. You get the sense it's out of genuine compassion and concern for his emotional well being that this woman is not going to celebrate your success with you.

Jenna: Yes. And the fact that he even still wants her to be proud of him is telling.

And I agree with you. Trudy loves him. She doesn't want him to be hurt. And this little bit of dialogue is so important because we learn Trudy understands more about Pete's relationship with his parents, where I think earlier in their relationship, she assumed that they were loving and supportive in the same way hers were to her.

But now she. She knows better.

He does, but he still wants it to be different.

And Pete points out to Trudy, he didn't even ask Lane if he was getting a raise. He was too happy with the news. And I admit, I am a little bit happy for Pete here. He's wanted this for a long time.

Steve: I love the contrast of this scene to the following one where we have Ken joining Lane in the office for a very similar message.

But Ken's demeanor and the way he receives it is completely the opposite of Pete's. He makes himself comfortable, lights up a cigarette.

It's just such a stark contrast to Pete, and in which we, as the viewers find out, they're splitting the accounts and Ken's getting the other half of them. So they're going to be two heads of accounts.

Jenna: But Ken doesn't know that, and Pete doesn't know that. Before, we saw Lane being decent about letting Burt Peterson go. But by hiring Pete and Ken for the same position and not telling them about the other, Lane does seem more Machiavellian here.

Steve: Yeah, I think there's definitely that element to it. I just love how calm and confident Ken is, versus the nervousness and fear that we see, you know, evident on Pete's face.

Ken actually brings up the compensation. And Lane, you know, clarifies that he'll continue at 21k a year, but they will reevaluate at a later date.

And then one production note from Phil Abraham in the commentary, because it's essentially the same scene and they wanted to create a contrast. He flips the shots, and they're somewhat inverted so that we don't just get the same shot of Lane at the desk and the same shot of the person sitting in front of the desk.

And I think that further emphasizes this contrast between the way Pete and Ken receive very similar news.

Jenna: It's a great comparison.

We see Pete nervous about losing his job, apologetic for not inviting Lane to dinner, so stunned and needing confirmation of the news, and then thrilled.

And Ken is so much more easygoing. He's friendly, he's stable, he's happy with the news. He asks what it pays. He shakes Lane's hand.

These are two very different heads of accounts.

And this guy, this version of Ken, I think, is the one viewers remember more, this likable one instead of his awful moments in season one.

And we don't get to see Ken's happy dance. But somehow I feel certain it looks cooler than Pete's.

Steve: The next scene cuts to Don and Sal on a plane heading down to see London Fog in Baltimore.

They're dogging on a Fleischman's ad with a giant bottle of alcohol.

Jenna: Shelly, the flight attendant, is played by Sunny Mabry. You might recognize her from Cobra Kai, Hillbilly Elegy, or Gotham Knights.

She calls Don Mr. Hofstadt because Betty's brother put that on his suitcase.

Don goes along with it. Call me Bill. And Sal introduces himself as Sam.

They've slipped into being other people because of this suitcase, Weiner says. And we know they're both at ease with this because they do it every day.

Steve: Yeah. It seems Don Draper can turn this on with just the wink of an eye. And Sal follows his lead effortlessly.

We hear Shelly's Alabama accent quite strongly here, so I think we get that flavor of regionalism. She's not this New York type presence. She's from elsewhere. And she's very clearly interested in meeting up with them for dinner when it turns out they're sharing the same hotel.

Jenna: And Don does not seem especially interested in Shelly, even if she's very interested in him, as you point out. And earlier you've mentioned, he doesn't seem to go for young, naive women. That's not his brand.

And when we think about Midge and Rachel and Bobbie, they were all strong women, so Shelly seems a really unlikely match for him.

Steve: Yeah, but I wouldn't contrast Shelley necessarily as not being strong. Maybe we don't know how strong or weak she is, but the vibe I get is I don't see her as sophisticated.

And it seemed to me that there was a sophistication to Midge, Rachel, and, oh, gosh, I'm forgetting the third one.

Jenna: Bobbie.

Steve: Bobbie, yeah. Sophistication to those. And Shelly doesn't seem to be that. She seems to be the eye candy, you know, highly physically attractive. But we're not sure how smart she may or may not be.

Jenna: I think also she's predictable. You can see instantly who she is here. Whereas these other women have more complicated stories, and they are full, well developed people.

And Shelly seems to be very surface level. And again, that hasn't been something that Don has been drawn to. So I sort of wonder about that here.

Steve: Yeah. And I would also say I think the writers are tricking us a little bit in that they give her this regional accent, which is often associated with a lack of intelligence or sophistication, you know, unfairly, because there's really no basis to reach any sort of conclusion.

But we know how our society reacts to that, and there is a stereotype and a default setting that I think they want the viewer to fall for that.

Jenna: Stephen Colbert once said that in an interview - I think he's from South Carolina. And the interviewer said, it's a lovely accent. And Steven agreed.

And he said - he pointed that out. He said, what's the first thing they do in a cartoon character when they want to show the character is slow-witted? They give him a Southern drawl, right? And so that's an interesting bias that we have in our film and media.

Steve: From the airplane, we cut back to the elevator where Ken and Pete bump into each other and they're talking about Burt Peterson's departure.

And they're, they're very. Being very magnanimous to each other, very generous, you know, saying kind things. They each feel they have a secret that the other one doesn't know, but would be desperately interested to hear about.

And the irony that they've each got the same secret and the same mistaken assumption with their secret creates a nice bit of comedic irony in this scene.

Jenna: We also get our first truth call out in this episode. Pete says maybe now things will finally settle down. And Ken agrees, that's true.

Both of them can picture this smooth sailing going forward as each of them are the man in charge.

Except it won't be settled down, because they're about to have a bomb explode, on them at least.

Steve: Yeah, it creates a nice dramatic tension here because we, the viewers, know the secret. So it's a question of how is this going to be made clear to the two of them and how will they react?

Jenna: The next scene takes us to dinner. The airline pilot, two flight attendants, and Don and Sal are all dining together at Haussner's, which was a real Baltimore restaurant that opened in 1926 and closed in 1999.

In addition to crab cakes and strawberry pie, this restaurant was famous for its art collection.

And apparently the servers saved strings from napkins and tied them together and eventually it created an 850 pound ball of string that people used to take pictures of when they visited.

So in the course of this discussion, the pilot makes a dig at Don and Sal's supposed accountant jobs. And even though Don doesn't really seem interested in Shelly, he steps up with a pretense to defend his cool points here.

Steve: Yeah, and it's a pretty masterful little story he spins, because he takes what had been the put-down of a boring accountant and turns it into they're some sort of G-men chasing down the missing money from Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance.

And then when he's got his audience around the table, hooked and fascinated by something that now suddenly seems exotic and exciting and interesting, then he pours cold water on it.

And when they say, so, you're G-men? And he says, no, we're just accountants.

So I think it really emphasizes his power with words. And his ability to manipulate the assumptions and conceits of other people and to sort of manipulate them in the palm of his hand.

Jenna: And it's also interesting to note that Sal is not as comfortable coming up with this lie as Don is. Don is very at ease with it and Sal plays along and he's pretty good, but Don is the master here. And that's an interesting thing when we know the secrets that both of them are carrying as well.

Steve: Yeah, clearly Sal is following Don's lead in this scene.

Again, there's a lot of comedic enjoyment because of we know the reality, but we can see how the characters are being misled.

Jenna: Shelly talks about traveling around and says she'd always rather be in New York.

And Don replies, I don't know, I keep going to a lot of places and ending up somewhere I've already been.

Which is, of course, exactly what is happening with Shelley that evening. Don has definitely been here before.

Steve: I would have to think Shelly's been here before too, because I feel when he says that line to her, I feel a flash of recognition goes across her face. You know, they both know what they're talking about.

Jenna: Oh, I think she feels rejection. I think she's been pushing hard for this. And I think she understands what he's saying is this isn't special.

Steve: Agreed. But that's the recognition. I think she feels like. I think she's. She's done this before as well. And this isn't what she wants to hear from somebody that she is interested in hooking up with.

Jenna: I didn't get that vibe from her that she was quite that worldly.

It's not impossible. But what I caught was in the commentary, Weiner talks about how, oh, look at their drunkenness and them portraying it.

And again, I'm just like, no, Shelly is faking that.

Because as we see, the elevator stops at Don's floor and Shelly has all these thin excuses to stay with him. She wants to see if this floor is like hers and she stumbles as if she's too drunk to stand without holding his arm.

And it's just a put on excuse to go with him until finally she kisses him in the hall and he doesn't kiss back. And she says she's engaged and he might be her last chance.

It's not maybe that she's never done this before, but I certainly didn't think that she was quite the Don Draper level.

And he has this really sad, depressing line. He says, I've been married a long time. You get plenty of chances.

Steve: That really is a devastating line. And this might sound nitpicky.

I don't know that she isn't buzzed from the alcohol, but I agree with you. She's definitely giving in to that buzziness and letting that edge come off. How much of it is a put on? How much is she legitimately buzzed?

Getting back to Don's line, it is such a depressing line, especially when we open the episode with him nurturing and caring for his very pregnant wife.

Jenna: Yes, he could think of his pregnant wife and take his leave here, but he doesn't.

He whispers that it's his birthday. His real, actual Dick Whitman birthday is whatever mystery day in April this is, but it isn't celebrated and it probably wasn't when he was little.

And this kind of makes sense that it triggered the not-exactly-flashback thinking at the beginning of the episode, reflecting back on his birth as he was preparing milk for Betty.

