The episode in which everything! Happens!
Hello Mad Men naysayers, who complain nothing ever happens on this show, the Color Blue is for you.
I open with a special Basket of Kisses award, never before given, for the Most Stunningly Accurate Prediction of the week. A crystal ball to gypsy howell for this comment
A fantasy for the final scene in the season finale (except it would kill me to wait until next year to see the fallout)Betty’s sitting in Don’s darkened office, a wine glass and empty wine bottle near her hand. She’s busted open that desk drawer, and figured (most) of it out. The pictures, the medal, the cash are scattered on the desk. She waits for Don to arrive home, which he does at 4 am after diddling Miss Farrell. He expects her to be asleep. She sees him creeping quietly in the hall. “Don! Come in here. Shut The Door. Have a Seat”
Fade to black.
Gypsy, you don’t even have to wait a year.
So. Much. Happens. Don and Suzanne are deeply engrossed in their relationship, and Suzanne shows more and more indications that she will soon phone Don’s house and say “Play Misty for me.” The train Suzy? Really?
And he held her hand! Don is so deep in whatever fantasy this fulfills for him that he actually responded affectionately towards this crazy behavior.
Don and Danny. Look, I get it, abandoned kid brother and all, I do, but when you give someone a business card in the first act, a lawnmower will surely go off in the third. Or something like that.
Betty is still thinking about Henry, and yay Henry for having none of it.
Betty.
Opened.
The drawer.
Jesus, we were all so stupid for thinking that rattling that drawer was just continuity from last season, or a symbol of dissatisfaction, and not actual foreshadowing. “Geez Louise,” as Sally said.
As she opened that drawer, my heart was pounding. It was SO Hitchcock; the tension, the fear, the “What will she find?” even though I already knew.
I could feel every moment of tension as Betty sat at the kitchen table with the shoebox, thrilled to be waiting to act out gypsy howell’s scene. And I could feel her deflation, her surrender, when she finally gave up and put it all back.
And Sterling Cooper is for sale! Holy cow, whoever saw THAT coming?
And Don Draper is oblivious. I guess I do see how this is all about perception, because Don has his head in the sand or up his ass or somewhere other than the land where he can see the color blue. He thinks Suzanne is wonderful and not psycho, he ALSO seems to believe his wife is happy, and can glow at her and say “isn’t Mommy pretty?” without seeing how she’s seething, and he can stand up and give a speech without knowing the professional rug is about to be yanked away.
The next three weeks are going to knock our socks off.
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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October 18th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
It broke my heart seeing Betty put the key back in his pocket and hang up the robe. I wonder how long she's going to carry around that secret?
October 18th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Wait. I need to pick up my gown before I accept this lovely award!
Yowza.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
You knew she would open that drawer eventually, but wow! I didn't expect it to happen tonight! Nor did I expect him to have his divorce decree from Anna in there, how poor Betty must have misinterpreted THAT. I can't see her sitting on this secret for long.
The teacher seems nuts to me too. Don's refusing to see what's going on around him, and it's going to end in disaster for him.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I haven't read the open thread yet, but OMG…this was so delicious, Deb. Every tiny bit. I agree. We are being set up to be floored.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Not sure I'm going to survive the next 3 weeks, but I do have faith in Matthew Weiner's hand on the reins. So, I'll just hold on to the horn and squeeze my knees for now…
Amazing episode and I so wanted to see Betty's confrontation with Don, but I saw it more as a "Hello, Dick" than "Sit down and have a seat…" In retrospect, I'm glad Betty is waiting. She needs to get her bearings, and she will. And I can't wait to see it.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
watching the replay. Suzanne says "I don't care about your marriage, job or anything as long as I know you are with me"
Can't say Don wasn't warned.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Don has his own Achilles — his one weakness is his affinity for women who are not his wife, and it has finally come back to bite him. He allowed himself to get so distracted with his newest affair, and her family issues which led him to want to reminisce about his own family in a box, that he was careless with those keys. A Don Draper who was on his game, regardless of the crying baby, would never have left those keys in his robe.
The next three episodes are going to be amazing!
October 18th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Since Season 1, I knew that dryer was Betty's best friend!
October 18th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I half expected Betty to burst out with "Dick Whitman" when Roger was introducing him at the party.
OK, confession – WORST prediction I had for this week- that this episode would be a lull before the storm. Could I have been more wrong?
( Do I have to return the award?)
And am I the only one who just realized that Lois is STILL Kinsey's secretary? So funny!
October 18th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
gypsey, no, you aren't! I thought it was hilarious that Lois was still there, too. I thought for sure she was a goner!
October 18th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Money Penny says "London calling". There's Clash symbolism there.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Can’t say Don wasn’t warned.
Oh yeah. Next stop "Crazytown" on that train. Jeez Louise Don!
Also, new respect for Henry Francis for putting a stop to Betty's little game. For now anyway.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Like Aran, I think the washing machine has been trying to break up the Drapers since S1. The dryer is just an accomplice.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Do you think Betty knows the whole truth? Do you think she pieced the whole thing together? Also I think she's going to California in next week's episode to meet Anna Draper.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I'm SO glad they finally crossed the PC line and showed a fur stole on Bets!! No matter what they want to believe this was THE thing in the 60's!! I think Bets hair was tooo advanced for the 60's tho,but New York may have been ahead of the Midwest where I'm coming from!! And, Please , poor Matt Wiener, didn't anyone in his life EVER have a monagomous life?! My Dad was in management for a large earth moving manufacturing firm in the midwest of the 60's and he ALWAYS came home to my mother's bed!!!!
October 18th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Ummm, the sale of SC? I think I saw that coming. I speculated that PPL would want to divest, last week I think.
I don't think Suzy is crazy. Ok, crazy in love, maybe. But Don is right there with her. He gets to be Dick Whitman with her. He lives a Dick Whitman lifestyle in her presence. And if he wants to help her brother, who reminds me a lot of Adam, who's to blame him? Dick/Don has his light as well as dark side.
Yep, Betty finally knows the truth. Now, she knows that she is Dick's showpiece.
Betcha she's got some shock and awe in her arsenal that neither one of them didn't even know about.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Karl, the washer was foreplay. It was the dryer that brought her home:)
And I agree, #16, Riverdaughter, I don't think Suzanne is "crazy". But she is crazy needy. And the Fall of The Roman Empire is upon us. Not to mention, that she'll bore Don to tears were she anymore than a fantasy.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
2old, Betty has had a fur more than once in the past. Get over it.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Also, Julius Caesar turns up in this episode, for extra Roman Empire goodness.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Nah, I actually like teacher lady. She's more Don's speed than Betty, actually. She's more grounded. She's got a job she obviously loves. She's curious, wondering, forward thinking. I know people want to see her as a lunatic but I'm not at all surprised that he has fallen for her. And, yes, I think he is in love with her on some level. It's helped him at work too.
Sad but true, Betty fans. Of course, you can still cheer for Betty. She's on her own path to enlightenment.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
On the fur, Don wooed Betty by getting the fur she modeled when Don was working for the fur co. Roger even mentioned the fur co tonight.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
gee sorry Deblipp must have missed it why so militant?haha I'm 60!! give me a break may have missed what you are SO astute at!! HAHA
October 18th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I don't think that Suzanne is crazy. I think she is slightly flaky and a bit of a hypocrite. And she is ignoring her earlier doubts about Don and engaging in an affair with Don (or Dick) that might not end well.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Thanks Karl you have a much nsweeter answer for me than deblipp — HA I appreciate the kindness! Like I said I am 60 —give me a break!!HAHA
October 18th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
2old, I just hate the term "politically correct." It's so lazy.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
And what was the fur company–I didn't hear that–sorry 60 just makes you a little hard of hearing but I appreciate the passing on of the things I miss!!
