I am watching the latest episode in real time as I write this, and I cannot believe Betty opened the Dick Whitman drawer. Anyway, let's pick up where the old board left off.
I thought it was a pretty great episode. So much going on: Betty telling Sally to stop being so self-absorbed about a wrong number, but then using that as an excuse to call Henry. (I had originally thought that she knew this was someone Don was sleeping with.) Roger Sterling's convo with Bert Cooper. And then him and his wife riding with his mother who had no idea where Madge was. In fact, all the limo rides were pretty awesome (including Sally laughing about the driver being Chinese). The brit's wife excited about the prospect of moving back to London. She probably has no idea how close they were (or still might be) to moving to India. Paul jerking off in his office to his previous Maidenform bra campaign. I really thought Peggy was going to walk in him when she left the office. Farrell's brother explaining to Don that it is not so easy to just re-invent yourself. A nit-picky point though, I have no idea where Bedford, Mass is, but wouldn't the teacher be suspicious that Don was not gone for all that long? And speaking of which, the seeds of her about to go stalker crazy (assuming she did call him, which I think is pretty obvious, and the train scene). Of course, the aforementioned scene with Betty discovering Don's locked away secrets. But she really doesn't know what it all means, just what she thinks it means. I am not sure which would be more devastating to her. I thought this was one of the strongest episodes of the season. Bummed we only have 3 left.
If I remember right, she asked Don if the place was nice where her brother was going to be. When Don replied with yes, she said "Oh, bullshit." She knew her brother wasn't going to go through with it from the beginning, as it's implied that he has pulled the same move several times before.
That's what I thought too when she asked that, but then his response was that it was a hospital and not nice. At that point, I assumed the bullshit referred to the quality of the place her brother was going to work at. I don't think she would have been happy with Don if she knew he just left him off in the middle of the road 20 miles away.
I'm really liking the parallel they're drawing between Betty and Sally. Sally is trying to act more and more like her mom: dressing up, kissing boys, answering the phone. All this while Betty is, in reality, just a scared little girl. This leads me to believe that if she confronts Don about the box, he'll handily put her in her place.
I have been noticing the parallels too (and last week, with Betty doing her makeup in the mirror that Sally was using was pretty pointed on that). I am not sure if Betty will confront Don about this now. That look of resignation she had when putting the box back in the drawer was pretty telling. I was half-expecting her to take the passive-aggressive route by rearranging the drawer so Don knew that she saw was in there without her having to confront him. Instead, she will probably just fuck Henry. And to whoever commented (not sure if I read this on site's Mad Men discussion) a few weeks ago that Betty always tries to open the drawer when she is in the office, kudos for picking up the foreshadowing.
Yeah a few episodes back she gave a tug on it when she was in there talking on the phone. Notice how when she finds the keys she knows exactly what they are for. She's been wondering what kind of nasty secrets he's been keeping in there for years now.
For some reason this past episode solidified me on this being the most interesting show on TV. There is so much going on right now. What did Betty think she was going to do if Don walked into the house with that box laying on the table? Almost every time she has confronted him about something big in a way where he is feeling attacked, he just walks right out. She’s also not the most rational when she is confronting someone. I thought the scenes with Peggy and Kinsey were great. I couldn’t tell in the last meeting if his facial expression was supposed to be “Holy shit she sandbagged me again,” or “Holy shit she is just that good.” Either way I thought his expression was priceless. Also, when Kinsey said something about Don loving Peggy and she shot back, “What are you talking about, he hates me.” It’s really awesome the way everyone acts towards Don’s weirdo non-emotional state. Everyone is fighting so hard for this affection from him that he definitely isn’t going to give. In reality it is kind of sad that this goes on, but on a TV show it is sure fun to watch. I was a little disappointed they didn’t address Sal’s story line at all. I thought in the scene between him and Don that Don was implying that he needed to take one for the team and get back the Lucky Strike account and his job. Based on the fact that they are trying to sell the company but never (or have they?) mentioned whether or not Lucky Strike was still with them, seems odd to me. Someone mentioned before that the Kennedy assassination should be coming up pretty soon. With three episodes left, how will it play into everything that is going on? Cliffhanger? It seems like the one problem with picking up the story line from season to season without moving through time is the child actors aging. One more reason to hate a show with kids in it.
Sal's story line, I assume (hope), will come back later. I could see him going to Duck's firm or moving to LA to work in tv. Such a shitty thing to happen to that character. Keep in mind though, aside from the brits, no one knows that Sterling Cooper is for sale. How pissed will be Don be when he finds that out after he just signed the contract? The Kennedy assassination occurs the day of Sterling's daughter's rehearsal dinner (I think), so it will come up somehow. I am guessing the last episode of the season. But Matt Weiner has said in interviews that the assassination has been done to death elsewhere and it will not be a focus of the show. (really, no pun intended.)
I love the show, but that is one of the frustrating aspects of it: unresolved plot lines or taking too much time to address the ones that do get resolved. Of course, Matthew Weiner is a Sopranos alum, so you take the good with the bad in that respect. One small gripe about an otherwise great show.
