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Sal’s actor certainly made the right decision by never coming back—it’s almost comical how horrifically every later season cameo hosed up their lives. Kinsey? Boom! Joined a cult. Midge? Strong, independent female counterculture artist, well, time to spin the wheel of misery aaaaand: heroin addicted prostitute. Roger’s daughter? Hmm gonna go back to the “cult” well I think.
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Jan 14, 2021 23:23
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I was holding out hope we'd see Midge again in season 7, in recovery. That season definitely has the most optimistic tone of any season, but, alas. It was not to be.
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Jan 15, 2021 00:07
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Xealot posted:(Don and Sal stuff) That's real interesting. I hadn't thought of Don's secret life creating, well not sympathy, but understanding for what Sal is going through.
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Jan 15, 2021 00:09
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Sash! posted:Possibly Don had some unspoken regret about it that made him think it was a mistake when he did that with Sal and that's one reason why he was the most opposed to Joan being used the same way. No, HE wanted to be the one to win the business, not Joan. He can pretend that it's about being chivalrous to Joan at first, but it's very clearly about his ego in every interaction he has with Jaguar guy.
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Jan 15, 2021 00:37
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KellHound posted:No, HE wanted to be the one to win the business, not Joan. He can pretend that it's about being chivalrous to Joan at first, but it's very clearly about his ego in every interaction he has with Jaguar guy. That's not the read I had. Was pretty drunk the first watchthrough tho, so will reassess
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Jan 15, 2021 00:46
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BrotherJayne posted:That's not the read I had. Was pretty drunk the first watchthrough tho, so will reassess I think it's not clear in the episode on it's own, but it becomes increasingly clear with his interactions with the Jaguar guy. Every clash they have is an ego fight. Joan even calls him on it in the episode when Don "fires" Jaguar
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Jan 15, 2021 00:53
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KellHound posted:I think it's not clear in the episode on it's own, but it becomes increasingly clear with his interactions with the Jaguar guy. Every clash they have is an ego fight. Joan even calls him on it in the episode when Don "fires" Jaguar I figured that was Joan's fears over her contribution being devalued. Like, Don is a prideful person, but Jaguar has a poo poo product
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Jan 15, 2021 00:59
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I believe Matt Weiner believes that people usually have multiple motivations for what they do. It's possible to support multiple motivations for almost every important moment in the series. Don's desperate emotional plea to Joan not to go through with it at her apartment comes across as being unrelated to ego. He's almost choked up and tells her that if this is the only way to get the account, he'd rather not be in business with people like that. But he also has a consistent pattern of wanting all the credit for all the ads his firm makes. So I believe you're both right.
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Jan 15, 2021 01:02
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Yoshi Wins posted:I believe Matt Weiner believes that people usually have multiple motivations for what they do. It's possible to support multiple motivations for almost every important moment in the series. Don's desperate emotional plea to Joan not to go through with it at her apartment comes across as being unrelated to ego. He's almost choked up and tells her that if this is the only way to get the account, he'd rather not be in business with people like that. But he also has a consistent pattern of wanting all the credit for all the ads his firm makes. So I believe you're both right. what the gently caress, I leave this gay rear end forum for 16 years, I come back and people are making reasonable and good faith arguments all of a sudden. poo poo. I want to make some pithy joke about how if we're both right, then you're wrong, but that might break the spell. But for real, I was a fifth and a bit into the bottle first go round, so a bunch of the subtext likely got missed. Which is why this thread RULES Yoshi Wins posted:I was holding out hope we'd see Midge again in season 7, in recovery. That season definitely has the most optimistic tone of any season, but, alas. It was not to be. Ugh, that would have been great. And a re-return of Paul. At least Harry makes it through BrotherJayne fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Jan 15, 2021 |
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Jan 15, 2021 01:11
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Yoshi Wins posted:I believe Matt Weiner believes that people usually have multiple motivations for what they do. It's possible to support multiple motivations for almost every important moment in the series. Don's desperate emotional plea to Joan not to go through with it at her apartment comes across as being unrelated to ego. He's almost choked up and tells her that if this is the only way to get the account, he'd rather not be in business with people like that. But he also has a consistent pattern of wanting all the credit for all the ads his firm makes. So I believe you're both right. Yeah, this is it. I also think an element of "the characters tell you what they think, even if it isn't true" going on - Pete and Joan both blame Don's ego for it, and believe he was acting completely selfishly, but I'm sure Don was 100% genuine with his plea. And that his dismissal of Jaguar too was because of his complete disgust with them. It just, well, ALSO helped that he was able to subsequently save the day - which comes back to bite him pretty bad, as the characters all take note!
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Jan 15, 2021 01:20
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BrotherJayne posted:Ugh, that would have been great. And a re-return of Paul. At least Harry makes it through Harry's worse than all of them.
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Jan 15, 2021 01:46
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JethroMcB posted:Harry's worse than all of them. he's the money maker, though!
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Jan 15, 2021 01:52
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BrotherJayne posted:he's the money maker, though! It's been a while, but doesn't he end up not making money in the merger because he was trying to screw his wife out of alimony?
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Jan 15, 2021 14:18
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Cat Army
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]He was offered the position of partner but it hadn't been made official at the time of the merger
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Jan 15, 2021 15:26
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MightyJoe36 posted:It's been a while, but doesn't he end up not making money in the merger because he was trying to screw his wife out of alimony? I meant for the company, not for himself
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Jan 15, 2021 16:25
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Mover posted:Sal’s actor certainly made the right decision by never coming back—it’s almost comical how horrifically every later season cameo hosed up their lives. Kinsey? Boom! Joined a cult. Midge? Strong, independent female counterculture artist, well, time to spin the wheel of misery aaaaand: heroin addicted prostitute. Roger’s daughter? Hmm gonna go back to the “cult” well I think. You're missing some other hard-hitters. Duck? Straight-up alcoholic. Stephanie? Pregnant and homeless, then abandoned her child. Rachel Menken? Dead from leukemia. It seems like nobody's life actually gets better as the story enters the 1970's, in any midcentury period fiction.
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Jan 16, 2021 00:53
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Something that's been sticking in my mind since Jerusalem called it out multiple times is Duck's chameleon tendencies. He has to fit in and morph himself into what others want him to be, but not in any specific way like Sal or Don. He's too eager to be what he thinks it's want, and it's a stink everyone else can so obviously perceive but to which he is nearly blind. Perhaps he's aware of it on an intuitive level, a quiet desperation that he tries to quell with alcohol. It strikes a chord because it's something I didn't pick up on my first time watching, but now that it's been pointed out it seems so obvious. It's also something I've been worried about in myself for a long time. It colors my view of Duck this time around completely different.
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Jan 16, 2021 00:57
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Awesome write ups.
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Jan 16, 2021 01:00
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The Klowner posted:It strikes a chord because it's something I didn't pick up on my first time watching, but now that it's been pointed out it seems so obvious. It's also something I've been worried about in myself for a long time. It colors my view of Duck this time around completely different. It is really interesting looking back at his first scene towards the end of season 1, since he actually makes no bones at all about openly admitting he's trying to find exactly the right thing to say to Cooper, a complete misjudgement since while that's not a bad trait for a Head of Account Services to have, it basically destroys any chance he ever had at developing a personal relationship or getting any kind of respect from Cooper. Every scene after that he's far more guarded about the fact he's never really telling anybody what he actually thinks but just what he thinks they want to hear.... even with his children when he learns his ex-wife is getting remarried  It must be an utterly miserable way to live your life.
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Jan 16, 2021 01:50
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Xealot posted:You're missing some other hard-hitters. Duck? Straight-up alcoholic. Stephanie? Pregnant and homeless, then abandoned her child. Rachel Menken? Dead from leukemia. It seems like nobody's life actually gets better as the story enters the 1970's, in any midcentury period fiction. duck does seem a lot better the last time we see him in season 7. getting outta advertising probably did him wonders
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Jan 16, 2021 02:01
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Duck is so caught up in shame. He practically winces at everything that could possibly be interpreted as a slight.
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Jan 16, 2021 02:18
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Gaius Marius posted:duck does seem a lot better the last time we see him in season 7. getting outta advertising probably did him wonders the last time we see him he's back off the wagon trying to get into Pete's apartment. I think that Duck is what Pete would eventually turn into given enough time. Se kind of slimyness and desperation to please.
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Jan 16, 2021 03:02
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GoutPatrol posted:the last time we see him he's back off the wagon trying to get into Pete's apartment. jesus I didn't remember that scene at all. I remember finishing the series and being glad he got away clean, drat. I disagree with the second part. I think ducks what pete would be if he hadn't made a break and got outta dodge at the end. Like the one dude said duck is absolutely terrified of making any sort of poor impression on people. And it make sense. He's a damaged war veteran who used alcohol to cope, whose whole career was based on telling people what they wanted to hear. His whole time spent in the early seasons of sterling cooper must've been a constant struggle to not make a single slip and destroy himself there like he did in London. And well we see what happens when he slips.
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Jan 16, 2021 05:45
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Season 2, Episode 10 - The Inheritance Written by Lisa Albert, Marti Noxon & Matthew Weiner, Directed by Andrew Bernstein Helen Bishop posted:The hardest part is realizing you're in charge. Pete Campbell, Paul Kinsey, Sal Romano and Peggy Olson attend a meeting in Don Draper's office, where Pete lists off an impressive number of businesses who will be attending an aerospace convention in California. Pete and Paul have been tasked with attending as well, where their jobs will be to convince every company they can that Sterling Cooper is the Agency to help them achieve their goals. What goals? They're all keenly pushing towards the laudable goal of putting a man on the moon (or blowing up Moscow, whichever costs more, as Don cynically puts it) and there is a ton of money being put into these efforts, and Sterling Cooper wants to help them spend it. Don stresses that this isn't a vacation, the two men are expected to talk and listen to as many representatives as they can find. Pete, of course, makes the valid point that a lot of his work involves entertainment, and in California in particular this means golf. Don has no objection to that, beyond a friendly reminder that Pete needs to make sure he loses. Don does however reject Paul's suggestion of trying to get out to Pasadena to see Jet Propulsion Laboratories, mention of which gets Peggy to betray her usual professional demeanor by excitedly noting that she would love to get astronaut autographs for her nephews. Surprisingly, Pete actually offers to try his best to get some, given that astronauts love golf so much. However, any pleasant feelings there might have been between Peggy and Pete are destroyed when she reminds Don that he wanted to remind them about the congressmen. Pete waves this off as needless, he knows that congressmen control the purse-strings, which causes Don to snap at him: they're not the people who control the money, they're the actual customers Sterling Cooper are pursuing. Impressing the businesses is to make them look more favorable to the Congressmen who are all actively seeking to have these companies set up in THEIR districts for the vote-getting jobs and prestige that come with them. Irritated, Don asks if either Pete or Paul bothered to read the report that Peggy prepared for them all, and the looks on both their faces proves that they absolutely did not. Don grunts that maybe he should send Peggy instead, signaling an end to the meeting which they are quick to escape from before he decides to follow through on the threat. Peggy of course can't help but being pleased, not just because they got chewed out but because Don clearly not only read her report but agreed strongly with its findings (consider his rejection of Research in the first episode of the show). For Pete and Paul though (particularly Pete) it is mortifying to be called out like this, schoolkids who didn't do their homework. It also says a lot about the way things used to run when Freddy Rumsen had Peggy's job: likely he wrote reports as well, but they were probably largely basic and predictable at best, or happily ignored by everybody who considered they didn't need his instructions to do their jobs. Pete claims to have gotten Peggy her new job, and Paul himself probably feels a little slighted that she got ALL of Freddy's accounts, but both of them have just been given an unpleasant wake-up call that things are REALLY going to be different now.   That evening, Trudy comes to bed only half-joking when she suggests she come to California with Pete, promising she'd just stay by poolside and not get in his way. Pete jokes back that she would look like Barbara Stanwyck, but is quick to remind her that it would be unprofessional and give him a bad rep in the office to take his wife along on a business trip like this. She doesn't force the issue, musing that she could go stay with her parents for awhile while he's out of town, and he sighs that now she's making him feel guilty. Pouting slightly, she reminds him that it isn't unusual for her parents to want to see her... or rather, to see them. Now he does feel guilty, pondering if they think he says no to everything she wants. It's worse than that though, they're concerned for Pete and Trudy, and he isn't pleased when she explains this is, as always, down to the lack of a grandchild. Sensing what is coming he warns her not to upset him before bed, threatening to "put my foot down" when she won't change the subject. It's not JUST about her not getting pregnant though, because apparently she's also suggested adoption as a possibility and he has rejected the notion strongly. He complains that adoption isn't natural, that the baby wouldn't be their child. Trudy though, desperate to be a mother despite being mid-20s at best, won't let it go. She sells it as almost a status symbol, they would get their "pick", only the best baby for them. She reminds him that they are excellent candidates to be allowed to adopt, given their youth and "means" as well as a proven history of actively trying to have children of their own. Pete lets her embrace him, and she reminds him that he loves her despite the lack of a blood relationship. He gives no answer, he hasn't put his foot down, and his silence and lack of argument is probably for Trudy just as good as an enthusiastic assent. At the Roosevelt, Don has dozed off while reading paperwork in his hotel bed when the phone rings. He answers and is surprised to hear Betty on the other end. In a state of shock, she tells him that her father has had a stroke. But that's not the worst: he had it three days ago and she's only found out now, his girlfriend (wife now?) Gloria didn't tell her, she had to learn from her brother, William. She called and was told he's up and walking around now, but she wouldn't put him on the phone, and she's clearly worried it is worse than is being let on. Don insists he will come pick her up and drive her to her father's house, and unlike Pete when she tries to protest he does put his foot down. She doesn't want to wake the children or bother Francine by asking her to look after them though, so he compromises that he will wait till tomorrow morning to pick her up. Still in shock, she mumbles that she has been dreaming of a suitcase, a mental image that clearly has significance to her (does it represent a change in her life, a journey she must go on? Does it have more significance to her relationship with Don than it does her father?) and when he assures her that everything will be okay, she bitterly remarks that sure, everything is perfect. He wishes her a good night and she dully but dutifully offers the same back. Hanging up, Don sits up on the edge of his bed, confused and concerned. The latter is a sign that he cares for somebody other than himself, the former a sign that even now he's thinking about how this affects him: the fact she called him is surely a good sign, that she still looks to him for support, that she still needs him, and maybe even a sign that she might take him back?  