October 18th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Yeah, and when has MM ever been PC?
Betty's final look reminded me quite a bit of Joan's face during the rape.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
I do think Don/Dick is falling in love with Suzanne. That's what makes it even more tragic.
And he thinks he's being so nice to Betty by telling her he wants to show her off at the party. Before she opened that desk drawer, that might have been exactly what she wanted to hear.
I looooove Peggy, btw.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
# 17 Aran Says:
October 18th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Karl, the washer was foreplay. It was the dryer that brought her home:)
Cracking up here. Best comment of the week.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
But Deb — honestly that's the only way I know to refer to anything–I'm not being mean–I'm just really dumb when it'comes to todays lingo–I reallly am 60–and just LOVE the series!!
October 18th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
2old,
Roger said that's where he found Don, but didn't name the company. However, both Betty and Don have referred to it in past episodes. Betty mentioned Don getting the fur. Don referred to starting out at the fur co in his Kodak Carousel pitch in "The Wheel."
October 18th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Did I mishear or did Roger say that Don was in night school when they met?
October 18th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Betty also wore a fur walking down the stairs on Valentine's Day last season.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Thank you Karl, I did Hear Rog mention the fur co but didn't see her wearing a fur till tonite– I'm definately the equilivant of the old broad riding in the limo with roger and his 2nd wives club wife!! ha
October 18th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Forgive me if this has been mentioned elsewhere and I missed it, but…is it just me or is there a little Kennedy/Camelot symbolism going on here? Great looking couple, husband is a serial cheater who holds a very important position, the couple has a little girl and a younger boy, baby boy is born in the summer of 1963, a trip to Europe where the wife is a glamorous hit, things look perfect on the surface but are, in truth, not so great, husband has spent a lifetime trying to deal with his father's expectations…
At this point it's kind of a foregone conclusion that Don is heading for something major…but if this symbolism holds true-wow…
October 18th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Lissie–Thanks I don't remember catching that I think I was Just enchanted by her dress–THANKS!! You must be younger (or smarter) with a good memory–can't wait to see the series on dvd to see what my old brain missed!! But really enjoy reliving (in a way) the sixties!! Thanks again Lissie
October 18th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
No problem. I probably know way more about this show that I should.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
#35 Does that mean baby Gene will die???
I've been expecting for a while that Betty will take the baby and leave Don. Wouldn't it be something if she goes to Henry Francis and he doesn't want her.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Lulu,
This season has had plenty of Kennedy parallels, including Joan with the bloody dress.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
OOOH Lula is astute!!(How old are you?) Very good ! I'm sure you hit the nail on the head with the comparison of the Kennedy's! Matt Weiner would be proud of you–no kidding!! It really matches up! But did Weiner ever really delve into the normal 60's or just what he read about or saw on television?!
October 18th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Lissie–you are a "cutie" and "Spunkie" to boot — I'm really an old lady from the 60's (I'm 60) and I really do appreciate someone who watches the series so carefully and is smart enough to comment on it!! I miss alot of symbolism! I just have my memory to rely on–you have a handle on the show THANKS!! I'm so dumb with the computer that I don't know how to make a smiley face but anyway "SMILEY FACE" haha
October 18th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I think Grey (sp?) is going to buy SC. Last time Duck tried to buy DD, he didn't have a contract – not a problem anymore. With lots of pricey clients, Grey can afford Don, Pete, and Peggy.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
2old2lie,
I was a second grader in 1963, which puts me in my 50's now. Glad to be one of the old ladies!
October 18th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
#42
I like what you're suggesting. If that happened it might put Rachel Menken back in the picture…. or get Peggy a promotion.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
@#42 Sarah …and anyone else
Would Grey have enough cash to buy SC. I got the impression they were B-class to Sterling-Cooper's A-class.
yes? no?
October 18th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Suzy is a nut job. All these contradictions? They lead up to one thing: she is unstable! And all the things she says to Don: “I don’t care about your marriage, job or anything as long as I know you are with me†(tonite) or " I don't care about the future. I went into this with my eyes open" (or something like that-next weeks preview) She will say those things but act differently. Because of the contradictions. Because she's crazy.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
# # 44 Carla Says:
#42
"I like what you’re suggesting. If that happened it might put Rachel Menken back in the picture…. or get Peggy a promotion."
Hey…and wouldn't the new owner also *own* Don's contract. Would wouldn't Duck do to get into that position? yowsa!
October 18th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Thanks, 2old, I think I'm one of the younger ones around here but I love talking with my parents and grandparents about the show. My grandparents would be around Don and Betty's ages, and my parents are maybe Bobby's age or a little younger. I was born in 1990.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
2old2lie: I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your age. Are you 60?
October 18th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
ackkk…damn~ the lack of text edit "What wouldn’t Duck do to get into that position? "
October 18th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
LOL @ Flossie!! I was thinking the same thing. Sheesh! I'm sure there are plenty of posters here who are 60 or older.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Oh my goodness! The "quickness" and the smarts of all of you amaze me (for real) I am 60 and while I LOVE the series I'm not quick or smart enough to catch all the symbolism and everything else that everybody else sees in the show!! Karl said something about the wash machine–all I could think of–was our pink Whirlpool combination washer/dryer from the sixties!! I never knew it could have sexual connotations!! But WOW what everyone catches that I miss really does amaze me– Weiner needs to read these blogs and see how much his fans really do read into this series and catch what he prdouces!! What a smart group of fans!! AND wait — SalllyB who was Grey I'm sorry I missed that— One more thing–I don't think Don's teach would not care about his wife/life etc–it just wasn't like that for us "girls" in the sixties–we really did have more proprieties! Ha (really)
October 18th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
#46
I don't think Suzanne is crazy. I think she's in this for money, and that she's done this many times before. I think what she told him on the train about his job and his family was a threat, and he's so ga ga over her that he completely missed it.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
My husband just cracked me up — I didn't think he watched the show tonight, but he meandered into the room and said, "Ya know there's another show about advertising in the 1960's. The lead male is brunette, has a blond wife, and one of the Ad agency owners has silver hair. There's even a redhead – sounds like a rip-off to me."
I paused…then realized he was talking about "Bewitched". HA!
Wow…if Betty had Samatha's powers, after opening Don/Darren's box of secrets…he'd be cast to the outer rim somewhere with Uncle Arthur.
(I always tended to root for Endora
October 18th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Jeremy–did you come from the east or west coast–the midwest girls weren't that smart in the sixties–so I'm interested in your geographical background–Peggy and Suzanne intrigue me because of the east coast background–noone in the midwest would have been that "cagey" or "been around the block" that many times to think about exhorting money! This is So interesting to me–having lived my life in a midwest bubble!
October 18th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Ya'll be nice to 2old. Her "I'm 60" every post reminds me of when my grandmother used to leave messages on my answering machine. She would say "This is for Joan at phone number xxx. Please tell her her grandmother is calling." Every time.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I wonder if Don convinces Connie to buy SC….as long as he gets to run it!
Maybe then he'd hire Joan back…just to piss off Roger!
Maybe Anna Draper can get Betty's mind right!
October 18th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I am no longer in love with Don Draper. And kudos to the writers for that. This season has opened my eyes completely, and Betty's and everyone else's too. The thing about him is that he has always been a charmer, and, like many of the products he hawks, we expect him to be better than he is. He's got heart, for sure, but he's very calculating. And it's high time Don realizes he can't get away with deceit. Sure, Betty's no picnic, but his lies outweigh her irascibility and inability to create an identity for herself which, from what I hear from women who came of age at that time, was the way things were then. For once, I am cheering for her. And Ms. Farrell: I am SO bored with her, and I think it's telling how Don projects so much onto her when she's no prize, either. She will wreck him.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
@ 54 SallyB- To add to this, the oldest child is a daughter who's blonde, and her younger brother has dark hair. (This doesn't work as well now that there are three Draper children.)
