Not So Live Blogging As I Rewatch FTWTY…
For the record, this is an excellent episode. No, it’s not a contained story like many of the others, but stands up as superb storytelling by filling us in just enough on what’s happened and where other matters stand. A big thumbs up from B.Cooper.
Also, I haven’t read all the threads, etc. on this episode so I may be making observations already in play. Please forgive.
LOVE the opening sequence “ great music choice.
Drs office
Where’s Don? Like the use of the nurses voice while he’s taking his shirt off.
Another arrogant doctor “ “because that will mean something to you?” What a prick.
Don’s language is always harsh talking about his parents.
“Living or deceased?”
“Dead.”
“Two packs a day but you’re cutting down.” Didn’t catch all the comments in the other threads, but I thought someone mentioned this is Don admitting smoking might be bad for his health. But I look at it as the doctor reading what Don wrote on the information sheet and adding the ” but you’re cutting down” part. Look at Don’s sheepish response.
“I’ve been good.” The only time that Don actually looks like he’s lying.
Betty at the stables
Takes about 4 seconds to establish that Betty’s still a nut about weight.
Who’s the doofus on the horse?
Who’s Girdy?
Xerox delivery
Just bang him already!!
Conference room
Mmmm, sandwiches.
Pen & Pencil anyone have a reference on that? Freddy’s watering hole, I suppose.
Fat farm verification/confrontation with Lois props right now to whomever posited that Peggy confided in Don and he helped cover for her absence and is her career benefactor. If this isn’t how it plays out in S2, it should be.
I love how Peggy’s voice is now so definitive now. In acting classes, they teach you the difference between how women and men speak. Men are assertive and end statements on a downward pitch. Women are more submissive and end on an upward pitch. Peggy’s talking like a man.
Also, when she keeps asking Lois where Don is, she’s not seeking an answer to where he went. She keeps asking until Lois answers properly (read: properly covering for her boss). Peggy’s a tough broad.
Sterling’s office
Love how Joan always conspicuously leaves the door open a crack when she’s entering Roger’s office.
“He’s not Jewish.”
“Not anymore, but he was. Trust me.” Either Deb or Roberta did a post on how great the “Peggy, please get me a glass of water ” line was in Indian Summer? This exchange could warrant the same treatment.
What I also love here is that their former relationship, her current relationship, and Roger’s longing for Joan are all out on the table between them. They don’t pretend to about anything, and openly acknowledge everything that’s going on. Such a departure from almost every other relationship in the show.
Again, great writing that lets us fill in the blanks.
Duck enters
Duck challenges Don’s decision to put Fred Rumsen on the coffee pitch. Roger defends the Fred and Don’s decision “ he’s never thought about going young and doesn’t want to. But later on, he is firm with Don that they need to go young seems Duck really has Roger’s ear.
“He’s not my first creative director.” Oooh, listen to the drums playing in the background.
Conference room
Anyone else laugh when they show Sal dipping his hand in the bucket of melting ice?
Paul’s on the shit list in every way the “sorry we’re late line” was in appropriate, and when Don calls on him and he’s talking with his mouth full he just looks like the embodiment of a fat and happy creative guy. Plus he puts the noose around his own neck with that list. He’s toast.
Don’t know where Dale came from but I kinda like him “ IMDB says he was in a 2007 episode anyone know which?
What’s Don mean when he says “stop writing for other writers ” and “there has to be advertising for people that don’t have a sense of humor.” Is this Don just missing the boat again?
Blah, blah, blah Don’s bored. He can’t, um, get it up for this shit anymore.
Sal zeros in on adjusting the stewardess’s cheekbones. No way he’s gay.
Draper kitchen
For the record, my mom never looked that hot.
“That defeats the purpose.” Because for Betty it’s not about being liked, it’s about being the most liked.
What happened to the little girl in GWTW?
Don’s office
“Cooper wants younger people “ Roger’s covering for Duck.
“The last time Freddy Rumsen had a cup of coffee, it was one of five being poured down his throat by a cop.” Pure Roger.
“Tell Duck, clients don’t understand “ Don doesn’t fall for the Cooper cover.
Lobby of the Savoy
Is that the “Teddy” fur coat??
