That was a dead man's hat. Take it off.

Mad Men - "The Arrangements" (Andrew Colville & Matthew Weiner)

This was a mixed bag of an episode because there was so much I disliked.

Betty and Don are the most dreadful parents. All Don had to do was open his arms and say “come here, sweetpea, we are all upset and we are showing it in different ways”. Instead the be-tutu’d Sally went to lie in the living room watching gloomy stuff on TV and deeply resenting her parents.

I am disappointed that so many people (at Basket of Kisses and TWoP) don’t realise (or accept) that Don is as bad as Betty as a parent. They detect warmth in him that is absent from her. However, the only warmth emanating from him is the warmth that ten hours absence a day brings.

I’m not surprised that Gene was a better grandfather than he was a father although maybe his attempts at bonding weren’t that admirable (though they were lots of fun). Grandparents have more time to spend with their grandchildren because (usually) they are no longer working.

The sooner Betty has the baby the better. I am increasingly frustrated at how she is behaving. Hormones, self-centredness, fearfulness and the fact I can’t see that her character has changed at all since the end of S2 makes Betty very unattractive at the moment.

There was lots of Peggy to enjoy like her willingness to take Joan’s advice (that woman has so much potential) and her silent eloquence regarding the Patio Ann-Margret commercial but I hated that she wrote a great ad for someone else and is now flat-hunting with a totally unsuitable person. I hated this because it is stupid and unworthy of this show. It is rare for such a misfire to occur. I can usually swallow anything Matthew Weiner throws at me.

The jai alai storyline was moderately amusing mainly because it was nice to hear Pete being called Humps.

Sal’s pyjamas show that only Pete can pull off the endearing dorky look. Bloody hell though that scene was awesome. Both Bryan Batt and, particularly, Sarah Drew as Kitty were fabulous. I can’t be sure just what Kitty has realised but there was definitely a light bulb glowing above her head.