Paul disappointed me a little in this show. As liberal and open-minded as he tries to be, he still showed a sexist side when he accused Peggy of getting by because of her gender. At the end of the Western Union pitch he said "Oh my God." Was that to mean "I think she stole my idea," "How did I get through this without being chewed out," or "Wow, Peggy is really talented and can think on her feet?" Roger's speech at the end about everyone knowing and loving Don and what a great person he is was great, especially with having Betty there stewing in the knowledge that nobody really knows who Don Draper is. I also feel that it was the teacher who called the house the other night. Her crazy-vibe is weak but I can see it exploding on the horizon. Any chance Betty tries to go out to California and visit the house Don has the deed to in his drawer? Or at least dial directory assistance and try to get the woman on the phone?
I have the last two eps DVR'd and I think I'm gonna hold off on watching the rest of the season until it's done. I don't know why, but I'm always reluctant to watch this show unless I have multiple eps Qd up. I think it may be because of the pace, though that's one of the things that makes the show great.
In the intro, Betty was reading The Group by Mary McCarthy, which deals with, among other taboo subjects for the time, extramarital affairs. I'm assuming they are foreshadowing precisely that, or at least an increasingly fierce moral conflict within Betty over whether she fucks Henry. I suspect whoever buys the firm will re-hire both Sal and Joan. I have nothing to back that up with and maybe it's a little too deus ex machina-y for this show, but I'll put $10 on it. Those characters are way too good to just fritter away.
This was an incredible episode. We finally see Dick Whitman come to life in Don Draper's household. Betty seemed so grateful to finally have her husband open up to her, even it was exposing the lie of their lives. I was very impressed with how the writers decided to have Don tell the whole story straight up. He didn't even try to hide or divert anything in his past when he and Betty were talking at the table. Jon Ham did a great job with this episode, for a few seconds, when he was fumbling for his cigarette, I thought Don was going to have a heart attack. Now the question remains - Does Bets stick with him and try to rebuild? does Don quit his adulterous ways now that the monkey has been lifted off his back? I love this show.
Great episode, could have been the season finale and I wouldn't have minded. Very surprised that the Betty character had the balls to confront Don. It definitely changes the dynamic in their relationship. I thought it was hilarious that he left the Teacher waiting in his car for hours. I laughed my ass off when she finally climbed out of the car and hoofed it home on foot. While I enjoy Don bagging all sorts of hot women I was getting a little tired with that story line. I hope this episode leads to the show taking a slight change in direction.
I was surprised as any to see Betty wearing the pants for a change. I thought originally Don would be able to overpower her, but she came ready. To see her all season behaving like a little girl and then this.... The confrontation was probably one of the better 10 minutes of television I've witnessed. The last time I've been that floored by TV was probably Lost, "The Constant." My girlfriend doesn't even watch the show, and she even put down what she was doing to watch it. To have this built up over 3 seasons and then finally revealed. Well done.
No one has mentioned the look on Joan's face after she hugged her husband. She looked mortified as she walked off screen. I realize it's the early sixties, but to not discuss with your wife about joining the military (and making her an army wife) is incredibly ballsy. I think she might split and since the writers made a point of telling us that adultery is the only way to get a divorce in NY, well, she may go for it with Roger or some other lucky guy. She's a city girl. The thought of living on an army base in Germany just isn't in the cards. And that closing scene was simply awesome when the neighbor asked Don "and who are you supposed to be?" Edit: Forgot to mention but the whole time Betty and Don were talking I kept waiting for the teacher to knock on the door and ask Don what was taking so long. It was a nice touch that really added to the drama of that scene. It would have been a shit storm of epic proportions and made me actually feel anxious just waiting for it.
The JFK stuff was great. I knew it was a huge day in history but never really thought about the immediate impact. Everyone crowding around their TVs and radios waiting for the news... eerie. The thought of Don being single doesn't really bother me. Betty is a pain in the ass and I'd probably hate her character if she wasn't hot. Draper could easily go roaming the globe for Hilton or something and the show would stay interesting. I hope they don't write Peter out of the show or minimize him the way they've done with Joan. Peter is the type of character that only works when he's in the action.
Don Draper walking into the main office when the phones were blowing up right after the assassination was one of the few times where I actually felt transported into the story in any media, period. Betty's reaction to Lee Harvey Oswald's shooting was chillingly real, especially when she asked, "What is going on?" For some reason I'm reminded of the live videos from the ground on 9/11 when average people were reacting to the events. As for the show itself, I thought they used the assassination to set up for next season very well. However, I'm hoping that every season ending is not some major historical event, as we've seen with the Cuban Missile Crisis before. It would be... Lame. I'm really looking forward to how Betty and Don's marriage ends, although from there, I think that really puts a timeline to the ending of the series (but who knows really, maybe it will end at Apollo 11, and really finish the 1960's). I'm really wanting the show to explore the 1960's in London, and I'm hoping that this is an option because of the Brit owners, but it really depends on if they sell the firm. Don is the perfect man to explore the countercultural aspects, kind of like he was doing in the first season. Edit: I'm stupid and didn't see the TV shows tab.