Mad Cap: "My Old Kentucky Home"

John Slattery

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 3

"My Old Kentucky Home"

"I'm so high."

- Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss)

Plot:

Roger Sterling (John Slattery) decides to throw a party at Greg Harris' (Sam Page) and Joan Harris' (Christina Hendricks) place. Almost everyone who matters is invited. This leaves Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis) and Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) behind to work on ads for Bacardi. Before leaving, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) gets accused by Gene Hofstadt (Ryan Cutrona) for stealing $5. When Don tries to pay him $5, he gets upset that it isn't his specific money. This makes Gene ornery as he is babysat by Carla (Deborah Lacey) with the kids in tow. The party is going fine and everyone talks, drinks, and tries to not make it about business. When Jane Sterling (Peyton List) tries to convince Don and Betty Draper (January Jones) to get back together, they consider it even if she was intoxicated. Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka) eventually gives Gene the $5 that she "found," thus solving the situation. Kinsey decides to get drugs for the staff and everybody gets high while coming up with ideas. Joan is told that she has a nice house and shouldn't have kids to slow down her career. The episode ends with a wearisome party guest Don taking Betty out into the isolated fields and enjoy each other's company.

Rating: 3 out of 5

MVP:

Jane Sterling (Peyton List)

It is hard to really crown an MVP in an episode that felt more like a relaxing break from the hard hitting plots of Mad Men. In fact, it almost seemed to be exclusively anti-climactic This is fine, though it does make it feel like a filler episode to a terrible degree. However, in the midst of everything, there's drunk Jane trying to get Don and Betty back together. After a phenomenal separation that made season 2 a very impressive season, it is sad to see the series enter the "Will they/Won't they" phase. Is Betty's pregnancy still healthy? It didn't sound like it based on stray comments. However, I don't know that there's any conflict to be raised if this toss and turn of a couple is going to work. They know their bad pasts now. There's no reason to provided that things go horribly wrong with the pregnancy. It's all Jane's fault for trying to make things work. In fact, this is the only reason that the episode feels like it exists. Beyond character moments and some humorous smoking, it feels like it was meant to become an excuse for the Drapers to amend their broken home. Though what does Jane know? She broke up the Sterling family.

Left to right: Jon Hamm, List, and January Jones

Best Scene

It is a tough episode to grade mostly because it doesn't feel very important beyond the fact that the Sterling Cooper Pryce group don't seem to enjoy parties that much despite kicking back substances left and right. There's the show that they put on to entertain, but overall they are left in a hollow existence knowing that if they do one thing wrong, they're likely to get in trouble. However, the moment in which the episode felt slightly relevant is when Jane, drunk, is going through the buffet. With Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) and Trudy Campbell (Alison Brie) dancing, people are starting to loosen up. Jane drops the tray on the ground causing both of the Drapers to rush to her assistance. She candidly begins asking for them to get back together. It almost seems to stick as the Drapers decide to disappear off away from the party to enjoy each other's company. It is a romantic ending, even if it isn't one that the series deserves right now. There would be no catharsis there. Also, it increasingly feels like Betty's pregnancy is going to fail and that it will just make things worse. That's just speculation.

UP NEXT: "The Arrangements"