Hofstadt? German
How amazing is it to watch the Curtis (aka “the John”) squirm throughout the conversation? He’s played by Frank Novak (his IMDB entry does not include MM).
Hotel room
Sally’s valentine, hundreds of babies. Recipe for limpdick.
Um, once again, my mother never looked that hot.
Casa Campbell
Uh oh Humps isn’t getting it done.
Tweety? Lame.
“The daughter was pregnant?” HA!!
“She doesn’t have what you have “ That would be Pete climbing on top of you for a good rogering.
“Do you really believe that?” Really just Pete competing again.
Hotel room
“I wish you’d just tell me what to do”
Great writing again (duh) she makes excuses to cover and protect his ego.
“This is Mr. Draper. Would you send up a dozen oysters. Oh, and some Spanish Fly?”
Don clicks past Jackie on TV he’s a real man.
Sal & Kitty’s
Sal doesn’t blink while watching Jackie.
Draper’s kitchen
Ann Dudek comes through again. Now that she’s not pregnant/miserable/suicidal, she looks really good.
“Like they’re playing house “ Let me just say how great this show is. It’s about the dawn of the 60′s, the Kennedy Era and all that. And they don’t diminish the fact that people at the time would probably have seen through at least a portion of the façade. But of course it’s all layered with meaning, as if Francine and Betty aren’t just playing house as well.
“No time for television.” Betty’s getting better at lying.
“He wanted you to have a good time.” Sharp as ever.
Don’s office
Short fiction uh oh.
Catch any fish today?
Joan & Lois
“She yelled at me.” She didn’t. Why do people say they were yelled at when they weren’t?
LOVE Lois Sadler.
Pete’s office
“Eventually.” Whoa.
Don’s office
“You feeling something. That’s what sells.” Don vacillates between being a blind old man to a wise old guru.
Betty’s car
Don’s too cheap to subscribe to OnStar.
So what’s the consensus on this scene? Is Betty just unaware that she’s leading him on? She just likes getting things done for her because she’s pretty?
Just in cast you didn’t know what the mechanic was expecting, HE PUTS THE FLASHLIGHT IN HIS MOUTH.
Draper family room
“Stuck in the parking lot.” Real good at lying.
Alright, Sally’s ballet schtick. Not sure if anyone’s addressed this, but they’ve clearly illustrated not only that Betty’s obsessed with Sally’s weight, but also that Sally is not a slim girl. You don’t need a degree in psychology
Don’s poem
Soooo well done, and not expected or easy. Just obscure enough and not obvious, yet perfectly worded to fit the series and the episode.
So where do we stand? Is it Midge or Rachel? He has more of a reason to reach out to Rachel, yet it might be more appropriate and appreciated by Midge.
Basket of Kisses: The unofficial blog of AMC's Mad Men. Where all the cool kids meet & greet to talk about Don Draper, Janie Bryant, Christina Hendricks, Jon Hamm, Matthew Weiner, & subtexty things.
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July 30th, 2008 at 10:37 am
So busy at work I can't even read this all, but I already like it.
Try this:
http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city...
July 30th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Wow, good job.
I know people say the pace was off, and there was some disappointment, but I can't stop thinking about this episode. It was really so beautifully layered.
And some of your questions are answered in the threads.
Not only do I think Betty would be open to being more wild in bed, I think she would like a little hair-pulling, being-called-naughty-names play. That princess is seriously craving being called a… non-princess. She flirted with the mechanic because she has to see if she still has it. She flirted with the mechanic because the ex-roomie made her wonder if she could have been a party girl in another life. She flirted with the mechanic because it was dark and isolated and she is a secret adrenaline junkie. She flirted with the mechanic because it's a bad girl thing for a good girl to do. She flirted with the mechanic because she spent all Valentine's Day imagining Don's reaction to her outfit, it was disappointing, and because she doesn't have a Relaxicisor she was still in full unrelieved tension mode. The fire started on Valentines's Day, but the flames were still smoldering when she met Mr. Mechanic. But she wasn't ready to take it further.
This is why I laugh in the general direction of the IMDB who think Betty is frigid.
Sex sells… unless you're on blood pressure meds — and then it fails to get a rise out of you. Then you want your heart-strings tugged, as opposed to, never mind!
