Ranking the Episodes of Mad Men Season 3
Everything changes in 1963
We’re nearing a year since I launched Mad World and it is incredible to see how it has grown. Fans are doing rewatches alongside mine and the episode breakdowns have now expanded to YouTube!
I will jump into Season 4 next Friday but as a buffer between the seasons, I’m ranking Season 3 today. Thank you all for supporting Mad World and celebrating Mad Men with me!
Right now, I rank the seasons Season 1 > Season 3 > Season 2 but those rankings between 3 and 1 are CLOSE. Season 3 is where the set-ups laid by the prior two seasons pay off, making it an immensely satisfying watch. These characters will be going through hell and you feel oddly entranced by it because that was always their destiny. You were prepared for destruction and a phoenix now rises from the ashes, even if the first thing that phoenix reaches for is a pack of smokes and whiskey neat.
Let’s rank the 13 episodes of Season 3 set from April to December of 1963.
I want to reiterate that I love Mad Men and enjoy all of its episodes, ranking an episode as the lowest on a list is not a reason to avoid it.
S3 Ep7 - “Seven Twenty Three”
The characters are at their worst. Don’t get me wrong, taking random pills from teenagers and then waking up on the floor of a motel is who Don Draper is… but this episode is a bit overwhelmed by his failings. Betty also buys a fainting couch which isn’t the show’s most riveting subplot.
S3 Ep8 - “Souvenir”
Mad Men at its most soap opera, down to the clearly fake backdrops. The Rome scenes between Betty and Don feature some of the best chemistry on the show.
11. S3 Ep10 - “The Color Blue”
Oh, Suzanne Farrell… why did you have to 4 am jog into Don’s life?
From talking with fans, I’ve noticed that the idealistic schoolteacher Ms Farrell appears to be one of the most disliked characters on the show. An effective episode at being uncomfortable. She tells Don that she wishes she could have known him as a kid. *shudders*
10. S3 Ep2 - “Love Among the Ruins”
After hitting a running start with the first episode of the season, “Love Among the Ruins” has to shake off any of Season 2’s remaining malaise. A great episode for Peggy and, thankfully, an escape from returning to 1962’s dullest moments.
9. S3 Ep4 - “The Arrangements”
More so than the prior two seasons, Season 3 lets its many characters shine and Sally Draper finally gets to take the stage. Sal also takes the spotlight, much to the dismay of his wife. A reflection on how depression only builds when the cause is ignored.
8. S3 Ep9 - “Wee Small Hours”
For all the approaching doom shown in this season, we somehow believed that Salvatore could escape it. Even more depressing than the prior episode, thank God this season has some great comedy that we can enjoy.
7. S3 Ep1 - “Out of Town”
1963 starts by letting you know that a clock is slowly ticking towards midnight. Destruction, doom, and more bad decisions are on the way. Sets the groundwork for a great season.
6. S3 Ep11 - “The Gypsy and the Hobo”
While the rest of the episode isn’t that memorable, Betty’s confrontation with Don is the show at its absolute best. Halloween and Mad Men thematically go together so well!
5. S3 Ep6 - “Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency”
Perhaps the funniest episode on the show and I am floored by the audacity of it every time. No one goes into the show about alcoholic adulterers and thinks they’ll be giggling during a literal bloodbath. Mad Men handles the balance between drama and comedy so well.
4. S3 Ep5 - “The Fog”
The below frame is one of my favorites on the show, sends a chill down my spine whenever I see it. “The Fog” is an episode that feels like it should not be seen. We are intruding into Betty’s mind. Uses period history effectively to convene its themes.
3. S3 Ep13 - “Shut the Door, Have a Seat”
The end of the world as Don knows it, and he’s… doing just fine? Every moment is exhilarating and you cannot wait to jump into Season 4 to see what future these survivors make.
2. S3 Ep12 - “The Grown-ups”
The episode that got me into the show, a recreation of the dark November day that the 1960s as we remember it truly began. You sit in shock in front of a TV screen just as the characters do.
1. S3 Ep3 - “My Kentucky Home”
The attempt to ban this episode has made its point more powerful. This is not a show that yearns for the 1960s but instead asks you to understand it. Do not live in the past, let it teach you how to make a better future.
Next Friday, Mad World jumps into one of the best TV seasons of all time… MAD MEN SEASON FOUR!