October 18th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
SallyB–Leave it to the men to have the best handle and comments on "whatever" In a nutshell–he's right! What goes around comes around!!Nothing new under the sun!! But, at least in Bewitched there were a few laughs!
October 18th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
2old, I'm from the midwest too. But I don't think it's fair to say the girls were less smart in the 60s… they just pretended they weren't.
I'm sure there were shrewd exceptions, like this seemingly mild-mannered school teacher.
October 18th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
My husband says Do doesn't love any of the women he cheats with; he gets them wrong every time. He thought Midge was into him, and it turns out she was in love with the beatnik. He thought Rachel would run away with him, and she looked at him in disgust, as if realizing for the first time that he didn't know who she was and what she was all about. And now he thinks Ms. Farrell hung the moon because she's some sweetness-and-light teacher when she's unstable and needy. In the meantime, he sells Betty short, and will be knocked off his feet by what she's capable of.
October 18th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
RetroGirl & 2old2lie — just one more thing and then I'll drop it —
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/190...
Imagine Don Draper in Darren's place. heheehehehe
ok. I'm done now.
October 18th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Jeremy–I KNOW there were an abundance of smart girls from the midwest(although I was not one!) But you are right we pretended ALOT for the sake of proprieties–but there were defininately exceptions–those were the ones that went on to college (MSU-UofM-IU etc) those were the ones that became the teachers that caught the "Dons" and the rest of us stayed home went to Jr colleges became secretaries and found the REAL catches!! I'm teasing — there are all kinds!! and YES I am that Grandma JOANvsJANE!! HA I just don't have any grandkids yet !! But I'm that dumb with Technology–but I'm happy–Ignorance is bliss!!!!
October 18th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
TO SJRW–Don's stress=lack of confidance=promiscuous SEX–makes it quite unappealing doesn't it?? A real man can handle the stress-Matt Weiner hasn't figured that out yet — but YOU did!!
October 18th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
SallyB–You made my night!! haha
October 18th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
When Betty dropped the box on the floor, stuff flew out. Betty hastily replaced the box.
I can imagine Don finding a picture or something on the floor that didn't make it back into the drawer.
This would set up a "he knows she knows."
(thanks for a great site!)
October 18th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
One more thing–Does anyone really have an answer as to why "Lois" the secretary is still there– NOONE that took a foot off with a lawn mower in the office place (just when he got his foot in THE door) would still be there–We worked for $1.50/hr in those days–we were easy to replace!!
October 18th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I'm not totally sold on Suz being a bunny boiler yet… Is she needy? Definetly. Crazy? Perhaps. Crazy to the point of doing something violent? Ehhh… I don't really think so.
But then again I didn't think Peggy was pregnant during season one either so I'm not exactly a prediction master!
October 18th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Do you guys think it was really Suzanne who called the house? even though she denied it?
I can imagine her calling and hearing Sally's voice and just panicking. I would understand her calling if she were still Sally's teacher. But since she doesn't care about Don's marriage? I don't know…
also, poor Sally when Betty almost ripped her apart after the empty phone call.
October 18th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
What if Suzanne had been lying about not caring? Or that she had not made that phone call?
October 18th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Watching Suzanne's face when she denied being the caller was less than convincing. I have my suspicions…
…But think of how many people it could be, if it indeed wasn't a wrong number.
October 18th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I love the way the Peggy-Kinsey subplot informs the main story arc. Specifically the tag-line worked up by Peggy and Don in his office near the end. Everything Betty finds in that box is permanent, like the telegram. It's not like a phone call from a stranger, unidentifiable if no one speaks.
You can't frame a telephone call, but you sure can put one around the deed to Anna Draper's home in California. Kaboom–there goes the marriage.
The Don-Kennedy parallel has another element that's worth thinking about. In the first season, Don's parallel was not Kennedy, but in fact Nixon. (Kennedy vs. Nixon).
As an aside about the telephone call, and this goes back to the episode where Kinsey and others prank call Peggy, it's interesting to think about how prank calls no longer exist. There are way too many ways of tracking. Caller ID put an end to anonymous phone calls, especially pranks from people calling themselves "Amanda Hugandkiss"
October 18th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
It wasn't clear to me from the show whether or not Betty is clear on Dick and Don and who is who. The evidence (besides the picture which only shows a first name) shows some ambiguity. There are two sets of dog tags as well. Perhaps she thinks "Don" divorced this woman in Long Beach, but still owns the home there.
Anyway, I love Don's ways. I hope he continues to get away with everything, despite the mounting evidence that he might not.
Here's to the old boys' club. RIP.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:19 am
@#63,
SallyB, you made my night! I had SUCH a crush on Elizabeth Montgomery…thanks for that visual!
October 19th, 2009 at 2:38 am
I was expecting Betty to *69 the phone call…I don’t know when *69 came into play, though…maybe the 80s?
October 19th, 2009 at 3:20 am
I loved that Betty found the Adam box! It reminded me of how excited I was when Pete stole the Adam box from Don’s office in S1. Just knowing how it’s all about to kick off. Betty has been playing on a loop for a long time, but I want to see how she deals with this.
Personally though, I didn’t find this episode very exciting. Miss Farrell better turn out to be a psycho, because the Don/Farrell affair is so mind-numbingly boring to watch, it’s untrue. Kinsey and Lane’s scenes were the highlight for me. These characters are so underrated. I find them so much more entertaining than the Drapers.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:26 am
#83: Mrs. Price was definitely wearing a blue suit, plus blue pearls, blue earrings and a blue hat when she stopped by the office.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:34 am
A legal lecture. It is not illegal in USA to use a name other than your legal one. It is only illegal to do so fraudulently. Don is not using Don Draper's name to defraud anyone. The only possible fraud victim would be Anna and he has taken care of her, damage control and I think he cares about her.
It is illegal, I think, to leave your military duty. AWOL? Desertion? But Don/Dick really was injured in Korea. The Army thought 'Don/Dick' deserved a slightly earlier discharge because of his injury but Don-the-injured was an officer according to the Army. It is possible that the ARmy would have kept Don in Korea if he had been wounded as Dick. But now that Don/Dick is wealthy, he can hire a top lawyer and probably negotiate his way out of the AWOL thing. At worst, he'd do alittle time and still have money to rebuild his life when he gets out. He would have lost SC and Betty and the kids but he would still have money to rebuild his life.
It might be awful, the possible scandal. . . but passing as Don Draper is not really a crime. He earns his paychecks, he has earned his wealth, he does the work at SC.
The only'crime' was going awol. The potential scandal, yes, is bigger. . . but scandal is not criminal.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:36 am
An interesting comment in a review about Mary McCarthys The Group:
"There’s a fascinating subtext running all the way through, questioning the usefulness of educating women when the life ahead is still devoted to domesticity."
It's just a matter of time before Betty moves on to Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Don is in love with Suzanne. I can tell. If he wasn’t in love with her, he would have told her to sit somewhere else, and her “I only want to be with you” statement would have freaked him out. (And she blew off class to get on the train with him? Cue Twilight Zone theme…) This is not some sex-only affair. And both of them are getting sloppy. Poor Sally.
And Betty! Leave it to MM to set up a showdown and then have Betty sit on her knowledge for the rest of the episode, and maybe the next one, too? She looked like she wanted to puke during that awards ceremony, and little does she know that the “divorce” from Anna is really the least of her problems. Knowing your husband is a lying cheater is one thing, but knowing he’s an identity thief, an actual criminal?
But oh boy do I want to see Betty go to Long Beach and track down Anna. Anna is so likable, even Betty would have to like her.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:45 am
I agree, falafel. This season has way too much retread of the Draper marriage and boring affairs and not enough Sterling Cooper hijinx. Peggy burping into her mic and “Does Mona know?” were the highlights for me.
