The Patsy

Posted this to Basket of Kisses yesterday. Hopefully, I'll have my complete re-cap up today.

The question of how Mad Men would depict the Kennedy assassination (if at all) was finally answered in the The Grown-ups. While I was only two in 1963, from what my parents have related to me over the years, the episode really captured the feel of those few dramatic days in November.

The scene where Don and Betty watch Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald on live television struck a particular cord with me. When my father saw it happen, he called out “They shot him!” to my mother who was in the kitchen (the reverse of Don and Betty). According to my mother, the exact quote was ”They shot the son-of-a-bitch” (but that’s a minor point).

Pete Campbell’s reaction to the event is quite interesting. By remarking to Trudy such things as “Why even have a trial?” or “Just throw him over to the mob,” Pete seems to empathize with Oswald. In fact, I detected a deliberate effort in The Grown-ups to link Pete Campbell’s story with that of Lee Harvey Oswald.

...Read more at Basket of Kisses.