As Don would tell Peggy, there's nothing that we do here that you can't live without. But join the conversation if you want to. We love Mad Men. And we love to argue.
“I’m thankful that I have everything I want. And that no one else has anything better.” -Betty
On this Mother’s Day, we pause in our celebration of loving moms to watch perhaps the most irritating television mother of all time, Betty Draper Francis.
But for our characters, perhaps more important than appearances is how we measure up against one another. That final, searing quote from Betty said it all. It’s not enough to have everything you want (or maintain your weight for a week in Weight Watchers). You have to be better than everyone else, if you’re Betty Draper. All that competition can be quite toxic, indeed.
Don’s love leave is over and he’s feeling the competitive heat in the workplace, which has long been his proving ground. It was nice to Ol’ Don back in his office late at night, snowballing, er, spitballing some ideas. When he played off his “snowball’s idea in hell” notion as something he just came up with in the office pitch session, the reliably filterless Ginsberg said, “It’s impressive that you could not write for so long and come up with that. That’s good to know.” We, of course, know better.
And here I was feeling bad about Betty’s situation for most of the episode until she pulls a TOTAL Betty with the Anna Draper move. WTF, BETTY? Seriously? Props to Sally Draper for turning that back around on her mother later — “He showed us pictures and they spoke very fondly of her” — but what a way to deal with heavy topics, Betty.
It’s easy just to hate on her, and I remain unconvinced that ANYTHING could make her happy. But when Henry Francis talked about having bet on the wrong horse politically, there was a tender moment there between he and Betty, even though Betty was probably wondering whether she bet on the wrong man. That note about the lightbulb was pretty endearing, after all.
Loose Ends
“You know Don. Tall guy (gesture) short temper (gesture).” - Ginsberg
- After weeks of us joking around about all the walking around money Roger has, he finally says what the audience has been saying — “I gotta start carrying around less cash.” In the Season 5 opener, “the roll of walking-around money in his pocket would purchase, in 2012 terms, $7,000 worth of goods, services, favors, or indulgences.” Then, in “Mystery Date” (Episode 5.4) Peggy managed to get $400 out of Roger to do the campaign he forgot, which works out to $3000 in today’s money. Poor Ginsberg gets obviously shorted with only $200 in 1966, or $1500 in 2012 terms.
- Roger’s mojo is back, but we got a glimpse of the wreckage of his second marriage. I can’t muster up that much pity for Jane because I remember how wily and manipulative and bitchy she was to Joan when she worked at Sterling Cooper and snatched Roger in the first place. So, uh, whatever. I don’t feel terrible that Roger had sex with his wife in the apartment that he bought for her.
- Pete’s general desperation as a human being: Pretty hilarious this episode.
- I have to admit after the Megan/Sally scene I sat there for a few moments keeping my eyes wide open to see if I could make myself cry.
Am I the only one who can work and drink around here at the same time?
When is everything gonna get back to normal?, the atrophying Roger Sterling asks. The wheels of change are spinning forward, and many of the characters aren’t. It’s been a consistent theme on this show, but never as clearly as at this point, now that we’re a year out from the Summer of Love.
We watched as young, striving Pete embarrassed the white-haired, account-less Roger after dangling the Mohawk Airlines account in front of him before snatching it back in a public show. The firm now employs both an African American woman and a young Jew. And the age difference between Don and Harry and the Rolling Stones groupies was so wide that I worried those guys were gonna slip into some statutory rape situation.
Mad Men has never been a show driven by quick plot changes, and this was clearly not one of the show’s stronger episodes, especially since the least-dimensional of the show’s characters, Betty Draper, played such a central role in it.
But it has always been a show about identity. And wearing masks. Betty has always been least interesting to me perhaps she is so transparent as a character. I like that she has a “mask” of her own now, even though this show makes really horrible fat suits. You’d think they’d improve on their “fat” makeup since Peggy’s in season one …
So, who is Betty Draper Francis? What hunger is she feeding there? And what are those new layers covering up? Since I don’t think much of January Jones’ range, I’ll just go with the most obvious explanation, that she’s generally unsatisfied. But she was a spoiled daddy’s girl beauty queen who never fully grew up. Will she ever find satisfaction?
Megan was right that Betty’s cancer scare gave Betty a reason to call. Henry is right to be wary of her relationship and kneejerk need to reach out to Don.
Enough about that. I’ve always enjoyed art that rewards the audience for paying attention … and five seasons into the show, I enjoyed the callbacks to and echoes of season one:
Betty and Don’s familiarity. I liked that moment when she asked him to “say what he always says,” even though recent years in their lives have proven he’s just lying when he says everything’s going to be fine.
Don’s conversation backstage with the young gal reminded me of his relationship with the hippie, Midge. She was ahead of her time, living a boho life with other artists. And Don always looked at her with that same bemused face that he looked at the concert groupie. He also looked just as out of place in 1966 at that concert as he did in those Soho lofts in 1960.
