Hello, and welcome to TV Tuesday- today I’m going to be talking about the third season of the hit AMC drama Mad Men!

The season starts off with a bang, and it’s right into the action. We are bombarded with flashbacks of Don’s birth, and how he came to be named Dick (foreshadowing much?). We also learn that Don is still a Dick.

He goes away with Salvatore to meet with a company called London Fog, and that’s an exciting trip. Don almost cheats on Betty, but is interrupted by the fire alarm, and Salvatore- I WAS RIGHT! He gets it on with a bellhop. So all those weird hints the directors gave out last season paid off. Unfortunately for him, Don happened to witness the two of them picking up their clothes as they escape from the building. I swear Don just knows everything, I really hope he doesn’t out him, although Don doesn’t seem like the type to do that.

Then we have Sterling Cooper and it’s merged family of PPL. Lane Pryce is the financial officer for the British company and has to make some changes- this means firing the old head of accountants, and finding someone new- or someones. It becomes a job split between Ken Cosgrove and Pete Campbell- Pete is livid by this, but the way they told the both of them was kinda mean.

The first half of the season is very Betty and Sally driven, we finally get more into Betty’s story and what she’s about. We learn that her father Jean isn’t doing very well, his girlfriend, Gloria has left him because he’s getting to be too much to handle- and he can’t live alone, so Don puts his foot down and says that Jean should live with them. Sally gets quite attached to grandpa Jean, and they become buddies. When he dies suddenly that shakes everyone, but it shakes Sally the most. She starts to lash out at school and is overall distressed.

I believe they foreshadowed his death, the directors gave him this line where he asks Sally if she smells oranges, which is a sign that something isn’t right; next scene he’s died at the supermarket.  The baby Betty thinks is a girl turns out to be a boy, and of course what does she name it- Jean. This freaks Sally out. Her new brother is living in the same room as her grandfather, with the same name- she’s afraid that it’s her grandfather is coming back as her brother- which is kinda freaky, but Betty is not having any of it. She is angry at Sally for acting this way, and Don is trying to get both girls to see reason.

Betty also starts to cheat on Don with Henry Francis when she gets involved with the community. What she can’t do is go all the way like Don does. Or will she?

Speaking of Don, Betty finds out the truth about Don. She finds his box of stuff and learns that, Don isn’t who he says he is. This is hard for her, but Don actually opens up to her about it all- and he cries, and I don’t really feel sorry for him.

Don hasn’t been as prominent this season, he’s very background noise- for the first half of the season. It’s during the second half that he’s all out there. He was so good this past season, but then ruined it by sleeping with his kids teacher! Suzanne Farrell was Sally’s teacher, and they met when Ms. Farrell asked them to come in to speak about Sally’s bad behaviour (after her grandfather died). She was all flirty with him, ugh, she totally wanted him- bleh. At least he waited until she wasn’t teaching them anymore. But still, ugh- is there a season where he doesn’t cheat? I bet not.

Roger Sterling has officially married Jane. I just hate that he married Jane, she’s an idiot, with a big mouth. By the end of the season it almost looks like Roger feels like he made a mistake. Jane has been doing all the wrong things. The biggest thing is getting a wedding gift for his daughter, Margaret. Margaret is not a fan of Jane (which I totally applaud) who wants their dad’s new wife to be the same age as you pretty much? Not me.

Joan who is now Joan Harris we find out is still with a man she still can’t stand, but is staying with- which I can’t figure out why, she’s the type of girl who speaks her mind and doesn’t do what she doesn’t want to. Her husband- Dr. Harris, is becoming a secondary character, in which he’s abusive, but she still loves him. Still can’t figure out why she married him. He’s no longer a surgeon because of an incident he had. He thinks he wants to be a  psychologist now that his surgeon career is over. He flunks one interview and decides it’s the end of the world. What a stupid guy.

He deserved that hit to the head. For everything he has ever done to Joan, and probably the things he will do in the future.

Salvatore has been given the opportunity to shoot the scene for commercial for Patio, a Diet Pepsi product, and he’s showing his wife what it will look like, and you can totally tell he’s gay while he does all the moves. He’s showing his wife, and it kind of clues in, maybe there is something different about her husband. I’m not sure if she figures out he’s gay exactly, but her facial expression says all you need it to. I hope they follow up with this. (Although I doubt it since he’s been fired, his character will probably not live on- which sucks. I really enjoyed his character!)

Now let’s talk about Peggy! She’s been having an interesting season. Not much is happening with her- she’s on a bunch of accounts and has become one of the guys. Duck comes back to offer Peggy and Pete a job with him. As much as Peggy wants it, and likes all the bribes she gets for him. She goes so far as to sleep with Duck- yuck! I thought it was just a one time thing- but then they bring this plot back and claim she’s been sleeping with him the whole time. Bleh.

Pete is also cornered into a job with him, but Pete says no right away, unlike Peggy. Duck can sense that there is a relationship between the two of them which I’m surprised no one else has figured out. But as the season continues Pete starts to change his mind about the opportunity with Duck, because Ken gets the bigger job as Account Executive, while Pete is below him. This makes him question his worth at the company.

Pete has become unfaithful with Trudy, which she’s away for the summer, he sleeps with the German nanny across the hall. That was the dumbest plot line. It felt flat and really didn’t need to be there, we know Pete is unfaithful- he slept with Peggy a few times. We don’t need to see him have an affair with this nobody.

But he does make up with Trudy. They are so cute together!