I'm still thinking the book is for someone else other than Midge or Rachel. I think Rachel would be just as appropriate as Midge though, because he feels she sees him for who he is and that poem strikes me as being about a new crisis of identity for Don.
I love Lois, too. I like her voice which seems so appropriate to the times, but what do I know?
Bonnie Blue Butler, being stubborn like Scarlett and Scarlett's father, insisted on using her horse to do jumps, and she died.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:44 am
To answer your question about what happened to the daughter in Gone With the Wind, she died in a riding accident. Ahhhhhh Betty, you put my insane Jewish mother to shame!
July 30th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Okay, I meant to add:
You all are softening me (heh) to this episode. I still don't feel it was as tight as it could have been, but I have re-watched it several times, and I do see the power of it.
**“He’s not Jewish.â€
“Not anymore, but he was. Trust me.†Either Deb or Roberta did a post on how great the “Peggy, please get me a glass of water …†line was in Indian Summer? This exchange could warrant the same treatment.
What I also love here is that their former relationship, her current relationship, and Roger’s longing for Joan are all out on the table between them. They don’t pretend to about anything, and openly acknowledge everything that’s going on. Such a departure from almost every other relationship in the show.**
Fantastic (meaning the scene and the analysis of it). Best part of the whole show, if you ask me. Well, that and Sally brushing past Don to hug her dog just like she did in Marriage of Figaro. It's so her way of saying, "Daddy, you have no idea how to be the big dog." LOL. He should really start taking notes…
July 30th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I've seen a couple of references to Don's not being able to "get it up" being a side effect of blood pressure medication.
Didn't Don just get the prescription for blood pressure meds earlier on Valentine's Day? I doubt he even got the scrip filled yet, so I don't think the meds are what's causing the "Erectile Dysfunction."
July 30th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I'm at work, so can't review, but pretty sure we see him pop the pills. I think that it was the combination of the pills, being too much of a good boy, and of not being able to see Betty as more than Angelic Mommy.
Helen Gurley Brown, and doesn't her name pop up here a lot, wrote a book in the 80s about her favorite topics. In it she mentioned that she had to stop seeing a therapist because he kept trying to tell her "relations" weren't dirty. (Sorry, still at work.) He was killing her libido.
Betty tried to spice it up, but Don was still seeing it as good clean fun. And the pills didn't help.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I think there are other issues, as well. I got the sense that Don's had this problem for quite a while, and the Valentine's Day incident was just another frustrating night for Betty. It's probably why she took up horseback riding… ;-0
What I don't understand is how come Roger doesn't have any of these problems? His libido seems to be just fine, and he's older and less healthy than Don.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I got the impression from Betty's reaction to Don going limp that this was not the first time it's happened lately!
July 30th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Helen Gurley Brown wrote "Sex and the Single Girl" 1962. Was considered very racy at it's time. It would be a great book to have one of the office girls reading.
Excellent description of the episode! I loved the small scene descriptions the best. Like the one about Sal made me LOL.
Not much evolution with the MD's. Many are still that arrogant. I work with quite a few.
I absolutely loved that poem. I put the first few lines as my Myspace headline.
Anne B. I grew up with one of those angry 60-70's moms. When I was 3 (1969) she dyed my hair red so that everyone would think that she was a natural redhead. She gave me a copy of "Having It All" by Helen Gurley Brown when I was 12, and told me over and over again that "Men were just desserts" through out my teens. Is is any wonder I never married until I was 37? The big Irony is that she was never "single" in her whole life. Got married at 15 and had 3 husbands back to back. Thank God for Therapy!
July 30th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
"Sex and the Single Girl" that's right! I was wondering where I'd heard the name Helen Gurley Brown before…the Natalie Wood movie 1964! I like that movie.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Jess,
HGB was also the editor of Cosmopolitan for pretty much forever and until she got ousted, probably for being way past the key demographic.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Ellelque …
Didn't get married till I was 36. He's a lovely man … and patient. Can't even tell you how cool his (our) kids are.
If you were here, I'd high-five you …
July 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I didn't get married until 35 and it was because he was sick of being engaged.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
You could definitely tell towards the end of Don's conversation with the Doctor that there was an entire other topic that they could have touched on. Doc says something like, "Anything else?" and Don just sort of looks up almost out of the corner of his eye.