And spoiler just ahead. So pause if you're not wanting to get spoiled. But I would really like Mad Men fans to just note this moment: he's standing in a hallway whispering to a flight attendant that it's his birthday.

But later, in the suitcase episode, he yells at Peggy, she's too old for birthdays. So we'll get to that.

Next, we see Sal exhausted in his own hotel room, loosening his tie and calling the desk to complain that the air conditioning in his room needs fixing.

So you think that this is just a contrast, that here's Don with Shelly in the hallway, and here's Sal by himself, tired and ready to just turn in for a good night of sleep.

Steve: Let's see how that plays out.

We cut to Don and Shelly in the room. Now it's clear that they are proceeding down this path. I guess the first question that I have is, why does Don engage in this with Shelly? What. What do you think his motives are in this moment?

Jenna: Well, I think it is just the obvious. It feels like it's a habit to me. And we haven't seen Don quite this way with a woman before.

So Shelly is putting on a show and he directs her how to take off her clothes, in what order.

And Weiner says in the commentary that it's a power dynamic and Shelly wanted all of this. She flirted with him on the plane and insisted that they have dinner together and followed him up to his room.

But she doesn't really have confidence. She's uncertain.

So again, earlier I said strength, you said sophistication.

She just. The lack of confidence suggests to me that, even though she's very pretty. I mean, she's standing in front of him and asks if he likes her and she says, everyone asks if I was a model, but I wasn't.

And Don doesn't seem to have respect for her, or even like with Joy, curiosity about her. She's just there.

I don't get the sense that he would have pursued her had she not been so pressing. He doesn't really seem that into her.

Steve: Yeah, I agree. It feels to me like he's going along with it.

But if she hadn't pursued him, then nothing would have happened and he would have been fine with that. I agree. I think it's just a physical dalliance that doesn't have any great meaning to Don Draper.

And again, I think it's all the more crushing for the assessment of his character that, you know, not only is he having the full on affairs with people that, you know, we speculate what are they giving him that he can't get through his marriage, or that he's seeking out that's not being provided by his marriage.

In, in this case, this just seems a typical shallow sort of physical dalliance that, that he's going to engage in. And as you mentioned, he's engaged in it many times in the past.

Jenna: But he's also said no, typically when it's this kind of thing, remember with Mirabel and Eleanor. And he said, you're selling too hard.

Shelly was selling too hard. But here he said yes. So I don't know if it's his birthday and he feels uncelebrated. I don't know what he's really getting out of this, though.It doesn't seem like it's that fulfilling. It seems more like a bad habit that he can't shake.

Steve: If we go back to The Jet Set with Joy, I think there's some parallels there as well, aren't there? I mean, Joy is very young, she's not possessive. We see her sex appeal to Don Draper, but I wouldn't say that Joy necessarily ticks the box of sophistication, yet he indulges for a lost weekend with her.

Jenna: But she's part of this collective life that intrigues him, at least. He's never seen anybody who operates like Joy. He's seen a thousand of Shelly. So I think there is a distinction there.

Back in Sal's hotel room, the guy who comes to help with the AC is the bellhop. Sal reaches for his money clip to tip him and the other man's shoes come into frame. He's right in Sal's face.

They kiss and Sal looks shocked. And then he reciprocates.

The elevator guy is pushing Sal back onto the bed as they kiss. And it's very similar to how Shelly pushes Don back onto his.

And I get the sense this might be Sal's first time with a guy, even though he said in season one he's thought about it a lot.

Steve: Yeah, I get the same vibe as well. And just the way Bryan Batt plays the scene, there's just - he does such a great job of conveying this excitement, this stimulation, but also simultaneously, I think, hesitation, fear, apprehension, all wrapped up in this explosive combination.

Even just the exploding fountain pen in Sal's pocket, I think is just a perfect little touch.

And just from the production side, that downwards looking shot as Sal is counting out a tip and the bellhop appears in frame too close, directly in front of him. It's just so masterfully done. And I think the visual is so striking about where we're about to embark in the scene.

Jenna: So it's interesting that these two strangers have really taken the lead with Don and with Sal.

They feel, I think, that they have some semblance of power, because they're living these secret double lives in their different ways.

And yet here are these people who intrude on them because they don't have maybe the strongest sense of self.

So when somebody approaches them, not that, you know, not that Don was overpowered, I don't mean that. And not that Sal didn't have any agency, but it's just interesting how their defenses can be broken down because they're not really sure who they are or who they should be in a given moment.

Steve: Yeah. And the bellhop really comes across as the aggressor in this scene. He's the one driving it. He's pushing the pace of what's going to happen.

And I see Sal as being that sort of mixed up confusion of emotions and excitement and eagerness and hesitation. But it is the bellhop who's driving the car.

Jenna: The fire alarm goes off and we see Sal look really disappointed.

Back in Don's room, he's all business. He gets out by the fire escape. He snaps his fingers at Shelly. It's not very romantic, but, you know, they're getting out of there.

And on his way down, he catches a glimpse of Sal in the window. And he knocks on the window to get him out of the building.

And then he sees the other man dressing in the room with Sal.

Steve: Yeah. And the stricken look on Bryan Batt’s face in this scene. Again, I just. Some of the acting in the scene is so amazing, and I think he just nails it there. It's this stricken, almost sick look as he realizes, you know, this thing that didn't even happen is now known to Don Draper.

Jenna: So now there's a big crowd outside in the parking lot around the hotel. Fire trucks are arriving.

Sal is sneaking glances at Don standing with Shelly. And he's a married man, and he can stand next to this woman without any kind of shame or fear. And Sal is standing there alone. And we also see Don looking over at Sal.

It's hard to know what Don is thinking about this, except it really does seem like it's a surprise to him that Don did not know this or expect this.

Steve: I definitely sense that. I'm trying to remember what I thought the first time I saw this, you know, before you sort of know how Don's going to land on this.

Jenna: I feel like this news would be a little less shocking to Don Draper. He's so handsome himself that men must have shown interest in him before.

And we saw that just last season with Joy's father expressing his handsomeness and possibly more interest.

Steve: Yeah, he. He is, I think, very experienced sexually.

I also think he. He feels very secure and settled in his own sexuality,

so I don't think he would perceive the interests of others as being threatening to him in any way. I don't get the sense that Don Draper has. Has a lot of insecurities around his orientation.

Jenna: So this episode is doing a lot of work to check in with all of these characters. And we can see it in these scenes outside of Don's trip with Sal.

We get Peggy greeting Joan in the lobby by complaining about her secretary. And Joan won't listen to it. She goes, I'm not at work yet.

And then we find out that the office has a nickname for John Hooker. Peggy calls him Moneypenny. And Joan goes, he hates that.

So we're getting a lot of information from this scene: Peggy likes to complain about people who don't do their work. We can start tracking this - it's going to be even more common in the future.

And you would think that Joan would agree with. But. But instead of that, she. I mean, she could go, yeah, this. This guy was stupid about Burt Peterson. Or she could agree with how Lola is irresponsible to be late, but she defends them both.

And then she also says she's glad that she's going to be out of the office, presumably because she's married and she no longer needs to work. So Joan is on the way out the door, which is a lot of transition work in a very short space of time.

Steve: Yeah. And just the coldness and distance she maintains with Peggy here, because it feels to me like Peggy is trying to confide a bit and relate with Joan about what's going on in the office, and Joan is just giving her the hand in this scene.

Jenna: I think, as audience members, we really do kind of want Peggy and Joan to go in the closet and complain about everybody together.

And I would really love to see more of those scenes. And we really don't get them very often.

I'm not sure why the writers deprive us of it, but I really kind of wish they would indulge it a little bit. And here is no exception.

Steve: And speaking of another little scene which conveys a bunch in a very brief amount of time, Pete arrives in the office, and Hildy congratulates him and notifies him that there's a meeting for the heads of accounts. Plural.

And Pete goes from probably being rather complacent to: What are you talking about? He snaps at Hildy.

Jenna: Yeah, naturally, when Pete finds out Ken is sharing his new job, he's mature about it.

Oh, wait, no.

So now Don and Sal are meeting with the London Fog people.

There's definitely a theme in Mad Men with younger generations seeing the need for change in business. And we see that with the London Fog family here.

Also, we saw it with Lucky Strike when Lee Garner Jr. didn't know how the cigarettes were made. Or with Rachel modernizing Menken’s.

And in this case, the father is resisting the son's idea that they should expand and sell more types of things.

And we know that Don prefers one ad campaign to an array of possibilities, so he is aligned with the more traditional side here. Do one thing well.

And for all his talk about moving forward, as Rachel pointed out, he's really running away, running away from his past. But he does seem resistant and uncomfortable with the future and change. So it's like he expects the rest of the world to stand still and be stagnant while he grows and experiences things.

And Sal echoes this fear for the future with a quote from Balzac. He says, our worst fears lie in anticipation. And of course, we know Sal has something to fear, anticipating how Don might use what he knows about Sal.

Steve: Yeah, we. We definitely see that parallel with Sal's personal situation at that moment.

But then I think we see at the end of the scene, Don Draper's back. You know the head of creative, and he's going to reassure this client. There'll be lean years, there'll be fat years, but it's always going to rain.

And London Fog has this corner on the American raincoat market and a known brand, so they've got this foundation upon which to succeed and survive.

Jenna: Yes. Don is trying to convince them that whatever they're doing is okay. It's almost like taking advice from an ad man might not be the most savvy choice all the time.

And there's a truth call out here when Don makes that pitch to reassure the London Fog people about business may vary, but it is going to rain. And Sal supports him: That's true.

