“Bye Bye Birdie, “It’s awful hard to bear; “Bye Bye Birdie “Think I’ll always care, “Guess I’ll always care, “Guess I’ll always care”
– Anne Margaret from the musical and song, “Bye Bye Birdie”
Pete Campbell and Paul Kinsey are shown pitching the Madison Square Garden group and Kinsey can’t keep his personal feelings in check – he doesn’t want to see Penn Station torn down to make way for a stadium. He thinks the city ought to preserve this architectural masterpiece. He, and the rest of New York, are resisting change and it breaks their heart to say “bye bye” to Penn Station.
Bert Cooper, Roger Sterling, and Don Draper are dealing with saying “bye bye” to their mid-size agency and the standards they once felt were important. Betty and her brother are saying “bye bye” to their father as he slips a little further into dementia. Her father is bidding farewell to his sanity, his home, and his independence. Roger is saying “bye bye” to his daughter as he sits ringside to her wedding plans. Joan and Roger miss the old days when their flings were new and exciting. Now, they’d just be desperate and defeatist – they had their chance to be together, and ignored it. Don knows, despite the fact he’ll always ca-a-are (sing that last part), his former unchallenged influence and charm are being rendered useless. And finally, Peggy has weathered her storms and she’s ushering out her brooding, guarded, troubled past and is going to charge head first into the feminist-driven sexual revolution that’s knocking on the doorstep.