There are so many intriguing ideas and characters they’ve just left lying around while we obsess on Don’s same old boring behavior. I mean what was the point of PPL – how can the Brits just leave before the Beatles arrive in the states? How can MW have wasted such a delicious character as Moneypenny? How come Ken still doesn’t have a backstory? Was Peggy’s dalliance with Duck just a one night stand? Is the Ken/Pete war just a red herring? Are they ever going to flesh out Carla and Hollis, or at least introduce one AA character that is like a real human being? I know, let’s make Pete rape someone and then don’t have him on for 3 episodes! Let’s write out Sal and push Joan out to the side, nobody cares about them! And why don’t we make Roger into a sullen crank and give all the funny lines to his mom! Brilliant!
Everything! Happens! hrmph!
/rant
October 19th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Interesting that AMC started rerunning “Fatal Attraction” right about the time Don started sleeping with Suzanne…
I’m not calling Suze a bunny boiler, but she definitely has boundary issues, and strikes me as a little unstable. She’s stalking him on the train because he didn’t call her? Hello? Part-time lover. You play second base. You don’t get the phone calls, the day-time hours, the public persona or the holidays.
She’s done this before (or at least, she’s implied that she’s done this before), so she should know better. We know Don handles his business in the sack, and apparently his skill makes thinking women lose their minds, but surely Crepe Suzette knows there are things she cannot do with him.
And OMG, Don! What is wrong with Don? I think he wants to get caught.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:11 am
I mean what was the point of PPL – how can the Brits just leave before the Beatles arrive in the states?
It signals the change in the way corporations do business. Mergers and Acquisitions as “Business Development.” Profits by any means necessary; products, sales, services, customers are a thing of the past…
The same is true today.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:16 am
Looks like Betty wised up…hopefully. Re: keeping the info she knows to herself, I go to Kenny Rogers: “You gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em…”
October 19th, 2009 at 4:20 am
anyone else notice the apple thing, it might be in the Open Thread, I haven't visited that yet.
the ep opens with Betty mentioning the apples are not good at the supermarket, Carla agrees to pick some up at a farm. Paul gets an apple out of someone's lunch bag in the refrigerator. There is an apple on Henry's desk. Earlier Betty and Henry have apple pie at the ice cream place.
Apple for the teacher?
I think the teacher is a bit touched. She did make the phone call. She wants to have complete control over Don, and Don doesn't want to be controlled. Her brother knows she is controlling and wants to escape from her.
I like the idea that someone mentioned about the teacher is playing Don for the money. That is feasible.
good show – love the comments – now must go back to real life. Next week should be great as well.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Wow! What an amazing episode. And leave it to MW and MM to drag me right back in even after I was so mad at Sal's firing last week. Some semi-random observations:
Betty and the desk – that was huge, and apparently I'm the only one who saw a sense of strength in Betty when she put the box back in the desk and didn't confront Don? I am sure a confrontation is coming, but to me Betty finally came to realize what a fantasy her marriage really is, how much she simply does not know about Don and how much of him is real. She knows he doesn't understand what she is going through (the "What's wrong?!" comment on the phone was really telling), but also knows that she has a role to play in their marriage and she played it to the hilt.
I didn't notice the use of blue in the episode, but I did see a very calculated reference to the Rome outfit in what Betty had on for the SC 40th party. It's as if she consciously evoked that moment when she had power, when she was a partner with Don in impressing Connie, and she has to do it again. We've all discussed how important impressions are to Betty and she did her "the beautiful Mrs. Don Draper" thing to utter perfection. The difference is she now knows it's all an act.
Like Carla @14, I don't think Betty has a totally clear picture of Don's past – only that it exists and it is very different from anything she might have considered (from S1 we've known she was fascinated by the past he never talks about). She seemed to focus so much on the divorce decree (aside, if it had the date of the original Draper marriage on it – which would have happened when Don was a young teen, that might give Betty some pause), which still has the Draper name on it. It took Pete some digging to uncover the full truth about Don/Dick, so it is likely all the evidence she needs is not in the box. It is not impossible that someone named Donald might have a nickname "Dick" in their youth, so the name on the pictures wouldn't necessarily scream "falsified identity."
What I have always loved about MM is that it has not taken the easy route with plot devices like Don's real identity – if it were a standard drama, the show could have been consumed by "Don might get found out!" plotlines that would be really tedious really quickly. Instead Don's identity change has been used to explore his personality and what living a dual life has done to him (and I think it accounts for a lot of his own instability – part of the reason he is attracted to Miss Farrell) and now it's being used as another piece in Betty's realization that her life is slowly killing her. She has so little control and so little power that she doesn't even know the truth about her husband – she really is the housecat in many ways. And I loved that always-rich Betty didn't even seem to notice the piles of cash in the drawer (what is up with that?!) – she went right for the really valuable stuff.
As for Don and Miss Farrell – I find them tedious, because it is yet another Don/random dark-haired eccentric beauty (see Midge, Rachel and Bobbie) relationship, but I thought her brother's introduction changed things. I don't see her as crazy any longer, but someone who had her own stress in her past, taking care of her brother. I think that goes a long way to explaining her eccentricities and what I see is her love for the affair, not necessarily Don. She may just be another excitement junkie, like Don.
Finally, the Peggy/Kinsey plot line – what a dick he was! I loved how the end only proved what Peggy said when she asked for a raise – she's better than Kinsey. Like Don she only needs that one spark, that one small throw-away line from someone else, to finish an idea that is percolating in her sub-conscious. I also loved the idea of the three creatives all commiserating over the lost idea "I hate when that happens" indeed.
All in all a great episode and a great appetizer for the remaining episodes.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:36 am
@ falafel – once again, we agree
I find it sad that we're getting insights into Suzanne and her brother (who I couldn't be less interested in), but we haven't seen Joan in several episodes and Pete had like 2 seconds of screen time at the end. At least we had Peggy and Paul this episode. And like other posters, I too am wondering what the point was of the British buying SC this season if they're only looking to sell it again? Did MW just feel like the British plotline wasn't that juicy? Pryce and Moneypenny are excellent characters – if MW had stuck with developing them a bit more (as opposed to introducing a crazy teacher) the British ownership storyline would have been much better. I think I've figured out my big issue with this season – each episode, on its own, is generally very good or excellent (maybe with the exceptions of 2 and 4 – but I wasn't really into the Grandpa Gene plot either). The problem is, more than the past two seasons, significant things happen and then aren't resolved for 3 or 4 (or ever) episodes and storylines from LAST season haven't been dealt with in an adequately important way. I felt like past seasons had more continuity between episodes than this season does. The only thing continuous about it is the amount of time we spend with Betty and her kids.
@ Deborah – I wouldn't say that "everything" happens in this episode and I stand by earlier comments that this season has been way too Draper family-focused. I don't see why we needed the amount of Betty screen time that we've been exposed to in order to make her opening the drawer a big moment. Of course, it was a HUGE moment and her character's facial expressions at the party right when the episode cuts were excellent. That said, the moment felt like a precursor to an episode (say 12 or 13) where everything happens. Even more than Betty, the teacher looks like she'll be trouble for Don.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:40 am
yikes, apple, just got something, Eve was tempted by the apple. Forbidden fruit – is so sweet at first.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:44 am
Pamela, *69 wasn't around until the '90s.
tizzie, Don defrauded the army. He switched dog tags in order to be sent home; Don Draper was about to go home and Dick Whitman had just arrived.
river, Betty's evening gown was blue.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:46 am
OMG! I just realized what has been keeping me up all night about that episode. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Betty’s dress in the last couple of scenes. It looks like she’s wearing camouflage. And now it hits me: there was no blue in the entire episode. It looks like everything that might have been blue was greyed out . Wait, maybe Mrs. Pryce was wearing blue. I can’t remember. I have to watch it again.