I wonder if the Doctor caught Don's oddly sly/guilty look there at the end, as if to say, "Too bad Viagra doesn't come out for another 30 years."
July 30th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Dale was one of the guys trying to make time with Peggy at lunch in Ladies Room.
I’m the one who wrote the glass of water post. Thanks for noticing.
For the record, when I watched Sunday with Roberta, she cracked up like crazy at Sal’s hand in the ice water.
Doofus on the horse is “Arthur,” the guy I speculated a month or two ago might be an affair. Gertie is the riding instructor, played by Denise Crosby aka Tasha Yar.
I agree 100% about Peggy’s voice. Love that kind of detail.
It’s a new fur, she told Francine.
“She yelled at me.†She didn’t. Why do people say they were yelled at when they weren’t?
Roberta, tell him, that’s EXACTLY what I said, isn’t it?
And the flashlight? Try watching that with a roomful of people drinking martinis. Pandemonium, I tell you!
July 30th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I believe Girdy is the riding instructor, that’s what I assumed anyway.
Also, I agree with Ms. Darkly, I think Betty would love it if her husband got a little dirty in bed with her. Right away after watching this episode, then going back to watch a few from last season, Betty seems much more confident and dark even. Whether she has really become that way or if she is just trying it we’ll see.
I’m curious to see if Betty is still seeing a therapist.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Well done B. Cooper!
There were a few times I chocked on my lunch laughing.
And no, that wasn’t the Teddy fur coat. Betty tells Francine that Don gave her a fur coat for valentines day. Betty walking down the stairs at the hotel seems like sort of a Don flashback to the start of their relationship when he was courting her.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Oh, right, Gertie is the instructor with the crush on Betty.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I doubt that bp medication has an immediate effect on erections, but phenobarb? ED is not specifically a side effect, but it's very intense and "relaxing."
July 30th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Nice work, B!
I too noticed Lois’s comment, “she yelled at me.” My husband, believe it or not, will say this when I am unhappy with him — and not yelling. I get very quiet when I’m angry.
Female anger still upsets people. Women who have anything negative to say will get some flak from someone for having said it. But men?
I never yell. My dad yelled when I was young; I’ve seen that it achieves nothing, so I don’t do it. But I read somewhere that women, when angry, are seen as mean, destructive and out of control (whether we raise our voices or not). On the other hand, an angry man — picture Don storming out of his first meeting with Rachel Mencken — is seen as decisive, in control, someone who takes action quickly and gets things done.
Anyway: just wanted to say that.
I agree with everything you have to say about Betty, Ms. D. I saw her itching to break out of the wifey box from the end of last season, and that scene with the easily-led mechanic was a nice step in the direction Betty wants things to go. The fact that her husband won’t see her in the bad-girl light she craves solidifies her curiosity: what if I had this AND that?
Back at the Draper house, something I noticed about Betty’s interactions with Sally: everything she says to her little girl has a negative undertone.
“Fruit punch?” (Seeing something on her daughter’s face at lunch.)
“Horseback riding is dangerous.”
“Remember what happened to the little girl in GWTW?”
“You are getting a bath tonight.”
Betty’s clearly running low on patience: all right. The whole wife-and-mother thing bores her, so she’s playing with the idea of being … something else. But she is letting that boredom and annoyance show up, in a relationship to her child that I can only describe as … well. Familiar.
I grew up in the 70′s. It was still very, very much about the angry mommies; we were sill very present, to overhear what they thought of their disappointing lives. Nice place, the Southern California suburbs. Nice time to be a kid. Super time to be a girl.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
**I saw her itching to break out of the wifey box**
Anne B, that’s an interesting observation.
Yesterday, Ms. Darkly and I got into this conversation:
http://www.lippsisters.com/2008/07/27/open-thread/#comment-4188
To me, Betty is clearly trying to break free. I’m not sure if it’s just sexually, or in other areas as well. Is she thinking of a life beyond Don? Or is she trying to beat him at his own game by having her cake and eating it, too.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
On phenobarbitol:
A few minutes' research tells me it has a rich history. It's been around for a while, rarely used now due to its replacement by what my nurse brother-in-law calls "the benzos". Originally used as an tranquilizer and anticonvulsant — but you know its applications didn't end there.
