Bobby is 5 and Sally is 8 (umm... someone said it earlier this season, but I'm not curled up at home on my comfy couch with all my Mad Men eps because some assholes got me stuck working on a holiday totally unnecessarily, which is another story for another place, but anyway.)

Bobby will be too young to go to Vietnam. I don't think they'll pursue that angle.

But Sally's definitely being set up to be the rebellious hippie era teen.

...let the sunshine in

But Sally's definitely being set up to be the rebellious hippie era teen.

That's actually kind of a disappointment if only because it seems so predictable. I think the way they handled this whole Sally/Grandpa Gene story has been a bit heavier on the cliché which is unexpected from Weiner & Co.

I wonder if she'll run away to California.

Worked for her dad.

Can I note once again the pleasure I take in the many faceted relationship of Joan and Peggy?

In her own mildly resentful, alpha bitch way Joan does keep trying to help Peggy. Somewhere down the line I hope Peggy will step up for Joan.

Similarly, I love how Don is giving Sal the same kind of opportunities he gave Peggy. He knows Sal is talented, and he knows that illustration and storyboarding are losing ground so he helps him transition to commercial directing.

I think the way they handled this whole Sally/Grandpa Gene story has been a bit heavier on the cliché which is unexpected from Weiner & Co.

I'm surprised they cut it short. And I think the cliche would've been more that he was abusive to her. I'm not sure what the after effects are going to be on Sally.

I hope Peggy will step up for Joan.

I agree. Joan is considerably more with it than 75% of the people working for Sterling Cooper. And she apparently is a great ant killer.

And I think the cliche would've been more that he was abusive to her.

Yeah, I know. I honestly go back and forth on it. I know that part of the tension last week was we kept waiting to see how Gene would react to Sally having stolen the money and of course, the sheer inappropriateness of having her read the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.

I think maybe you're right though, Hec, that part of my feelings of it being treated like a cliché was the fact that it was cut so short-- like here's the mechanism by which we can see Sally blossom with the attention that no one else gives her and how she'll fall apart once it's taken away.

Really, what this also possibly sets her up for is to become involved in an abusive relationship.

by which we can see Sally blossom with the attention that no one else gives her and how she'll fall apart once it's taken away.

Sally was already acting out before Gene came. And his behavior was amazingly inappropriate - letting her drive the freaking' car! And yet, he was still more attentive to her than either Betty or Don.

There's really a huge schism between how Betty sees herself as a parent and what she's actually doing as a parent. Carla does much more of the basic care, and Betty's not even meeting their emotional needs.

Don might actually be a decent parent if that era allowed a man to be more involved with his kids. He's more patient, less judgmental.

As Sally gets older she'll also get a ton of pressure from Betty to be pretty, skinny, model perfect. I don't think Sally is ever going to meet Betty's standard there.

I'm just wondering where there's an out for Betty. Is she really going to be flexible enough to embrace feminism? There's no way I can see this marriage surviving the early seventies. They're both so deeply dissatisfied. Once the societal pressure eases and the divorce stigma recedes they'll break up.

It's not like their relationship is a love story. She has no idea who Don is. They're a couple that has great sex.

and perhaps not even that.