One other thing about blue. It’s the color of trust.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:57 am
blue in the show – Don's robe is blue, Lane's wife decked out in blue, Betty is wearing blue/grayish dress, Don's cadillac is blue.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:02 am
riverdaughter, I think Allison was wearing a blue dress at one point. But there’s no blue in teacher Farrell’s apartment, for sure.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:17 am
This episode (and the wonderful discussion forum here!) made me think about how SC needs to bring some new clients whose products won't be obsolete in a few years — Aqua Net and Western Union both represent mature industries. Great slogans will only go so far when your core business is pushed aside by new tastes (long, loose hair) and clear technological innovation (falling long distance rates, better phone connections). The two tag lines in this episode deny the basic problem facing with their products: A "spontaneous" young wouldn't even take the time to set and spray her hair, and the ability to preserve/frame a telegram overlooks the obvious benefit of two-way, real time communication (does anyone frame their e-mail these days?! the same battle is being played out today with IM/chat vs traditional e-mail — e-mail will soon seem as quaint as telegrams).
October 19th, 2009 at 5:28 am
Something Betty learned recently: When you don't have power, you delay.
We haven't seen the last of Suzanne's brother. Whatever happens to her when the relationship with Don comes apart, he and Don will meet again, and I predict one of them will be armed.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:38 am
…I can't believe I was one verb away from getting that fictional award.
HELL'S BELLS, TRUDY!
October 19th, 2009 at 5:41 am
#96 Jan actually Western Union is still going strong. But they've moved away from telegrams and into money wiring. And Aqua Net has the 80's coming!
October 19th, 2009 at 5:50 am
From SallyS: "The only thing continuous about it is the amount of time we spend with Betty and her kids. "
Which is slowly strangling the show–just as living that life is slowly strangling Betty and she's inflicting her unhappiness and sense of being trapped on the kids.
If Weiner is trying to illustrate what led to "Diary of a Mad Housewife" he's doing a good job, but I agree the Betty-centered episodes are hard to watch. They are tedious and give the show a feeling of smallness. Which is what that life is, but it doesn't make for gripping drama other than wondering WHEN she's going to crack and get a prescription for Mother's Little Helper.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:53 am
@89 I haven't read The Group (and I'm obsessed with the books of Mad Men), but from the Amazon review alone, you can see the similarities to Betty's life.
"Mary McCarthy's The Group is a sharply-pointed satire of upper-class New England society which follows the post-college lives of eight Vassar graduates, class of '33. Helena was registered for Vassar at birth; Pokey forged her mother's signature on her college application in defiance of the family tradition of "being dim-witted and vain of it." Out in the "real" world, Dottie loses her virginity to a "bad sort" but discovers that she enjoys sex, while Kay subsumes her own talent to the artistic "genius" of her egocentric and philandering husband. Libby writes book reviews that are almost as long as the original material and Polly works as a nurse, while Priss is forced by her pediatrician-husband to go against "tradition" and her inclinations and breastfeed her baby, as proof of his theories. Elinor "Lakey" Eastlake, the sleek, rich leader of the group, travels about Europe and ultimately returns, full of surprises. Adopting the non-stop, generally well-intentioned, but hopelessly narrow-minded voice that typifies the worst of the group, Mary McCarthy filets Ivy League society, socialism, 1930s child-rearing practices, sexual double-standards, psychoanalysis, and men in general."
October 19th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Re: Don/Dick's army stint.
If Don/Dick is found out he could face a strict penalty. Not only is he a war-time deserter, but he's also doing it under the guise of being an officer. He could be executed for that — even after all those years.
Today, we may not think desertion warrants that kind of punishment, but back then the ramifications were severe. It'd certainly make him a social pariah.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Some random thoughts on a great episode:
1) Last week I wasn't so sure Don was in love with Suzanne — it just looked like desperation to me. But after this week, I think he is falling in love with her. Have we ever seen so much intimacy (not just sexual intimacy, but emotional intimacy) with any other woman? What we don't really know is whether suzanne is falling in love with Don, or whether this is the continuation of a pattern from her past. We can surmise she's had affairs with married men which have turned out badly, but was she in love with them the way she apparently is with Don? I don't think we know enough about her past to know that.
Them falling in love makes the inevitable trainwreck their affair will cause all the more tragic.
2) I felt some anguish for Don when he attempts to do the right thing for Suzanne's brother. Obviously (he even said it out loud) he's trying so hard to right the wrong of his rejection of Adam and Adam's subsequent suicide. He's struggling so hard to do the right thing inside of a situation that is so wrong wrong wrong. This can't end well for him either.
3) I thought making the SC anniversary party in essence a tribute to the wonderfulness of Donald F Draper a little contrived (wouldn't it be a tribute to the success of the company overall, and more focused on Cooper and Sterling?) but by golly, it was painful to watch Don pushed to such heights of supreme glory and power knowing only how far down he is going to fall.
4) Don sure gets his creative mojo back and treats his staff a lot better when he's getting some on the side, isn't he?
5) How great is Alison? Don should give her a raise whenever she asks.
6) Peggy Peggy Peggy- I looooove you! So empathetic and kind. And the only one in the whole show who seems to know the value of telling the truth – only the truth can set you free.
7) I literally jumped out of my seat when Betty put that bathrobe in the laundry basket. HERE WE GO!!!! DO IT BETTY, DO IT!!! Truly, a washer and dryer can be a housewife's best friend, right? The Clorox people must be loving this.
I loved the theme of everyone seeing things differently.
I'll shut up now, and wait for all the amazing insights from the rest of you.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Yes, The Group has thematic relevance.
But it was also A Hot Bestseller in 1963. (I had to wait for the paperback version.)
October 19th, 2009 at 6:07 am
#100 Surly Temple [i]If Weiner is trying to illustrate what led to “Diary of a Mad Housewife†he’s doing a good job, but I agree the Betty-centered episodes are hard to watch. They are tedious and give the show a feeling of smallness. Which is what that life is, but it doesn’t make for gripping drama other than wondering WHEN she’s going to crack and get a prescription for Mother’s Little Helper.[<i]
I don't think that's what MW is trying to show at all. I think he's doing two things. He's growing up Betty (just as last year he did Peggy) and giving her a new direction. And, just as the takeover of SC by PPL, changed Don's work power base, the implications of what's happening when his marriage implodes and he finds out Betty knows his secret, is going to be HUGE. For all Don's little forays back into Dick Whitman, the fact is he likes the trappings of Don Draper. He may like the simpleton teacher in the dark confined over the garage, but she'd never translate at that awards ceremony. Don liked being the center of attention and adored there. He likes being the power broker at work. What will happen when his "perfect" home life is exposed for the sham that it is and Betty knows the truth?
October 19th, 2009 at 6:26 am
#97, great connection with the delay/power thing!
#102, hull, you're right, I forgot about the impersonating an officer thing. VERY serious.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:35 am
#103 Gypsy
Not buying the Don/Suzanne "in love" thing … not that the show isn't trying to sell it, but I'm not buying it. First of all, they don't even know each other. And they're only together in the dark and in hiding. It's like a vacation romance, which rarely translates in the real world. And if Betty's neediness irritates Don, can you imagine what the teacher expects??? Don may like these little escapes, but he was eating up being the center of attention at the celebration as well.
Would Don really be happy with the frumpy but sweet school teacher the rest of his life watching Betty and his children with another husband and father?
October 19th, 2009 at 6:38 am
Whooo-wheee!!! What an episode. I could not believe how controlled Betty was despite all that she found out. Just like someone else said, I thought Betty was going to say something in the middle of the dinner. She was so cool calm and collective. Being "Nordic" and raised to be stoic has its advantages. I was dreading/excited for Don to get home and get what for from Betty. It's like I want him to get in trouble and not get in trouble all at the same time. Wow
And I was really impressed at how nice Peggy was to Kinsey after he had his brat-attack. He is so pompous. Maybe he'll be a little nicer to her, or get crazier with envy.
