10 Terrible Episodes In Otherwise Awesome TV Shows
3. "Tea Leaves" - Mad Men
Like The Sopranos, Mad Men is a premium drama show with few notable lows and many, many landmark highs. By far its weakest episode is "Tea Leaves," which it brings us no joy to say was directed by none other than Don Draper himself, Jon Hamm.
But the issues aren't so much with Hamm's direction as they are the episode's script, which focuses on reintroducing Don's ex-wife Betty (January Jones) to the narrative, depicted here as both depressed and overweight.
You won't find any Mad Men subplots more universally maligned than "Fat Betty," which saw its silly genesis here by way of some embarrassingly bad prosthetic effects.
The storyline only exists because Jones became pregnant between the show's fourth and fifth season, and creator Matthew Weiner apparently saw no other way to have Betty in the show without Jones donning a fat suit and performance-encroaching makeup.
Though the more office-centric stuff isn't bad here, it's entirely overshadowed by the uncharacteristic splash of goofiness that Fat Betty brings with her.