So that's what Sal is bringing to the table. He's another voice convincing them that what they're doing is okay.

Steve: And in his commentary, Matt Weiner talks about how a good pitch brushes up against the truth, but it has to be have some connection in relation to the truth, otherwise it becomes disconnected.

And I think they're very careful to make sure Don's pitches always have that touchstone with the truth. But you can't just shoot off randomly. You've got to keep that connection.

We have the meeting with the heads of accounts and they're dividing up all the accounts. So we've got Ken and Pete. And then it looks that Harry and Lane have worked together to divide them all up.

And just the study and contrast between Pete and and Ken is so delicious in this scene, as we see, Ken seems confident, content,

happy to get his half of the pie, and Pete is only thinking about the half of the pie he didn't get, that he thought he was going to get.

Jenna: We also haven't seen any contact between Pete and Peggy in this episode to know what their relationship is like after their critical scene together in the season two finale when he confessed his love for her and she told him about the baby.

He makes a single comment in this meeting about Peggy's creative mark on so many accounts, saying she's all over the place.

And Joan replies, you know that's not true.

It feels more like Joan is trying to hold on to decorum in this episode more than she's truly interested in defending anyone, even though we see a lot of it from her in this episode.

And we also get a glimpse of Harry's growing power. He and Lane decided who would get which account. And you can see that Pete is not only irritated by Ken, he is irritated by Harry's ascent in the company, too.

Steve: It's really the whole world that has treated Pete unfairly.

Jenna: Lane mentions that if either Ken or Pete distinguishes themselves, it would be easier that way. Like it's a contest.

Steve: Yeah. And there's that Machiavellian vibe that you mentioned earlier, that maybe he's not looking to make them insecure and undermine them. But let's be clear. There is a competition here, and at some point, someone's going to prevail.

Jenna: On the way out of this meeting, Ken and Pete have vastly different reactions. Ken is truly excited about the opportunity, while Pete is letting out his irritation that he didn't get the full job.

And Ken says, they want us to hate each other. I refuse to participate in that. He reads the situation, and he's a much more positive person.

And all Pete sees is gamesmanship. Very nice, Pete shoots back.

And then he spews this sarcasm, and Ken looks really confused and walks away. He's truly refusing to participate in Pete's pity party or being Pete's punching bag.

Steve: Yeah, I think it's really a great illustration of how two people in the exact same circumstance can interpret it and react to it in completely different ways that are wholly contingent upon their own internal filters and mindset because their circumstances are identical.

And we've got one who is just snarling and snapping and lashing out in all directions. And then we've got the other one who's focused completely on the glass being half full and not giving into any of those negative vibes.

Jenna: You can understand them feeling competitive or even disappointed about sharing a job that was previously given to one person, I think.

But the fact that Ken is excited and positive is infinitely more likable than Pete's constant petulance and the scorekeeping he does. It's. It's very commonplace. I mean, he spends his life thinking, I deserve it more than that person, but what an exhausting, miserable mentality.

Steve: I don't feel sympathetic to Pete. I think it's a plastic prison of his own construction. And if he wants to take this as a glass half empty and be toxic about it, he's free to do that.

But it's a choice he's making, and especially in the contrast to Ken's choice. Again, I'm hostile to Pete as a character, and this reinforces that for me.

Jenna: Next we see Sal and Don on the plane home,

and in contrast to the flight out where they were joking about the magazine ad together, they're silent. Don is sleeping and Sal looks nervous.

Steve: Don tells Sal that he has a question and he needs Sal to be completely honest. And the dramatic tension here is super high because we know now Don is going to confront Sal about what he saw in the hotel room.

And this is going to be the moment of truth. Is Sal's career over here?

Is Don hostile to him? Where do they land? And we've seen plenty of homophobia from the other characters earlier in season two, so we feel Sal's nervousness.

And again, I think Bryan Batt's face here is just perfect as he steadies himself and silently nods that he's consented to give Don the truth for this awful personal question that's inevitably going to come.

Jenna: And then what Don says is an ad idea for London Fog.

He says a girl is wearing a coat back to the audience flashing a passerby. And the line will be, limit your exposure. This seems to be like a pretty risque ad idea for the times, I have to say.

And Weiner says that this ad idea is a warning to Sal to keep his secret close. And that's certainly how Don operates with his own secrets. And Sal nods, and he looks relieved that their relationship will seem to go on as it ever was.

Steve: Yeah, we can see the weight come off of Sal's mind here in that Don Draper is agreeing not to speak about the personal secret he knows.

It's just such a great scene because I think it reinforces Don Draper being about the creative, but also this subtle wink and a nod that he sees no need to bring up Sal's personal life. And I think the unstated requirement here is as long as that personal life doesn't intrude into the office space.

Jenna: Back at the office space, Joan comes up with the idea of having an empty office for visitors and that Mr. Hooker can be in it when it's not in use. And she also suggests he can have his own secretary.

And this completely feels like she's managing him because she knows he's feeling put out. He does seem very pleased to get a little more power and status.

I do not know why I love this detail so much, but I really do:

He says, Did Mr. Peterson take the ant farm? And Joan goes, no, it's actually Mr. Cooper's. It just lives there.

So, like, the copier went to Peggy's office. This guy is going to have to deal with the ant farm, and it's just not the prestige fest that he dreamed of. But it will do.

Steve: Yeah. And Matt Weiner in the commentary says, you know, Joan is not laying any sort of a trap here for John Hooker.

So it just seems an example of Joan being a smart professional who's trying to get along and have the office function as smoothly as possible as office manager.

Jenna: Across the office, Trudy stops by to congratulate Pete with a pen set, and he is full on pouting. And when he says, Kenny Cosgrove and I are sharing it, he pronounces the word “sharing” like it is the most vile verb in existence.

Steve: Yeah. And in Matt Weiner's commentary, he talks about there's a bit of Pete's hair that's sort of out of place, and they call it the Hitler hair, because if you imagine sort of, you know, Hitler, when he gets all animated in his speeches, his hair would become a little messy.

And Pete's got that little flop of Hitler hair moving here in his emotional tirade. And as you mentioned, he's having a temper tantrum. And here is loving Trudy, who's come here to celebrate his triumph, and suddenly she's now trying to do damage control and pick her man off the ground for his emotional state.

Jenna: She is essentially saying something very similar to what Jennifer told Harry last season, which was, I didn't know this was about you feeling sorry for yourself.

But Trudy manages Pete so much better.

He's complaining and he goes, why can't I get anything good all at once?

And she's so pragmatic and. And she is ambitious for him. Like, she really believes in him. And she says, they do not want to hear your outrage. They want you to beat Ken.

She really builds him up. She encourages him. She tells him, you know, it's your choice. But she also gives him a clear strategy for moving forward.

So I think you have to respect Trudy here for being kind and sympathetic, genuinely happy for him and his happiness, genuinely supportive for him in his down times, which are many.

And. And also instantly seeing, like, this is what you need to do.

Steve: Well, and just her psychological read of him because she says, you're like my father. And Pete knows she loves her father.

You know, an ambitious man is never happy with what he has. So she's even spinning his little temper tantrum into something about, oh, his endless quest for achievement and glory and the rest.

And it's like, okay, that. That's not untrue, but it's probably the most favorable spin you can put on it. And as well, as you point out, it's funny to me that Trudy is the one who's looking at this objectively, from a professional standpoint of saying they want to see who's the best of you two.

And you need to triumph if you want to get the head of accounts job, you know, uniquely for your own. He's so busy feeling sorry for himself that he hasn't even come around yet to assessing the business problem he needs to solve here, which is outperform Ken, and the job would be yours.

We've seen so much of Pete in this episode going through this emotional roller coaster, and here we see him at the lowest ebb.

Jenna: So the office guys are catching up with Sal about his trip, and he describes it as just two old married men. It's interesting. He will not give up any gossip about himself or about Don.

But when asked for the casting what the guy in the ad should look like, Sal answers, handsome.

He's still himself in there. I wonder if being seen or exposed isn't always bad, because Sal hasn't shared that part of himself with almost anybody.

So maybe there's something a little bit validating about being seen.

Steve: Yeah, it's hard to say. And we didn't really get into why do we think Don Draper is not interested or making an issue of Sal's orientation?

Jenna: I wonder if it's interesting to him. First of all, because he has plenty of his own secrets.

It doesn't hurt the business. So it's not practical, really, to give it more attention than it's due.

And I think he realizes that this has been Sal's truth all along. It hasn't changed anything. Maybe Don has learned a little bit from Bert Cooper about how to handle this.

Steve: Yeah, that's interesting. I was thinking, getting back to our earlier comments, Don grows up around prostitutes, so I think he's seen all sorts of sexual behavior.

And as I think you were alluding to, I think he's very comfortable with it. He knows where he stands. He knows the preferences of others, and I can't imagine any of it is shocking or disturbing to him. It's the water he swims in.

So I think Sal's fortunate that Don Draper is that way, because we've seen the attitudes of some of the others where they're much more closed and threatened by anything that deviates from what they perceive as normal. You just get the sense that this isn't a matter of concern for Don.

Jenna: So now we're catching up more with the Roger, Bert, and Don side of things. We get a couple of quick lines about how Cosgrove versus Campbell is Darwinian.

And Roger has this amazing line. Roger says of Lane, I told him it was a stupid idea, but they don't always get our inflection.

Steve: Okay. I just love that line. I think it's so funny and understated,

and I think it simultaneously draws a division there between the Brits and the Americans, who are the ones who are subtle and use inflection. It's the Brits, right? The Americans are in your face and expressive, and the Brits are subtle and sophisticated. So it's just such a great play in the writing right there.