The next day Gloria greets Betty and Don at the door, all dressed up and bright and cheerful, acting like everything is fine. She invites them in, happily assuring them that Gene is getting dressed at the moment, under orders from the doctor to do as much as possible for himself. She promises that everything is fine and invites them to sit, dismissing Don's offer to book a room at a nearby hotel rather than he and Betty taking up space in the house (and thus get around the two of them having to share a room). As they move into the lounge, Betty flips on the light switch and Gloria, all fake smile plastered on her face, automatically switches it back off. She explains that they are supposed to keep it dim but she doesn't know why. Betty accepts this, but she also clearly doesn't like it. To her Gloria still feels like an intruder in HER house, or more particularly in her mother's house. William arrives, kissing Betty and shaking Don's hand, assuring his sister that it really isn't as bad as it seems. His own wife is dropping their children off at her mother's but he's come on ahead. Gene arrives, loudly declaring to Gloria that he is fine, beaming with adoration at his daughter and throwing his arms wide for a hug she is glad to give him. As promised he seems fine, the only sign anything is wrong a red mark on his forehead and a slight stiffness in the way he walks. He shakes Don's hand and takes a seat, more concerned about seeing the grand-kids than anything else. Don explains they're with Francine, and William brings up Don's new car, a pleased Gene asking if he has finally made the upgrade to a Lincoln. Betty doesn't want to stand around listening to empty pleasantries about cars though, asking her father how he feels. He insists it is all a tempest in a teacup, actually joking about how Gloria was in a real state in the ambulance. Beaming herself, happy to be the center of the attention, Gloria admits that she didn't realize till too late that she was still in her nightie, clearly getting some pleasure as she states that a woman of her age shouldn't be seen in public in such a state. Betty though wants to keep pressing, saying she wished she'd known earlier as the other Partners at Don's firm (even now she can't help but quietly remind everybody Don is a Partner now) know all kinds of doctors. This gets William to sarcastically remark that she thinks EVERYTHING in New York is better. She frowns at this completely unnecessary and inappropriate dig, but her mind is quickly pulled away from that when Gene looks up at her, chuckles to see the knot in her brow, and points out how she always has one... and calls her Ruthie. He asks "Ruthie" if she has offered everybody coffee, and in concern she reminds him she's Betty. "Of course you are," he agrees happily, completely unaware of the mistake he just made even when Gloria carefully reminds him that Ruthie is dead. He just beams, a man who is clearly trying to hide even from himself his obvious confusion. Betty kisses his head and joins Don and William on the couch, Gloria trying to get things back on track by asking Don if he was able to get time off work? "I'm here" he points out with a forced smile, since there's not much else he can say to a question that answers itself. William moves to get ice for them to have with drinks, and Betty asks her father what the doctors told him. "It's just like last time" he assures her, which of course only causes her more concern: last time? She turns an angry expression Gloria's way, asking if this has happened before. Gloria avoids eye contact and doesn't speak, desperate to keep everything smooth and happy on the surface as if that will make everything fine (Betty of all people can tell her this doesn't work) and Gene comes to her aid, insisting it was just a couple of little strokes. William returns and Gloria makes another lame effort at small talk, asking Don if he came via the turnpike. "Yes" is all Don can manage in return, another obvious question, and he's far too uncomfortable to take her up on her obvious desire for him to fill in the awkward silences with white noise talk about the drive.   At Sterling Cooper, Alison can't help but stare as she walks besides a well dressed black woman coming through reception. She and the other secretaries REALLY can't help but stare when Paul Kinsey greets his girlfriend Sheila with a happy kiss and calls her baby, saying she's early for their lunch date. He reintroduces her to Ken and Pete from the party, and Paul's face falls as Pete asks if she wants to spend time with him ahead of his trip to California. She's utterly confused and Pete doesn't pick up on the awkwardness at all and he happily blabs on about it until Ken - who HAS picked up the obvious social cues - gives him a little whack and suggests they go get lunch themselves so he put something else in his mouth. Paul, spotting Joan passing with a smug look, tells Shiela they'll discuss this elsewhere and pulls her off the floor. Lying, he claims this trip only just came up but he'll take their own planning upcoming trip later in the year, reminding her they have plenty of time to aid in a voter registration drive in Mississippi before the election there in October (Robert L.T Smith was running as one of the first African Americans seeking election to Congress in Mississippi in the 20th Century). The registration drive isn't the point though, and she doesn't take any solace in his claim that he'd rather be facing down screaming segregationists AFTER he's been to California. He admits that the Mississippi trip IS scary, but that he has no choice but to go the convention. He leads her away to the lift, where he's greeted as Mr. Kinsey by Hollis. With a smile, Paul insists that Hollis call him Paul and pointedly introduces him to Sheila, proudly identifying her as his girlfriend. He stands between them, beaming, enjoying as always being SEEN to be a man without prejudice. Joan may have been racist and cruel in her putdowns of Sheila, but she nailed Paul on the fact this a large part of what he does is all about him projecting his own perceived enlightenment for the world to see. Unfortunately for him, Sheila isn't interested in being a prop in his self-image, harshly whispering, wanting to know if he ever intended to make this trip down South? "How can you ask that?" he gasps, shocked, but also doesn't actually answer the question. He casts a quick look Hollis' way (like a good operator, he knows to stare straight ahead and pretend he doesn't hear anything) then reminds Sheila she can always get a job at another supermarket, but he can't just walk into another Ad Agency if he gets fired from this one. She's furious at this, but not because (or just because) he effectively just told her that her job doesn't matter, but because all he ever does is complain about Sterling Cooper and the people who work there. That's not true he insists, ignoring the implication that he's willing to jeopardize their relationship for a workplace and colleagues he dislikes. He lies again that this trip only just came up, and is alarmed when she shrugs and says she'll just ride down there in a bus with 10 strangers then. Pissed, he asks her why this can't wait... proving beyond any shadow of a doubt that he really doesn't understand the cause he claims to be so vested in. That's the line Sheila has probably been told all her life: stop making a fuss and we'll deal with these massive, monstrous and horrific problems that permeate every aspect of your life... "later".  Pete sits with his brother Bud in his office going over paperwork, specifically the paperwork detailing their mother's remaining assets following the piss-poor mismanagement by their late father. Pete, despite knowing things were bad, is taken aback by seeing it all laid out in black and white: all the things that were meant to be he and Bud's all having to be sold off to keep their mother from being bankrupted. They can't help but get some thrill though from the thought that had their father lived, before too much longer he'd have ended up on his knees before them asking THEM for money after years of withholding it (from Pete at least). Pete, with typical sensitivity, figures they can call the Lincoln Center and ask for the donation their father gave back, and Bud has to remind him that a charitable donation is NOT something you can ask to have back. Bud, who always got the lion's share of the love and support from their parents, notes that this wasn't exactly great for him either: he and his wife had been close to buying a house of their own which will have to go on the back-burner now. He offers a sarcastic response to Pete's complaint about how much longer their mother may live, but can't help but laugh when Pete jokes they could do her in like in [urlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_(film)]Rope[/url]. Raising his glass, Bud notes that all they can really do now is get their mother to sign the paperwork and then mourn the loss of their birthright. Pete drinks to that, though he's taken by Bud's "End of the Line" statement, making him think of he and Trudy's failure to have children. He asks Bud if Judy wants kids and he replies they have a five-year-plan... but that he suspects Judy secretly wants them to be a childless couple. Pete takes this in wistfully and Bud grasps that something is up, and actually offers what seems like genuine empathy when Pete admits they have been unsuccessful in their efforts. In spite of his own reservations, Pete admits that the option of adoption has come up, and Bud seems surprised but then simply notes that this is something that people do. Pete agrees, even though it's clearly not something HE wants to do, but at least he was able to share this with a family member and get somewhat of an empathetic response. At the Hofstadt household, Don and William's wife Judy join Gene at the table working on a puzzle. Gene asks if Don takes Bobby to see the Yankees and he assures him he does all the time (maybe he does, maybe it's just something nice to say to the old man), while Judy notes that they missed the two of them at Cape May this year. She does admit that without Betty around, somebody else had a chance to win at games for a change, and a proud Gene agrees that his Elizabeth does have a sharp mind. Don watches him closely, perhaps thinking about how Gene's own sharp mind has gone, or perhaps just looking for any sign that Gene is going to forget who Betty is and mistake her for Ruth again. Betty is in the study, drinking and staring at a painting of her mother on the wall. William enters the room, not via the door but the window, admitting he has been hiding in the tree-house because he couldn't bare the feeling of being in a tomb that comes from being in the house. Betty's thoughts aren't with their still living father though, but her dead mother. The painting seems to be the last picture of Ruth in what was once HER house, and there's also furniture missing as well. William doesn't know where any of it went, and frustrated he points out that he can't blame Gloria for moving or removing things, why should she have to live with the ghost/memory of their father's dead wife? If anything, he appreciates Gloria for being there to take the load of. He doesn't want to be stuck with their father because he was the only one who "cared enough" not to move away. Betty is aghast that he'd say such a thing, reminding him that Don works in Manhattan which is the only reason she isn't living around anymore. That of course is a convenient excuse, she and Don don't live together anymore, and her using him as an excuse indicates either that in her heart she doesn't want to be here any longer anyway (and feels guilty about it) or that she suspects she and Don will be back together eventually (and feels... mixed about it). So instead she asks, now that they're finally alone, what is Gene's real condition? William admits that he was acting odd on the golf course recently, shouting at a colored caddie etc. Taking his opportunity, William points out that since she only has two kids, there is probably space in the backyard to build a little home for Gene to live in, and Don can surely afford it. Betty snaps at him over that, warning him not to count other people's money, chiding him like she probably chided him when they were both children. There is a brief awkward silence, and then Betty turns back to pondering the fate of objects around the house, asking about the jardiniere. William is confused as to what that is, then sheepishly admits when she explains that he thinks he and Judy may have it now. Disturbingly mercenary, she asks if she has to go around and put her name on all the things she wants, and William warns her to calm down, declaring her to be drunk. Gloria arrives to tell them dinner will be soon, and spots the open window and closes it all while keeping that same fixed "everything is absolutely fine and my life is not a disaster" smile on her face.   Judy completes a corner of the puzzle, earning praise from Gene... who also points out that Don isn't living up to things on his end. Judy, a little surprised, notes that Don is helping and the man himself just puts on a smile, knowing that Gene isn't at his best right now. But Gene, his filter off, has a nasty little knowing smile on his face as he points out that nobody knows what Don does or WHY he does it, complaining he knows more about the kid who fixes his drat car. Don is offended, obviously, but quickly assures Judy that he's okay when she warns Gene he is hurting Don's feelings. But Gene isn't done, scowling at Don and accusing him of not valuing having the best thing in the world: his daughter, a princess. Gloria steps in and tries to sunnily declare it is dinner time, but Betty immediately senses the tension in the room and asks what is going on. Turning to his daughter, Gene snarls that Don has no people, jabbing a finger in his direction as he roars that you can't trust a person like that. A shocked Betty scolds him, and the room has fallen uncomfortably quiet. Gene, seemingly feeling vindicated, stands up and agrees it is time to eat, and everybody but Don and Betty leave the room. Keeping control of his own emotions, the hurt from this accusation (which is partly so painful because to an extent it is true, he didn't value Gene's "princess" and is suffering for it now) tamped down, he tells Betty they should go eat. She complains she has no appetite and he reminds her she needs to eat, calling her by her pet name of Birdie, a name he uses in moments of affection or to appeal to her. It falls flat now, though she sympathizes with him for bearing the brunt of her sick father's accusation, she's also in no mood for him to sweet talk her, telling him to cut out the display of love with a reminder that nobody is watching right now. She walks away, leaving behind Don who is more hurt by this than anything Gene had blurted out. At the Dyckman-Campbell household, Dorothy is signing the papers her son Bud had brought with him. Pete arrives with his pen and a smile, Dorothy complaining that he missed dinner and only showed up to "grace" them with his signature. Pete ignores the chiding, taking his seat and getting to work on adding his signatures to Bud's and his mother's. But Dorothy isn't done, warning him not to get to used to being part of the family. Confused, he asks what she means and she lets him know that it has "come to her attention" that he and Trudy are considering adopting. Pete casts a dumbstruck look Bud's way, his brother at least having the decency to look guilty as he admits that it "just came up", a ludicrous statement that Pete calls out, asking how a subject like this could possibly just come up in conversation - Bud is, of course, playing a game he's played their whole lives, making sure he remains their mother's favorite. Staring imperiously down at her youngest son, Dorothy proclaims that she would hate to exclude him from what is rightfully his, and that he will simply have to "keep at it". Knowing that there is nothing for her to exclude from him, revolted at the idea of talking even tangentially about sex with her, Pete takes a moment, maintains his composure and forces a smile before telling her this will not be a topic of conversation. But when she appeals to the moral authority of his father, about how he felt adoption was fine "for some" but not a Dyckman-Campbell ("pulling from the discards" is the monstrous way she puts it) he isn't going to take it. He's willing to swallow his pride and put up with being looked down on by his mother, of hearing her continue to hold an inheritance he now knows doesn't exist over his head... but NOT to have her speak admiringly of a father he knows was a complete failure in every respect while he lorded it up over the family. "My father?" he asks dangerously, and then with great glee informs his mother that "your husband" spent every bit of money