[Patreon Preview] Mad Men: The Suitcase

Summary

TV Is Good – Patreon Preview: Mad Men “The Suitcase”

Host: Alan Sepinwall
Guest: Kathryn VanArendonk
Date: June 1, 2026

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Episode Overview

This special Patreon episode marks the launch of the podcast’s deep-dive format, where Alan and Kathryn select iconic TV episodes to dissect—free from the constraints of the weekly release schedule. For their inaugural pick, they chose one of television’s most celebrated hours: Mad Men, Season 4 Episode 7, “The Suitcase.” The discussion explores why this episode resonates so powerfully, its place within Mad Men's broader narrative, and the intricate character work on display.

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Pre-Discussion: Patreon & Bird Antics (00:00–06:33)

• Setting the Stage: Alan and Kathryn introduce the new monthly Patreon-exclusive format, promising deep dives into TV classics and space for personal anecdotes and “hot, hot, hot takes” they might not share elsewhere.
• Behind-the-Scenes Banter:
  • Kathryn jokes about this Patreon being the venue for “important updates from our lives,” teasing Alan about a rumor he “punched a bird.”
  • Alan recounts (02:00–06:09) a story about an accidental run-in with a budgie at the Turtleback Zoo in New Jersey, sparking playful debate:
    • "I did not intend to punch the budgie. It just happened." — Alan (04:40)
    • Kathryn riffs: "I mean, again, where is the budgie’s side of this narrative?" (04:45)
  • The tale is peppered with New Jersey references, musings on parenting in zoos, and a thematic connection to Kathryn’s experience in Australia (with Australian birds, but not budgies).

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Introducing “The Suitcase” (06:33–07:03)

• Alan: “This was our first one. We really wanted to pick a banger for you, and boy did we.” (06:33)
• Kathryn: "We are here to talk about Mad Men's 'The Suitcase.' It is an episode that I think means a lot to both of us, that we both have thought about a lot over the last many years of being TV critics." (06:42)
• The hosts agree that “The Suitcase” stands out even on rewatch for its emotional power, plotting, and character work.

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Setting the Mad Men Scene: Recap & Context (07:03–09:55)

Where Are We in Mad Men, Season 4? (07:03–09:55)

• Alan Recaps:
  • Don Draper, no longer living with Betty, is at a personal low—“engaging in super self destructive behavior… His drinking is out of control.” (08:16)
  • The fallout from Don’s personal life:
    • After an affair with his assistant Allison, she leaves the agency. His “punishment”? The elderly, no-nonsense Ida Blankenship as his new secretary.
      • "The great Ida Blankenship, about whom we learn some new and important things." — Alan (08:46)
  • Don’s California ties:
    • Anna Draper, the only person who knows Don’s secret, is terminally ill, although Anna herself doesn’t know.
      • Alan: "Anna is dying of cancer. Anna does not know she is dying of cancer… Don knows that she's dying. He can't do anything about it. So that's another thing he's struggling with." (09:19)
  • Agency backdrop:
    • Sterling Cooper Draper Price is in new offices, and the hosts touch on the playful inconsistency about the number of floors in the agency—
      • Alan: "Matt Weiner cannot stop me from telling you how many floors the agency has." (09:51)
• Kathryn: Surprised by how much plot is packed into the episode and notes the iconic status of the “That’s what the money is for” line, linking it to both the show's themes and the Patreon’s launch.

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Highlights, Quotes, and Tone

• Lighthearted Banter & In-Jokes:
  • From bird-punching allegations to jokes about New Jersey geography ("There is no central Jersey" — Alan, 01:55), the tone is witty and informal, setting participants up as friends and colleagues with genuine affection and longstanding shared experience.
• Transitions:
  • Kathryn draws a meta connection between the famed Mad Men money quote and launching content for paid subscribers, underscoring their enthusiasm:
    • “It is, of course, also thematically appropriate to begin a Patreon this way.” (07:17)

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Alan:

  • “I did not intend to punch the budgie. It just happened.” (04:40)
  • “Anna is dying of cancer. Anna does not know she is dying of cancer… Don knows that she's dying. He can't do anything about it.” (09:19)
  • “Matt Weiner cannot stop me from telling you how many floors the agency has.” (09:51)

• Kathryn:

