Mad Men Season 3 - "Love Among the Ruins"

This blogging about every episode is tough. I give a lot of credit to the writers who can get these posts up so quickly after the episode airs - I just head to bed. I wasn't very happy with last week's post after reading it. It read like a college paper - too much exposition (this one has too many hyphens.) So I'm just going to throw out some thoughts on the episode to make it easier (on me.)

• Am I the only one that thinks Betty's child is going to be disabled? Not that all that smoking and drinking will make her baby look like the monster from The Host, but the focus on her abuses seems gratuitous not to be setting something up. How will Don deal with a child that is physically as imperfect as he is mentally and morally? Betty's father's presence may be a precursor to another occupant of the house who cannot be taken care of with just a kiss goodnight and a few visits to the school Maypole dance.
• I was creeped out by Peggy's rendition of "Bye Bye Birdie." I know some have found it sweet but it just seemed so out of her character. Sure she did go out that night and pretend to be someone else beyond her mirror but, first reaction, creepy.
• Not a spoiler, just a prediction, the eventual head of accounts will be Peggy Olson. I was rewatching "Out of Town" and I thought the fact that Pete asked what all the O's were on the accounts was telling. Those were her accounts and, as Pete noted, "she is everywhere." As Don tells the MSG client, change is coming. I have been pondering writing this long treatise on the women of Mad Men but I just don't have the time yet. But the changing dynamics of women in society is such a recurring theme in Mad Men and that is why I think that Peggy and her all business attitude will eventually be the one who "stands out."
• Tough I realize that a lot of things went on in this episode, it felt like a bridge episode. Maybe I am applying Lost logic on to Mad Men, but it seemed like an episode designed to move several points along (not that there is anything wrong with that.)
• I guess I show my youth (42 is young?) when I did not realize the significance of the date of Roger's daughter's wedding. September 11th is the only real date that I remember "where I was."
• The ending was like the end of The Sopranos. I was left thinking, "Hey, what happened there?" I thought the DVR had cut out.

Looking forward to next week though I know that many people already saw it on the iTunes accidental release. I cannot understand why anyone would want to skip ahead like that.