Jenna: Pete appears in Don's office, and you can see he's ready to complain. But then he sees Roger and changes tactics, and he thanks them for the opportunity after all.

I thought it was curious that he sees Don as a person he can discuss his discontent with and then changes tactics in front of Roger.

And they know he hates this; they just said it was Darwinian.

Pete is still learning how to be a grownup.

Steve: I do get the sense that this is the Americans circling the wagons a little bit here together, and just in a new world where everything's going to change under British rule.

They're sort of in the same boat and they're commiserating a little bit with each other.

Jenna: Yes. When Bert comes in, he mentions a campaign possibility for Penn Station, and he says, despite life under British rule, we still have a real Yankee. And he means Pete by that.

And Weiner in his commentary says that Bert is already tired of the Brits. It's been six months.

Steve: Yeah. And remember, at the time of the merger acquisition,

Bert commented, you can never trust the Brits. He was always more lukewarm to it, even though it made financial sense. I always got the sense that professionally this wasn't going to move the ball forward for Bert in any tangible way.

Jenna: And then we see Lane and John Hooker drinking tea, very British, in Burt Peterson's old office.

And Lane references the ant farm. It does, again, seem like a really funny quirk someone like Cooper might maintain in an office.

Of course, it's also symbolic of all these ants like Pete and Harry and John Hooker and Peggy carrying weight within a busy system, then scurrying around completing various tasks within a defined hierarchy.

John Hooker tells Lane it was his idea to have an office for visitors, even though it was Joan’s.

And here, Lane shows some of his savvy awareness of optics of this idea. He says, they've just made a lot of cuts to the American staff.

So the secretary claiming the office is like going through their pockets and John should sit up front.

Steve: Lane says, yeah, and John is not going to push back. And he immediately subordinates himself and says it was presumptuous of him to do that.

Jenna: And as you pointed out, I really did get the sense that Joan was trying to throw him a bone when he mentioned that he was feeling slighted. And it's Lane here who crushes his hopes.

Steve: Yeah, and I detect a coldness between Lane and John. You know, they're both there, they're the two Brits, they're having tea together, but you don't get any sense of personal warmth or friendship between the two of them.

Jenna: And John says this place is a gynocracy, meaning a place where women have power and influence.

Lane says, I hadn't noticed.

And I think that Joan and Peggy and even the queen ant would tell John Hooker that any power and influence has been hard won.

But also, in an ant farm, there is one queen and everything falls apart without her. If we are talking about Joan and Sterling Cooper, this is a pretty big deal, because we know that Joan is planning to leave the company.

And I'm not sure if anybody really realizes how much Joan contributes to this whole system. So it's interesting that maybe this obsequious British secretary is the one who really gets that.

Steve: I think about this comment in the light of Trudy and Pete in this episode where Pete's, you know, emotionally bouncing around in all directions and Trudy is the one who feels grounded and has her eyes on the prize.

So at the end of the episode, when Pete comes into Don's office and talks about, you know, doing his best and putting on a good face, that's exactly the advice that Trudy had given him and that he hadn't been able to reach without her.

And now he's come around. So I was just thinking it. It's another case, it seems almost where the failings of the men create a vacuum or a need for the women to step up and get them sorted out in a good way,

it feels to me almost that if the men were better, then the women wouldn't have to step up and fix things for them all the time.

So I wonder if it's meant as a criticism of the shortcomings of the men.

Jenna: At home that night, Don's family is in Don and Betty's bedroom and Sally apologizes to Don for breaking his suitcase. She did it because she didn't want him to go away.

He tells her he will always come home. And he kisses her head.

And Sally starts unpacking his suitcase and discovers a stick pin of wings like a flight attendant might wear and asks if those are for her, he hesitates just a second before agreeing, Yes.

And then he watches his wife pin a stick pin on his daughter that belonged to another woman he just slept with the night before.

Steve: Yeah, it's a rough scene. And I feel that we see the look of guilt on Jon Hamm's face. He's confronted by his behaviors in the recent past.

There's also that comment where Don says, I don't sleep well when I'm not here to Betty. And it's like, maybe you don't sleep well because you've got a flight attendant in the bed with you.

We know about the non birthday celebration because no one knows when Dick Whitman's real birthday is. But all that seems to wrap in here with his infidelity to his wife and then his daughter wearing the wings of the flight attendant he slept with.

Jenna: Sally is so often a reminder to Don of how he's not very true to the person he's trying to be. She was that to him in the Maidenform episode with a veteran recognition.

And also when she said she wouldn't talk and bother him while he was shaving after he demanded that Bobbie Barrett stop talking when he was with her.

And now she wears this pin, beaming with this gift from her father. Except it isn't.

Remember when Peggy's advertising idea for Mohawk Airlines was, what did you bring me, Daddy?

I mean, he did come home, I guess, but he was not thinking about bringing Sally something. So all of this is just a reminder that he's not that guy.

Steve: Yeah. And even just the guilt he feels. Okay, so you feel guilt, but what are you willing to stop doing or start doing in reaction to it? Because just having some aspirational ideal of who you want to be with no effort, you know, it's like saying, I want to lose weight, but I'm not going to eat less and I'm not going to exercise. And it's like, do you really want to lose weight, then?

Jenna: Sally snuggles between her parents and looks at her mother's belly. Was I really in there? She's asking doubtfully. And she says, tell me about the day I was born.

Which of course, is an echo of Don thinking about his own birthday.

And Don starts to tell the story and he falters a little bit.

And I think it's very kind - Betty looks at him and reads him as not able to continue. So she carries the story forward and she says, he took my suitcase, which we keep having as a symbol, and my little stuffed Eeyore that I knew I was going to give you. There was a gift for Sally in Betty's suitcase, just not in Don's.

The closing song was written by David Carbonara, and the fiddle folk music sound takes us back to Don's early life, away from his present.

In this season premiere, we don't get very much of Peggy, Roger or Joan, but there is a lot of setup with some good story.

Pete continues to be a power crazy penguin, but he's ascending in the company. And we see Betty's pregnancy evolving, and she has recommitted to her marriage and family life, since Don seems to want to do the same.

And we get more details about Dick Whitman's origin story, and in spite of his seeming devotion to Betty, he hasn't changed his cheating ways.

We don't know if Shelly was the first or the 15th in the last six months, but he's at it again.

Steve: I will say this is only my first rewatch or second watching of the series and in my mind Roger is a much bigger, more active character to this point.

So I'm a little surprised at how few scenes there are with Roger as a prominent player and just how much he stuck out in my memory from my first watch through. And now going through it again. It's much less Roger than I recall having seen.

Jenna: We'd like to give a listener shout out to Esty 1943 for your positive review of our show on Apple Podcasts. Thank you so much for rewatching with us.

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.

Jenna: You can find us on Instagram and YouTube at Mad Men C to Z, and please listen, like, and subscribe. That's what the podcast's for!

Steve: Thanks for listening, everybody.

View the full episode transcript of Mad Men Season 2 Episode 13: Meditations in an Emergency on our Mad Men C to Z website

Mad Men C to Z S2:E13 Meditations in an Emergency Transcript

Jenna: Hi, I'm Jenna.

Steve: And I'm Steve. Welcome to all things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou.

Jenna: There's so much to love about this amazing show and we're happy to connect to fans like us who discover new things with each re-watch.

Steve: Be advised, while we aren't gratuitous with spoilers, they can pop up as we discuss character arcs through the final season. Let's get started with Mad Men, C to Z.

Jenna: Welcome to season two, episode 13, Meditations in an Emergency. This episode was written by Matthew Weiner and Kater Gordon, and directed by Matthew Weiner.

We start with Betty at the doctor's office. The office is part of the doctor's home and we know Betty has seen this doctor for a while, because she was referring to Dr. Aldridge in the first season when she was talking about seeing a psychiatrist.

Steve: Yeah, and given the rough treatment doctors get from this time period in this series, the doctor seems on the sympathetic side of things relative to what we've seen so far.

Although there is all the underlying sexism and doctor feeling like it's his place to advise Betty on how to live her life and what she can do. Betty's pregnant and it's a surprise pregnancy, and it's pretty clear that she doesn't welcome the news.

The part I found interesting was that even in this pre Roe v. Wade era, it's clear that there are options for a woman like Betty who has means. And the doctor seems intent on discouraging her from aborting the pregnancy.

Jenna: I agree when you noticed that he was kinder than some of the other doctors we've seen. But yes, he is still condescending at first. He thinks that she might be worried about her figure. He says, oh, you've been blessed with a really resilient figure. And she says, you don't understand. It's a bad time. And he says, when you tell your husband and your friends, you're going to start to feel better about the idea.

She's not in the same situation as Peggy last season, but this pregnancy does threaten some of the agency she has claimed for herself in terms of setting boundaries with Don.

Steve: Yeah. And his solution is the opposite of agency, right?

It's not about what you think, Betty. Once you tell your husband and friends, then they'll decide that this is a good thing and change your mind so that you see it as a good thing.

I also thought the line that abortions are for poor people and young people --

Jenna: He says that is an option for young girls who have no other option.

Steve: Yeah. So, again, it's this judgmental expectation of the doctor, of what Betty's supposed to do here, and there's not a lot of thought about listening to her getting in behind her reasons for not wanting another pregnancy.

Jenna: Also, so far in Mad Men, there is a 100% chance that a character finds out they're pregnant in the season finale, so we'll have to track whether that holds true in the future.

Steve: Betty doesn't stick around for his examination. She collects her things and walks out of the office. It strikes me that Betty hasn't made a decision of what she's going to do.