  • “We are here to talk about Mad Men's 'The Suitcase.' It is an episode that I think means a lot to both of us… even still, looking back at it now, I felt like I had almost under… everything about revisiting it was wild.” (06:42–07:03)
  • “As we were teasing in the main feed episode... this is the 'that's what the money is for' episode, which is why it is, of course, also thematically appropriate to begin a Patreon this way.” (07:11)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:59 – Patreon introduction, podcast format changes, and playful personal stories (Alan’s zoo misadventure)
• 04:00–06:33 – Further bird story and segue into Mad Men
• 06:33–07:03 – Hosts introduce “The Suitcase” as their subject
• 07:03–09:55 – Detailed yet succinct Mad Men series/season recap, clarifying where “The Suitcase” lands in the series arc

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Summary Takeaway

This episode of TV Is Good finds Alan Sepinwall and Kathryn VanArendonk in characteristically sharp, warm, and humorous form as they embark on the Patreon-exclusive era of their podcast. Their initial discussion sets a conversational, energetic tone, blending personal stories and TV wisdom. They anchor the episode in the emotional and narrative crossroads of Mad Men’s “The Suitcase” and deliver approachable, knowledgeable context for new and returning viewers. The stage is set for an in-depth, passionate analysis of one of TV’s greatest episodes—promising a satisfying experience for both diehard Mad Men fans and anyone interested in insightful television criticism.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, I'm Alan Sepinwall. I'm a TV critic.

[B]

I'm Kathryn Van Arendyck. I am also a TV critic.

[A]

We are friends and neighbors and we love to talk about TV with each other.

[B]

We are going to talk about it with you now.

[A]

Every week I ask you if the TV is good. But once a month I don't need to.

[B]

No, because once a month we are doing a Patreon where we get to pick the TV that we already know is good. And we are going to be doing deep dives and we get to decide what we want to devote a whole episode to. And we are not beholden to the upcoming TV calendar. And this is our first one of those and we're really excited about it. We are going to be releasing Patreon episodes on the first Monday of every month. And for this one and probably the next one or two, we're going to be deciding what those are ourselves. But at some point we're going to be like, what do the people want? What would they like to hear from us?

[A]

Yeah. And so we're going to do on Patreon, we're going to have chats, we're going to set up polls. We like, you know, you are going to be paying for this. And so we want you to be satisfied with what we're talking about, not necessarily how we're talking about it, because we can't control that. But in terms of topics, you will be helping to steer the bus.

[B]

I do think this is also going to be the place for hot, hot, hot takes that perhaps we do not want necessarily to be shared in a public, unpaid for forum. And, you know, if there's going to be, if there's going to be important updates from our lives, this might also be where they go. For instance, Allan, I heard you punched a bird.

[A]

Okay, I did. I punched a budgie. It was accidental.

[B]

I mean, were there witnesses?

[A]

My family was a witness.

[B]

Would they attest about intent?

[A]

We live in suburban New Jersey. There is a place in northern New Jersey, because there is no central Jersey called the Turtleback Zoo. I think it's in West Orange.

[B]

I do think that is in northern New Jersey.

[A]

That is 100%. Essex county is a million percent in northern New Jersey. And so I used to take my kids there all the time when they were little.

[B]

We did, too.

[A]

Every now and then. We will still go back sort of out of nostalgia.

[B]

And the chicken nuggets are not bad.

[A]

It was a heat wave. It was a mistake to go there on a super hot day. We would have stayed much longer if not. So we kept being in search of like, anything that was even slightly shady. And one of the things that they have is the Turtleback zoo is set up as sort of like, you can travel the world and see all the animals. And so there's a whole Australia section, including an Australian aviary, which in theory is supposed to have kookaburras and other native Australian birds, but pretty, pretty much just has budgies.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And there are dozens, if not hundreds of budgies everywhere. And some of them are out in the area where you're walking around. And some of them are like in like a separate, you know, more private area with open windows where they can hang out and not be gawked at and then fly back and forth. And so we're walking around and when we first.

[B]

Well, did you buy the little sticks?

[A]

We did not buy the little sticks to feed them with this time. We have done it other times.

[B]

I mean, nothing. A kid. The kids want the little sticks. So it's like a little tongue depressor that they cover in, I think, hot glue. And then they glue a bunch of bird seed to it. And for, I don't know what the current. Given the inflation rate in Trump's America, I am not sure what the, what popsicle stick bird seed is going for these days. But kids always think that they want the popsicle and then they don't actually want the popsicle thing because they're like, of course I want to feed the birds. And then when confronted with the reality of like a beady eyed tiny dinosaur flapping at them, everyone's like, oh, God, oh no. Somebody help me feed it. And they like, want it, but they don't want it. It's. It is one of those parenting tightrope that you, you, you must. Everyone must walk.

