Mad Yourself A Man 304: The Arrangements, with Dave Weigel (Patreon)

Living the Jai A-life

Stop trying to make jai alai happen and listen to this week’s episode of the pod with returning guest, Letterboxd lover, and journalist from Semafor, Dave Weigel, joining Matt & Vince for a chat about Mad Men season three episode four, “The Arrangements.”

RIP big Gene. The writers may have forgotten about your dementia, but we’ll never forget you. Not that it’s a competition, but Sally is definitely the most distraught about her grandpa’s passing. He was teaching her so much, from how to drive his car, to inferior Assyrian genes leading to Rome’s downfall.

Pete finds a “fatted calf” to offer to Don in the form of a rich dingus who’s trying to make jai alai America’s next national pastime through the magic of advertising. Don would rather save Burt’s relationship with the rich dingus’s father than carve money out of the kid, so he tries to stop the deal, but Mr. Jai Alai Sr. gives them the all-clear. As you know, America's next national pastime was not jai alai. It was always going to be gun violence.

Sal gets two big opportunities: 1. Direct Patio Cola’s Bye Bye Birdy ripoff ad and 2. Have sex with his wife. He uses anxiety about 1 as an excuse to get out of 2, and he… well, sometimes I look up an episode synopsis on the Mad Men Fandom wiki while writing these, and whoever wrote this one described it perfectly so just read it: “Sal acts out the Bye Bye Birdie takeoff for Kitty, whose cheerful encouragement fades as her husband minces his way through the choreography.” “Minces.” Devastating. 

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-Description by Brent Flyberg