As Luminal, the drug was used by Nazi "doctors" as part of the party's eugenics program. They used it to kill people born with birth defects. Sorry; some things can't be made to sound nice.
The "Heaven's Gate" cult members ingested phenobarbitol and alcohol when it was time to catch up to their spaceship in 1997. No word on whether they made it.
Still in use as an antiepileptic, the drug can be safely ingested — but I'll tell you, it wouldn't be my pick.
On Don, the patient:
There were times in FTWTY when the man appeared to be in acute pain. In the doctor's office, he just looked uncomfortable. On the banquette at the restaurant, listening to that harpist and checking out the scene, waiting for Betty: that was pain.
Don shouldn't even try to smile, at times like that. The smile just makes it so much worse.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Helen Gurley Brown, and doesn’t her name pop up here a lot, wrote a book in the 80s about her favorite topics. In it she mentioned that she had to stop seeing a therapist because he kept trying to tell her “relations†weren’t dirty. (Sorry, still at work.) He was killing her libido.
Heh, that reminds me of one of my favorite Woody Allen lines (from 1969's Take the Money and Run:
"My analyst asked me if I thought sex was dirty, and I said 'It is if you're doing it right'"
July 30th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
While I think there may be several extenuating reasons for Don's failure to get an erection on Valentine's Day, I think the main reason is he's just not attracted to Betty, black bustier-thingy or no (what do you call that thing she was wearing?). He married the woman he thought a man like him (the man he was working to become) should marry: the refined, beautiful, naive golden "angel" who would cheerfully (he thought) live in the suburbs and raise his children. Then he got a little older, got a little more experience in the world, and discovered that in fact he likes his women dark-haired, challenging, professional, and smart. I really think intelligence is key for Don. He likes smart women. Betty isn't smart.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
i think FTWTY is as completely genius as the best of S1, but it's taken a while to sink in…
themes, anyone? i'd say "breakdown", predominantly: don's physical ailments, trudy's fertility problem, betty's car; also, broken social norms: the men in the elevator, the gay creative team (a fisherman sweater for a job interview? hathead don must've been aghast), betty's friend the hooker…
perhaps another theme would be the "intrusion of technology": the copier, of course, and the television — what each couple is watching, and the context in which they are watching is very telling…
the double onslaught of physical breakdown/technological change i think contributes to the drastically different tone of S2…don is getting crushed by forces outside him, and is more introspective…for the first time, we get a closeup of his face (awake), and we get voiceovers, and his slo-mo point of view…we are meant to be in his head…
the color palette was much warmer (golds, browns — but peggy's mustard blouse matching salvatore's mustard tie? a little much), but the lighting was paler and harsher — i had never noticed how many characters have icy blue eyes…
and then there's betty. this sure was a betty-heavy episode (in contrast to S1, E1). whereas don has softened and turned inward, betty has hardened and turned outward.
she's a ticking timebomb of repressed rage. i'll have to respectfully dissent here, and say that i don't get the sense at all that she wants anything degrading in bed (i.e., for someone to call her an, um, "non-princess") — i think we got a glimpse of what she really wanted in "Indian Summer" — to be wildly wanted. i think she's still rightfully furious at don for his infidelity and dishonesty, and furious at her powerlessness.
good point anne b about betty's negativity toward sally…i wonder if it's the wife/mother role that's getting to her, or just the total lack of control in her life…hence the solace of horseback riding (control over the horse?)…
also, anne b, kind of off topic, but please share your secret for not yelling
July 30th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
And speaking of Betty NOT being smart….
You hand a high-priced call girl your high-paid husband's business card !!!!
As soon as Don said "she's a party girl", Betty should have bolted out of her seat, tracked down the former roomie and gotten that business card back.
Notice that Betty didn't get the roomie's contact information.
I see a story line coming up, since Betty told Francine that Manhattan is expensive, so maybe the former-roomie-now-call-girl will give Don a call since his business card gives away that he well paid.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I think Betty is smart, she's just not experienced.
The reason Don doesn't think she is up to par with his girlfriends in terms of intelligence and strength, is he never gives her the opportunity or encouragement.
Basically, the two don't really know each other at all, but I think if they did they would be pretty well matched.