[A]

Exactly. And my kids are older than yours. One of my kids actually babysits for your kids. And so they've learned the lesson, the popsicle stick. So we did not get them. So we're walking, we come in. There are really almost no birds in the, like, civilian area when we start walking through it.

[B]

Civil birds versus military birds.

[A]

Yeah. But I'm just like, where, where did that, where are all the birds?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then I turn drafted and I see the private area where all the budgies are hanging out amongst themselves. And I start to gesture towards the budgies so I can tell my wife and one of my kids, hey, there's the birds. And as I extend out my hand, a budgie flew into My hand.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

With a closed fist. So I did not intend to punch the budgie. It just happened.

[B]

Yeah. I mean I again feel like there's. I mean where is the budgies side of this narrative? Right.

[A]

And I immediately thought of you both because I know you've been to the zoo but also because budgies are Australian and you've written a book about bluey and you just sort of. And you have been to Australia, which I never have. Did you see budgies there?

[B]

I don't think I saw wild budgies there are just full on like cockatoos out in, in like trees, like parrots. Why? It's crazy. There's a ton of birds in Australia. We saw a lot of what in Blue Ear called bin chickens, which are these ibises that are just like around these alien looking things. I'll never forget we had gotten off of the airplane and our kids were so sleep deprived and so jet lagged that they were like Superman in the core of the earth. Just like holding up the earth ab them, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we were walking to the hotel, our first hotel, and there was one of these birds standing next to a trash can. And I remember both of them, their brains melted so fat like they were. They couldn't. I don't think language existed for them in that moment. It was, it was really wild to see. But we did not actually see any budgies nor of course did we punch any of them because we're not monsters.

[A]

It was an accident, I swear.

[B]

I mean again, have you been banned from the zoo?

[A]

No, not yet. In fact, we debated whether to convert our tickets into a membership for the rest of the season so we could go back and amortize it. But it was just so hot. We needed to get back into the car.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

[A]

So this is clearly the people are paying to hear us talk about me punching birds.

[B]

I think so.

[A]

And not to hear us talk about because this was our first one. We really wanted to pick a banger for you and boy, did we. Catherine, what are we here to talk about today?

[B]

We are here to talk about Mad Men's the Suitcase. It is an episode that I think means a lot to both of us, that we both have thought about a lot over the last many years of being TV critics. And it's one that I think

[A]

like

[B]

you, I watched it at the time and was like, this rules, let's go. And even still looking back at it now, I felt like I had almost under just everything about revisiting it was. Was wild. It Is season four, episode seven, for anyone following along?

[A]

Yes, it is, I think, the literal midpoint of the show.

[B]

Yes. Oh, it's so perfect. Okay, so I. I want to start by asking you to give us a little bit of a recap of what is happening in the show and in this episode from a. From a plot point, because I think there are all of these big moments that you immediately think of if you remember this episode with any kind of clarity. As we were teasing in the main feed episode, when we were introducing this, we were like, this is the that's what the money is for episode. Which is why it is, of course, also thematically appropriate to begin a Patreon this way. But I do think it's. I found myself a little bit surprised by how much plot was also happening that I had kind of lost the threads of. So where are we in Mad Men life?

[A]

So at the end of season three, Betty kicks Don to the curb and sort of, you can argue. Is it just because she's found out he's Dick Whitman? Is that the final straw? Is she just sick of him stepping out on or whatever. But Betty has kicked him out. He is now a bachelor. He is engaging in super self destructive behavior. He has slept with his previous assistant, Allison, and she has quit tearfully. So now, basically his punishment, Joan has assigned him Ida Blankenship. The great Ida Blankenship, about whom we learn some new and important things.

[B]

Beautiful new information.

[A]

Yeah. So she is old and just completely way past her prime as an assistant. So that's one thing. Don is living in the village. He is sleeping with sex workers. His drinking is out of control. Meanwhile, he has also gone back to California to visit Anna Draper, who's the widow of the real Don Draper, whose identity he stole. And like, she is the person to whom he feels closest in all the world because for a long time, she was the only person who knew who he really was. Anna is dying of cancer. Anna does not know she is dying of cancer. Her niece Stephanie, played by Katie Lotts from Legends of Tomorrow, like, they're keeping it from her. I don't even remember why, because we. I only went back to watch this episode. But Don knows that she's dying. He can't do anything about it. Say that's another thing that he's struggling with.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Meanwhile, they've started up the new agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Price, in these cool new offices, which in this season does not have a second floor. But I mean, I'm going to say it right now, Catherine, in a later season it has a second floor.

[B]

What?

[A]

What? Matt Weiner cannot stop me from telling you how many floors the agency has.

[B]

Okay? Please, please, okay.