Grandpa dies! Peggy moves to Manhattan! Sal's wife realizes he's gay! SC signs a naive playboy client! The fun never ends. But what do the ants have to do with it?

I feel so bad for Sally.  Why is Betty so cold to her? She never seems to give her any emotional support.  There is something that does not add up.  When Sally asked about her birth in episode one, Betty and Don's responses did not seem to agree.  And when they were out with the British couple, they gave different answers to how long they had been together.  What gives?

I've said this before, but I don't think Sally belongs to him/her/them. One of them may be her parent... or neither of them... but I don't think she's "their" child.

Ålso, I think the actress who played Sal's wife was brilliant in her reaction to the whole Bye Bye Birdie scene. It was actually very funny to see the realization come across her face, then her reluctance to snuggle with him afterward.

As for the ant farm... could it symbolize their security coming to an end... the normalcy of life changing in an instant? Nobody seemed to care. They were "pets" and then Joan just exterminated them. It seems like something has to happen to bring them back around to compassion, to healing. That's what Sally was crying about... about how her best friend died and nobody seemed to care. These people have been so desensitized that they just don't even feel anymore.

I'm not sure what's up with the Betty/Sally dynamic, but it sure seems to parallel Don's frosty relationship with his own stepmother. Self-involved Betty won't be in the running for the "Mother of the Year 1963" award, again. Funny, a shoving match aside, Betty seems to be the only one that Don can't fully stand up to. He tries to help the kids here and there, but he seems at a loss about how to do so.
Either of them could have told Sally that they were just remembering the "good times" about Grandpa. Instead, she gets a snarling mother, and Dad giving her the "shove off" sign.

I also thought the cop was pretty tactless with both Betty and Sally. Basically, "Your Grandpa just dropped dead in line at the A&P. Where do you want us to dump the body?"

Adgal, I laughed at the same scene with Sal and his wife. Wow, what acting chops in both of them! Sal for his prancing, and wifey for the "OMG" look!

I think you're right on with the antfarm. The workers are just toiling away every day, oblivious to the giant ball (JFK/Dallas) that's hurling toward their world to smash it into pieces.

So with the self-immolation of the Buddist monk, we now know it's June 11, 1963.

I agree.  The scene with Sal and his wife was hilarious.  The wife is a very good actress.

Good point, mneeley, about the ant farm.  I think that's exactly what it symbolizes.

As for Betty vs. her daughter... I don't know if I'm feeling that Sally isn't theirs.  They showed her love enough before.  But those were the easy times, when she was just a cute little girl and all they had to do was buy her a dog.  She's growing up now - driving the car?  Seriously!

Betty seems to be extremely self-absorbed, but I wouldn't go as far to say that she actually dislikes her daughter.  Aside from neglecting to address Sally's frustration, she also told her father to keep "whatever he's facing" to himself - when he was talking about his will.  Both reactions just show how little she thinks of how the people around her feel - she plays her role as daughter/mother superficially, expecting to receive but not to give emotional support.

It seemed that Don wanted to say something to Sally, and he should have, but he was concerned about Betty.  On some level, his statement toward Betty that "Sometimes I feel I'm living with a child" was indicative.

On another note, I don't know what to think about Sal.  I watched this episode with very low resolution so I couldn't see the actors' expressions very well... I did feel a little alarmed on the wife's part, realizing that something was off about their apparently lopsided relationship.  Good for Sal, getting a promotion of sorts, although it came out of nowhere.  I think I need to watch this episode again with better quality.

But yeah, thinking about how Don and Betty hesitated when Sally asked them about her birth... it does seem like there's some secret hidden there.  But I can't really imagine it manifesting itself as hating on Sally.

Last week we had three parties:  the Kentucky Derby party, Joan's dinner party, and the pot party at the SC offices.  This week, it was all about separating from your parents.  Sally realizes that Don and Betty will never really be there for her.  Gene dies, and Betty has to deal with that.  Don looks at a picture of his parents, who, he said at one time, that he hates.  Peggy had to tell her crazy mother that she was moving out, and the father-son issues between the jai-alai guy and his father.  Did I miss any?  The scene with Sal sent me to thinking about my father, who I have barely spoken to since 1979.  Good stuff!

The scene with the jai-alai guys father in Cooper's office got me to thinking.
What do we know about Burt? Childless, yes. Eccentric, definately. Single? I recall seeing a sister, but does he have a wife?  Loves art. Unfazed by Don hiding a huge secret.
Could Burt have more in common with Salvatore than we thought?

Maybe - but I doubt it.  I read Burt as being all business.  If it's good for business, great.  Anything that interferes with business has got to go.  Remember his conversation about the Rothko?  He had no attachment to it - someone had recommended it to him as an investment and that's why he bought it.

Burt and Sal?  That seems unlikely but then who knows for sure!  Burt seems like a comfortable bachelor and nothing more, but again, I suppose it could be that he and Sal could be on the same page.

"Maybe - but I doubt it.  I read Burt as being all business.  If it's good for business, great.  Anything that interferes with business has got to go."

Funny you should say that, as Robert Morse is still probably best known for starring in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 1967.

Well the first thought in my mind re: the ant farm was the old expression about kicking over an ant hill.  It could just be a metaphor for how the microcosm of "Mad Men" will be knocked over and re-shaped by the tumultuous changes of the '60's.    Weiner has said previously that one of the things he tries to reflect through the show are how our world has evolved since then and how people have handled these changes.

The metaphor breaks down, of course, when Joan comes in and exterminates them all  - god forbid our mad men and women should come to such an abrupt end!

"The metaphor breaks down, of course, when Joan comes in and exterminates them all  - god forbid our mad men and women should come to such an abrupt end!"

Well, since that ant spray probably contained a good amount of DDT, that may just happen.

Thanks adgal & mneeley! The American world will turn upside down with the death of JFK. The '60's will heat up with an 'anything' goes mentality, ushering out the old guard.
And no, Burt isn't gay. He's just eccentric.

Somewhere late in season 2, Bert comments to Roger about how his wife introduced him and Mona...my guess is, Bert is a widower.