Don has just never entertained the idea of treating Betty like an intelligent woman who has her own opinions and needs, and Betty doesn't know how or thinks she shouldn't tell him what she wants.
The only real problem with their relationship is that they don't communicate, it has been easy for them to just pretend that they are in a normal happy marriage.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Okay, I must be totally naive – what IS the significance of Sal and the ice water?
July 30th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
It's just funny.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
**While I think there may be several extenuating reasons for Don’s failure to get an erection on Valentine’s Day, I think the main reason is he’s just not attracted to Betty, black bustier-thingy or no (what do you call that thing she was wearing?). He married the woman he thought a man like him (the man he was working to become) should marry: the refined, beautiful, naive golden “angel†who would cheerfully (he thought) live in the suburbs and raise his children. Then he got a little older, got a little more experience in the world, and discovered that in fact he likes his women dark-haired, challenging, professional, and smart. I really think intelligence is key for Don. He likes smart women. Betty isn’t smart.**
Inanna,
There were a few times in season 1 where he seemed quite attracted, most notably in Shoot when Betty was rocking the confidence.
I don't know if being called names is first on her list, but I think she wants to be more of a bad girl and expand her sexual horizons.
Celeste,
The only significance I noticed was that they'd waited so long for Don that the ice was mostly melted.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Betty went to Bryn Mawr. Don loves that college education, he sucks it right outa their brains.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Okay, I have read all the comments, but just a skim as they've come through. So forgive me if I'm repeating things already discussed.
Also love the opening sequence. And I love that the first real scene is the doctor's exam. It was just totally unexpected. Broke the mold. Like the first chapter of the fourth Harry Potter book.
“Two packs a day but you’re cutting down.†I really just took this as, pretty much, Good call, doc. 'Cause of how that's what they all smoke, and they sorta kinda know they shouldn't, so they're sorta kinda trying to cut down.
The thing that was interesting to me about the 'Gertie has a crush on you' comment was how nonplussed Betty was hearing that.
But holy fuck is she angry. Kids = manure?!?
The scene between Peggy and Lois was incredible. The same tone, and even the same words ("Imagine") as when she dressed down Annie in the recording session. But, she was right. Lois could get fired for making a joke like that. I love Lois. I love Peggy.
I love what you said about Peggy's speaking voice, and about the Roger/Joan scene. The honesty between them is quite refreshing.
Okay. Betty coming down the stairs. I believe my exact words were, "Jesus, that entrance was so Hitchcock it was practically Brian De Palma".
What’s Don mean when he says “stop writing for other writers …†and “there has to be advertising for people that don’t have a sense of humor.†Is this Don just missing the boat again?
No, that's good advice, although he is simultaneously missing the boat. He's saying don't be elitist in your writing… we're not trying to compete with Volkwagen, and we're not writing to win the Clio, and people are still people, they're not all super-witty. Some are still just regular, and won't get or appreciate sarcasm/humor in an ad.
Sally’s valentine, hundreds of babies. Recipe for limpdick.
See? this is why we wanted a man's perspective!
Betty ordering the food… she is more and more taking the reins. And in some ways that's good for Betty. And in some ways Don is dropping them… limply. Maybe even… castratedly.
Awesomest quote for speaking miles beyond its subject… "I think it looks good now, but I think it will become messy.'
Duck to Don, "You know there are other ways to think of things than the way you think of them".
I'm sorry folks, I don't think Pete has a clue he knocked up Pegs. He is way too self-involved. And I think for the most part he looks at Peggy and doesn't even remember they've had sex. I mean, I'm sure there are flashes…
Bummed me out, Harry's lack of happiness. But that's because I think he's Rich Sommer.
Betty negotiated like a pro. And then crawled back into her safety zone. The flashlight still cracks me up.
B, you're right, it's a beautiful episode.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Oh! PS. That was absolutely not the first flaccid moment in that marriage bed. Betty wasn't freaking out like Oh God why isn't it Working. She was more Eye rolling resigned.