Jenna: Yes, when the doctor steps out for a minute and Betty leaves, it's a little bit like running away from bad news, but also maybe some progress in terms of her independence.

We see that she got rid of the psychiatrist who she said was looking down her dress and told Don whatever it was she said in her sessions. And now she's not going to hang around to hear why this baby is good news for her.

Before, I think Betty would have just stayed and put up with it. Do you think this is her claiming independence, or do you feel like this is her denying what's in her face?

Steve: I do get a vibe that it's the new Betty who's not going to just passively take everybody else's guidance and direction. I kind of like seeing that spine from Betty of, you know, I don't want to stay here. I was happy her character walked away.

Jenna: In the first episode of this season, all the office guys were fluttering around about Duck hiring younger creative associates and what that meant for their jobs.

So in the finale, it's a nice callback to that to see them worried again as Ken hands Harry a binder with numbers from accounts, and they gossip about how maybe Don is away in California planning to open Sterling Cooper West.

Steve: Yeah, it doesn't seem they have any clue of what's going on, so they're casting about for any possibility. And it's also interesting how they are - I don't know what the term is - almost deferential to Peggy, you know, in soliciting her views on this.

You know, what do you think's happening? What do you know? So it's interesting, in the midst of all the sexism we've seen Peggy face this season, in this moment of crisis and nervousness on their part, they're very much looking towards Peggy as a potential source of new information that they don't already have.

Jenna: And her only line is, I haven't heard anything, which she would have said if she had heard something. Or in this case, she hasn't. So that's a true professional right there.

Steve: Yeah, she's all business and she stays outside it, whether she knows anything or not. She's certainly not contributing anything.

Jenna: After the meeting with the office guys breaks up, Peggy goes to Pete's office and she tells him that everyone had to turn in their numbers early and they noticed that Clearasil was missing.

She asks him if he said anything about Clearasil yet, because in the last episode, he confessed to her that he's lost that account.

Pete has been putting it off. You know, it's embarrassing to confess that he lost the account because now his father in law hates him. And I wonder why Peggy took the time and effort to go tell Pete this in the first place. It seems like she's going out of her way to make his life a little bit easier.

Steve: Yeah, I don't know, maybe it's just another reflection of her professionalism. You know, a key account is missing. She's going in to remind the account owner that it's missing.

And then it rolls into this confession from Pete to Peggy. And her advice is, Pete should just be honest and tell it how it is. And then I enjoy the line where she says, don't blame creative as she heads out the door.

Jenna: Yes, this is so crucial, the set of lines she has. I think it's almost series-defining in terms of all of the efforts of all these characters to pretend to be something they're not, and advertising itself.

And she says, Pete, just tell the truth. Don't worry about the outcome. People respect that.

And Pete has never been that way ever, not ever in his whole life. But here he sees the sense in it, and he actually thanks her. And I agree: I love that she's like, yeah, don't blame creative about this.

Steve: It's a really strong episode for Vincent Kartheiser's acting. The suggestion of, hey, tell the truth. Like, I just love the way he acts that scene physically as sort of, oh, what a novel concept.

He's just got the perfect delivery of it because if he goes too far, it'll be a little clownish. He's got just the right balancing point there where you think, yeah, this is a character who telling the truth isn't in his sort of top three options for any given approach.

Jenna: Betty has been told not to go horseback riding now that she's pregnant from the doctor. And we see that she is in fact riding her horse.

And I love the expression on January Jones’ face when she gets off the horse and she sees Don is waiting there for her. She's surprised and then confused. And then she turns herself into steel as she walks toward him. And I think it really matters here that Don goes to Betty first, not to the office first.

Steve: Yeah. And there's a lot of tension and energy, I think, in this scene as the two get together and we're wondering, you know, how this is going to play out. The fact that he's tracked her down to the stables and made this approach. I think we understand that Don is coming to her, cap in hand.

She gives him a pretty hard reception. Right. You know, where have you been? You disappeared. He says he needed some time to think about things. She takes a shot and says, oh, it must be nice that you can disappear and take your time as you need it. She's not cutting him any slack in the first part of this scene.

Jenna: Well, I feel like when she says, you disappeared, that shows that she cares, right? She noticed. It mattered. She was worried. But she is also definitely very icy.

And when she says this, oh, how nice it must be to need time and just take it all on your own terms. Of course, he's been guilty of doing that for two seasons and probably well before that.

And finally, finally he admits, I was not respectful to you. And it's a relief to her. It's not even painful. She says, well, now I know I'm not crazy. That helps.

Steve: Let's note, too, he doesn't offer that of his own volition. He says he wants to undo what happened. And she says, well, what did happen? And squeezes this out of him.

Jenna: I think all along, maybe a part of her thought that she was inventing it. You know, he's that good a liar to make her doubt just a little, still.

And I also think outside of just who Don Draper is, I think she has definitely been raised that she would fall in love and get married, and have this perfect life where somebody would love her and take care of her and cherish her forever, and she'd live happily ever after.

And to acknowledge this and face this, she's saying, no, this is a sharp turn, and I don't have a guidebook for how to proceed with this actual truth here.

To look it in the face is painful, of course, but it's also to give up this plan that she's had her whole life, but to say goodbye and close the door on that dream and say, no, this is the actual reality of my life.

And for him to come to her and say, I want to be with you. I wasn't respectful. I wish I could undo what happened. She's not having any of it in this meeting, but I also hear him mention wanting to see the kids. So he does really seem genuinely invested here.

Steve: Yeah, I think he says the right things. And just going back to your comment about - she places importance on that admission from him, like, she needs to hear the admission, whether it's for her own peace of mind that she's not crazy.

But I think also in terms of he needs to admit his wrongdoing to at least some extent. And admittedly, this is probably the least amount of wrongdoing you can admit to. I was not respectful to you.

It's like, okay, that. That's a start. Like you mentioned, Don says, you know, I can't walk away from this. I want to be with you. She puts in a pretty tough shot here when she says, things haven't been that different without you.

And then he flips to, I need to see the kids. And it almost feels like he's changing tactics there from about the relationship and the marriage to then, you know, the shared interest of the children. And at that point, Betty doesn't want to engage with them. She says, I can't deal with this right now. I'll call. I will make arrangements.

Jenna: Do you think she's overly harsh? I mean, did you want her to rush into his arms?

Steve: I wonder if there's an element here of her insisting that she's not going to jump to his timing. He's decided to show up to the stables. He's decided to make this admission. He's decided he can't live without her.

And I get the sense that her character is saying, that's great that you've reached all these things, but that doesn't mean I have to now commit or make the same commitment on the same schedule. So I felt it was a expression of sovereignty and control of herself and her choices here. I liked it for her character because I think in the past, she's been pushed around and forced to concede far too much.

Jenna: Yes, I see it as her keeping some of her power, but I also feel like she needs to hang on to her dignity, that he's stolen pieces of it from her, and not being foolish is something she's really on guard against.

And I think if she were over him, she wouldn't look worried or surprised or need the confrontation. She'd just roll her eyes and want him to go away. And that's not the case.

Also, Matthew Weiner, in the commentary for the DVD, says that when Don says, I was not respectful to you, it isn't that he's trying to evade responsibility, but she probably doesn't want to hear specific details about what he actually did. So that his intention with that line is that Don is being kind about the way he says it.

I also interpret it as it was kind of the minimalist apology. He was only admitting to the bare minimum of what he could. But I also understand, what is it that you're going to say that's going to make this gentle? It's really - there's no way, right?

Steve: It's only a one hour show, so there's really not enough time for Don to get into all the details, you know, starting with, “I bought Midge a tv. She threw it out the window.”

[Laughter]

Jenna: "I was going to take her to Paris."

So Pete goes into Duck's office, to be honest, just as Peggy advised him to be. Pete tells Duck Clearasil is gone and he doesn't throw creative under the bus either. And Duck reads it correctly, instantly. Your father in law. That's a sticky wicket.

Indeed, Pete says.

Steve: I like Duck in this scene. There's been so many cases where Duck has been behaved very professionally and been very on point. I think his response to Pete here is perfectly appropriate and then even kind in some ways because he can tell Pete's nervous about having to share this information with them.

At the same time, we know Duck's got his head on bigger game at this point.

Jenna: Yes. So Duck turns around and confides in Pete that he's going to run the new company and that Pete can be the new head of accounts.

Of course, that's the job that Pete was trying to blackmail Don for at the end of the last season and now it's being handed to him on a platter.

But instead of being overjoyed, Pete hesitates a bit and he asks if Don is on board with this. And we should note, we see Duck drinking again. He's giving Pete a drink, he's taking one himself. And a little personal vendetta leaks out through his professional veneer when he says, I'm the president, I don't need his permission, do I?

It turns out that Clearasil would have been a conflict with another similar company PP&L already has, so one of them would have had to go anyway. So Pete was worried for nothing.

Steve: Yeah. And we can just see Duck oozing confidence here. He's going to be the president. He's triumphed in this battle with Don Draper and creative and he can't resist throwing out the comment, that's why God put non-compete clauses in contracts.

Jenna: So Peggy's advice to be honest turned out to be really good here for Pete. He got some inside scoop. Duck believes in him, and Duck's going to be in charge. So this should be a really great day for Pete.

Find us at www.MadMenCtoZ.com and on socials @MadMenCtoZ

View the full (human-edited) episode transcript for The Mountain King: https://www.madmenctoz.com/blog/the-mountain-king-transcript

Podcast Timestamps for this Episode:

00:00 Introduction

00:40 If taking away Barbie is a punishment for you, you're probably too young to smoke

03:33 Why do moms give treats? There's no good reason.

