Re-watching ‘Mad Men’: S3/Ep5, “The Fog”

So the previous episode didn’t really do much of anything, and then this one … boom. Betty has the baby, Duck recruits Pete and Peggy, and Don takes the first, uh, baby steps toward his despicable affair with Sally’s schoolteacher. While not an all-time great entry, there are still so many excellent scenes packed into this one: Don’s waiting-room discussions with a fellow father-to-be; Pete trying his best to open a client’s eyes to the African-American market (and the subsequent flogging he receives from Roger and Bert); Peggy asking Don for a raise. And, finally, another killer final shot, as Betty drags herself down the hallway in the middle of the night to comfort her screaming newborn. “Mad Men” never sees the world through rose-colored glasses, that’s for sure.

Best Scene: Don walks into a meeting late. When he realizes the meeting was called so Layne could complain about travel receipts and the agency using too many pens and pads of paper, Don promptly exits the meeting, about 30 seconds after entering it. In Part B of the scene, Don and Layne argue the point where Don explains the concept of being pennywise and pound-foolish.

Best Line: Don to Layne: “You came here because we do this better than you, and part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are.”

Grade: B+