The Grown Ups

Season 3, Episode 12, Aired
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9.1
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Peggy's taste in men proves questionable; Pete has to make a big decision about his career; Henry makes his move on Betty; the staff is rocked by a major tragedy.
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Fan Episode Reviews (4)

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  • Kennedy assasination leads to character fallout as Pete and Betty release pent up emotions and Peggy, Roger and Don attempt to soldier on.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By guyroy1971, Oct 06, 2011
    Pete and Betty's stories have dove-tailed together all season, as Pete's last episode was also tied with Betty's roman holiday. Both Betty and Pete have tried to be loyal do the right thing types all series and they both finally had enough in this second to last episode. Pete finds out he lost the head of accounts to Ken (who is more an archtype than a full character, he doesn't get alot of lines). Pete has been wooed and has stayed loyal (like Betty) all this time and it came to naught. He has had it and leaves the office (never to return?) and refuses to go to the wedding. He has emotionally already quit SC.

    Betty also decides that enough is enough and tells Don she doesn't love him anymore. She is no longer resisting Henry and he actually proposes. Whether she really loves Henry is open to interpretation. I feel he is only a tool for her to get out of the marriage. She nows has somewhere to go and will not be the pathetic single mom eighbor from season 1. She no longer sees the point in conformity (like Pete), the world went mad so why pretend anymore?

    Peggy, Roger, Joan and Don are the grown ups from the title, as they soldier on and all say the sun will rise tomarrow. Peggy goes into work, Roger has the wedding, Joan is cool as always and Don retreats to the office, which is all he has left. His worst fears have come true, Betty cannot love Dick Whitman, she loved Don Draper.moreless

  • Another great installment.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By thefanof, Oct 06, 2011
    Finally, Mad Men seems to have its act together and is finally producing good television; too bad it is so late into the third season.

    FOr the second consecutive week I thoroughly enjoyed the episode, as the drama was high, the writing was strong and the show was as fast-paced as ever. The way they were cutting between scenes made me feel like I was watching The Hills, and completely forgot how some scenes used to literally last 20 minutes in the old days of Mad Men.

    While there were some strong similarities between this and the Marilyn Monroe episode they already did, this was a much bigger deal to America and thus deserved an episode, even if it was something that had already been done, with everyone in the office in mourning.moreless

  • A Devastating Episode

    10
    "Perfect"
    By HoseJob, Apr 24, 2011
    Mad Men was at perhaps its most tragic in tonight's episode, which placed themes of loss under the umbrella of the Kennedy assassination. The show is, at times, criticized for the fact that nothing seems to happen on an episode by episode basis, but the "Grown Ups" is clearly exempt from that observation. Many of the slowly developing plot lines from this season finally crystallized and brought new possibilities to the table. January Jones, Jon Hamm and John Slattery specifically shone tonight. Don and Betty's scenes together showed a raw mix of hostility, fear and love all boiling under the surface- a feat of acting not easy to accomplish. There is a vulnerability about Don now, since the events of last week's episode, that makes him seem broken and alone, which was expertly encapsulated in tonight's closing shot. It appears as though Don's world is finally crumbling. In an episode that depicted a day when a nation stood still, plot decided to move along anyway. Well done.moreless

  • Penultimate episode....

    8.7
    "Great"
    By sequoa84, Aug 28, 2010
    Matthew Weiner just goes on prove that you do not need a fast paced and edge of the seat action to create an hour of drama on television. And you can just engross the viewer using a slow story by dissecting each character like a lab rat and putting them at the right places. Set against the backdrop of the Kennedy assassination, the show depicts the reaction of some characters when the whole country came to a halt. The face off between Betty and Don reaches a whole new level this time. The Kennedy incident provokes something in Betty, perhaps Don's manipulation and fooling around shot her breaking point; or perhaps the shock and anger surrounding the incident brought out the sadness in her life which she had bottled up all these years. Whatever interpretation may it be, she finally musters the courage to tell Don that she doesn't love him. Don's reaction is a bit confusing, and rightly so because this episode wasn't about him. I can't get contemporary perspective as I didn't live in the 60s, but there was definitely a common ground for the characters of Don, Peggy, and Roger. They had a more modern standpoint, whatever be it life has to move on. Peggy starts to work on the Aquanet commercial, Sterling makes sure Margaret's wedding is on track, and Don looks like he simply doesn't care at all. The other star was Pete Campbell - who is tested by the higher ups for the millionth time. He quite comparable to Betty has this bottled up anger, anger accumulated because his efforts and loyalty go unnoticed every time. And the assassination opens up the cork of this metaphorical bottle. It very likely he will be going to Duck or possibly go solo.

    At the risk of sounding dramatic, I am feeling a bit sad because there is just one more episode left. And probably a 9 month wait after that. Mad Men had had a great season, and Emmy #3 can be prematurely written off, I guess...moreless
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