04:30 Should I get Mrs. Campbell on the line?

06:00 My stockings cost more than your carpeting.

08:44 Stop lying. You've been caught.

15:04 Hell's Bells, Trudy!

18:34 Stop it, Greg - you know there is no before

21:44 If you don't want to talk about what happened, that's fine. But you can, you know.

30:45 I don't like being in the position of selling out my life's work because you have a sudden increase in overhead

34:03 Trudy's happiness should be your first priority

36:55 Don't hate me, but I don't believe he's that happy

42:49 Take it, break it, share it, love it

43:58 You're an awful woman, you know that?

46:35 This is a very delicate piece of machinery

48:42 I thought you hated French food. There's a new chef.

54:29 I'm sorry, I don't know whose eyes to look at

56:20 I remember these. I used to sell them, used.

1:00:16 The vote

1:01:47 He's the doctor you hope to see that only exists in the movies

1:04:25 Your father and I are having a disagreement, and he went away

1:07:25 It reminded me of New York, and it made me worry about you

1:10:28 I'm sleeping with Don. It's really working out.

1:13:58 Baptism in the California surf

1:14:27 Episode Wrap-Up

1:15:14 Listener Shout-Out

View the full episode transcript (this version is human-edited, and spells Don and Zou Bisou correctly) on our website, Mad Men C to Z dot com in the blog posts.

View the full episode page with details, Double Dip questions, and Sterling Lines on our website, Mad Men C to Z dot com in the episode listings.

Stop counting other people's money, bring back the jardiniere, and re-watch with us @MadMenCtoZ or All Things Mad Men, From Chip & Dip to Zou Bisou

Find our full, correct transcript for this episode at this Mad Men C to Z blog post.

Podcast Time Stamps for this episode:

00:00 Introduction

00:48 Campbell, you do the talking. Kinsey, you do the listening.

01:54 We're not related by blood and you love me.

04:37 William called. My father had a stroke.

06:14 Gene, this is Betty, your daughter. It's not Ruth.

09:44 We're going to Los Angeles together. It's horrible, but someone has to go.

14:05 To the end of the line!

16:14 I don't want to get stuck with him just because I cared enough not to move away.

23:19 I hope you don't get too used to this family. It's come to my attention that you've been considering adoption.

28:20 The real night to remember?

29:48 The world's most awkward family breakfast

33:09 You are supposed to take care of your husband and your beautiful children now.

35:27 I'm going to take a shower. I think you should leave.

39:12 I'm very touched by this party. I'm leaving for California tomorrow for the rocket fair.

42:19 I wish I was going. Everybody does. I've never even been on a plane.

46:52 We don't know what this scene is for, but there's a lot of Glen in it.

50:54 The market - and I'm talking in a purely Marxist sense - dictates that we must include everyone.

52:08 Don isn't living here.

57:35 Closing scene and song

58:25 Fan shout-out

Jenna and Steve are unapologetic Mad Men fans, and our podcast breaks down our favorite scenes and lines in each episode. You can't help yourself, so re-watch with us!

www.MadMenCtoZ.com

Did you want the full Don Draper treatment, and a fair amount of trauma? You're in the right place - re-watch with us!

See sample Maidenform ads from the early 1960s, as referenced in this episode of Mad Men.

See an interview with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists about the opening song, The Infanta.

Let's talk about Chauncey - the memes and posts

Follow us on social media @MadMenCtoZ and visit our website, Mad Men C to Z.com for more details about this amazing television series.

Podcast Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:40 "You're hungover - I can smell it."

Do we think Father Gil and Peggy really have romantic chemistry, or are they just two forward-thinking young people surrounded by traditionalists in Brooklyn?

02:16 "What's with you?"

Don is into Betty this Sunday morning. Is it just because she's there, or is there actual hope for their marriage?

05:05 "Go watch T.V."

Betty and Don spend quality time drinking their way through Sunday afternoon, and mostly ignoring their kids.

08:28 "That was beautiful. Are you going to say grace now?"

Father Gil acts as a celebrity guest when he visits Peggy and her family for dinner.

11:36 "Whatever she wants."

Roger and Mona try to convince Margaret and Brooks to have a conventional wedding. Is Roger uncharacteristically quiet because he's disappointed in his daughter, or because he's jealous of her?

15:48 "I don't know that I'm your audience."

More debate over whether Father Gil and Peggy have romantic sparks as she offers him presentation tips.

19:35 "Great - you broke it. You were being wild in the house."

Betty can't stop blaming Bobby today. Why hold your cheating spouse accountable, when you can vent on your six-year-old son instead, I guess?

20:42 "Aha! Second time around - that explains it."

Roger is enamored with the Gorton rep's "wife," his love for frozen scrod notwithstanding.

22:34 "Will you sell it for me?"

Bobbie Barrett approaches Don with an idea for a television show. Why is he so disinterested in this project? We get the sense he would have jumped at the chance to work with Rachel on something like this.

26:00 "Do you think you'd be the man you are today if your father didn't hit you?"

No, Betty. He almost certainly would not. 

30:52 "I want to go with Daddy."

Pancake pain, Saturday in the office, and Pete's glorious weekend tennis outfit

37:27 "Isn't that the perfect thing to say?"

Roger Sterling: charming man-about-town or world's most selfish man-child?

39:56 "How could it be my gum? My gum's in my mouth."

Sally makes awkward conversation in the office, Peggy ignores serious side-eye from the office secretaries, and Duck tries to hold everything together as Don and the team build the American Airlines campaign.

45:27 "I'm meeting a friend."

While the team works in the office, Roger plans to take Vicky to Lutece. Conrad Hilton's not the only one who wants what he wants when he wants it.

47:59 "It's so nice he can get to know her without all her troubles."

Is Anita right to resent Peggy, or is she taking it too far?

49:58 "Shel Keneally was fired this morning."

51:38 "What about me, Father? What about my troubles? What about me being good?"

We continue the discussion about Anita and Peggy's relationship here, and whether Anita is justified in telling Father Gil. Is it really about her confession, or about outing Peggy's secret so he won't admire her so much?

57:38 "Old business is just old business"

Roger brushes off the loss of American Airlines

1:00:19 "Don - do something!"

The robot probably deserved better. This might be the most revealing thing Don has ever told Betty about himself.

1:08:12 "For the little one"

Was this the relationship Peggy and Father Gil should have always had? Or is he enjoying his acquired knowledge in a way most unbecoming?

1:10:26 Episode Wrap-Up & Listener Shout-Out

Note: We mentioned the mystery movie that Don watches in this episode - here is a discussion of some of the possibilities. Let us know what you discover!

Jenna and Steve are two Mad Men fans who enjoy re-watching and discussing the show. We're not celebrities - just an indie podcast finding our way. Re-watch with us and find more details about this episode and the show at www.MadMenCtoZ.com

Reference: Mad Men, Mad World: Sex, Politics, and Style in the 1960s edited by Lauren Goodlad, Lilya Kaganovsky, and Robert A. Rushing; Duke University Press, 2013.

Show Notes Time Stamps:

00:00  Intro

00:50  Ain't no party like a Montclair party, 'cause a Montclair party don't stop

7:00  Roger - "I'd like a ticker tape parade for backing out of my driveway and going around the block three times

9:25  Flight 1

10:35  Cottage cheese and ketchup, anyone?

12:06  Pete - "I just got off the phone - it's the strangest thing. My father was on that plane."

14:58  Duck - "It's a serious foothold." Don - "Oh, a foothold!"

17:07  The elephant in the room

20:18  Cards with neighbors

23:24  You say you'll come at dinner and you already ate? Such a pretty face.

26:32  He's a little liar

30:40  Aren't you going to say goodnight?

32:42  Bets, I'm not gonna fight with you. I'll say whatever you want me to say.

35:11  Those are French bulldogs.

37:03  Epic burn

42:02  I'm sure he was proud of you. Some people have trouble saying it.

43:49  What kind of company are we going to be?

46:25  You can leave him a note if you want. People do that.

47:38  I had no idea you were in your thirties.

49:23  You fooled me.

50:44  Maybe something good can come from this.

52:55  Not tonight.

54:06  Peggy goes to Mass

56:19  Closing Song: Temptation is Hard to Fight

56:27  Listener Shout-out

Jenna and Steve are unapologetic re-watchers of this fantastic series, and invite you to muster your nostalgia, be kind to your radio spot talent, and ignore your phone bill as we break down the thirteenth episode.

Mad Men C to Z S1:E13 The Wheel Podcast Time Stamps

00 Intro

0:40 Tom Vogel: Trudy told us you were up for some promotion and didn’t get it or something.

1:36 Betty: You know, I don’t think you want to go.

Don: I’m sorry, was I unclear about that?

 Betty: I don’t understand why you can’t make my family your family.

2:49 Harry: Let me come home.

4:54 Bert: It was the tone of his voice. He’s her father. That’s it, Cowboy.

6:52 Francine: I’m so stupid. What am I supposed to do? I thought you’d know what to do.

11:39  Duck: This is a list of people you should be having lunch with

 Don: Bringing in business is the key to your salary, status, and self worth.

12:33  Peggy: We’re selling a better you. That woman isn’t a better anything.

 Ken: If I get a hard time about this, I’m going to tell people it was your idea.

 Peggy: It was my idea.

15:13  Pete: I can’t provide for a child on what I make.

18:55 Betty: I had a terrible day. Sit with me.

23:04 Duck: If you can do this, you can make me look good in my first month here.