I cracked up in the scene with Roger, Jane and Mamma in the limo. HYSTERICAL!!
October 19th, 2009 at 6:48 am
It is illegal, I think, to leave your military duty. AWOL? Desertion? But Don/Dick really was injured in Korea. The Army thought ‘Don/Dick’ deserved a slightly earlier discharge because of his injury but Don-the-injured was an officer according to the Army. It is possible that the ARmy would have kept Don in Korea if he had been wounded as Dick. But now that Don/Dick is wealthy, he can hire a top lawyer and probably negotiate his way out of the AWOL thing. At worst, he’d do alittle time and still have money to rebuild his life when he gets out. He would have lost SC and Betty and the kids but he would still have money to rebuild his life.
I realize it's not illegal to assume a name that is not originally yours. But isn't it illegal not only to desert from the military, but to do so while impersonating an officer?
October 19th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Another Kennedy parallel: Suzy is Don's Marilyn Monroe. I predict a bad ending for Suzy. C'mon the foreshadowing has been overwhelming all season. Last night was October 1963. Kennedy was killed in November. It's the pivotal end to the innocent early 60's. Next year the Beatles show up and change everything!
October 19th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Last night I said to my husband that I thought Don subconsciously wanted to be found out. MW says on his "inside season 3" comments that he wants to be free of his double identity. Don says to Suzanne that he doesn't care about his marriage, job, etc. (and Suzanne parrots it back to him in this episode). He's obviously careless about this affair — forwarding his service to Suzanne's apt., leaving his car out front, holding hands on the train. He leaves the "keys to the truth" where they can be found.
Peggy sums it up in her advice to Paul (though I'm paraphrasing): "Tell the truth, don't worry about the consequences. People respect that."
October 19th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Let’s try to avoid intellectual generalizations based on regions. Gloria Steinem is from Toledo, and the last time I checked, that is the Midwest. Likewise, anyone from Ann Arbor, Madison or Columbus is going to challenge you to Jeopardy and most likely win.
I cannot wait for the Betty versus Anna confrontation. Anna will try to give Betty a Tarot reading. Betty will order her out of the house. Then she’ll walk to the market, grab a hot rodder and have mad sex on the garage floor, fantasizing about Henry.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:16 am
One thing on Don and the fur trade: in New York, furriers were and probably are generally Jewish, and specifically Russian Jews; even the department store fur departments were franchised by the major furriers. I'm puzzled about how Don, clearly not Jewish, and back then a recent arrival in New York, got hired at a top furrier (it would have to be in order to have the Sterlings as a client and to be providing furs for fashion shoots).
Also, Don never brought it up when he was negotiating with Rachel, and if he had a connection in the Jewish retail world, you'd think he would have mentioned it. Love to see Matt tell us more about this, because that would connect us to Betty, too.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:17 am
p.s. if you want a good deal on a coat, I know a couple places to send you…
October 19th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Now I understand why some had been referring to Suzanne as "bunny boiler". I thought it was some 60's term. DUH! Fatal Attraction, indeed!
Good episode. My heart was in my throat when Betty opened that drawer. And it sank down to my stomach when she put it all back.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:25 am
I was quite surprised to see the deed to Anna Draper’s house in Don’s locked drawer. That means that the house is in his name. Why wouldn’t Anna hold the deed? That is an odd detail.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:36 am
#111, Brenda, Teddy was Greek.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Loved Betty's look at Don at the banquet. She's realized her "problem that has no name" has morphed into a problem that has two names!
Reminded me of the look of a politician's wronged spouse at a press conference.
Betty is delaying until she has some power. Does her inheritance give her that? Or is that already community property? (did community property divorce law exist in NY at the time?) Maybe that is what next week's meeting with her brother is about. Can she somehow transfer inheritance to him (temporarily) so she can go through with leaving Don and then live on her inheritance?
October 19th, 2009 at 7:42 am
# 79 Donny Brook:
There are so many intriguing ideas and characters they’ve just left lying around while we obsess on Don’s same old boring behavior. I mean what was the point of PPL – how can the Brits just leave before the Beatles arrive in the states? How can MW have wasted such a delicious character as Moneypenny? How come Ken still doesn’t have a backstory? Was Peggy’s dalliance with Duck just a one night stand? Is the Ken/Pete war just a red herring? Are they ever going to flesh out Carla and Hollis, or at least introduce one AA character that is like a real human being? I know, let’s make Pete rape someone and then don’t have him on for 3 episodes! Let’s write out Sal and push Joan out to the side, nobody cares about them!
I think Donny Brook's questions bear repeating, simply because I'm wondering the exact same things. I was okay with this season until the last few episodes, when I realized the most fascinating story lines keep getting dropped, and the boring ones — more Betty depression, more Don philandering — keep getting the most screen time.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Did we discuss Achilles – best looking hero of the Trojan War, at times consumed by rage? Would the box Betty found be Don's Achilles heel?
I meant to post this here: The Massachusetts state prison for women is in Framingham (opened in the 19th century). Foreshadowing, red herring, or coincidence? Suzy and her brother remind me of the grifters. Uh oh.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Yes, this episode was QUITE the one! I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds!
On Suzanne — For everyone wondering why Don is drawn to Ms. Ferrall, I think we got our answer in the "I would've loved to have known you when you were eight" exchange. "I know I would've liked you," he says. This is some belated youth nurturing, obviously put fourth in a misguided way. And, while it's a little twisted to pair these things, that joyful "I want to scream" is the first time I've ever recognized her sex appeal, even though I share people's initial annoyance that this turned out to be a sexual thing.
Oh, does anyone know what music was playing in the first scene at their apartment? I didn't recognize it, but it sounded different than anything we've heard so far and HAS to be significant in some way, given all the team does with music.
Betty's face at the party — every time the word "Partner" "Husband" "Father" "Friend" — she took the quotes off of "twisting the knife" and gave it back its visceral, horrific meaning. She will choose JUST the right moment to transform from a housecat into a tiger.
My friend brought up a good point about the Don/Suzanne's brother exchange: "Won't she call the place up to check on her brother?" Of course she will. Selfless acts are so completely foreign to Don it's as though the rest of him shuts off when he gets that part of his brain working. Ironic that all his lifeshaking secrets only opened because Don was (finally?) being an attentive father, caring for his new son.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Ironic that all his lifeshaking secrets only opened because Don was (finally?) being an attentive father, caring for his new son.
Aside from one scene in "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" in order to deal with Sally's problems with baby Gene, I don't recall seeing Don being an attentive and caring father to his newborn.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Someone brought up the fact that a "Don on his game" would have never left the keys in the robe, with or without a crying baby. That's one interpretation, that he was too frazzled to remember the keys, but I saw the scene as him actually putting baby Gene before himself. We didn't see the follow-up scene, but I assume he comforted him enough to stop the crying.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:20 am
@ Sarah M – I'll have to watch it again, but the way I read it the first time was that Don is concerned that the baby's crying has awakened Betty, and she might catch him in the study with his stash of secrets.
I think Betty can figure out plenty, not all, but plenty from the Whitman Sampler box (love whoever thought that one up!). She had several hours alone with that box to look at everything inside, including stuff we've never seen, and piece it all together.
The photos of him & Adam are of Dick as a fairly mature young man (maybe 18 or so?) so I don't think it's a stretch that Betty will recognize him as Don, and we know it's labelled "Dick & Adam." As we've seen from past episodes, at least one of the photos says Archie and Abigail Whitman, and again it's not too much of a stretch that the other photos, which I don't think we've ever really seen much of but we know they are there, show some combination of Dick, Adam, Archie and Abigail, and maybe Uncle Mack. Plus there are the two sets of dog tags, with both names. Why would Don have that?
