Hadn't several days passed since Ed cleaned up? I'd figure any chlorine smell would have evaporated off the hard surface of a ventilated garage.

The auto shop investigation is just being smart. It was when he ran his finger across the garage floor and smelled the bleach (or blood?) that I rolled my eyes.

Side note: Anyone else enjoying those ridiculous AHS promos with Lady Gaga? You know, in the way that you the enjoy watching a car accident or out of control roller coaster?

Could be, was hard for me to see. Accidentally tuned into the standard definition FX channel instead of the HD feed. Damn DirecTV box.

I did groan a little bit at the "Indian tracker" cliche, but at least they fleshed it out with a fun Vietnam anecdote.

What was the deal with the lights in the sky when Hahnzee was in the road where Rye was hit? Was hard to tell on my screen but it looked like his watch was several hours ahead of the one he looked at inside the diner seemingly minutes before. Alien abduction? Is Fargo going there?

Vernon loves Arli$$ because of course he does.

One would need hard plates made of ceramic or steel to stop rifle rounds. Kevlar can stop pistol rounds but something coming out of a rifle like Carrie had would zip right through it.

Aya Cash and creator Stephen Falk have referenced a "deeper" and "darker" story in the back half of the season, presumably related to
this sneaking out. Falk said, "It just surrounds an issue that Jimmy
[or] Gretchen has in their personal life that threatens to really derail the relationship, and it’s something that’s…

When the AVClub was doing those ill-advised crosstalk reviews of Mad Men, I followed Sepinwall at Hitfix for reviews and came back here for comments. Depending on the show, Hitfix, Grantland, and Vulture are generally good bets.

The real value of this episode were those great fashion tips that I'll be utilizing. Thanks to that wonderfully dressed old guy I now know that a t-shirt with a blazer is "sort of a popular style right now."

"You're a hired hand! *slight wave of hand* Back to work!"

That's the exact feeling I got from it myself. I was confused like most everyone else for a bit, and then I started thinking about how Weiner has said he wasn't a big fan of the split season dictate. That's a great way to give the middle finger to the network putting him in the "season finale" box against his will and…

This is one reason why I can't understand some commenters here and at other sites who are down on that scene and say it wasn't "earned" or was too "pat." Are we watching different shows?

Just add it to the list of basic facts that Sonia gets wrong in a number of pieces she writes on this site. It's like she doesn't have access to the internet or isn't able to replay episodes and scenes. Very odd.

Or one who gets basic facts and quotes correct?

"The sand sure is soft here on the beaches in the Bay of Pigs!"

Did you catch how many times "costs" were mentioned in this episode? Lou talking about Peggy's cancelled ad, Harry Crane to Koss, Cutler to the partners. In the war between creative and accounts/accounting, creative is losing at SC&P. When you're led by Lou Avery, you're already at a handicap.

Yep. Didn't catch the dry cleaning last week, but it was definitely there in the first episode of the season as pointed out in the Tom and Lorenzo Mad Style review (which I highly recommend!).

He represents exactly the kind of "creative" that the uninspired bean counters want. He doesn't seem to have the temperamental problems with being a subordinate that someone like Don had from time to time, and I bet he works for cheap (comparatively).