In today's episode, Mary Ellen Rogers manipulates Beaver to get to Wally, by enticing him with her father's electric trains.

I really suspect that June figured out what was actually going on, early in the episode. Her wry smiles when observing that Beaver and Mary Ellen were sharing lunches at school.....seem every bit to be a smoking gun, confirming as much.

Why would mom throw her baby to the wolves like that? Are emotional battle scars considered to be a rite of passage by the "fairer" sex?

Loved Ward's "damage control" lecture to Beaver at the kitchen table after Beaver asks why women do such things.

Perhaps June's strategy towards emotional mischief is similar to the way some mothers treat the measles, and mumps? Once one child contracts it, then expose all the rest to get it over with?

Perhaps happenings such as this shaped Beaver's much maligned outlook regarding girls?

June: I'm not shocked ! As a women I'm very proud of Mary Ellen ...


lol that sums it up

How did Mary Ellen get to the Cleavers House ?

Did Wally & Mary Ellen walk to the dance ?

June: I'm not shocked ! As a women I'm very proud of Mary Ellen ...


lol that sums it up

Yep, pretty near a confession as we are ever likely to see.

In June's defense, her comeback of "well, if we weren't that way, this country would be nothing but an empty land populated by jack rabbits, buffalo, and grizzly bears".....was pretty good. I'm not sure she said "buffalo", but it was some wild animal.

June: I'm not shocked ! As a women I'm very proud of Mary Ellen ...


lol that sums it up

Related to the concept, I just recently watched an episode of Gunsmoke titled "Twisted Heritage".

In it, an obsessively strong-willed matriarch domineers over a ranch inherited by her recently widowed son, who after 2 years still grieves his loss.

Through a predictably contrived set of circumstances, Kitty finds herself marooned at this ranch, and subject to this old battle axe's exploits. The matriarch gradually determines that Kitty would make a 'suitable' replacement for the deceased bride, who herself (of course) never measured up to the old woman's standards. (the matriarch's family name was "Copperton", although "Bronson" would have been equally appropriate)

So, Kitty finds herself prey to the mother's strategy for conquest.

It was reassuring in a way, to see the "what happens when an even bigger spider comes onto the web?" series of events expertly played..

I suspect that June would have been proud to the point of being shocked. .....

How did Mary Ellen get to the Cleavers House ?

Did Wally & Mary Ellen walk to the dance ?
Mary Ellen's father was waiting in the car. Ward earlier commented on his Jaguar.