25:23 Peggy: Annie, what don’t you understand?

 Jenna and Steve have a fairly lengthy disagreement about Ken here

31:35 Don: Red hair, over six feet.

 Brighton Hotel Manager: I know who you’re talking about. Hate to be the one to give bad news.

33:27 Betty: Who is this?

36:20 Harry: I thought it was like someone reaching through the stone right to us. ‘I was here.’

39:15 Glen: I’m not supposed to talk to you.

 Betty: I don’t care.

 Glen: I don’t really know how long twenty minutes is.

42:48 Double Dip Question: What is Betty Draper’s best course of action at this point?

 Visit www.MadMenCtoZ.com to offer your insights

43:12 Pete: It matters to me that you’re impressed.

46:29 Betty: I suppose it means I’m not enough. But maybe it - it’s just him.

51:01 Don: This device isn’t a spaceship. It’s a time machine.

56:55 Don: I’ve got a way for you to turn this account into a home run.

 Pete: She’s not even a copywriter. She’s a secretary.

1:00:26 Joan: I said congratulations, didn’t I? Remember to think of the other girls, or they won’t think of you.

1:02:22 Peggy: I have to stop eating off the cart.

1:05:00 Pete: I think I should lie down.

1:06:08 Nurse: Don’t you want to hold him, Sweetheart?

1:07:13 Don: I’m coming with you.

 Betty: Really? You are?

1:09:15 Quick Check-In on the First Season and the Show’s Overall Appeal

Jenna and Steve love Mad Men, and we invite you to rewatch with us! We share our favorite scenes and lines and pose questions to our listeners for discussion on future podcast episodes. Find us on social media @MadMenCtoZ, and visit us at www.MadMenCtoZ.com for All Things Mad Men, including our podcast episodes, contact information, and resources related to this amazing television series.

Join us as we re-watch this incredible series, and give us feedback on your favorite Sterling Lines from each episode at www.MadMenCtoZ.com.

For this episode, we're shouting out appreciation to all of our listeners, especially Charlene F. from San Francisco. Thank you for listening to our podcast, and following and sharing our social media posts - we are always happy to connect to Mad Men fans! If you like our podcast, please share it with a friend! We're a new show, and we appreciate your support.

Visit us at www.MadMenCtoZ.com to share your insights on our Double Dip questions for each episode, to vote for your favorite Sterling Lines in each episode, and find more details and resources about this fantastic show. Thanks for listening, and if you like the podcast, please recommend us to a friend or two!

Mad Men C to Z Podcast S1:E10 Timestamps:

0:38 Fathers and Daughters

2:38 Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy -- It should have never been this close

7:58 Roger to Joan: Mona and Margaret are out of town -- we can go anywhere.

10:09 Abe Menken: Why would I want to own a store I wouldn't want to shop in?

15:55 Carol to Joan: Then they made Mr. Aldridge fire me. He was really sorry about it.

17:23 Pete to Don: I don't know. I've never lost an account before.

19:34 Roger to Don: Give me tonight. You owe me that. I can use you as bait.

21:03 Peggy to Pete: I cannot believe I am in this conversation right now.

24:26 Casting twins for Cartwright double-sided aluminum

27:13 Carol to Joan: I moved to Manhattan to be with you

29:01 Roger and Mirabelle - loneliness disguised as a good time

31:32 Joan, Carol, and bachelors - more loneliness, less of a good time

34:49 Don to Eleanor: You're selling too hard.

36:10 There's something wrong with your friend! / Your wife's name is Mona.

41:08 Bert: Miss Holloway, Roger Sterling has suffered a heart attack.

42:35 Betty: How can he pretend like she never existed?

45:58 For real leadership in the sixties, help elect Senator John F. Kennedy

47:02 Don: I know it's late. I'm sorry.

52:21 Bert: You could do a lot better.

54:32 Don: I was raised by those two sorry people.

57:39 Episode 10 - our take

Jenna and Steve are unapologetic Mad Men fans, ready to enable your re-watching habit. Visit www.MadMenCtoZ.com for episode details and links to vote for your favorite Sterling Lines, and share your insights on our Double Dip questions. If you like our podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave us a positive review. Thank you to our listeners!

Mad Men S1E9 Podcast Time Stamps

0:39 Episode opening - keep an eye on your pigeons

1:29 Fiorello Exclamation Point: You've done your time in the farm leagues

2:46 Betty: I did do some modeling - a lifetime ago.

5:22 Betty: It was more of an artist-muse relationship

8:28 Jim McCann: Can you imagine the lifestyle that goes with Pan-Am?

9:40 My mother wanted me to be beautiful so I could find a man and get married. There's nothing wrong with that. But then what? Just sit and smoke and let it go until you're in a box? I don't care why he gave me his card.

13:34 Sal: I think women will hate her.

15:15 Betty: I think it would be fun to go in and be that girl again.

18:59 The rip seen round the office

22:12 Roger: That bonus from Cooper must have made you happy. It was designed as a kind of armor against men like Jim Hobart.

26:49 Paul: I admit, she crossed my mind once or twice.

29:49 I'm overwhelmed with the style of you.

32:09 Pete and Harry, frat boys, and Mamie's funeral

33:37 Don't worry, I'm not going to ruin this

35:44 The perfect commercial family vs. the imperfect "actual" family

36:54 Everybody had a nice day (except the pigeon, and Sally)

39:15 I didn't think you had it in you, and I mean that

43:21 I like the way you do business

49:10 That wasn't a big league move

50:45 I just realized - you think you're being helpful

54:28 Oh, Honey, it has nothing to do with you

56:35 They call a girl like her a lobster

59:20 I would have given anything to have had a mother like you

1:02:18 Suburban bliss - or something

1:04:36 S1E9 Double Dip Question

S1E8 Mad Men Podcast Episode Notes in Four Fairy Tales:

Mad Men Fairy Tale 1

Once upon a time, a corporate boss gave his worker $2500, which the worker brought home to his beautiful wife.

"Betty, let us use this money to invest in your hopes and dreams," he declared, as they embraced.

Just kidding. He took the check to his mistress and asked her to go to Paris, but she turned him down so she could get high with her friends and listen to Miles Davis records, and he gave all the money to the mistress to buy a car. The End

Mad Men Fairy Tale 2

Once upon a time, a young girl got a new job and found the beginnings of success. An evil troll put a spell on her and she made some poor decisions indulging his never-ending selfishness and greed. One day all the forest creatures were celebrating and the girl sought out the troll, who slammed his club into her heart and crawled back into his cave, where he continued to mutter about everyone who had ever wronged him. The girl tried to keep dancing. The End

Mad Men Fairy Tale 3

Once upon a time, an artist worked for a company. He was paid well and did good work, but he was not happy. One day a young woman came along, bewitched by the sound of the man's voice. He went out for drinks with a client instead, where he had one of the best conversations of his life. Alas, the client grew up in a village that the man had been taught to disdain, so he turned away, feeling sadder than when he started. The End

Mad Men Fairy Tale 4

Once upon a time, a young woman surprised her new husband by showing up at his office with a bottle of champagne on the day they were scheduled to move into a new castle. The husband was not very happy to see her and declined to go with her to the castle, saying he was very busy with work, which mostly involved putting his feet up on his desk and day drinking and complaining about slow elevators. He bore a strong resemblance to a troll. The young woman told him he was being troll-like, and then they apologized to each other and drank champagne together, even though they both knew then that it was a fraudulent detente. The End

Vote for your favorite episode lines and give us your insights for our Double Dip questions at www.MadMenCtoZ.com. We break down each episode of Mad Men, from Chip & Dip to Zou Bisou, so listen and subscribe - that's what the podcast's for!

Podcast Time Stamps:

0:36 "Draper has you in early."

Peggy and Pete both arrive early to the office. Pete seems glum about the fact that he and Trudy are moving today, while Peggy is excited and nervous about the Belle Jolie ad campaign. We get the second "A Thing Like That" from Pete in the elevator.

3:12 Mega Spoiler. Listen with care.

Peggy makes the same disastrous decision a second time. Pete mostly continues to mope and hints that Trudy doesn't understand him.

6:08 "Ciao, ciao. My stars."

Lois, the new telephone operator, is smitten with the sound of Sal's voice and determined to find out who he is.

7:42 "I might start keeping a spare."

Peggy's collar got ripped earlier in the day, and Don notices. He already keeps a stack of shirts in his desk.

8:20 "I am appreciative of your talents, and although that cannot be measured, I have made an effort to quantify."

Remember when your boss handed you $2500 for no reason? You might have to listen to some Ayn Rand promotion, but otherwise, there don't seem to be strings attached.

10:26 "I'm such a featherhead."

Lois finds the art department in order to meet Sal, and Lois says "I work in a closet all day."

12:19 "This is my office. How do you think it looks?"

Trudy surprises Pete at the office with champagne, excited to move to their new apartment. Pete is grouchy and defensive.

15:41 Mark your man

Fred, Don, and Sal present Peggy's concept to the Belle Jolie clients. It's a big turn from their current strategy, and it focuses on a woman having choices beyond lots of colors.

18:37 "Peggy! Ice."

Peggy wasn't part of the client presentation, but the team invites her in to celebrate afterward. "Home run, Ballerina," Fred congratulates her.

21:18 "We have to celebrate! P.J. Clarke's?"

Peggy is bubbling over with her success and some of the office women are happy for her, proposing a bunch of them go out to celebrate after work. Peggy's finally fitting in.

22:34 "I don't know, Peggy. I'm kind of senior ranking when those other men are gone."

