My Old Kentucky Home (Mad Men)

"My Old Kentucky Home" is the third episode of the third season of the American television drama series Mad Men. It was written by Dahvi Waller and Matthew Weiner and directed by Jennifer Getzinger. The episode originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 30, 2009.

Plot

The creative department at Sterling Cooper is told they have to work the weekend to generate new concepts that are needed for the Bacardi rum account. Paul Kinsey calls up one of his Princeton pal’s to buy some marijuana to help spark the creativeness. Once the fuzz of the weed kicks in, Peggy Olson gets some inspiration for some ideas for the Bacardi pitch. Peggy, once again, proves to her colleagues how different she is from the girl we met in season one.

At Joan’s, her and her husband Greg (Samuel Page) entertain the chief of surgery and another couple from Greg’s hospital. Greg helps Joan set up for their guests by vacuuming, showing how Joan seems to be exerting some control within the relationship. During their dinner party, there is a reference to Greg’s possible promotion to become Chief Resident. There is also a slip-up about a time Greg supposedly lost one of his patients. To take the attention off the topic, Greg forces Joan to play the accordion for their guests. Joan hides her anger as she performs, and keeps giving looks to her husband Greg.

At Roger Sterling and Jane Sterling's (Peyton List) Derby Party, Roger sings “My Old Kentucky Home” to Jane while in blackface. Don Draper is the only one not amused by Rogers performance, and asks Betty if they can leave. Don wanders off to an unattended bar where he meets Conrad Hilton. Don and Connie share their stories about their modest beginnings, which foreshadows Connie potentially appearing again in the series. While Betty is waiting for Trudy Campbell, a well groomed man approaches her and asks about her pregnancy. He says; “I’m going to blame this on martinis” before he requests to touch her stomach. Later, Cooper and Sterling introduce Don and Betty to Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley), the man who touched Betty’s stomach. After that introduction, Trudy and Pete Campbell show off the Charleston to the guests. They impressively throw themselves into the dance to hide their jealousy of the Draper and Crane’s talk about their pregnancy process. The Derby Party seems to have a bad ending for Don and Betty as drunken Jane reminds the Drapers of their recent separation. This upsets Betty, and she leaves Don alone with Jane. Roger sees Jane grabbing at Dons waste asking him why he doesn’t like her, and sternly asks Don what’s going on, then asks for a glass a milk for Jane as if he is dealing with a child. Don tells Roger that no one thinks he’s happy, they think he’s foolish.

The last scene is a shot of Don and Betty sharing a passionate and sincere kiss. The picture shows off their marital happiness, as if they were posing for a magazine.

Cultural references

Sally Draper reads a book to Eugene Hofstadt titled The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which was published in 1776. He warns her; “You just wait. All hell is going to break loose”. Paul Kinsey quotes “This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper”, from the poem ‘The Hallow Men’ by T.S. Eliot. Roger Sterling sings “My Old Kentucky Home” in blackface. Coloring your face in black paint to perform a song and dance was a popular performance style during the nineteenth century. But this episode was set in 1963 where the blackface style was somewhat fading.

Reception

The episode had a viewership of 1.608 million,^[1] which revealed growth in viewership compared to the previous season’s third episode. The episode was the most watched program of the week. The demographic was between the ages of 18–49.

Critical Reception for “My Old Kentucky Home” was critically acclaimed by many. Keith Phillips of The A.V. Club gave the episode an “A-”.^[2] He mentioned he was at a loss of words and in shock for several of the scenes. He especially pointed to the scene where Roger performs in blackface, as well as when Betty’s stomach is touched by Henry Francis, which left Phillips thinking that Henry would appear in future episodes.

TV critic, Alan Sepinwall, responded with, “‘My Old Kentucky Home' is one of those Mad Men episodes where very little seems to happen in terms of story, but where the atmosphere and character work are both so rich that plot becomes irrelevant.”^[3] Sepinwall continued by saying he too was shocked with a few scenes, and also had hopes for Carla to be more involved in the season, since Carla has a unique perspective of the family.

Other reviewers commented similarly, responding with similar reactions to the episode, but overall enjoyed the episode.

Production

Series creator and executive producer, Matthew Weiner, wrote “My Old Kentucky Home” with Dahvi Waller. In an interview Matthew Weiner did with AMC, he revealed his vision and thoughts about important moments from the episode. He mentioned how the episode was shown in three parties; the different ages, classes, as well as who belongs where.

In regards to Peggy’s character in this episode, she is shown smoking marijuana, but production chose not make the character look or act high. Instead, Peggy’s confidence is revealed.

In Joan and Greg’s party, they are seen for the first time since the incident that occurred in season two, showing that not only has she not left him, but is going to host a party for Greg. While the guests are over, it is mentioned that Greg has lost a patient, which Joan is unaware of. Instead of speaking about it further, Greg has Joan perform to win his guests over. Mathew wanted to emphasize the fact that Greg having Joan perform could been seen as a loving act, but it could also be interpreted as controlling. Weiner stated; “And the fact that he is keeping this appearance up to help himself, to cover for his own inadequacies, is very painful.”^[4]

Matthew Weiner also wanted to highlight the fact that Don and Roger have different views on life. Don is not very understanding about Roger’s choices, and seems to feel out of place at Rogers party.

Regarding Don and Betty’s relationship, Matthew wanted to highlight on their marital status, and how even by the very end of the episode, after Betty has gotten hit on and Don noticing how in love Roger and Jane are, Betty and Don kiss. Although they kiss, they seem to be both kissing other people. Mathew wanted to reveal how Betty and Don want something else in this episode.

References

External links

• "My Old Kentucky Home" at AMC
• "My Old Kentucky Home" on IMDb
• "My Old Kentucky Home" at TV.com