And yeah, there was no significance… like, I'd forgotten it was Sal. It just showed how damned long they'd been waiting. The soupy ice bucket, that is.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
**The scene between Peggy and Lois was incredible. The same tone, and even the same words (â€Imagineâ€) as when she dressed down Annie in the recording session. But, she was right. Lois could get fired for making a joke like that. I love Lois. I love Peggy.**
Let me throw this out here, I've seen an interpretation that Peggy thought Lois was subtly accusing her of lying, because the movie was Pinocchio. Peggy asked, "Are you insinuating something?" And Lois seemed genuinely confused, "Are you going to tell on me? I didn't know. What did I do?" Peggy has had people whispering about her for a year, there could be paranoia, and after Lois denied there being an insinuating, Peggy wouldn't be able to confront her, so she might have opted to change focus. And scare the shit out of Lois.
I'm not saying I buy it, but there seemed more to it than Peggy just dressing Lois down for being unprofessional.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
**That was absolutely not the first flaccid moment in that marriage bed. Betty wasn’t freaking out like Oh God why isn’t it Working. She was more Eye rolling resigned.**
@ Roberta: I wholeheartedly agree. I'm thinking Don hasn't had sex with Betty since before Rachel. Well, maybe not that long. But I don't think he's been the same since before then. And probably the last time she had good sex with him was when she got the modeling gig, and they did it right there in the den, with the kids up stairs, and the dog lying in the corner.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Great posts everyone.
Something that upon second viewing kind of cracked me up and also seemed rather layered (just like everything else on the show):
After cutting between all of the couples watching Jackie Kennedy on TV, they end with Pete, sitting by himself watching what sounds like cartoons and eating all of the chocolates that he bought for his wife (read: himself)
Didn't even register with me the first time, because AMC cut so abruptly to their BMW ad right after it.
I also find myself continually fascinated with the character of Betty Draper. There's so much to dislike and so much to feel sorry for all at once.
The way that she lies to Francine, her "best friend", about her night with Don as a way to sort of one up her friend and validate herself as being the better wife is so pathetic that I feel sort of sad for her that she has to stoop to that level – but then again it's a completely human thing to do
July 31st, 2008 at 12:28 am
@ ihavesmoke: I agree about Betty. She's one of the most petty, annoying, manipulative, and insecure women I've seen on TV, yet she fascinates me to no end, and I feel completely sorry for her. In this sense, she's very much like Pete Campbell, whom I love and hate at the same time. I think it's a true testament to the actors that they can infuse such unlikable characters with the kind of pathos that makes you secretly root for them, even though you're outwardly sneering and cursing at them.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:43 am
Ms D, I don't think I buy it either. All of that is good and interesting potential backstory, but the Pinocchio joke was about Don lying. And even though, according to Lois, it was Don that had made the joke earlier, she still was joking around about Don's absence, and shouldn't have been.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:38 am
I see a story line coming up, since Betty told Francine that Manhattan is expensive, so maybe the former-roomie-now-call-girl will give Don a call since his business card gives away that he well paid.
Yep, when Betty handed Juanita Don's business card with her contact information on it, my (male) partner said, "she's going to call Don, not Betty."
I think Betty got into Bryn Mawr on account of money and/or status, not intelligence (oh dear, it's clear I don't like Betty), but I agree that that ritzy education was part of what attracted Don to her in the first place. And I think Don was still attracted to Betty when he had the other women in his life, and before his sense of himself as Don Draper, self-remade man, really starts to crumble. But I also think that Don's increasingly lost sense of self, his "breaking down" as mellifera said, and his alienation and literal separation from what he really wants in love, contributes to his, uh, impotence, in every sense.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:02 am
the Pinocchio joke was about Don lying. And even though, according to Lois, it was Don that had made the joke earlier, she still was joking around about Don’s absence, and shouldn’t have been.
*nods* I saw that as the first expression of Peggy's fierce loyalty to Don. She can ignore or shrug off any slights directed at herself (the comments and attitude of the guys at the meeting, Joan sticking the Xerox machine in her office), but even the suggestion that Lois is accusing Don of lying, even as a joke, immediately sets her off.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:49 am
We're all focusing here on his lost relationships, and that's really important, but Don's brother committed suicide. And to Don, "mourning is just extended self-pity." So if you believe that, where do the feelings go?
July 31st, 2008 at 11:09 am
Inanna,
I think Betty is smart, I just don't think she's a critical thinker (yet.) I believe she got in fair and square even though she didn't realize the value of that education the same way as we do today.