I wish I could remember what piece of evidence he burned last season. Was it a photo? Or was it the letter from Adam? Either way:
Betty might not put ALL the pieces together (I'm sure she hasn't figured out what exactly happened in Korea and how the name change took place), but she's got enough of a picture to know that:
A) Don was married before to someone named Anna
B) he owns a house in Long Beach (I thought it was san pedro, but whatever) ,
and
C) he has a previous identity of some sort.
In short, it's all a lie. Every stinking bit of it.
My jaw was just hung open when Don called her from the office and told her to get ready for the party. His whole speech to her about needing her to be the glamorous beautiful Betty Draper was soooooooo gutwrenching to watch — Betty realizing for the first time how truly empty her life was with him and exactly what her value was in this relationship, and he being so completely oblivious to how his little pep talk was being received.
Jeez Louise, what an episode.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:26 am
First of all, I am really enjoying reading all the comments in the thread and, in fact, recommended this website to old friends we hadn't seen in five years who confessed over dinner last night their shared obsession with "Mad Men."
I am most fascinated with LuLu's observation about the Kennedy/Camelot parallels. I agree with that angle.
I think this helps explain Don's entreaties to Betty that he be allowed to return home after their split last season, only to immediately get right back up to his old tricks, but with the spectre of an even more explosive and much more public and devastating fall-out this time if this most recent affair is discovered. In fact, as has been suggested here, it seems that Don is actively courting discovery, despite the threat of exposure and the fact that it will be far more demeaning to Betty — and also to Sally, whom he does seem to love and want to protect — if this affair is discovered. He has jumped in with both feet and doesn't count the cost.
What this would do to Sally in particular seems far from his mind and that surprises me from this character, even if he isn't concerned about Betty and severely underestimates her at this point (because she already took him back once, right?). I also think he is not at all focused on the grave risk to himself (and I am not even sure he appreciates the risk and what it could mean to his career now that he is under contract, and the knives are out and aimed at his back at SC, such that he has no allies and is losing his "Golden Boy" status).
Meanwhile, discovery will be inevitable if he keeps showing up at Suzanne's door, standing outside on her porch for far too long and holding hands on a commuter train where colleagues, competitors and personal acquaintances on their way to work can see them. I would have thought Don Draper would be put off by her impulsiveness and this act of taking control. In fact, I think he was really annoyed with her at first, when he crisply asked her without looking at her whether she called his home the evening before. For a moment I hoped that she was about to get the "Don Draper Treatment" but she was smart enough to deny it — even though I think she was lying, especially since she brought up the fact that he hadn't called.
I also find it symbolic that Suzanne gets off the train before Don reaches the city where his life and persona as Don Draper will take over. The posters who say that Ms. Farrell wouldn't play well to that audience are correct. She couldn't — and probably wouldn't agree to — glam up and pitch Heineken as adorably and innocently as Betty did when hosting Don's clients.
Also, like many of the folks here I think Don is entranced and starry-eyed with Suzanne (as much as I hate to admit it) because he views her as innocent and pure. The dissonance between his rosy view of her (even as she eagerly and quickly launched into an extramarital affair — not for the first time by her own admission — with the married father of one of her students) and his own status as a serial adulterer is obvious. What perhaps troubles me most about Suzy is what I view as self-righteousness and also contrivance. She seems judgmental of others (perched in her house of glass) — indeed, most of her nuttiness stems from the fact she has at times appeared to judge Don rather harshly despite her obvious attraction to him. Yet she seemed proud of her affair with Don when introducing him to her brother, as though the introduction legitimizes or seals their newly formed relationship. Greeting him at the door with the star on her face sickened me a bit, moreso when he played into it like a sap. Yeesh!
October 19th, 2009 at 9:27 am
#120: Sarah, the music you heard in Suzanne's apartment was "Dominque" which was a big hit on Top 40 radio at the time by the so-called "Singing Nun." Don't remember her real name, but she was a Belgian nun, who sang folk and religious songs in French, accompanying herself on the guitar. I think it's just the kind of music Suzanne, with her aura of homegrown simplicity (or "purity" as Don put it last week), would be listening to. Since I'm in the "Bad News on Wheels/Grifters" BOK camp, especially since the brother showed up, its sweet, wholesome quality seems jarringly wrong.
For what it's worth, in this episode about perception vs. reality, "The Color Blue" to me means "Code Blue." Lastseason we were merely "meditating "in the emergency at hand. We're now at the sage where it's rapidly escalating into a full-blown crisis and the time for meditating has passed and the season of taking action is about to begin.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:33 am
SFCaramia, I'm losing track of the threads, but you're on the grifters track too? Tell me more…
I can't decide. I'm afraid to think it's true.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:39 am
#124: Sandy, was typing in my post, so I didn't have a chance to read yours, but you hit the nail on the head about Suzanne and why the choice of The Singing Nun music is so jarring to me. And part of the reason I never really liked the whole Singing Nun idea to begin with (after I'd had a chance to grow up a little bit, I was only 9 when she was in her heyday) is that it was to disconcerting a mix between a "pure," presumably humble and anti-commercial singer, and the huge commercial music machine that got her airplay on Top 40 stations. It just made me doubt her sincerity–the same way I feel about Suzanne.
God, do I miss Rachel. I knew it wasn't meant to be between her and Don, but seeing him so misguided with Suzanne is painful to watch.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Sandy & SFCaramia- I was just reading the wiki about the Singing Nun ( I remember that song was everywhere on the air back then. You couldn't turn on a radio and not hear it). The wiki entry says that Soeur Sourire broke with some of the teachings of the church and became "an advocate of birth control." Oh lord, I HOPE so! But if Suzanne gets pregnant, I hope she seriously considers that doctor in Albany Francine knows about.
Yikes!
October 19th, 2009 at 9:55 am
#92. Erm, can I say…WORD? Big fat word.
I agree that there won't be an episode when "everything happens" again until balance is restored and major characters like Peggy, Pete and Joan have significant roles. I don't want Mad Men to be reduced to 'The Don & Betty show' when it can be so much more. Don and Betty cannot carry the show. That is not a criticism of those characters/actors – I just don't think the show is giving due credit to the other actors/characters and how badly they are needed to give the story balance. You can't remove a great character like Joan for X amount of episodes and say that the show is still just as good. The consequence of getting rid of those great characters is that the show becomes less enjoyable and less diverse. It has become a huge weakness in S3. HUGE.
I can't even see myself joining with MM discussions for much longer if this keeps up. I'm sick of talking about Don. I need to find a MM forum for Pete/Peggy and Pryce/Hooker fangirling!
October 19th, 2009 at 10:12 am
One other Kennedy tie-in. The last thing JFK did before the drive through Dallas was a breakfast/speech in fort worth, where after a string of accolades, and with his glamorous wife in attendance he gave a speech. The staging of the SC party scene was quite close; with roger Sterling as LBJ perhaps.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:12 am
@ 79 Donny Brook-It looks like you're going to get your wish next week. The scenes from the next episode showed Ken with what looked like his parents. I want to know more about Ken's backstory too
@ 88 tizzie.lish-I'm getting this information from "M*A*SH," so you can tell I'm not a military expert, but according to one episode, after 90 days AWOL becomes desertion.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:27 am
I like the ensemble too. My personal favorite is Pete. I can't get enough of him. But on the bright side, maybe all the screen time for January Jones will snag her a much deaward or two.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:27 am
"deserved award"
October 19th, 2009 at 10:36 am
RetroGirl, you are right about 90 days being AWOL or as some branches call it Unauthorized Absence (UA). I used to work for the military and that is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)
@ Paul, you are absolutely right! I was watching the 24 hours that changed the world thing on JFK that the History Channel was showing and they showed a clip from Ft Worth and you are right it looked eerily like the Sterling Cooper Banquet.
