Episode Report Card Couch Baron: C- | 24 USERS: C YOU GRADE IT Through the Looking Glass
By Couch Baron | Season 6 | Episode 8 | Aired on 05.19.2013
Sally's in bed reading Rosemary's Baby -- if she's taking that in at night, girl's made of sterner stuff than I am -- when she hears something in the living room. When she investigates, she finds an older African-American woman, a suspiciously large bag slung over her shoulder, looking around at various Draper possessions. When Sally gets her attention, the woman tells her she startled her -- nice trick, trying to appear vulnerable -- and then amiably tells Sally to go back to sleep. Sally, however, is not going to be swayed so easily when new boots are on the table and asks the woman what she's doing there, so she tells her she's visiting -- she's her grandma! Sally is like, [eyebrow], but the woman goes on that she "raised your daddy." Sally doesn't address that, but does tell her no one said she was coming; the woman, however, replies that she was supposed to be a surprise, and Don gave her a key -- she just thought no one was home. "Come over here -- give a hug to your Grandma Ida!" Like I said, I'm not much for scary bedtime stories, so I don't know why I'm writing this part at like 11:00 PM. Sally doesn't move, at which point Ida's eyes go a little crazy as she tells Sally not to be rude to her. The standoff continues a bit longer, but when Ida pulls out Don's name, Sally consents to the embrace. One lesson from all this presumably is going to be not to leave the mail out where anyone can see it. Ida continues her fishing expedition -- kind of funny that in an episode with a supposed psychic, she's using the same general-statement techniques fraudulent ones employ to gain trust -- as she asks if Don is "still handsome" and if Sally's mother is "still a piece of work." And that's some sold business from Ida, as what teenage girl in the world would give a negative answer to either question, and you'd better believe that second one brings the first genuine laugh of the scene from Sally.
Don's digging through the archives in search of soup, and instead finds... oatmeal? Specifically, it's a boy eating the stuff and smiling up at his mother next to the tagline "Because you know what he needs." I'm surprised they didn't make the drawing of the woman look exactly like Miss Swenson, as that's about how subtle this whole plotline is...
...and let's drive that home by taking yet another trip back to The Best Little Coughhouse In Pennsylvania. Don is looking better, and as he sits up, Miss Swenson tells him that his fever broke, and to call her "Amy," not "Aimee" as she had earlier told him. She then asks him if he likes the mole she apparently just painted on her cheek, and by the way, the woman in the drawing we just saw had the same beauty mark, so apparently I'm not even safe using hyperbole to make a point about the show's lost subtlety. Anyway, when he tells her he is in favor, she asks him if he likes girls, and he gets shifty and embarrassed in response, just in case you were wondering if that had ever been possible. After pulling up the covers to get a non-verbal answer to her question, she gets into bed with him and promises him they'll do everything...