Sally's a smart little girl. She can put two and two together and get uh-oh. Daddy's gone, more than usual for "business" and his suitcase is back in the closet. He's not home, even late, for dinner or there foro breakfast. So when Mommy tells her she and Daddy are having a disagreement she asks the obvious questions "where has he gone?" and "when will he be back?" So far this is not unreasonable; if she starts dumping on Daddy for having an affair ("Sally, can you spell philanderer?") that's different. Still, Betty's cut herself off from her neighborhood friends and allies so she's either going to start talking to herself or the horses.

.....Auburn Annie.....I was thinking that too.... It keeps surprising me that Betty seems to pick fights with the neighbor ladies so easily. They're her only friends! Why would she sabotage herself like that?

It worried me that she called Sara Beth with a manipulative intention, was cold to her pain (because she knew exactly what she had done by throwing SB together with Arthur) and then delivered the final jab of the whole plot. Poor Sara Beth for not seeing that coming.

It was bad enough watching Betty be mean to Bobby, but to see her deliberately messing up the lives of her friends....well, I don't even know what to think about that.

Matt Weiner and his writers sure likes to keep us flip-flopping!

There is an age appropriate way to explain pretty much anything. I thought Betty did just fine, though she also should have told Bobby at the same time.

I agree with Auburn Annie, she needed to tell Sally the simple version and no more. Sally then must have relayed some version to Bobby. We could do a whole thread on what Bobby and Sally think they know. Sally already said daddy was gone because mommy was mean and had his suitcase in the closet. Or something like that....

I have been reading some of the posts about the Sara Beth set up by Betty (since that episode aired) and I still don't get it. At first I thought it was a gift to the friend who wanted to be admired and needed a boost in confidence. Not a good gift, but at least one given generously by Betty, who was in a deep depression and giving away her pretty dresses at the time. As in 'here, wear this, it will make you feel good. here, meet up with him, he will make you feel good". Then I began to see the darker undertones of the whole thing. Still, what was Betty thinking? Was it a test to see if some married people can stay flirty with people to whom they are not married, and not sleep together? If so, Sara Beth failed the test and isn't good enough to be Betty's friend in Betty's mind. Or was it all just entertainment from a mean spirited person who wanted others to find themselves in the world of hurt where Betty lives?

.....Initially, I thought Betty giving the boots to Sally was so sweet, and a wonderful mother-daughter moment. I scanned Betty's face for any hidden motives, and was fairly satisfied.

However, now, seeing her intentionally manipulating innocent people, and watching her face on the phone with Sara Beth, I wonder if there was something more calculating in that scene with Sally, than was obvious before.

And Betty's comment about possibly not being able to provide luxuries in the future, made me wonder if she thinks she is never getting back with Draper.

By the way, January Jones looked like a porcelain goddess in this episode. She has perfect skin, but I'm still unsure about those long, blood-red nails. Did the ladies on the East Coast wear them like that then?

Hi Dry!
I wondered the same thing about Betty's gift of the boots to Sally. Did they symbolize Betty's way of letting Sally know she had to "grow up" fast?
In an earlier episode, didn't Sally ask Betty about going riding with her? And didn't Betty say "it was for grown ups?"
The other thought I had was that Betty was trying to win over Sally before the divorce battle begins.

As far as the red nail polish, I think it was still popular in the early sixties. I learned that the lipstick and nail polish HAD to match at all times! Big fashion rule!!
In the mid sixties the paler shades became popular. I remember wearing white polish (and lipstick when my mother wasn't around) in the late sixties.