Betty is very unquestioning, but that was okay for the time. I'm not sure there was the same focus on thinking outside of the box. Hell, Betty just wants the best box on her block, and I realize as I type this that this lines reads really kinda in an unintended way. Hee hee, she's upset because Don has no interest in her box.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:18 pm
"she’s upset because Don has no interest in her box"
Ba Dump Bump
July 31st, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Thank you very much! I'll be here all week!
July 31st, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Pen and Pencil, also known as Charlie's Rail, was a steakhouse on E. 45th Street on what was known as "Steak Row." It was a Mad Men's hangout, and probably was just a few blocks from Sterling Cooper. http://www.oldandsold.com/articles06/new-york-cit...
July 31st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Good info, Brenda.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Great find, Brenda – thx!
July 31st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
“Mourning is just extended self-pity” — where do the feelings go?
Great question, Ms. Lipp. What hit me, at some point after Don’s box appeared last season, is that Don is very much like my dad. Long story short: there was a war, my dad was involved, and at some point a box of memorabilia arrived at our family home. A letter followed soon after, saying that the woman who had kept all of these items for my father (and had raised him, from late childhood on) had recently died.
So I can posit some theories on where the feelings go. If you turn away from them, they go … away. You end up living in a kind of permanent Now, where you tell yourself that nothing else matters. But your body, with its own wisdom, keeps telling you this isn’t okay. It’s very interesting to me that my dad and Don both have high blood pressure.
And now — after all these years of denying that his “other family” exists — my dad is beginning to lose his memory. It’s breaking his heart. And mine.
On a related note, someone asked me for my secret on not yelling. Funny: my secret is my dad, who yelled a lot when I was younger.
Every time he did that, it completely dismantled everything he was trying to do. I was a kid, so I watched how this happened — literally every time. And now (I guess because there have always been children in my life, and kids watch everything), each time I get angry, I also get strategic.
I become very aware of my surroundings — who’s here? What’s going on? Who can help me? And then I just move. Very quietly. It’s almost creepy — Peggy-ish, you might say.
She’s my hero. How messed up is that?
July 31st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Everyone knows this, but I had to throw in that I really enjoyed the really funny cut of Pete watching the sci-fi show and eating his wife's chocolates while everyone else was with someone watching Jackie Kennedy.
Of course, the absolute kicker for me was when the announcer said, "And now a word from our sponsors…" and it cut to commercial in real life. Loved it.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
@EmKay, I also enjoyed that cut of Pete watching the sci-fi show instead of Jackie's tour. I couldn't help but think of the line from the movie Forest Gump about life being like a box of chocolates. I felt that perhaps I was watching the last time Pete will feel emotionally secure for awhile.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:34 pm
"On a related note, someone asked me for my secret on not yelling. Funny: my secret is my dad, who yelled a lot when I was younger…
I also get strategic.I become very aware of my surroundings — who’s here? What’s going on? Who can help me? And then I just move. Very quietly.It’s almost creepy — Peggy-ish, you might say. She’s my hero. How messed up is that?" not at all!
thanks, anne b! this is most helpful. i am a novice in the ways of the pegi. (i strive to be the sort who lowers one's voice to a whisper when angered. btw, are you also the sort who cleans out cabinets when stressed out? i always mean to do that, but keep reverting back to the godiva liqueur
August 1st, 2008 at 4:36 am
"I’m sorry folks, I don’t think Pete has a clue he knocked up Pegs. He is way too self-involved. And I think for the most part he looks at Peggy and doesn’t even remember they’ve had sex."
Agreed 100% … has this even been a subject of debate? No way. That may as well have been a hundred years ago. Which is our first clue that it's going to take a big juicy bite out of Pete's ass real soon.
Still laugh at the ice bucket – I think it's because it's such a clever way to note that time has passed.
Also, someone wondered whether Betty's still in therapy and how that played out over the past 14 mos … great point. Any guesses?
August 4th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I just looked up Gone With the Wind… I am not sure when it was first televised, but I notice that there was a theatrical re-release in 1961, so it may have been something that Betty took her daughter to see with her. (Although I can see most of it going over her daughter`s head.)
It just gives me more respect for the show`s attempts at historic accuracy.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Nice catch @fuzzyjay.