she had, that he spent it with strangers. Startled, she asks what he means, and a nervous Bud suggests that maybe it would be best if he just sent the papers to Pete's office to be signed instead of doing it in person. Pete agrees, satisfied to go now that he has revealed his father's feet of clay to his mother. Still not quite believing what he has said, Dorothy warns him she doesn't like the tone in his voice, and she dislike sit even more when Pete turns back and caustically asks,"Oh, that too?" Telling him not to be dramatic, still self-assured that just like she has all her life, she can rely on there just being an enormous amount of money there by default for her to enjoy while telling herself she somehow naturally deserves it, she turns to Bud and asks him to give her the exact breakdown of her fiduciary state. Bud, squirming himself now and probably regretting that adoption "just came up", tries his best to soften the blow, explains that they had to liquidate her holdings to ensure her future comfort. Shocked and more than a little outraged, she demands to know what made him think that was necessary, reminding him she never asked for that to happen. She's still convinced that everything was fine, that these moves now by Bud - she had no idea what she was signing or why, simply assuming Bud was "taking care" of everything - are some mistake or calculated move they can only get away with now that her husband is gone. "The market took a turn for the worse" Bud offers, still not willing to admit what Pete already told her, that her husband/their father simply spent it all without a care in the world and left her to cover all the debts that followed in his wake. That the inheritance she was holding over Pete's head simply doesn't exist anymore, and that he and Bud were actually helping her by selling every other asset she has to pay off those debts and leave her with enough money to make it through the rest of her life... and leave them with nothing. Satisfied, Pete leaves with a reminder to send the rest of the papers to his office to sign, and walks away. There is no mistaking that Dorothy was far from the best mother in the world (though nowhere near as bad as her husband was as a father), and that her treatment of Pete was far from ideal. There's no denying that this played a large part in making Pete the man he is today, and that there is some satisfaction to be had in seeing somebody who has blithely spent decades assuming it is only natural for her to be at the top of society getting a rude awakening. But she's also an old woman, somebody who has just discovered a husband she loved and trusted betrayed her and left her with nothing, and she learned this from a son who lashed out at her like a child, taking pleasure from her pain and seeing her brought low. His own mother. Yes she's rather horrible herself, but the best revenge is living well, and though their inheritance no longer exists, Pete should be happy that he's got a good job, a beautiful wife, supportive in-laws, a (comparatively) healthy relationship with his brother, and a mother who - though no longer spectacularly wealthy - at least has enough to live comfortably on rather than being a financial burden on them. Instead he takes his pleasure from her misery, because for Pete Campbell it isn't enough simply to succeed, but to see somebody else fail.   Don and Betty retire to their shared bedroom at the Hofstadt Residence. Betty says she just wants to go straight to sleep, and with businesslike familiarity they strip down to their underwear without a word... and then Betty hands Don a blanket and without protest he takes a pillow and lays down on the floor, having had zero expectation that they would share a bed together. But that night Betty wakes alone in the bed, climbs down and places a hand on Don's chest, waking him. Still without a word, she climbs under the sheet and on top of him. They kiss, her hands all over him and he holding her close, like he can't quite believe she is there, fearful of losing her. Very different from their past lovemaking, even their positions mark a change as she is on top and the instigator, dominant in a way neither has experienced with the other before. The next morning, Don wakes to find the bedroom empty, suitcase open on the end of the bed and his pants laid out. He seems uncertain, what does her failure to wake him or be in the room with him mean? What was last night about? A reconciliation? A need for physical/emotional comfort? A mistake she regrets or the marking of a new beginning in their lives together? He joins her, Gloria and Gene in the dining room, where Betty silently lets a comment by Gloria that smoking gives her wrinkle pass without comment. It's the type of thing her mother, obsessed with youth, might have said, and Gloria is NOT her mother. Don gives her a kiss and takes his seat, saying the grapefruit on his plate will be enough and declining Gloria's offer of waffles. William and Judy join them, Judy ludicrously carrying the jardiniere with her, deeply apologetic to a horrified Betty that she had no idea it had been promised to her. "I wish he hadn't brought it up with you," Betty offers, casting a dark look William's way, pissed off at what she considers a power-play to make her look foolish/greedy/grasping. Angry too that given their father's mental deterioration, THIS is the kind of bullshit thing he wants to spend his energy on? Judy sets it down, and Betty begins gathering up the dirty plates, asking if Viola will be coming today. Gloria says she will be in later, adding with a smile that there is no chance she will miss her. Betty smiles at that, presumably given she asked while collecting the dishes, Viola is the housekeeper, and again presumably one that has worked for the Hofstadts for many years. As she gathers up her father's plate, he beams at her and rests a hand on her hip, telling her she looks beautiful. She's pleased at the compliment... until with a lecherous grin her father cups one of her breasts and asks why don't we go upstairs now that you've fed me? She recoils in horror, dropping the plates onto the ground as Don leaps to her side and Gloria bellows,"GENE!" at him. Already though he's back to normal, or at least cognizant enough to know he's done something wrong but not being entirely sure what it is... or where or when he is. Gloria snaps at him that he's mixed up and, confused and irritated by that confusion, he snaps back that SHE is mixed up. Betty, mortified as she is, insists she is fine and collects up the dishes, moving quickly into the kitchen while a stunned Don is left standing, not sure what to do next. William, still seated, insists to Gene that he must go back to the doctor and Gloria quickly declares she has already made an appointment for Monday before trying to push on and again pretend that everything is just fine. Betty returns, insisting that she is fine, taking a seat and asking Gene (pointedly calling him daddy as a reminder) if he'd like to finish that puzzle today. Of course he would, he happily agrees, more confident now with this to latch onto, and suggests that afterwards they go into town for milkshakes. Gloria is thrilled by this idea, more because it enables her to try to desperately pretend everything is fine, that this late life second marriage hasn't turned horrible on her through no fault of anybody else. Don moves beside Betty, placing what he hopes is a comforting hand on her back. She also tries to pretend everything is fine, but it is a difficult shock to recover from. Obviously having her own father grab her breast and suggest sex is bad enough, but even divorced from their blood relationship, the fact that her father isn't together enough not to realize that even if she was Ruthie it would have been deeply inappropriate says it all: things are NOT all right, he is not going to be okay, something is deeply wrong with him and no forced smile or insistence on normalcy is going to change that. 
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Jan 16, 2021 16:42
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Back in the bedroom, Don is taking notes when a knock on the door gets their attention. The door opens and a black woman in a maid's outfit enters, and Betty's face lights up and she gasps,"Finally!" with genuine happiness. This is Viola, obviously a long standing fixture in the home and Betty's childhood to an even greater extent than Carla is in the lives of Sally and Bobby. She greets Betty warmly, hugging her and smiling at Don who also seems pleased to see her. She promises that she told Gloria to call Betty immediately and Betty accepts this without hesitation, while Don quickly realizes he is the third wheel here and excuses himself to make some calls. Betty helps Viola make up the bed, and can't help but chastise her: she should be here everyday, she should be looking after Gene, she shouldn't have let Gloria "ransack" the house etc. Viola takes it all in silent measure at first, but the last line makes her stand up, put her hands on her hips (a gesture young Betty probably learned to fear) and asks her if she really wants to "give me your temper?" Betty slumps onto the end of the bed and admits what is really bothering her, that her father doesn't know who she is. Viola doesn't dispute that, simply agrees that her father is very, very sick, and Betty sighs that it is actually nice to hear somebody actually say that after the constant assurances that he is fine. Viola joins her on the bed and Betty finally asks the question she has been dreading: is her father dying? Viola takes a moment and then tells her that she was at the hospital when the doctors spoke with Gloria: his condition is only going to get worse. Betty absorbs that, an answer she knew was coming but still dreaded, and then lets out with a moan that she is now an orphan (her father is alive, but he's losing what made him her father). She falls into Viola's arms, weeping softly as Viola comforts her in the best way she can think of: she is a wife and mother herself now, her job is to care for her husband and beautiful children. "The minute you leave, you'll remember him exactly the way he used to be," Viola promises her, and her following words must break Betty's heart even more. "It's all good outside that door," she promises, unaware that Betty and Don are separated, and she doesn't even have the husband part of that equation anymore. So Betty just cries and lets herself be comforted, knowing that the two rocks of her life - her husband and her father - are gone now. They return home, Don and Betty alone in their house and together for the first time in some time. Don offers to take the suitcases upstairs but she says she'll wash the clothes, and when he offers to pick up the kids she tells him Francine is taking them to the pool and Carla will bring them home later. With both those out of the way, Don removes his hat, sighs with exhaustion, and informs her he is going to take a shower. But she stops him before he can go, telling him she thinks he should leave. He's surprised, then irritated, asking her,"Really?" When she says she means it, he reminds her that she is grieving, and she agrees with him... and throws his own words from the previous season in his face by reminding him how much he dislikes grieving. Surprised, Don takes a moment then puts on a sad expression and tells her that he doesn't think she should be alone right now. This was the worst thing he could say, or rather the worst way he could say it, as she asks him incredulously if THAT is the reason he's going to give for wanting to stay. "What do you want me to say?" he demands, and then admits that he wants to stay... but only for a second, only briefly allowing himself that vulnerability before trying to massage it, turning it into,"You want me to stay." Her response of,"Why?" shatters him, and she points out that nothing has changed, that they were simply pretending. For Don of course everything has changed, their lovemaking made him think she wanted reconciliation, her devastation at her father's condition made him think he could be there to comfort her. But the sex was purely her wanting intimacy in the aftermath of having the foundation of her life shaken. She's right that nothing has changed, because he still hasn't admitted his infidelity, he still won't be open with her, he still won't allow himself to open up to her as she has so often opened up to her. Even now, his sad looks, his open declaration that he wants to be back... she can't know if it is true or just yet another presentation that comes part and parcel with his status as an Ad Man. Gene's words to Don were cruel, saying nobody knew anything about him, but they were accurate: they have been married for almost a decade, they have two children... and he won't share who he is with her. Why should she then accept him back when he has made no effort to address any of the things that caused them to break up in the first place? No, this weekend was not a reconciliation, if anything it might have been the impetus Betty needed to finally at least consider making the break permanent.   Having walked out in defeat from his home, Don returns to where he stills feels like a winner: Sterling Cooper. He's greeted by Alison on the front desk and greets her back... as Donna, only offering a smooth,"Of course" in response to her quiet correction. As he walks to his office he can't help but notice the floor is nearly deserted, and stops by a secretary's desk and eyes up a couple of Los Angeles pamphlets. He hears happy noises coming from the break room and goes to investigate, surprised to see a large group of well-wishers gathered around. Harry Crame stands at the head of the table wearing a golden baby bonnet and being presented with boxes of client products: Lucky Strikes, Martinson Coffee, Pampers and even Clearasil. A delighted Harry realizes they raided the storeroom for his gifts, though Ken has managed to find something else to go with that. A scandalized and slightly tipsy Hildy gasps to see what is inside Ken's box, as he explains to Harry that a new baby is seriously going to cramp his style... which is why they've bought him a bundle of Playboy Magazines! They call for a speech and Harry gives a short but heartfelt one, thanking them all for their kindness. Sal raises a toast to the baby and they all knock back drinks, watched by a pleased if somewhat bewildered Don, who perhaps didn't realize the extent of the bond between them all, or just feels left out of the camaraderie taking place without him. He's certainly not the most out of touch though, as the door opens and Bert Cooper barrels into the room, bellowing out a Happy Birthday before promptly leaving again, with no idea that it was a "baby shower" of sorts or even who it was for. He closes the door behind him, and then Harry spots one more gift, surprised to see it is from Tiffany's. He opens it, even more surprised that the gift comes from Jane, somebody he barely shared any words with beyond,"I'm married" and being dragged along on her expedition to sneak into Cooper's office. The others laugh at this, guessing the gift is from her but the money to pay for it came from Roger. Joan casts a dark look in the direction of the gift (she didn't want to marry Roger, but she also never thought he would leave Mona for a different secretary) before moving past to ask Alison to cut the cake. Spotting Don, she's surprised to see him there and asks how everything is. "About as well as those things can be," he admits, then asks to see her alone for a moment. They leave the break room, and Alison hands Peggy a slice of cake to pass on. She does so, a little surprised to realize that it is to Pete, who has sidled his way over to her. In Don's office, he tells Joan he wants her to cancel his meetings for tomorrow, and for the rest of the week besides. She doesn't question why, just agrees she will do it, and then Roger comes walking in, not even pausing to excuse himself or ask to interrupt, simply asking how Don's family emergency went. Don diplomatically offers that it was memorable, and Roger doesn't query further, simply stating he assumes that means everything is back to normal. Not quite, as Don tells (not asks) him that he will be going to California tomorrow to attend the Rocket Fair personally. Roger doesn't question it, beyond pointing out that they already sent a couple of men. Don reminds him they haven't left yet, and Roger shrugs and agrees that one can stay then, but that Pete Campbell has to go since Roger already "held his hand" through 30 client phone calls to set up meetings and arrangements for the convention. Don has no problem with that, the days of Pete Campbell being any kind of threat to him are long gone, and both he and Roger agree that Joan is more than capable of holding down the fort. This does however leave them at an awkward impasse, Don has told Roger what he is doing and this business is complete... and now Roger is just hanging around with nothing more to say or do, and getting nothing from Don in return. Don isn't rude, just lifts his eyebrows in a polite but unmistakable indication that the conversation is over. He's clearly still upset about the situation with Roger and Jane, and how Don was not only dragged into that but had his own dirty laundry pulled into the mix as well. Roger doesn't press it, though he clearly wants the issues to be over so things can go back to the way they were. You know, like Don wants to be back with Betty without ever admitting he was wrong or apologizing or doing anything before just getting his way!  