Welcome to Mad Cap: a daily rundown of every episode of the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men. During this time, I will be compiling my thoughts and highlights as we travel through every moment and season of the Emmy-award winning drama that has come to define modern TV. The goal is to be a refresher on every moment for Don Draper and his band of advertisement executives leading up to the final season. Stay for all of the shocking moments and the brilliant acting performances, and make sure to chime in with your thoughts and criticisms on why the show means something to you.
Season 3, Episode 12
"The Grown Ups"
"The whole country's drinking."
- Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)
Plot:
Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) is still seeing Herman "Duck" Philips (Mark Moses). It's Margaret Sterling's (Elizabeth Rice) wedding day. Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) doesn't get promoted because Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) believes that Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton) is doing a better job. There is frustration that nobody was hired to replace Salvatore Romano in the art department. This all happens on the day that John F. Kennedy gets assassinated. Instead of canceling the wedding, Roger Sterling (John Slattery) tries to keep it going, even though everyone is attracted to the breaking news. After the wedding, Roger calls Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) for comfort. Betty Draper (January Jones) decides to confide in Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley) instead of Don Draper (Jon Hamm). With the whole town disheveled by the events, nobody goes into work on Monday except Don, who wants to escape the trauma of his home life, which includes Betty opening up that the assassination of JFK and later Harvey Oswald lead her to understand why she shouldn't be with him.
Rating: 5 out of 5
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| John Slattery |
MVP:
Roger Sterling (John Slattery)
It is the tragedy that history buffs have predicted all season. The assassination of the president falls on the same day as Sterling's daughter's wedding. It is a tough call, especially as Margaret cries and the world is falling apart. Still, Sterling manages to keep things together long enough to give a great speech as well as bode confidence to the newlyweds. While it is easy to overlook Sterling's story in favor of Pete's or the Draper family's, he is the important figure this week. Without him making tough choices, the whole world would be looking different. Margaret would be depressed and Don might still be with Betty. There's a lot to consider, though enough cannot be said for how Sterling held that wedding together.
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| Jon Hamm |
Best Scene
While "The Gypsy and the Hobo" did a lot of the leg work, the final break-up between the Draper parents ends an era for Mad Men. This season has been all about tearing Don down and forcing him to make tough decisions over and over. It seemed like everything was going to work out. Then suddenly, he gets a divorce for being honest. It doesn't help that since the first season, John F. Kennedy has symbolized something in the Mad Men universe. In season 1, it was the battle between Pete and Don. In season 2, it was the Cuban Missile Crisis and the change of Sterling Cooper. This season, JFK's symbolism comes in the form of an assassination that represents the end of the Draper family as well as a time of innocence. With Betty's parting words, it is a moment in the series' history that is almost calculated too perfectly, meaning that whatever is left of this season is bound to be a downer. With the closing song declaring "It's the end of the world/And I don't love you anymore," it is an entryway into Don's psyche as he takes one last drink in his office, realizing that in a cyclical fashion, he is doomed to be alone.
UP NEXT: "Shut the Door, Have a Seat"
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