Loose ends:
I’m really excited about this Michael Ginsburg character. This is going to be good. Peggy is never as fun in the office as when she’s sparring with her male coworkers, a la Stan Rizzo and that great working naked scene from last season. And Ginsburg obviously has some family baggage that will be fascinating to learn about.
“Because Romney’s a clown, and I don’t want him standing next to him.” - Henry Francis, on George Romney (Mitt’s father).
Seeds of the sexual revolution are here! “None of you want us to have a good time because you never did.”
What Stiles said during this episode: It’s benign. You’re just fat. I’m so bored.
So, my fellow Mad Men fans, what did you think of episode three? Can’t wait to read your takes.
As usual, the season ends way, way too soon for us MadMenaholics. Somehow we’re already nearing the Summer of Love, and this season more than the rest we’ve gotten to see real evolution. SCDP is no Sterling Cooper (though the new company is failing), Peggy’s become a bonafide working gal who can equal Don in creative talent and emotional restraint and coolly hang with the Bohemians on the weekends, the decline of Roger and Bert reflect the passing away of the old ways of doing business, Pete’s gone from slimy office weasel to guy who falls on his sword to keep Don’s secret.
We haven’t gotten to see Don do much in the way of making a great pitch this season. I liked the early season bikini ad, but that ended in a tirade. But that smoking ploy was as creative and fun as his shenanigans to get Teddy Chaough to waste resources making a commercial in their competition to win the Honda account. Too bad it drove Bert Cooper to quit, and it may not help save SCDP in the end, but props to the guy for trying. He was probably right not to check with the others - Don’s a “ask for forgiveness later” type of guy.
But then there’s Betty. Who hasn’t really grown up at all. Her insisting upon keeping her appointments with Sally’s child psychologist was already grating enough; by the time she wrecked her daughter by telling her they would move homes simply because she was jealous of her daughter’s platonic time with creepy Glen? It’s totally in line with her character but I am now going to actively lobby for her to be written off the show. Mad Men’s real strength comes in its office stories anyway; if Betty Draper is going to continue to be so one-dimensional, I don’t see any reason to keep her on much at all. It’s frankly a relief her screentime’s been so reduced this season.
But Sally. What will become of Sally? Walton and I spent a lot of time discussing her offline this season, wondering how much she’ll become like Don, or whether she’s going to become overly sexualized as we head into the sexual revolution, how she’s going to deal with living under her mother’s roof for the rest of her adolescence…
And here we are at the season finale. Came too soon.
In an episode full of revelations, the main secret driving the the show’s central character gets kept under wraps - for everyone besides Faye, a new member of the Draper/Whitman inner circle. But let’s review everything we learned about the rest of the characters: Lane is involved with a “negro”! Joan is preggers with Roger’s baby! Joan gets a secret abortion! Roger loses 69% of SCDP’s revenue! Lane’s a victim of domestic violence!
This episode worked so well because it played on the central theme of the show: secrets and lies. And now that we’re four seasons in, the audience is getting a huge payoff for paying attention all these years. We see the resentment Pete harbors toward Don, as Pete has known the Dick Whitman secret since 1960 and now it’s coming back to ruin his business relationship. (Only the irony there is Don actually helped fix Pete’s big secret - the Peggy baby situation - all those years ago.) We see the marked difference between Betty’s reaction to learning Don’s secret and Faye’s reaction. Where Betty turned cold toward Don after learning the truth, Faye drew nearer to him. Faye’s actually Don’s type, of course. Instead of being a trophy wife who can cook and sew and such, Faye is that independent, headstrong woman who Don’s always actually been drawn to. (e.g. Rachel Menken, crazy Miss Farrell, Bobbie Barrett, Midge)
So one of my questions as we leave this episode is, if Don gets away with it again and gets to keep his fake identity, isn’t he still running? He really breaks down here and admits he’s sick of running, but Pete helping him keep things under wraps means he’s going to continue this lie… should the whole house of cards come tumbling down in order to save his sanity?
Finally, the change theme of the season’s really coming into full focus, as Roger loses the company’s golden egg (and, I think, the only real account he’s in charge of). As we’ve talked about in previous posts, his and the rest of the “old guard’s” influence is waning, if not dying a la Blankenship and that client he tried to reach by phone in this episode.
So we head an episode closer to the season finale with SCDP teetering on the edge, and Trudy about to pop out a tot. Methinks this season won’t end with as much caper-style fun and triumph as last season.
It’s quite a predicament for women at SCDP - and women in the workplace everywhere, isn’t it? You’re either just a sexy secretary or you’re an overzealous climber bitch. (Monica vs. Hillary, anyone?) As Joey the freelance art director becomes more and more misogynistic toward Joan, (because apparently his mother was the same way), Peggy steps into to save the day and show Joey the door.
Peggy thinks she’s done something magnanimous for Joan. But Joan knows better. Now Joan’s the damsel in distress, saved by a “humorless” chick with a dick. While we’re forty years forward and situations have gotten better for women, I can’t say I don’t understand the perception predicament Joan describes in the elevator.