With Roger gone, Don asks Joan to send Mr. Kinsey a memo explaining he will no longer be going to California. Joan promises, with great satisfaction, that she will take care of this. Standing, she asks if he got any sleep last night and he promises that he did. She knows better though, and assures him he should feel free to take a nap, she will keep the "drunks" away from his office. She leaves and Don finishes the drink he picked up at Harry's celebration, and it is curious to know what he is thinking. Why is he going to California? Purely for a change of scenery? Or did his failure with Betty and then returning to an Agency getting by just fine without him make him restock and consider once again just repeating history and abandoning one life to take up another? He once asked Rachel Menken to flee to the other side of the country, is he looking at using Sterling Cooper to travel away like he once used the Army? In the break room, things are winding down, mostly the executives left amongst the half-devoured cake and empty cups, talking about California. Peggy has heard the weather makes it hard to get any work done, which certainly has appeal for Paul. Harry agrees that he'll probably need to head out there at some point to "shave" his face to the Networks. Realizing he said shave instead of show, he considers the booze he's been drinking and ponders what is in it, then quickly forgets that and walks away when Sal asks if he'd really just up and leave his wife and newborn alone like that? As he leaves, he bumps into a clearly VERY tipsy Hildy. The last time they met like this was a disaster, and it looks like it might be again as Hildy stumbles out that she's really happy for him and he's gonna be the best father and she's REALLY happy for him. He stammers out a thank you of his own and she launches herself at him, though thankful just to hug him tightly, quite clearly still not entirely over their one-night stand on the night of the election. They break away and her face falls as he walks away, taking another big sip of her drink, mortified at her display just now. Joan meanwhile is going for the personal touch and more than happy to do so. Rather than send a memo, she marches right up to Paul and right in front of everybody informs him that Don will now be going to California. Paul is delighted, telling Pete that with a Partner coming, they won't have to fly "tourist". This makes Joan's job even better, as she takes great pleasure in correcting him: it will ONLY be Don and Pete going, not him. Realizing she's not joking, he gasps that this isn't fair, why can't they all go? The others laugh, but it stops being funny as Joan informs him sweetly that she'll need his ID badges and tickets back immediately. Knowing all too well that she's enjoying his humiliation, and that he made it worse by taking it so badly, he turns on his heel and beats a quick exit. Joan, more than satisfied, asks happily if there is any cake. In Paul's office, he regains what dignity he can in a pathetic display, as he calls up Sheila and informs her that HE has decided to hell with California, he's going to Mississippi with her! "I'm going to stand there arm-in-arm with you and make a stand," he promises, full of defiance and outrage for Civil Rights now that his business junket has been snatched away from him. Packing his badges and tickets into an envelope to return to Joan, he assures Sheila - now nervous despite her earlier anger about him not coming - that everything will be all right... after all, nobody has been shot down there lately! Joan has kept the drunks away from Don's office, but they have free reign elsewhere. One secretary does her typing at her desk sitting in the lap of an executive, watched from his doorway by Pete Campbell who is enjoying a drink himself. He spots Peggy clearly on her way out for the day and calls her over, commenting on how good the party was. She agrees, and then he reminds her he is going on a trip tomorrow, on a plane. She agrees, and is left confused by the expectant look on his face, asking with good nature if he is expecting her to say she wishes SHE was going before admitting somewhat reluctantly that everybody wishes they were going on the trip, and that she hasn't actually ever been on a plane herself. Pete explains his meaning in a roundabout fashion, pointing out it will be his first time on a plane since his father died. Belatedly she grasps what he was trying to say, and he hastily adds that he isn't scared, he just felt it was significant. Offering what comfort she can (and certainly not the "comfort" he wants), she promises him that it is statistically highly unlikely that two members of the same family would die in a plane crash. He considers this, then notes that it (dying horribly in a plane crash!) wouldn't be the worst thing. She's startled by this admission out of nowhere, even more-so when he blurts out that he hates his mother, and asks her what she thinks about that? Diplomatically she offers back that she doesn't know the circumstances, and then listens utterly baffled as he talks more to himself, complaining that he and Bud didn't turn out so great so who is to say one that's not yours wouldn't be better? He's talking about adoption of course, his brain drunkenly grinding through the reasoning process, Peggy telling him she has no idea what he is talking about. She suggests he go home, and he stares at her for a few moments and then utters one of the most breathtakingly tone-deaf and ironic things he has ever said, which is quite something given his past: "Everything is so easy for you" he - the rich high New York Society kid who has been given everything in life and stills complains - tells the poor girl from Brooklyn who has fought her way through sexual harassment, an unknown pregnancy, enormous misogyny and clawed her way through pure talent and perseverance. That she doesn't just deck him right then and there is a testament to her character, especially when with quiet certainty she explains to him that nothing is easy for ANYBODY. Or in other words, he's not got some special claim on suffering a hard time. She tells him to have a good trip and then leaves. Whatever he hoped to gain from their conversation, whether a chance to bitch and moan or some ridiculous thought they might end up together again, he didn't get it. Peggy doesn't exist to make him feel better, and like Don she's well past a point where he can really put her off-balance anymore.   That night Betty sits up drinking wine when she hears a noise form outside, one which puts Polly the dog on alert. She gets up and peeks out the window, joined by Polly who looks outside expectantly. Betty makes sure the door is locked before returning to her drink. The next morning, Polly has been allowed outside and is excitedly barking at the door to Sally's playhouse. Betty comes out to see what has her excited, perhaps expecting a rodent or some other animal has gotten inside... and finds Glen Bishop holed up with comic books, milk and cookies. Yes, it's the weird little boy who walked in on her in the toilet and asked for a lock of her hair (and that she tearfully admitted her miserable loneliness too in the parking lot of a supermarket). Surprised to see him, she asks what he is doing there and how long he has been there, and he admits he has been there a few days now. Why? He explains he wanted to see her, it has been so long, and she wasn't home when he was there. She guesses correctly that he has run away from home, and invites him into the house. Inside, she asks him what happened, and he explains that his father wants him and his baby sister Charlotte to live with him, and that his mother doesn't care. Betty promises him this isn't true, but Glen thinks all she cares about is being with her boyfriends, and Betty can't help but ask if she has a lot. Glen doesn't really know what a lot entails, just shrugging that he guesses so and showing his Pan Am bag, saying that some boyfriends give him gifts like this. He asks to use the bathroom and she offers to wash his dirty clothes, and he happily passes over his bag to her before heading for the toilet. She leafs through his comics as she waits for him to get changed, making no move to call his mother while he is out of the room. He returns wearing one of Don's shirts, and she marvels that it almost fits him. He sits down and eats the food she has prepared, and she asks if he understands why his mother was mad at Betty over the lock of hair. He agrees he does, then proves he doesn't by insisting it was because she doesn't understand , by which he means his childish ideas of what love is. Betty though just smiles and nods, either not wanting to disabuse him of his childish notions or getting some degree of satisfaction from being the object of his puppy love. He insists he will not be going back home, because he knows he is simply in the way of both his mother and his father's life. Betty doesn't believe that but he does, his mother is never home and his father has a new (mean!) wife and a new baby in his life. Betty isn't interested in the father but her fascination with Helen being a single mother hasn't changed, asking where his mother goes? Glen isn't entirely sure, something to do with handing out pamphlets he thinks (so she's still politically active), which means it is down to Glen to brush Charlotte's teeth and put them both to bed since his mother isn't there to do so. Glen notices she isn't eating and asks if she will. Unlike with Don, she takes this suggestion with pleasure, happy that he thought of her needs in addition to his own. Picking up a sandwich, she takes a bite, smiling back at him which surely sets his young heart aflutter. Soon they're on the couch watching cartoons together, both drinking cokes when he decides the time is right to admit something important... he doesn't like ham, or any meat really. Surprised, especially since he just ate the ham sandwich she made him, she offers to make him macaroni and cheese instead and he smiles and nods. Staring at her as she watches the tv, he reaches out for her hand, and when she spots him doing so she not only allows it but takes his hand too, the two sitting hand in hand watching television together.  Oh God, Betty  "I came to rescue you," he tells her, dismissing her joke asking if he bought a cape, insisting he is being serious and that he has money. Finally Betty looks set to inform Glen that this needs to stop (please God tell him this needs to stop) when Carla returns with Sally and Bobby. He immediately lets go of her hand, while her delighted children rush to give her a hug, having missed her while she was gone. Glen at least does better than Arthur, and doesn't immediately run away upon seeing her children. "How is he?" Carla asks, and Viola's words prove true to from as Betty has no idea who she is talking about, perhaps thinking she means Glen until Carla explains she means her father. "Not good," Betty admits, not pretending like Gloria or William that everything would be fine. She introduces Glen to Carla and asks the kids to take him upstairs to see the train set, and Sally offers to let him run the controls. Glen seems eager, though as he stands he turns a frown Bobby's way, as if he sees him as competition for Betty, or perhaps is simply jealous that Bobby gets to be Betty's son while he is stuck being Helen Bishop's. Once they're gone, Carla asks what he is doing here, but Betty doesn't respond, just going straight to the phone and her address book, sanity seemingly finally prevailing that it is time to do something about the pre-teen runaway in her house. Not long after, Glen and Sally are watching tv in the lounge when Betty walks through the front door and calls Glen over. He walks over happily enough, until he hears his mother's voice and turns to see Helen Bishop glaring at him, wanting to know where he has been and telling him she's been worried sick. Betty tells him he needs to go home, and Helen hugs him tightly before standing back up and telling him he can't do things like this. Glen though is a kid, a stupid, mixed-up kid who is far from the mature dashing hero he wants to be. "Betrayed" by Betty, he turns and whines at her that he hates her, refusing to apologize when Helen demands it. Betty simply states that she knows and that she is sorry, and watches them walk out. Turning, she sees a confused Sally looking at her, and takes her with her into the kitchen, telling her it is time to start making dinner. Life goes on, and the unstable affections of a confused little boy don't change that anymore than her adult husband insisting that SHE needs him back changes anything about their split. Speaking of man-children, Paul Kinsey sits on the bus with Sheila, declaring to all who will listen (which is everybody, it's a small bus and it's not like they have other options) about how the market in a purely Marxist sense dictates that EVERYBODY must be included, because the "consumer" has no color. Fine words, spoken by a white man who gets the privilege of getting to decide when color doesn't matter. But Sheila is happy, because he's with her, and he's walking the walk to go along with all his big talk. Betty folds laundry when Helen Bishop comes knocking, wanting to have it out with her and put her in her place, acting as if she was the instigator of having Glen in her house, demanding that "this" has to stop. Betty though isn't the timid walkover she used to be, and though she makes a point of noting that nothing is going on (my God that she even has to say this) she also pushes past that to point out that Glen ran away because he feels alone... and she doesn't blame him. Helen isn't quite sure how to take that, asking what Glen said. "Nothing," lies Betty, but adds that it seems obvious that Helen is failing in her duty to take care of him. Normally I'd say this was a horrible thing to say to another mother, and that Betty's judgement is born more out of disdain for anybody daring to be a single mother. But she's got a fresh perspective on that now, and she's probably happy to get a little "revenge" for being treated like a child molester for (stupidly) giving Glen a snip of her hair. "You're his mother," she accuses Helen,"And he gets nothing." Eyes darting back and forth, startled by this "assault" and coming down a little off the adrenaline/fear/relief of finding Glen again, Helen admits that she had hoped things would be different once her husband was out of their lives. She admits that Glen is right and she isn't a very good mother anymore, and the two smoke quietly for a few moments before Betty can't take it anymore and doesn't let Helen keep twisting in the wind. She admits the truth, that Don isn't living there anymore, an unspoken acknowledgement that she and Helen are in not so different situations. Surprised, Helen offers condolences and then asks if it is OVER, and Betty admits that she doesn't know. More confident as she speaks from experience, Helen agrees that this is the worst part, and asks if the children - who don't know - still get to see him? Betty explains he takes them to dinner and all they know is that daddy is paying them a lot more attention recently which they think is great. Helen, offering some positive support, notes that for her she discovered that life wasn't all that different once her husband was gone. For Betty it's different though. She's changed immensely from the woman in season 1 who relied on Don for controlling nearly every aspect of her life, but she still fears that without Don to ground her she will simply float away, unable to control or anchor herself without him there to act as the foundation (especially with the original paternal figure of her life now degrading quickly). Helen offers the benefit of her experience again, because it's not so different to how she felt about a man she now wants nothing to do with ever again. It's the hardest part, she explains, the realization that YOU are the one in charge. Betty isn't sure what to make of that, but as she takes a drag on her cigarette, her facial expression would seem to indicate that the thought of finally being the one in charge of her own life is a thought that fills her with terror. The next day, Don Draper and Pete Campbell sit side by side flying towards California. The no-smoking light has been turned off and multiple passengers fill the plane with smoke, including Don. Pete is wearing an eye-mask and trying to sleep, or at least relax. Don turns to stare out the window, the sunlight creeping through the window and up his face. What is Don seeing out that window? A potential new life? The light at the end of the tunnel? It's harder to read his face than Betty's, but he doesn't look like a man excited or relieved by the potential to escape the mess of the life behind him. If anything, he looks afraid, like he isn't sure what is coming, or where he is going. The sun could just as easily be blinding him as signaling the way to a fresh start, and at this point I don't think even he knows what he truly wants to do, or where he truly wants to be.   Episode Index Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 13:32 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 16, 2021 16:42
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I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to say this but the next three episodes are one of the best stretches the series ever has and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
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Jan 16, 2021 17:57
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Yeah, the end of this season is super strong. This is a very good episode, although I think the Glen part drags a bit. But that conversation with Helen Bishop is so powerful. Betty was trained to be a housewife and mother. She was never shown how to be nor expected to be an independent adult. It's a daunting prospect. And truth be told, she does have some childish tendencies, which is part of why she inappropriately takes comfort in Glen's affection. I watched this episode with my mom and asked her if people were really that weird about dementia, just pretending it wasn't happening. She told me the first time she heard the word "dementia" was around 1980! People only started consistently getting old enough to develop dementia around the 1960s, and it took some time for people to know what to expect. I honestly don't think William is smart enough to bring back the jardiniere as a power play. I think he just thought, "Sheesh! If she's gonna whine about it, I'll just bring it back!" William simply doesn't want to deal with this poo poo. And of course, he's childish himself, hiding out in the treehouse until supper time. This episode helps establish that the Hofstadts had some money. The house is huge and beautiful, and there's a PORTRAIT of her mother in the study, like she was royalty, and the house even has a room that seems like a study. Gene surely never felt that Don was worthy of his daughter. Paul name dropping Marx to try to impress the people on the bus is incredibly cringe inducing. Paul, stop talking. And yes, Gloria is his wife now. I don't know why they didn't make it clearer. I think it was a mistake, as the ambiguity adds nothing.
