We’ve talked a lot about him seeing himself in her. A lot of smart Basketcases in comments have described that eloquently. But he started out with that “blinded by the earnestness” remark. So how come he changed?
I think it’s in part that he did make that remark. That he was wrong. Don loves, loves, being surprised by a woman, being shown up by her. That initial thrill with Rachel came when he was wrong and had to admit it. She showed him up. Bobbie Barrett out-negotiated him. And when Midge couldn’t keep up with him, he lost interest in her. With Peggy it’s not sexual. SO not sexual. But he has that delight in being proven wrong by her, and yes, he sees himself, the outsider, the person remaking himself, the wrong side of the tracks.
But there has to be more.
Don on the train, first becoming Don: He was broken, he was frozen. Like Peggy was frozen by the pregnancy and the baby. Don tells her it never happened, but he tells her more, he tells her to give “them” what they want to hear. “Them.” Don knows them, somehow, and that speaks to a post-train story that may be more similar to Peggy’s than we’d imagined. Did he break? Did he break and then move forward, and tell them what they wanted to hear?
“You’ll be shocked by how much it never happened.”
55 Responses to “Why does Don like Peggy?”
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What I loved about that coversation between Bobbie and Peggy was the lightness and precision of Peggy's answers. She is a tough customer; she thinks before she speaks. She does not speak to reveal, but to conceal.
Peggy speaks, in short, like a man. She does not want to be understood; she wants to be in control. "I answered your question."
Bobbie, used to being handled in that way by men, showed surprise in sharing such a dialogue with a woman — and kept trying to work around it.
"You're so young and beautiful." For example. Peggy ignored that. I think she truly does not care.
And I loved what Peggy did with Bobbie's advice at the end of her stay: she saw right through it, considering the source (a woman who relies on her wiles — whatever she thinks those are — in navigating the world), and interpreting Bobbie's message to suit her own needs.
Then Peggy acted: she used her memory of that evening and her relationship with her boss to get her money back, and to further level the field between them. She solidified her new status with her use of Don's first name: effectively taking everything Bobbie had said to her ("you're not a man"), and rendering it completely irrelevant.
I'll say it again. Peggy is the future. Don told her to move forward; she did. She always will. Not unlike a Sherman tank.
I love the non-answerishness of that answer…..competition for WHAT? is the question. Competition to be Don's lover? (easy answer) Slut of the year? Married to a boorish comedian?
Non-sequitur: Does anybody else think that Hamm looks a like young Deniro?
She does not speak to reveal, but to conceal.
Genius.
“You’re so young and beautiful.†For example. Peggy ignored that. I think she truly does not care.
I think she cares. The scene in the Wheel with Annie, the voiceover actor, showed me she cares. She thinks, or thought at the time, that beauty equals confidence, and she was pretty sure she didn't have either.
I think she doesn't want to care. What did being young and beautiful bring her? And really? Beautiful? "You're not much, so enjoy it while you can". I think she is tired of hearing that she is, that she isn't. I think she's tired of what it means in the world to be either pretty or 'less-than'.
And I think we're going to see her continue to reclaim her prettiness, as she heals. She's now, based on Bobbie's words, going to integrate the control she's exercised while being manlike, with the power of being a woman.
Fingers crossed. It's a lot to take on. Plus um… she's kind of a weird girl.
soup, I think he looks like Gregory Peck. Old school handsome.
She solidified her new status with her use of Don’s first name: effectively taking everything Bobbie had said to her (â€you’re not a manâ€), and rendering it completely irrelevant.
Judging from the last shot of Peggy in “Maidenform”, I rather doubt it. Besides, Bobbie gave some good advice. Peggy isn’t really going to get anywhere acting like a man. It will only get her so far, as she found out in the last episode. I’m not saying that she should whore herself or anything. And I think she allowed matters to go to far when she ended up in that client’s lap. But she is a woman. And being a woman . . . even in the world of business . . . is not as much a handicap as many would believe.