As assistant to the regional manager - ish - Pete tries to decline Peggy's general invitation to go out with the group.

23:43 "We'll have breakfast at Versailles."

Don takes his bonus check and invests in Betty's deepest hopes and dreams. Just kidding. He runs to Midge and asks her to go to Paris. She prefers to get high with her friends while they listen to jazz records.

26:47 "Dick Whitman! Stop diggin' holes."

A flashback to Don's childhood recalls the time a hobo showed up at the family farm looking for some food and the chance to earn a coin.

31:32 "Little compartments filled with possibilities"

Sal and Elliot meet for a drink and talk about architecture and the wonder of Manhattan.

32:45 "My God, the whole office is here."

       "Dance with me."

At P.J. Clarke's, people from the office mingle - dancing and chatting - except Pete, who sits apart. Lois is disappointed that Sal hasn't appeared, Harry and Hildy and Paul and Joan dance together, and Peggy approaches Pete, who stomps on her heart and rips up the remnants.

39:04 "What are you afraid of?"

Although Sal and Elliot have a meaningful conversation, Sal is unwilling to build a relationship or take things further than the dinner.

43:11 "Every day's a brand new place."

In the next flashback, the hobo tells a young Dick Whitman what it felt like to leave his job and family behind - how free he feels now to go where he pleases. He teaches Dick a series of marks that travelers know - where to find good food, or where you might not be able to trust a man.

46:14 "Love is bourgeois."

At Midge's apartment, among her friends, Don looks at a Polaroid he's taken that evening and recognizes that Midge and Roy are in love. When he says it out loud, they both deny it.

49:09 S1E8 Double Dip Question for The Hobo Code

Listeners - we want to know what you think - why doesn't Midge go to Paris with Don? And why does he give the whole bonus check to Midge?

50:18 "Ask me anything."

Don goes home, wakes up Bobby, and tells his son he can ask him whatever he wants. Don will never lie to him. (Except, we guess, for all the times he does.)

51:15 "I'll be on my way."

In the final flashback, the hobo goes to Archie Whitman, waiting to collect the coin promised for the work he did, but Archie sends him away without it. Young Dick Whitman sees the dishonest man marking cut in to the post outside his father's farm. The episode ends with a shot of "Donald Draper" marking this man's office door.

55:45 Overall, how good is this episode compared to others this season?

Steve enjoys it; Jenna finds it disappointing.

1) Which character would you most want sitting in the emergency exit row of your airplane?

2) Which character wouldn't you want to babysit your kids?

3) Which character would you want to take to a fancy awards show?

4) Which character wouldn't you want to know your secrets?

5) Which character would you want to be your mentor?

6) Which character wouldn't you want to be your co-worker?

Jenna and Steve are unapologetic re-watchers of this fantastic series, and we invite you to re-watch with us! Visit www.MadMenCtoZ.com to vote for your favorite Mad Men lines and share your insights on our Double Dip questions for each episode. If you like our podcast, thank you for sharing, subscribing, and leaving us a positive review! Thank you to our listeners!

Podcast Time Stamps

0:36 Episode Intro

1:09 "She wasn't always like this."

2:04 Vodka with a shot of milk

3:26 "I don't care if it's Cuba, I need a little notice."

4:16 "Don and I talk all the time when you're not around. In fact, we're going to do it right now."

6:44 "It's like they hit thirty, and somebody puts out a light."

7:58 "Roger wants a home-cooked meal."

9:13 "I'm a vegetarian sometimes."

9:30 Dinner with the boss

12:15 Let's blame Betty (but why are we blaming Betty?)

15:31 After Dinner Arguments

17:39 It's a Chip and Dip. We got two!

19:27 A Non-Apology

20:49 The only living boy in New York's customer service line

23:25 .22 for $22

24:31 Double Dip Question for this Episode

25:42 Nixon campaign planning

27:36 Pot Roast Petulance

30:31 Weirdly Specific Hunting Fantasy

34:17 Shopping Cart Shocker

36:03 "I had no idea you were such a fan of the mollusk."

38:24 "We're all on your side."

42:34 "My name's on the building. They can wait for me."

Mad Men is such a well-written show - re-watch with us! Visit www.MadMenCtoZ.com to vote for your favorite Sterling Lines from each episode, and to share your thoughts on our Double Dip questions.

Re-watch Mad Men with us as we break down the memorable moments from this excellent show. Visit www.MadMenCtoZ.com to vote for your favorite lines and share your insights on our Double Dip question for each episode, and we're new - so please follow, like and subscribe!

0:45 And the award goes to . . .

2:07 You're a writer. You . . . write.

4:01 Executive Accounts

5:44 She didn't want to know "Bix Beiderbecke" was calling

7:54 It's a national magazine. Yep, that hurts, too.

9:20 What are the rules of this relationship?

11:35 If you loved me, you'd go cheat with your ex (and why is the bear talking?)

14:15 We're not done being jealous

15:20 O Brother, where art thou? (In the lobby)

17:20 Another meeting that could have been an email (if they existed)

17:50 Getting coffee with family is a bigger secret than infidelity

20:51 I can keep a secret

22:41 You shouldn't have told anyone that

25:15 The ghost of Pennsylvania past

26:53 You probably know more about him than I do

28:46 Our husbands are better out here

30:23 Private accounts for men with secrets

31:13 Ken has an audience; Paul can't stand it

32:11 I thought he was different

33:17 You lost

33:50 Boys' Life Magazine, with a fee

35:30 How was your day, Dear?

36:20 5G

40:06 Wrap-up

42:26 Mad Men C to Z Double Dip Question for 5G

0:50 New Amsterdam connection

1:10 Bob Newhart hits the floor

1:52 First appearance of Trudy Campbell

4:53 Apartment math (Pete accuses Trudy of being bad at math)

5:54 Rachel: No thanks, Don

7:21 The anatomy of Helen Bishop's divorce

10:53 Honey, I'm home

11:32 Wow, Pete looks like a sweetheart compared to his dad

15:17 What's wrong with him? Nobody knows

18:23 Cities brought to you by Bethlehem Steel

20:45 Pete: I'm an ideas guy

22:48 Betty, could you babysit? (Say no, Betty. Say no!!)

23:59 Dinner with the in-laws: We'll get a little place on the Upper East Side and we'll figure it out

26:48 It's creepy. So creepy.

30:21 This episode's Double Dip question - share your insights

30:45 Pete shows Walter a good time

32:45 The backbone of America (and the straw)

35:23 Pete Campbell's last day? It's today

36:23 Betty's real concern is for that poor little boy . . . sort of?

39:22 Can't we get one of the other ones?

43:53 This man fought for you

46:45 The meeting after the meeting: you shouldn't compete with Pete Campbell

50:13 Be careful what you wish for

Mad Men Episode 2: Ladies' Room shows fault lines in Don and Betty's marriage, office politics, and Peggy adjusting to her second week on the job and trying to handle unwanted advances from various co-workers.

See our website page for this episode, with Sterling Lines, Double Dip questions, and episode details here: https://www.madmenctoz.com/mad-men-episode-1-pilot---smoke-gets-in-your-eyes.html

View our full, correct transcript for this episode at this blog post: https://www.madmenctoz.com/blog/smoke-gets-in-your-eyes-pilot-transcript

In the pilot episode, Don struggles with an idea for Lucky Strike, Peggy makes it through her first day in the office, Pete prepares for his bachelor party, and Roger hopes Don will charm the owner of Menken's department store.

Re-watch with us!

2:20: Recognizable acting projects for Mad Men's Big Six character actors: Don Draper/Jon Hamm, Peggy Olson/Elisabeth Moss, Betty Draper/January Jones, Roger Sterling/John Slattery, Joan Holloway/Christina Hendricks, and Pete Campbell/Vincent Kartheiser

7:30: Discussion of Midge and Don and power in their relationship

11:41: Discussion of Peggy starting her first day at the Sterling Cooper ad agency

13:57: Introduction of Pete Campbell to the series

18:35: Introduction of Joan Holloway to the series

22:00: Introduction of Roger Sterling to the series

27:00: Introduction of Sal Romano to the series

34:45: Don and Peggy already dislike Pete (and so do the viewers)

41:19: Introduction of Rachel Menken to the series (the first of many horrifically awkward client meetings in the show)

54:00: Peggy is progressing (Hey, Flo!) through her first day, bringing gifts to the telephone operators

56:59: The Lucky Strike meeting

1:05:30: Incredibly awkward seduction fail

1:11:55: Rachel & Don; first Truth Alert of the series

1:18:27: Come on, Peggy. You can do better.

1:21:30: On the Street Where They Live

0:45: Reason 1 Not to Watch Mad Men: It's dark, and the characters will repeatedly disappoint you. Infidelity? Gross. Deception? Eew.

1:42: Reason 2 Not to Watch Mad Men: The large ensemble cast is a lot to keep up with. Do you really want to deal with all these unique supporting characters?

3:22: Reason 3 Not to Watch Mad Men: You can't multi-task and watch this show - it's going to require your full attention. It's a thinking show, not a comfort show, and you won't want to miss the details.

4:21: Reason 4 Not to Watch Mad Men: Nothing happens! There aren't car chases or action sequences. It's about flawed people wrestling with choices, and the lack of choice. It's as much about what the characters don't say as things they do, and much of the show is happening in their heads and on their faces.

5:24: Reason 5 Not to Watch Mad Men - a Top Ten List of Things This Show will Make You Fear

If you're going to completely ignore this advice, re-watch with us! We're here to enable your Mad Men habit, and looking forward to another journey with this fantastic show.