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Jan 16, 2021 19:21
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Mad Men’s California is such a silly, wonderful place. It’s almost more like taking a trip into Faerie than flying into another state
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Jan 16, 2021 21:14
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I love Darcy Shean's delivery here. "It's not Ruth. Ruth is dead." Jerusalem posted:Having walked out in defeat from his home, Don returns to where he stills feels like a winner: Sterling Cooper. He's greeted by Alison on the front desk and greets her back... as Donna, only offering a smooth,"Of course" in response to her quiet correction. As he walks to his office he can't help but notice the floor is nearly deserted, and stops by a secretary's desk and eyes up a couple of Los Angeles pamphlets. He hears happy noises coming from the break room and goes to investigate, surprised to see a large group of well-wishers gathered around. Harry Crame stands at the head of the table wearing a golden baby bonnet and being presented with boxes of client products: Lucky Strikes, Martinson Coffee, Pampers and even Clearasil. I love how eerie this scene feels from Don's perspective. After being told life at home has been the same without him, he walks into a near empty office and people barely acknowledge him. He's framed in the background as he walks into the party and doesn't get any attention until the end of the scene. It's like a bizarro It's A Wonderful Life segment. I don't know if that really connects to anything else in the episode but it always struck me as odd. The Klowner fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 03:27
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The Klowner posted:I love how eerie this scene feels from Don's perspective. After being told life at home has been the same without him, he walks into a near empty office and people barely acknowledge him. He's framed in the background as he walks into the party and doesn't get any attention until the end of the scene. It's like a bizarro It's A Wonderful Life segment. I don't know if that really connects to anything else in the episode but it always struck me as odd. I wonder if there's any significance to the baby shower in light of the fact that Don just got Betty pregnant while visiting her father. News of that pregnancy is greeted so grimly by both Don and Betty, whereas Harry has repeatedly expressed that he's happy. And he should be. His life is going great in season 2.
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Jan 17, 2021 03:48
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It absolutely hits Don that life continues without him. For somebody as self-centered as him, the realization (whether conscious or not) that if was removed from the equation things would still carry on has to leave him feeling off-kilter. Retreating to the office after being rejected from his home only to find the office doesn't really need him either is a hell of a 1-2 punch.
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Jan 17, 2021 03:49
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Jerusalem posted:
...from Boston? Peggy is from Brooklyn. edit: You don't get to see alot of Betty's life previous to Don, this episode being probably the biggest part. I think you could say her father, like Pete's is probably seeing a decline in wealth compared to what "the family" was before. GoutPatrol fucked around with this message at 13:26 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 13:22
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It's kinda fun seeing how Pete and Betty have different takes on their inheritance. Pete isn't happy about not getting the money/assets he always assumed would be his but also is perfectly willing to do his duty and sign them all away in order to keep his mother from losing everything, even if he does take great pleasure in lashing out at her when she talks down to him. Meanwhile Betty is devastated at her mother's things (and thus, presence) disappearing from her childhood home. Pete wanted the material things for his own benefit as an adult, Betty wanted them as keepsakes of her mother and memory of a childhood/innocence that is long since gone.GoutPatrol posted:...from Boston? Peggy is from Brooklyn. Weird mistake, fixed now!
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Jan 17, 2021 13:36
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I have trouble condemning Pete for lashing out at his mother in that scene. When you consider all his family has put him through just so far, and believe me sympathy for Pete is tough, a small reality adjustment feels like more than him being a bit sadistic - if anything, it was a relatively muted reaction to the abuse she just hurled at him. I don't know, I think it was a very human response.
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Jan 17, 2021 20:31
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She acts horribly towards him for sure, and it is clear that it is far from the first time she has done something like this. But I think it speaks to Pete's character (which she and her husband are responsible for) that he takes such pleasure and revels in bringing down somebody "above" him - in this case an old woman not long for life who has no idea her husband has squandered HER money and left her essentially with nothing. Like, she's not a good person, but Pete already knew she had no longer has any hold or power over him and he still chooses to twist the knife in the wound rather than just walk away and be the better person.
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Jan 17, 2021 21:49
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Letting old fuckwits trod all over you does not a better person make. Or any other sort of fuckwits, for that matter
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Jan 17, 2021 23:39
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These days I have a hard time finding sympathy for a woman borne of and enjoying lifelong privilege of wealth having the bankroll torn out from under her, even if pulled by a petty little weasel like Pete.
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Jan 18, 2021 00:20
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Season 2, Episode 11 - The Jet Set Written by Matthew Weiner, Directed by Phil Abraham Joy Monteforte d'Alsace posted:Why would you deny yourself something you want? Jane Siegel lays naked beneath a sheet at the Sherry-Netherland hotel, reading aloud poetry as she writes it. Roger emerges from the bathroom fresh out of the shower, listening to her speak, asking who wrote the poem. Pleased that he thinks highly of her musings, she explains that she writes poetry whenever she feels inspired, and he has inspired her. The poetry itself is heartfelt if rather telling of her youth and inexperience: everything is perfect, he makes her old and young simultaneously, their souls are the same age etc. Still, Roger has never been above getting his ego stroked, and he's pleased to see she has more depth to her than just her beauty (which, to be fair, is significant). Still, he doesn't particularly like the idea of making her "old", and she struggles to articulate her meaning, finally settling on the fact that he has more experience and is giving her the benefit of it. This does though bring up the uncomfortable subject of age, Roger is well into middle age and closer to retirement than college, while she is barely into her 20s. He left his wife for her, a woman he spent 40 years of his life with (30, he's quick to correct) and she knows that while he doesn't talk about it, it must be painful for him to have done so. Roger insists though that it is the furthest thing from painful. "I'm not being impulsive," insists the man who dumped his wife of 30+ years after a drunken conversation with a co-worker, and makes a grand and impetuous gesture far from the experienced and worldly mindset he is supposed to have by asking her to marry him. She's shocked, but things have changed since the day she swallowed her pride and stopped batting away his unwanted advances in order to overturn her firing. Whether she's genuinely wrapped up in the thrill of the romance, or she is cynically taking advantage of a horny old man with poor impulse control, the end result is the same: she says yes. Roger Sterling, fresh off breaking up with his wife of 30+ years, not far away from the marriage of a daughter roughly Jane's age, is already looking to get back on the horse and enjoy a second marriage with a younger model.   At Sterling Cooper, Ken Cosgrove is running through a survey of Right Guard customers during a meeting with Peggy, Harry, Smitty, Kurt and Sal. None of the others seem particularly interested in the facts and figures he's throwing out though, Sal complaining about Loretta Young which Harry admits he didn't watch despite it being part of his job. Peggy makes some effort to answer Ken's enthusiasm for figuring out how to turn the survey results into new advertising, reminding him that Right Guard's current campaign is already working well. Everybody lights up however when Smitty asks Peggy if Don would agree that they would work better on a full stomach, and Peggy agrees that if everybody agrees to lie and say Gilette showed up, they can go out to lunch and charge it to the Agency. As Ken tries to convince Peggy that Right Guard could use a campaign for women too, Smitty asks if he has heard from Paul Kinsey, confusing him. Smitty didn't watch Loretta Young either, but he and Peggy have obviously watched the news, in Mississippi tensions are flaring over the enrollment of an African American to Ole Miss University. "I don't know why people keep stirring up trouble," sighs Harry Crane, betraying a sadly all too familiar mindset that exists even to this day,"Its bad for business." When he complains that nobody will be watching television (or at least not the programs his sponsors want them to), Smitty takes pleasure in revealing that Kurt doesn't have one, bewildering everybody else at the table, how is that even possible? What does he even do? Kurt shrugs, he goes to the park, he attends concerts, that type of thing. Peggy is delighted to hear he saw Bob Dylan at Carnegie Hall, and now Ken is really upset, realizing that NO work is getting done. Exasperated, Peggy firmly declares that he can tell Right Guard that unless they're specifically making a product just for women, they're just going to have to wait for Sterling Cooper to do more research.... and have lunch. Taking this as the cue that the meeting is over, everybody eagerly gathers their things, Paul hopefully asking if they can split a lobster and not protesting when Peggy just shakes her head at the audacity. It's quite remarkable, Peggy's not had Freddy Rumsen's position all that long, but already the balance of power in the office has shifted. With no Don present, everybody is looking to her as the boss in this situation despite most of them having been in the office longer. That she was once a secretary and until recently a Junior Copywriter has fallen by the wayside, and just like with Joan it turns out that most of these men are perfectly able to take direction and be under the authority of a woman in the workplace... in very specific circumstances. As they leave the meeting room though, she stops to ask Kurt to tell her more about the Dylan concert, and is surprised when he declares simply that they two of them will go to one of his concerts together. She quickly assures him he doesn't have to go out of his way, but again he shrugs and says they will go together, and that he will pick her up at 8. Finding herself a little flushed at the tall, handsome, European man showing at interest in her, she warns him that she lives in Brooklyn and he just smiles, it turns out he lives nearby and that they are "neighbors". Smitty returns to excitedly let them know that Duck is nowhere to be seen, which means now is the perfect time for them to escape to lunch. They quickly head out, Peggy enjoying not only her new level of authority, but the interest of a young, handsome and SINGLE man.   In California, Don stands poolside in his regular New York suit and hat, looking decidedly out of place for once as he smokes in the heat. Pete joins him, suited himself, and catches him up on the current situation: Don's luggage has apparently been lost on the flight, explaining why he hasn't changed. The airline has offered to replace the luggage but of course that doesn't replace the things that were in it. The hotel concierge has suggested a Chinese tailor who can put together an outfit for Don, and of course Pete reminds him there is plenty of swim-wear available for sale in the hotel lobby. Don isn't interested in swimming, he's here for work and not a vacation, even if the convention doesn't start for another day. He points out that if they wait a day, they'll just be another in a long line of people shaking the hands of the people they want to be their clients - Roger gave Pete leads, he should be following up on them and making people feel special. Pete looks longingly out at the clear water, the laughing, pretty people enjoying the water or the sun, and makes one last appeal to Don to at least let them enjoy this day before getting to work. "You want to be on vacation, Pete? Because I can make that happen," Don offers back, a not-so-subtle warning that Pete can't fail to understand. With a sigh he leaves to make his calls, while Don stubs out his cigarette and heads for the bar. As he walks though, he's surprised by a familiar face... or at least the back of a head. Betty Draper is sitting right there at the bar, chatting happily with a friend. Don approaches, confused, and Betty stands and turns to leave with her friend... and it's not Betty of course, just some woman with the same build, hairstyle and general fashion sense. But after she passes him, Don can't help but see her (and we the viewer of course ARE seeing January Jones) once again, his beautiful wife who he took for granted and lost as a result. He orders an Old-fashioned, but as he looks back perhaps hoping for another sight of Not-Betty, another man steps up beside him to greet him... and start making demands. Don is confused and a little amused at the appearance of an older but meticulously dressed and styled man with an unusual accent, wanting to know who he is and what he does. "Why?" asks Don, but the man ignores HIS questions to ask more of his own: Is Don an actor? An astronaut? When Don, bemused, responds no, the man is satisfied, because a woman who was with him wanted to meet Don... provided he was neither. He gestures to two women standing off in the distance, and they approach, the younger of the two devouring Don with her eyes, her skin a dark brown that comes only from the kind of deep, dark tan made possible by hours of sunbathing in the days before the ozone layer was wrecked by CFCs. As she and her companion approach, the man finally introduces himself to Don, he's Viscount Monteforte d'Alsace... also known as Willy. Don shakes his proffered hand and gives his own name in return, who passes it on to the younger girl as the older woman immediately joins Willy at his side, soon introduced as Rocci. The younger woman introduces herself as Joy, and remarks on how comfortable Don seemed even while standing alone by the pool, was he waiting for somebody? Don agrees he was, even if that somebody was Pete Campbell (or just his luggage), and Willy asks him to join them for dinner. Polite, still a little unsure as to who these people are or why they are pushing themselves onto him, he declines. Willy is surprised, amused and a little bewildered himself, commenting with obvious pleasure to the others that this never happens. As the others laugh, Pete joins them with a happy hello and Don introduces them all, impressing Willy by getting his name and title right without needing a reminder. Pete's eyes light up at hearing "Viscount", immediately asking if they've met and introducing himself not as Campbell but "Dyckman-Campbell", more than happy to use the family name now to impress - after all, his parents told him it was the greatest gift they ever gave him, and after last episode, it is the only inheritance he can ever rely on from them. But Willy isn't interested in Pete, or rather he's not interested in whoever Joy isn't interested in. He fobs off Pete with a brief excuse that he has a terrible memory for faces, before turning his eager eyes on Don's face once more and telling him how nice it was to meet him. Don agrees, still somewhat unsure how to deal with these friendly strangers, and watches as they leave, paying particular attention to Joy who calls back to him to look for them. Left alone with Pete, Don lights up another cigarette while Pete complains about how everybody is late in California, before excitedly revealing he saw Tony Curtis in the men's room. Don isn't quite sure how to take this excitement, especially in light of the smooth and relaxed sophistication of Willy and his companions. He's even more bemused when Pete starts excitedly talking about one of the scientists they'll be dining with today, one who is trying to figure out how to engineer super-humans to go into space. Pete assures him it is no joke, the Soviets are certainly doing the same, then turns to complain to the bartender for not having asked what he wants to drink yet. As he does, Don finds himself looking back at the table where Willy, Rocci and Joy have returned to their drinks. He's not here on vacation, but what they're doing certainly seems like a more enticing time than dinner with Pete Campbell and a mad scientist.   