And this episode really explored the show’s ladies, didn’t it? Bethany’s back, and willing to meet Don’s, uh, draper. She needs a more from him, and says it. “We really are from different generations,” Don replies. But now that we’re hearing his internal thoughts for the first time, a la Carrie Bradshaw, we know he doesn’t think much more of her than he did Betty Draper. She’s beautiful, charming, but not on his level.
The women on his level were traditionally Don’s mistresses - they tend to be the aggressive, modern, independent ladies who could take him or leave him. Midge, the hippie from season one, Rachel Menken, who headed her own stores, Bobby Barrett, who was responsible for the entire Jimmy Barrett machine, Miss Farrell, the enlightened teacher who worried how DON was doing after he ditched her in the car … and now, Faye. The ad doctor of persuasion is actually getting to hear Don’s actual thoughts and worries - he discusses Gene’s upcoming 2nd birthday with her, that he’s out of sorts, etc. etc. Where he keeps the dancer at arm’s length (and later muses that he already “knows her” - is that a reference to how similar she is to Betty?), he seems to let down the mask when he’s with Faye. What a contrast.
Speaking of contrast, I’m not sure how I feel about actually hearing Don’s internal monologue. The show opened with narration and immediately I thought of Sex and the City and wondered if we’d get a “I couldn’t help but wonder” moment. I’ve long believed the beauty of this show is the subtlety in the story and the acting WITHOUT getting into the characters’ heads and actually hearing what they think. While it’s helpful to know Don is now making a bucket list (yay Mount Kilimanjaro) and wants to “gain a modicum of control over” the way he feels, we could have figured that out without the exposition. (Okay, maybe not the mountain climbing part.)
STRAY OBSERVATIONS
-Henry Francis, God bless him. He looked like such a sad, lonely creature mowing that lawn. And he really is stuck with a child. I loved his line “Hate’s a strong word. I hate Nazis.”
-No Roger again!?! Arrrgh.
-Francine’s reminder to Betty is an important one. Who is Betty but a woman who has defined her life through men? And then she acts out with the men she’s with? I can’t decide if it’s bad acting or bad writing that’s making this woman so one-dimensional and irritating. Shouldn’t I feel bad for her a little - I swear I have before in earlier seasons.
Anyway, I’m anxious to hear what y’all think about the new use of narration and the issues about sexism that came up for the girls. And whatever else.
Mad Men’s at its best when the principals are scheming something, like for instance plotting the start of a new rogue agency. So watching Joan, Don, Peggy and Joey team up to set up that fake commercial shoot (cue Peggy riding a Honda around on an empty set) brought me nothing but joy.
But besides that, what a tough episode. It marked the first time we’ve seen Roger get serious since maybe after his season one heart attack. Perhaps I owe this to my recent viewing of Band of Brothers, but I really felt for him and his loyalty to the men that died out there fighting the Japanese. And for him, it’s pretty raw still - just twenty years post WWII.
I’m proud of Pete reminding Roger of the old Godfather axiom that “it’s business [with the Japanese], not personal” and standing up to Roger in an important way. Pete and Betty have long been the adult children on this show, and it seems like Pete’s actually growing up.
Betty, meanwhile, is just as bratty and childish as ever. When she was on the couch with Dr. Edna unknowingly showing off her own ridiculous selfishness, it reminded me of episode 3, when Stephanie, Anna Draper’s niece, said something like “No one knows what’s wrong with themselves and everyone else can see it right away.” Maybe the monthly visits with Dr. Edna will help Betty more than Sally, but a more mentally balanced mother will help Sally in the end anyhow.
Speaking of being on the couch, what a breakthrough for Don, talking to his office shrink/contract employee Faye that way in the kitchen. This whole season/time in the sixties marks the change from not talking about stuff to Don’s bemused observation, “Why do people have to talk about everything?” I was shocked how much he opened up about his situation with the children, how he didn’t know how to deal with them but that he missed them; there’s more there with those two. But I have to admit it’s weird to watch scenes where Don Draper talks about his feelings (when he opened up to Anna about the divorce this season, it was also more than I thought we’d ever hear). I didn’t know if Faye was making an early reference to what we know now as “daddy issues” when she assured him Sally would be okay so long as she knew Don loved her, but she’s probably right that Don’s influence will save Sally in the long run, in spite of her sorry excuse for a mother.
And all the people who figured that engagement ring was just a prop — score!
Stray Observations:
-LOVE ME SOME LAXATIVE PUNS! Roger’s “ease it out” and “sure you don’t need to loosen that up” jokes at the beginning of the episode in reference to the C-COR laxative account killed me.
-More Mad Men/True Blood actor crossover. Dr. Edna played one of the True Blood season two townsfolk who fell under the spell of Marianne and ended up having crazy animal sex with the coroner.
-Where would Mad Men be without Joan? She’s totally the glue that holds everything together.
