‘Mad Men’: What’s with the piling on Betty?

Slate writer Patrick Radden Keefe:

Betty, the writers tend to deny us those redeeming, sympathetic moments. As an artistic matter, this may be unassailable; in real life, some adults really are vapid children with few redeeming qualities. But on a show where each character possesses a distinctive ratio of vinegar to sugar, Betty feels out of proportion to me. She’s almost all vinegar, and that strikes me as cruel.

It’s late in the week for Mad Men commentary on Sunday’s episode, yet Patrick nails it. Something about episode 503 felt very off – I think Betty’s storyline had a lot to do with that.