Roger has lunch in his office with his lawyer George Rothman, who is chatting him up about a recent visit to France with his wife. The meal is salmon, bagels, cream cheese, tomatoes and onions, presumably ordered in by Roger who assumes this is all Jewish people ever eat. Roger is pleased by George's cheerful memories of a romantic trip in Paris with his wife, and without a hint of self-awareness declares he'll take Jane there on honeymoon while he sends his CURRENT wife Mona to Reno for the divorce. Rothman doesn't find it funny though, and makes some effort to remind Roger that he doesn't necessarily HAVE to marry Jane, and pointing out that Roger and Mona might be able to enjoy a "modern" marriage (the only difference to a "traditional" marriage being that the husband gets to be open about fooling around on his wife). Roger is having none of it though, actually getting angry and, yes, even offended at the notion that Mona might get any of his money. He rages that she - who stood by his side for 30 years, who gave birth to and raised his child, who entertained and hosted his friends, who nursed him back to health when he nearly died, who stood up to Bert Cooper on his behalf when his life was put at risk again etc - doesn't deserve anything from him, and that he can't stand the thought of dying with "that woman". "This is the life I was meant to lead" he insists (banging 20-year-olds?), and Rothman is quick to back down and not try to talk him out of the divorce anymore. That doesn't mean he is going to pretend that Roger has much of a leg to stand on though. He reminds him that Mona has the wedding license and a desire to hurt Roger with it, agreeing that women in "this situation" (getting dumped by ungrateful husbands in favor of a girl younger that their daughter) tend to be irrational for some strange reason. To his mind, Roger should not make a list of everything he loves in life and then cut it in half, because that is what Mona is going to be coming after. Roger's secretary announces over the intercom that Mr. Phillips is waiting outside to see him, and Roger calls back to wait. He escorts Rothman out of the office, where the lawyer has a slightly awkward encounter with the waiting Duck, who explains to Roger that they are already acquainted. Rothman wishes Duck well and makes his exist, and Roger leads him back into the office, having already guessed that Rothman was probably involved in Duck's own marriage break-up... but on which side? Rather than answer, Duck acknowledges that Rothman is supposed to be the best divorce lawyer in New York... him or Marvin Hughes. That makes Roger wince a little, as he admits that Hughes is representing Mona, and even worse, she's his cousin. This divorce is not going to be pretty, and it is going to cost Roger a hell of a lot of money. He asks Duck how badly his divorce hurt him financially, and Duck smoothly sidesteps answering AND compliments Roger by noting that their situations are probably very different. He takes a seat, ignoring the obvious pleasure Roger takes in his drink (and that Roger pointedly poured and drank in front of him) and admitting that given he just met with Rothman, maybe this wasn't the best time to have a meeting. Roger waves that off, he could use a change of subject, and again Duck smoothly works at keeping Roger happy, making a point of pulling out cigarettes so he can offer one to Roger because he has a chance to just take one without asking. So what is the point of the meeting? Duck points out that he has been with Sterling Cooper for close to two years now (November of 1960) and he feels he has more than proven his value to the company... he wants to be made Partner. Roger's face falls, but then he nods and agrees that he will bring this up at the new meeting of the Partners. Duck is satisfied, and prepares to stand... only for Roger to note that Duck will be expected to attend and argue his case. This seems reasonable enough and Duck states he'd be proud to list his accomplishments, and again Roger nods and agrees this would be good... because he's at a loss to think of any. Duck freezes, his heart falling as his entire facade of confidence is rocked. What does Roger mean? It's cold hard facts from Roger now, who knows not only how to sell what he wants but what he doesn't want... and clearly what he doesn't want is Duck Phillips as Partner. He points out that Duck has failed to make that 30% increase in profits he promised, and a shocked Duck reminds him that in a dismal year for advertising he has helped keep Sterling Cooper in good form. Roger shrugs, making out that none of this is on him, as if he isn't the one who just told him he could think of nothing to warrant Duck being made Partner. He claims it is a matter of impressing the Board, making that out to be a Herculean task given that Cooper hates everybody, his sister does whatever Cooper tells her, and while Don Draper only holds 12.5% voting power he also isn't Duck's biggest fan. But Roger isn't just shooting Duck down for fun, because now Duck has let him know what he truly wants, and Roger now knows he can exploit that. If he wants to be made Partner, he needs to prove his value and that means making it rain... in other words, he needs to go out and land them clients. BIG clients. He needs to pour so much money into the firm that they have no choice but to make him Partner. The fact, of course, that if he was able to just go out and do something like that he wouldn't be working for Sterling Cooper in the first place is irrelevant. Either way Roger gets what he wants: if Duck fails, he stays on as "just" Head of Account Services; if Duck succeeds, the Agency is making more money than ever and they can afford to give him a junior Partnership just like they did with Don. Duck leaves, shakily thanking Roger for being so candid. He walked in exuding confidence and smoothness, and walks out a near broken man having realized that he's not valued and certainly wasn't on any kind of Partnership radar. He told Roger he wanted to know what his plans were re: Duck, and now he's found out: there were no plans, he's nothing to the Partners, just a Head of Account Services they picked up cheap because he was damaged goods.   Don and Pete attend a seminar at the Aeronautics Convention, sitting in a windowless white room under harsh fluorescent lights they listen to a speaker for Space Technology Laboratories eagerly talk up collaboration between a number of companies to produce a restart-able rocket engine. They turn off the lights and begin a slideshow, happily talking up the dangers of Soviet Technology we would eventually learn was almost all bullshit, but which justified the spending of enormous amounts of money on counter-technologies in the United States. They show off the M.I.R.V, the speaker breathlessly speaking of the ability to launch a rocket from anywhere on land or sea and then let loose from inside that rocket up to 14 different warheads that can all then target multiple different cities. Don stares in dawning horror at the map being projected, listens as the speaker enthusiastically explains that this near simultaneously destruction even at only a 35% success rate they'd still do so much infrastructure damage and cause such a huge population loss that the Soviets wouldn't be able to launch an effective counterattack. "Total annihilation" the speaker declares, unknowingly heralding the start of an arms race that would make Mutually Assured Destruction the leading military strategy of both the United States and the USSR for decades to come. This is what would give children nightmares, lead to bunkers being built in backyards and spreading fear of the nuclear annihilation of the planet. Returning to the hotel, Pete certainly wasn't horrified by the display. All he is thinking abut is the money, thrilling to the idea that just one of these companies spends more on media than three clients the size of Lucky Strikes combined. Realizing there are no valets waiting, Pete rolls his eyes and complains,"So much for cheap labor", having zero qualms with the idea of exploited immigrants working for peanuts while the guests enjoy every luxury and comfort. Don tells him to go check if General Dynamics have arrived before them, reminding him to drop his research folders off at the front desk first so he isn't seen to be carrying them when he meets the client. Pete leaves but Don remains, presumable to wait for the valet, when he spots Joy coming around the corner, her face lighting up when she sees him. She approaches without hesitation, kissing him on each cheek like they were old friends, pleased that he was so clearly pleased to see her. She asks if he is working and he admits she is, and she thinks that is a pity, since she's going to Palm Springs now and he won't see her again... so he should come with her! Surprised but as always maintaining his cool, Don allows himself to flirt but doesn't agree, simply saying he doesn't know about that while smiling to show it is certainly tempting. Denied twice now, Joy isn't upset, just more intrigued than ever, leaning forward to whisper a question Don is rarely in a position to be asked,"Why would you deny yourself something you want?" He doesn't really have an answer, watching as she heads for her car. Taking a drag on his cigarette and passing his own ticket for the valet to collect his car, he can't take his eyes of Joy as she covers up her hair for the open top ride to Palm Springs. He walks down the steps and doesn't say a word as he opens the passenger side door and hops in beside her, putting on the sunglasses he purchased after spending a day in the sun the previous day. She asks if he wants his things, and rather than admit they never arrived, he simply states,"No." She doesn't question it, simply drives away, a stranger taking Don to a strange place on a whim, on a trip that is more definitely not a vacation. Pete, none the wiser, sits with two representatives from General Dynamics, a little uneasy that there is no sign of his Boss yet. He suggests they have a drink while they wait, trying to pretend everything is fine, suggesting that Don needed to take a phone call without outright declaring this is where he is, on the off chance he returns with a different story. He'll be waiting a long time though, Don isn't coming back any time soon.  Joy brings Don to a lovely home in Palm Springs, walking in and calling out and getting no answer. She simply tells Don to leave her luggage there on the ground, and he peers around, belatedly realizing this is not her home and asking who lives here. It is the home of some friends currently in Sardinia is all she offers, as if that explains everything, and then smiles at an approaching servant and tells him she is supposed to be in Edward's room. He nods and collects her things, while she just moves on with the practised ease of somebody used to their things being carried around for them. He follows her out of the house to a pool nearly as large as the hotel's, pointing out a woman sleeping topless on a float and naming her Stephanie, before gesturing to Willy and Rocci sunbathing on recliners. Closer to Joy and Don sitting at a table beneath a sun umbrella is a woman called Greta and her friend Carlos, though Joy admits that it is a surprise to see these "friends" in the same place. Taking Don by the hand she leads him to Greta, pouring herself a champagne as Carlos introduces himself as Carlos Villa Declan and then asks Joy in a foreign language if Don is somebody important. With a smile she simply says goodbye to Carlos and strips off her dress, revealing a two piece swimsuit beneath, and leads Don away by the hand again. She wants him to join her in the pool, saying he can borrow swim trunks or simply go "au naturel", eying his tall and broad physique with open admiration. He removes his coat, but not as a precursor to stripping down. Instead, sweat pours from him as he mumbles that he should go inside, and Joy realizes he has turned white as a sheet. Her voices seems to be coming from underwater and miles away as she asks him if he is all right, but he's already falling, slamming into the ground with a thud as his body - dehydrated from constant Old-fashioneds and no water, full of cigarette smoke and standing in the hot sun for hours at a time in a suit designed for a New York climate - finally gives up on keeping him upright. He comes to inside, surrounded by Joy's friends watching him as a man prepares to inject him with a needle. The man explains that Don is suffering heat exhaustion, and assures him the needle is fine, it's medicine. Willy throws in his two cents, explaining that Klaus is a doctor. But Don, wiped out and barely able to move, is together enough not to want some shirtless guy he has never met shooting him up with anything. He insists he'll be fine with just water and some aspirin, and Klaus doesn't fight him on it, just gives a stern reminder to Joy not to get any ideas since Don absolutely needs his rest. Rocci, who laughed with pleasure when she admitted she thought he was going to break his neck leaves with Willy who tells Don they will see him at dinner. Left alone with Joy, Don finally gets to ask the question that has confused him since he arrives... who are these people? What are they all doing here? She smiles and says they're friends, nomads together. Taking Klaus' warning to heart, she tells him that he can come out and join them whenever he is ready, and heads back outside to be with her friends. Don is left behind still none the wiser, having never encountered anything like this group before. He sips his water and realizes that even sitting up is leaving him exhausted, and flops back down on the couch to try and recover his strength. In the early evening, the group sit around a table enjoying Mexican food and the casual conversation of long-time friends utterly comfortable in each other's company. Rocci and Willy are having an amicable argument, though Rocci is sulking her way through it since she wanted French food, while the others watch and enjoy the performance. Don, dressed in spare clothes that Joy provides him (do they belong to this mysterious Edward in Sardinia?) walks out to join them and they all applaud to see him up and about again.   