Episode Report Card Couch Baron: C- | 581 USERS: B- YOU GRADE IT Through the Looking Glass
By Couch Baron | Season 6 | Episode 8 | Aired on 2013.05.19
Peggy is attempting to wrap up Stan's cut and fend off his amorous advances, with limited success on both fronts. She tells him he's like her brother, and that is indeed the vibe they were giving off earlier in the season, but Stan pays this no mind and eventually pulls her into a kiss. Underneath all the "vitamins," I think he really does care about her, but she soon reiterates her "no," not that she should have to. He tells her he needs "this," and goes on to confess that his cousin "Robbie" was killed in action in Vietnam and was only twenty. Peggy's appropriately sympathetic, and asks for details as she sits next to him, but Stan reveals that they don't tell you that part -- they just tell you when it happened. He goes on that it was three months ago, which means that his aunt sent sixteen letters Robbie never saw. He sadly laughs about what a terrible job delivering mail to the front lines must be. While I don't love the setup of Stan confessing this while under the influence of whatever -- here's a well-reasoned explanation of why -- I do like the writing in this scene on its own merits, not to mention that this relationship continues to be one of the most enjoyable on the show. Peggy tells Stan that she is really and truly sorry and then takes his hand off her leg and clasps it in a gesture of friendship as she tells him she's known loss, and she knows you have to let yourself feel it. She goes on that you can't dampen it with drugs or sex, and I'd object to her over-closing here, but she is dealing with a Stan who's not even at his highest level of maturity. Appreciative of what she's doing, he nonetheless tells her that maybe they're different, but she merely suggests he go home. She leaves, but not without him complimenting her ass and her thanking him. All right, not quite brother and sister, but at least still intact.
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.