Slightly embarrassed, he puts on a smile and takes a seat beside Joy who has had Klaus move seats. Willy checks with Klaus that Don can have wine (Klaus just kinda shrugs and says he looks healthy enough) and then they raise a toast to their still bewildered guest. They are just as intrigued by him as he is by them, and they ask what his story is, where he is from, the kind of questions he has learned to deftly avoid since he became Don Draper. He's saved somewhat by the arrival of his plate, Joy enjoying getting to tell him how to eat Mexican food, which he has never had before. Rocci takes pleasure in lightly mocking Willy and Joy for believing Don was a spy, admitting she checked his wallet when it "fell out" after he collapsed and learned he was in advertising. "Or I'm a really good spy?" Don offers with his characteristic charm, and they all laugh in delight to learn the tall, extremely handsome man is also quick-witted. Willy admits that they're all of them fascinated with people's professions, which is ironic since none of them actually have one of their own. Klaus disputes this, he is a physician, but Greta points out that he doesn't actually practice. Don takes this all in and then commits the one faux pas they dread, as he brings up the rather gauche subject of, well, money. He assumes they're all well off, and Greta tsks at the notion of even thinking about money, the kind of mindset almost exclusively reserved for those who have an enormous amount of it. Because, of course, they're the Jet Set, source of the episode's title. They're a bunch of wealthy travelers who simply go where they want, when they want, and enjoy every luxury and comfort there is to be found largely without a care in the world. They live enviable lives though not without problems, even if they are the type of problems many would love to have. They don't really have a fixed place to call their own because they're always on the move, no established patterns, there are largely no external factors to drive either passion or creativity. Not that they're not capable of these things, but without the incentive, the drive, or yes even the fear, it is hard to remain motivated. They flock to people like Don because it's something new, interesting, intriguing even, something to alleviate the boredom or spark some new interest that might be discarded just as quickly because why not? They can be generous to a fault as their current embracing of Don is proving... but just as easily they can just move on without a backwards glance, without malice or hostility but because something else has gotten their attention in the meantime. Willy, now that he's brought up the subject of professions, muses that he should "take something up", insisting that his brain has become more agile with age and his muscles are remembering their "skills". He inquires as to Don's athletic history (a little high school football) and Rocci takes the opportunity to fondly brag that Willy himself was a champion fencer. He's happy to elaborate, he went to the London and Helsinki Olympics in 1948 and 1952, the very definition of the "amateur" athlete who of course could afford to be an amateur because he was so wealthy. As they talk, Joy reaches down and cups Don's thigh, stroking it pleasantly, surprising him which just makes her happier. Greta, either unaware or uncaring of this open groping, leads the group in a game of "places", a parlor game where you name a city and the next person must name another city beginning with the last letter of the previous city. Don takes a moment to grasp the rules as they eagerly reel off city names, all places they have probably been and enjoyed the best of. But once he gets into the swing of things, he impresses by quickly naming Oslo after Sarajevo, getting his second round of applause for the evening. He further impresses when he is able to answer Klaus' challenge of hitting him with Odessa with an Orezzo response. Carlos jumps in with Osaka and the game moves on as Joy suddenly launches herself at Don and kisses him passionately, something she has been wanting to do since she saw him standing at poolside at the hotel. She leads him up to the bedroom and strips down to her underwear without hesitation. He walks up to her and asks another question he should have asked a long time ago, certainly before he hopped into the car with her... just how old is she? 21 is the answer, essentially Jane's age, only a little younger than Peggy, close to a decade younger than his wife Betty. He has no qualms about telling her he is 36, younger than Roger certainly but still a significant gap between himself and joy. But as she rubs her hands against him he still can't quite believe she's real: this bizarrely confident, world-traveled young woman who came out of nowhere to haul him in her wake to join a strange group of ultra-rich bums. "Who are you?" he asks, and her single word response is pregnant with meaning in addition to simply being her actual name. She is Joy. That's all the answer he needs, and this time it is him who kisses her, bringing her to the bed, letting her get on top of him much like Betty did on the floor of her father's home. She removes her bra and presses against him, a pleasant end to a day that began with him watching the eager selling of the ability to destroy the world.  
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Jan 22, 2021 04:56
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The next day at Sterling Cooper, Joan Holloway leads Kurt, Smitty and Harry in opening boxes of Dunkin' Donuts, courtesy of Ken Cosgrove's efforts to bring them on as a client. Joan admits no contracts have been signed yet, but boxes of donuts being delivered free of charge is certainly a good sign. Ken and Sal enter the break room, Ken happily bragging that they'll be getting a delivery like this every week, and Peggy follows after them, delighted to see free food. Kurt spots her and reminds her he'll be picking her up at 8pm tonight. This of course immediately gets EVERYBODY'S attention, Peggy and Kurt are going to a Bob Dylan concert in the Village together? Peggy pours herself a coffee, trying not to be embarrassed, while Kurt is simply confused, what is the big deal? Do they think he and Peggy are a couple? Ken smirks and says they do, and everybody laughs... until Kurt, still confused, openly just says what he thought they already know: he's a homosexual. The laughter dies immediately. The smiles all slowly fade, and after a moment Ken manages to get out that he doesn't think the word means what Kurt thinks it means. Kurt knows what he's about though, he's a homosexual, he makes love with men, not women. Not it's just a stunned silence, Harry managing to get out a,"...what?" while Sal just stares in horror. Kurt has just openly and without a care in the world admitted to the one thing Sal has been hiding from admitting his entire life. Kurt continues to be blase about it, reminding Peggy again it will be 8pm when he picks her up. Pretending not to be shocked herself, she smiles and agrees and makes a quick exit. Kurt, untroubled, pours his own coffee and makes his merry way out as well, leaving the others - still shocked - behind. Once they're gone, all Harry can manage is to question Smitty: did he know about this? Smitty shrugs, Kurt is from Europe and it's "different there", before casting an openly appreciative look Joan's way and commenting,"More for me." But if this acceptance gave Sal any hope, it's dashed immediately when Harry comes to what to him is an obvious conclusion: Kurt is a pervert. Joan shrugs it off, it makes no difference to her (it's not like Kurt is black, that she'd be bothered by!) and she asks if she can let the secretaries in now that Creative and Accounts have completed their initial donut raid. Ken though is still caught off-guard by Kurt's revelation, admitting that he knew queers existed... he just doesn't want to work with them. Smitty won't let a line like that go unanswered, sarcastically asking Ken if he really thinks that Kurt is the first "homo" he has met in advertising. He leaves, and Harry jokingly asks which bathroom Kurt uses before Ken tells Joan she can let the secretaries in. Sal meanwhile says nothing, outside of forcing a smile when Ken asks him if he thinks Smitty is in love with Kurt. He's devastated of course, because even taking aside his obvious fantasy about Ken from earlier in the season, he's now had definitive proof of how the people he works with would react if he ever came out: homo, queer, I don't want to work with them, do they use the ladies bathroom? etc. He's never been able to truly be himself with them, and now he knows he probably never can. He doesn't have Kurt's youth and energy, the ability to shrug off or simply not care what anybody thinks about his sexuality. Kurt is free in a way that Sal now more firmly than ever believes he never can be.   Early morning in Palm Springs, Don sits up in the bed beside Joy who is laid down reading a book. It's The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, a book set in - of course - Mississippi, and tellingly about a family who have fallen in both a financial sense and in their social standing. She picked it up while studying American Literature, explaining that she studied briefly at Pembroke because it was "convenient" since Willy has a house in Rhode Island. She mumbles that she didn't fit, though I suspect a large part of that was down to her not being the type to settle down in any one place for any length of time. Don asks if the book is good and she laughs that sex is good, the book is just okay. Don is quite taken by her open and frank talk about sex, but they're soon distracted by the sounds of raised voices. Eagerly she presses up against the wall to eavesdropping, giggling that Greta and Carlos are arguing, finding the entire thing amusing, and more importantly distracting. Like the rest of them, she lives for distractions, for excitement and breaks to the monotony of a life lived without challenge. Willy walks into the room without knocking, greeting them happily and chuckling himself when Joy asks if he heard Greta and Carlos, noting with great satisfaction that the "humiliations have been spectacular". He sets himself down on the end of the bed, Joy completely at ease and Don very much not at his presence. Willy lets her know that Christian is coming with the children and he hopes she doesn't mind. She pouts, not out of any disdain for this Christian but because he always manages to upstage her by arriving more fashionably late than herself. Seemingly only noticing Don is nude now, Willy casts an appreciative look (not sexual, necessarily, more from an aesthetic point of view) and compliments him on his beauty, a compliment that reflects back on Joy for having landed him in the first place. She nudges Willy with her foot, pleased but also knowing the compliment has probably made Don uncomfortable, and says something to him in a foreign language... though one word at least Don would have no issue translating: "Papa". "You are a brat," Willy teases, before turning to Don and with great pride declaring that he makes beautiful babies. With that he leaves, and Don has once again learned something startling about this complete stranger: Willy is her father. "He doesn't want people to think he's old," is the only explanation Joy will give, a little sad but not judgemental. Don isn't quite sure what to make of all this though, and it's hard to say if Willy is just reminding him of a more extreme version of Roger Sterling, or if he cannot help but compare Willy to himself. They are both fathers after all, and though Joy is closer in age to Margaret Sterling, Don's thoughts must surely be being uncomfortably drawn towards his own precious little daughter. When Don met Betty, Joy would have been roughly the same age that Sally is now, is Don just a slightly younger version of Willy and Roger trying desperately to cling onto a long-gone youth?   Back at the hotel, Pete is enjoying Don's absence by going ahead and giving himself that vacation he wanted. In his swimming trunks and settled down at poolside. He doesn't actually drive himself and without Don (presumably Paul would have driven originally) he can't get out to Pasadena as no taxi will take him, so he's put in a call to a client to ask to meet at the hotel. Who knows how the client is reacting to having to come out to see HIM, but Pete is loving it, he gets to relax and take in some sun and enjoy the pretty ladies in their bathing suits. Two pass by just as some of his papers are blown loose, and they help him collect them. He thanks them and makes a rather pathetic effort to flirt which they ignore. Denied, he doesn't let it hold him down too long... after all, there are certainly worse ways to spend a business day than this. In New York, Duck Phillips is checking his options by joining an old colleague for lunch. It's a British man named Saint John Powell, ensconsed in a booth with colleague Alec Martin where they have been polishing off martinis, and already have one waiting for Duck himself. He eyes it uneasily and then tries to talk around it, but they insist (with zero malice, they just want their friend to join them in a drink) that he finish the one waiting and then join them in another. He manages to briefly change the subject by explaining to Saint John Powell that he has lately found himself missing the way British Ad Men do things. This surprises Saint John Powell, who reminds him that he left London to be with his children, but Duck smoothly explains that they're grown now (and are uninterested in him and live with their mother and her new husband). Saint John Powell, friendly and pleased to see Duck, is uneasy now as he admits that while he would love to have him back... now is not a good time. They're in New York to see a candy factory on behalf of Cadbury, and while there is clearly still money for boozy lunches there isn't for bringing on the likes of Duck Phillips to his old, well-compensated role. More drinks arrive, including a second martini to join Duck's first. Alec raises a toast to New York Ad Men and their shared noble profession, and both Brits knock theirs back, leaving Duck to make two pivotal decisions. The first comes with hesitation, as he lifts the martini to his lips, pauses and then finally submits. He lets the alcohol past his lips, eyes closing, savoring the taste, the smell, the texture that he has craved and missed so badly for so long. With this invisible barrier finally crossed, he throws back the rest of the drink in a single, well-practiced gulp. He is committed now. Alec pleasantly asks how old the children are, Saint John Powell explaining Alec is expecting his first soon. But Duck is past pleasantries now, he has made his second decision and it is time for him to sell his old colleague on a bizarre overreaction to his quasi-rejection to be made Partner.  Revealing he has done his homework, he reminds Saint John Powell that his agency - Puttnam, Powell, and Lowe - represent 20+ American companies that do business in Europe, and that they've been looking for a US Presence for some time now to avoid having to send top men like Saint John Powell over to do what is essentially grunt work for a large client like Cadbury. What Duck is offering is adding to that client base with Sterling Cooper's own, by having Puttnam, Powell and Lowe purchase Sterling Cooper wholesale and gaining a pre-existing and well-established Agency to be their American Presence. Alec is gobsmacked by the audacity of the suggestion, while Saint John Powell is intrigued but sceptical... after all, even if they wanted to buy does Sterling Cooper want to sell? Duck's response isn't exactly a betrayal, but it does cross a line when he explains that Roger Sterling has a 20-year-old fiance and his wife's lawyer won't leave him a pot to piss in. He saw the writing on the wall when he saw Rothman meeting with Roger and learned that Hughes is representing Mona - Roger is going to lose a LOT of money in this divorce, and that makes him vulnerable, which makes Sterling Cooper vulnerable. Saint John Powell considers this and comes to a decision of his own, asking Alec to please excuse them. Knowing that these are matters FAR above his paygrade, Alec is the soul of discretion and beats a quick retreat, leaving Saint John Powell and Duck alone at the table at last. The assumption is that Duck has been sent here by Roger, which Duck quickly corrects: this is HIM bringing the deal to them, and he wants a finders fee for this inside information. The response to this is quick, as Saint John Powell happily offers 2%, but it's more than just the financial compensation, what Duck really wants is power. After two years of feeling like he was butting heads with Don, that the Partners weren't taking him seriously, like he was a third wheel only trotted out to schmooze clients, his recommendations or accomplishments largely ignored or dismissed... he wants to be in charge. If Puttnam, Powell & Lowe purchase Sterling Cooper, then he wants to be the President of International Business... and the Creative Director has to answer directly to HIM. He doesn't just want to be Don's equal, he wants to be above him. When he says something, Don has to do it. When he has a suggestion, Don has to listen. When he wants to know what Don is doing, Don has to tell or show him. It's petty and kind of pathetic, but then again Duck's superiors at Sterling Cooper are mostly petty and kind of pathetic themselves so why not? Saint John Powell considers and then, master of agreeing without explicitly saying so, thanks him for thinking of them. Duck clearly knows what this means, and is more than happy to enjoy his second martini as they toast to old friends.   Peggy welcomes Kurt to her home, offering him some wine as he again assures her that they are practically neighbors as he wasn't put out by coming here. Seated at the couch, she apologizes if he was embarrassed in the office today but Kurt don't give a gently caress, being gay to him is just part of who he is and he's not at all bothered that it bothers other people. Peggy, wanting very much not to be judgmental herself, asks if he would rather take some boy to the concert tonight, confusing Kurt again. Unlike her, he doesn't overthink everything, she's just a nice girl from the office he wanted to take out to a concert, and there doesn't need to be any deeper meaning or ulterior motive beyond that. Finally she admits what is really bothering her, sighing as she ponders out loud why she always manages to pick the wrong boys... what is wrong with her? There's nothing wrong with her of course, she shouldn't be letting people like Pete make her feel like SHE is the problem, but Kurt surprises her with his own answer to this rhetorical question: she is old style. She isn't quite sure what to make of that, and he explains in his broken English that her dress and her hair aren't that of a modern office woman. He continually adjusts her fringe as he tells her this, and she continually adjusts it back as he insists that she let him give her a makeover. Wanting to bring this awkward encounter to a close she reminds him they need to get to the Bob Dylan concert... and then promptly finds herself seated on a stool in the kitchen atop laid down newspapers. Kurt assures her that Bob Dylan is always late to his own shows so they won't miss him, and promises her he will only give her hair a trim. Nervous but willing to at least see what he has in mind, she sits as he takes the scissors... and immediately hacks off her entire ponytail and offers it to her as a gift! She's horrified, but he laughs and promises her everything will be fine, because he is very good. In Palm Springs, Don and Joy drink in the pool at night. Joy explains that their next destination is Nassau, and Don asks what for him is the obvious question: why? "It's what we do," is all she can come up with as an answer, noting that it is "something about taxes", something she obviously doesn't know or care to know too much detail about. This is how she has lived her life, never staying in one place long, just zipping about from one luxurious place to the next. It's different for Don, while he often finds himself longing for a fresh start, it's only when his current situation is falling apart and he wants to run away. Willy, Joy, Rocci, Greta, Carlos etc aren't running from anything (apart from the tax man), they're just wandering about aimlessly for no reason other than to do so. Even the bum that Lil' Dick Whitman met in the Hobo Code had a work ethic to go along with his transient lifestyle, but these people enjoy the best of everything wherever they go, and don't actually do anything to earn it. But Joy isn't just saying that she is going, she's offering Don the chance to come with her. She moves further into the pool and removes her top, teasing him with what just quite can't be seen beneath, and tells him he won't even need a passport to join them... unless he wants to come on to Capri afterwards. Yes, even before going to Nassau they're already planning where to move on afterwards, taking advantage of the fact that Stephanie's uncle is an Ambassador (of course he is). When Don starts to speak she can immediately tell he's about to give the,"I'd love to but it's not feasible" response, so she cuts that off by informing him without hesitation that her father will take care of him, he likes having Don around because he's beautiful and doesn't talk too much. And there it is. As friendly as these people are, as accommodating and generous, that is what Don would be to them, even to Joy. An ornament, something to show off or put on display. Don is attractive, well-built, witty when he needs to be but more importantly quiet when he doesn't. He'd be a great asset to have... right up until they got bored or found some new toy, and then he'd either be quietly left behind or tolerated at best as a now unwanted hanger-on. Still, Don is tempted, especially by Joy promising him that she isn't possessive and he can be with anyone he wants (he still somehow blames Betty for their breakup, because she dared to call him out on cheating which he still hasn't admitted to). Just then though a newcomer arrives, the always late Christian, who comes walking down carrying a small girl with a little boy following close behind. Joy introduces him to Don and names the children - Bernard and Amelia - the little boy too shy to answer Don's warm greeting to him. Christian complains that Isabel has not called, tired of speaking to attorneys and insisting that his children should stay with him. It is the first sign of the real world intruding upon the bubble these people live in, Christian's marriage has failed, he and his wife dispute the custody of the children (made more difficult surely by all the international travel) etc. Christian's attitude is sulky and childish in spite of his tailored and carefully crafted appearance, and when he asks if Don and Joy are in Edward's room it seems almost an accusation. Don though is happy to give over the bedroom to him and the children, and Christian offers his surprised gratitude before departing. Bernard takes a little longer to go, seemingly fascinated by Don, but eventually leaves as well. Joy is amused that Don gave away "their" room, joking that he clearly doesn't want to sleep tonight and slipping deeper into the pool after a playful splash. Don doesn't follow her though, Christian's appearance with the children has once again reminded him of himself. His marriage is also on the rocks, his children are roughly the same age as Christian's even if the genders seem reversed. Is Christian what Don might end up being should he join the others in Nassau and Capri? Or would he end up more like Willy, freely making love to Rocci (I guess she got over sulking about the Mexican food) on the other end of the same pool his daughter is swimming in? Don takes a sip of his drink and notices the glass is cracked, a not particularly subtle analogy for his own life which - while still functional - is only one bad slip away from being destroyed.  Duck is working in his office when Joan comes knocking at his door, leading a man carrying a box of Tanqueray gin. She apologizes, Harry opened it thinking it was for the entire floor (yeah, sure you did Harry) but she promises every bottle is still there, and passes him a card, letting him know that all it says is that it is for him. Pleased, knowing exactly who it is from, Duck thanks her and even gives her a bottle to take for herself as a finder's fee. She's thrilled, and when he tells her it is "the good stuff" she is happy to say she knows, making it clear that this is why she's so thrilled by his generosity. He takes a seat after she leaves, happy to read the card, but then casting a slightly disturbed look at the box. It's a wonderful gift, and a sign that his efforts may well bear fruit... but he allowed himself a night of drinking and now he has to figure out if he can - or still wants to - put the genie back in the bottle. In Harry's office, he, Sal, Ken and Peggy watch the news about the riot happening over the registration of James H. Meredith to attend Ole Miss. Pete bursts into the room with a smile and a loud hello, and then joins them in watching as President Kennedy speaks about Americans rights to disagree with the law but not to disobey it. Peggy turns and asks Pete how he found California and he admits that while he found it spectacular from a business standpoint, he wouldn't want to live there... it's just too strange. He passes over a bag of oranges and asks if Don has checked in, but nobody has seen him... or even seems particularly concerned that he's not back on the day he was expected. They go back to watching the TV, though Pete can't help but notice that something seems different about Peggy. He expresses as much and she smiles and points out she has had a haircut, and it is only then that he actually notices it. Like Kurt promised, he did a good job, her hair is far more "modern" (for 1962), and while she's still recognizably Peggy, she also looks fresher, more confident and certainly more appealing to the men (whether that is a good thing is certainly up for debate). Ken finishes things up by catching Pete up on the last bit of news, declaring without preamble,"Kurt's a homo." Pete is baffled, while Sal sits and says nothing, sadly well-practiced at learning to cut himself off from his feelings... at least visibly. Duck prepares to go into battle, eating a lifesaver before he enters Roger's office (to freshen his breath or to mask the smell of alcohol?) where Bert Cooper is waiting for a meeting Duck has called. Cooper's first thought is a rather bored inquiry as to whether Duck is leaving, making it clear he wouldn't be particularly bothered if that was the case. No, Duck declares confidently, and then launches into his pitch: he can bring Sterling Cooper the International Divisions of General Foods, Bird's Eye, Campbell's Soup, Chevron Oil, Lever Brothers, Hoover, Warner Brothers, Eastern Airlines and Chrysler. They're astonished by the list of an advertiser's wet dream of clients, and even more so by his seeming confidence in being able to provide them. How is that possible? Because Saint John Powell of Putnam, Powell & Lowe "called him" and told him he wants to open up a New York office to deal with their American clients... and the easiest way to do that is to simply make Sterling Cooper part of Putnam, Powell & Lowe. Cooper is intrigued but Roger is skeptical, is this going to end up another American Airlines debacle (Remember, THEY were fully onboard with pursuing his push to get them as a client)? Duck's response to that is a none-too-subtle reminder of Roger's own argument over Don's objections: do they want to be continue being on the third tier of the Advertising industry, getting minor divisions of major companies at best? Instead he's offering them the best of everything: a huge payout for them, international prestige, the chance to go public (and thus make even more money) and best of all... they get to keep the name Sterling Cooper. Those are all things that Bert Cooper is more than willing to consider: he's already rich, now he gets to be richer, he'll still have stock in the company (just not controlling stock), more prestigious and still be able to point to his name on the building? He doesn't verbalize any of this, but when he looks to Roger the message is clear: he is the Senior Partner and he has no objections, which means it is up to Roger to voice any argument against the idea now. Roger tries to play it cool, saying they can think about it, but now Duck gets to enjoy his first taste of being in charge as he tells his Boss a clear and authoritative,"No." "I need to know that you're open to this," he warns them, assuming (and certainly not asking) complete control of the sale of THEIR business by telling them that if they're open, then HE is going to go back to Putnam, Powell & Lowe and give THEM five days to impress with a price for controlling interest in the agency. Cooper listens to this comparatively low man on his company's totem pole dictate terms to him... and is thrilled. A true believe in Ayn Rand's lovely bullshit little philosophy, he appreciates and respects men who control life on their own terms. With great pleasure he exclaims to Roger that THIS is the man he heard so much about before they hired him. Roger considers, 5 days to make an offer? Duck offers to simplify it, if they give him a price he'll pass it on, but Cooper is quick to put the kibosh on that. "Let them open the kimono" he insists, knowing that if they ask for what they want there is a chance they miss out on Putnam, Powell & Lowe having been willing to pay more. It's shared smiles all around, the meeting has gone better than any of them could have expected. Especially for Duck, who looks like a superstar right now and hasn't had to mention that part of the deal involves HIM being the man in charge. Why would he need to tell them that, anyway? After all, once they sell, even if they retain positions and stock, there will be a bigger and more powerful Boss above them... and this time it will be Duck who has the close personal relationship with that person instead of Don.   Unaware of the machinations going on around his workplace in his absence (and would he currently care even if he knew?), Don lies on the couch in Palm Springs, wearing only swimming trunks. He listens to Christian's children play happily in the pool with their father, and comes to a decision. Not about Nassau or Capri or Joy, or rather the decision he makes negates any he might have made regarding those. Retrieving his wallet, he finds a card, takes the phone and dials a number. "It's Dick Whitman," he tells the person on the other end of the line, openly using a name he hasn't associated with himself for a decade,"I'd love to see you. Soon." I can only presume the person on the other end of the line is the woman who confronted him at the car dealership in his flashback from near the start of the season. Somebody who knew he wasn't the real Don Draper, somebody he must have told his real name to. Is this also the person he sent Meditations in an Emergency to in the mail, saying it made him think of them? Whoever it is, they give Don an address to find them. Scrambling for paper, the closest thing he can find is Joy's copy of The Sound and the Fury. He grabs it up and scribbles on the back page, tells the person he will see them soon, and hangs up. Then, without a single thought, without malice and clearly also without compassion, he simply rips the page out of the book and tucks it away. Because for all the faults of the Jet Set, they at least offer some degree of compassion and empathy to others in their circle even if they also take pleasure in their misfortunes. Don Draper enjoyed Joy, he enjoyed the company of the group.... but he never cared about any of them. She fascinated him but he did not, does not, cannot love her, and not just because of her youth. He has been unfaithful to his wife before, but always with women who interested or intrigued him, and in that sense Joy was no different. The difference between her and Midge or Rachel or even Bobbie is that it was short-lived and largely about Don wanting a break from his life. Now this is over, he's already ready to move on without a second thought. That he tears the back page out of the book is monstrous, but mostly because it happens without thought. Sure she might have only found the book "okay" but it was something that had meaning to her, the last vestige of an aborted effort to educate herself. Even if it had no meaning deeper than,"This is a book I am enjoying reading", Don's actions would be horrifying. He doesn't care about her, he doesn't think about her, she is nothing to him, and he ruined something she was enjoying just because it prevented him from being momentarily (on a microscopic scale!) inconvenienced. The episode ends with Don leaning back with his arm up on the back of the couch, looking for all the world like the shirtless version of the opening graphic of the show. Far from Palm Springs, a deliveryman brings Don's luggage to the front door of his home, ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door. There is no response, Betty is elsewhere, so the deliveryman leaves. The luggage sits there on the doorstep, unclaimed, the property of a man who doesn't live there even when he's in New York. You could argue he didn't even really live there when he lived there. Wherever Don is, it isn't here, and though he has tacitly rejected the offer to escape his Don Draper life and go to Nassau, the question remains... will he ever return to the "baggage" of his life in New York?  Episode Index Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Jan 22, 2021 |
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Jan 22, 2021 04:57
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awww gently caress yeah, can't wait to read this later today! "Don goes to hippy dippy cali"
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Jan 22, 2021 12:56
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