So did anyone else kinda wanna slap Mrs. "Snooty" Price for being such a sap? And what about the famed English "stiff upper lip"? I know hardly anyone in the UK says that anymore
but then it was still used. I was suprised at how tender Lane was with her and really wanted for him to snap her out of her pity-party and say something like "See here, woman, PPL almost sent me to India a few months ago and might still send me there still after SC gets sold, so pull yourself together !" I guess she is just homesick but somehow I think she'll miss NYC and all the luxuries of America when she is sitting in Bombay. Either that or she'll refuse and make him go alone. I think though that he really wants to stay and enjoys the greater freedom and less hidebound class structure in the States. I wonder if he decides to stay after the sale of SC if she'll stay too or leave him and go back home.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Wow, gypsy Howell, you now have me all worried about a pregnancy — talk about explosive! Back then everyone would know about it because the unmarried Suzanne would lose her job if anyone at the school finds out.
The "grifters" theorists are probably onto something. After all, why did she ask Don what the place in Bedford was like, but then slap him down when he described it? I also worry about Don having given him his card.
And, yeah, what is UP with the call forwarding to Suzanne's house?! What happens when and if Betty calls for him one of these nights?
I love this site — it frees the frustrated former English major- turned-lawyer in me as we all try to interpret every word and music choice.
I do agree with falafel, though, that this is such an amazing ensemble cast that it would be more to see more of them and learn what makes them tick. I miss Joan!!
October 19th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Sorry — I meant "more fun and interesting"
October 19th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I like that Suzanne is a complex character — innocent but dangerous, compassionate but needy, forward-thinking…yet earthy and almost old-fashioned (baking date-nut bread and listening to "Dominique"). But I also feel like the whole relationship between her and Don was rushed, and I don't like it. It feels clumsy to me, which disappoints considering how amazing Seasons 1 & 2 of this show were. I'm still in shock that he showed up on her doorstep last week, suddenly wanting her so badly. He didn't seem to think about her much until he saw her jogging in the dark. He wondered if she was "dumb…or pure?" And all her exchanges with him have been so odd. I feel like Rachel Menken, for all her stylishness and air of sophistication, felt more "real" than Suzanne does. Or maybe she was just portrayed more sympathetically? I'm still not sure whether or not I'm supposed to like Miss Ferrell. I'm inclined dislike her simply because her affair with Don feels like a betrayal of Sally. The only upside to this strange relationship is that I agree with those who say it'll blow up in Don's face and force him to confront his demons for once and for all. I can't wait to see that.
I'm not completely tired of Don & Betty show yet, but I agree with other posters who are pining for more Sterling-Cooper time. The show just needs to be 2 hours long.
Why develop such a delicious cast of characters, only to let them go to waste? More Paul, Peggy, Pete, Harry, Ken, Roger, Bert, Lane, Moneypenny, Joan, and Sal, please!
October 19th, 2009 at 11:28 am
I don't really find myself pining for more Sterling Cooper time. I realize the show is called MAD MEN. But the show is really about Dick Whitman aka Don Draper. And let's face it, his home life is just as important to his story as his professional life. And right now, I'm finding his home life to be very interesting.
As for Mrs. Pryce, I don't hate her for preferring London to New York. That's her mojo. Some people prefer being at home than living in a strange city. At least she's honest and open about it. But I feel sorry for the Pryces. For the first time, we're shown that they are torn in what they want. And it's obvious that they don't want the same thing when it comes to location.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:40 am
now that betty knows about Don/dick secrets their marriage can now shift to a better place.They both can be who they are and be loved and respected for that. just a thought. Also, I think don will buy sc with sterling /cooper
October 19th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I realize it’s not illegal to assume a name that is not originally yours. But isn’t it illegal not only to desert from the military, but to do so while impersonating an officer?
Yes. If he'd just liked the name "Donald Draper" and wanted to change his own name to that, no problemo. But he didn't just change his name, he assumed the dead man's identity for the purposes of committing fraud. And he did it with the military, which does not tend to be amused by such things if they find out. He's very lucky Pete (and Bert) decided not to report him.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:56 am
ellen, I don't think Roger Sterling is in any mood to become partners with Don – he hates him now, so unless there's some amazing rapprochement between them, I don't see it happening. Bert is too old to be starting over again, and he knows it.
Lane Pryce would probably jump at the chance, but does he have the wherewithal to pull it off? He's just "work for hire" there.
Grey, on the other hand….
Nah. Don is well and truly fucked. Coming and going and round the bend.
I wonder how Connie will react to all of this. On the one hand, he's got that catholic thing going. On the other hand, he's not exactly a poster boy for marital fidelity, so he might be somewhat understanding. Nah. Who am I kidding. He won't be understanding. Predictions, anyone?
October 19th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Plus there are the two sets of dog tags, with both names. Why would Don have that?
@123 Gypsy
Gypsy – I think Adam mailed Don Dick's dog tag with the box of pictures and then Don had the real Don Draper's dog tag.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:57 am
#118 Patroadtrip: Grifters!
That’s exactly what I thought the moment Suzanne insisted Don come out and meet her brother. I thought, “okay, so, she’s going to somehow black mail him later and her brother will be able to identify Don. Or am I reaching? Is that just too “Dynasty/FalconCresty”.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I didn't think Betty had all of it figured out, but Matt seems to hint that she has a good idea of Don/Dick in the episode recap. So she must be thinking more than just about the divorce but also about the dual identities. I feel like her next step is to either go batsh*t and really have it out with Don OR take off for Long Beach and find the real Mrs. Draper OR pull a Pete and blackmail him in some way.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
The Singing Nun was a Belgian nun (Sister Luc Gabriel) and was on the Ed Sullivan Show with her hit, "Dominique".
In 1985, she and her companion of ten years, Anna Pécher, both committed suicide by an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
@ #142 Gingere – sorry, I wasn't very clear- I meant, from Betty's perspective why would he have both sets of dog tags in there?
WE know why…
October 19th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
For falafel and Donny Brook and others that are frustrated(myself included) about the other characters' stories this season. I keep thinking that some of this will be to be resolved later on, say in season 4. Although some things seem much more immediate and would need to be resolved sooner(Sal being fired and the Peggy/Duck affair). At least that's what I'm hoping. I understand that the beauty of this show is slowly developing a storyline(ie Peggy's pregnancy) but there seems to be so many loose ends this season.
The one story that I think will be closed this season is the Two Heads of Accounts. When Sterling Cooper is sold, whomever takes over will end up being the one to decide who gets the job. I wonder just how much reorganization will happen once the Brits are gone. So we have at least that to look forward to. But, I do admit being very very interested in how this whole Betty revelation works out. I actually do hope she picks up that BB gun she wielded in S1. If we're going to have more domestic drama this season at least let it be action-filled.
I also loved that I was able to laugh out loud during an episode more than once which I haven't done since My Old Kentucky Home(of course I've been gasping and yelling at the television since episode 6). I want to see more of Roger's mother. She's a card.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
The casting on Mad Men is great!
The woman playing Mother Sterling reminded me a lot of those older, somewhat daft women who'd pop up on many of the sitcoms in the 1960s.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
#148 SmilerG
The actress playing Mother Sterling reminds me of Margaret Dumont, the clueless co-star in the Marx Brothers films.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
The Singing Nun was a Belgian nun (Sister Luc Gabriel) and was on the Ed Sullivan Show with her hit, “Dominiqueâ€.
That song was also played in Mermaids with Cher and Winona, which also took place in the 60's. I actually thought of that when I heard it playing. Good movie…
October 19th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
"I am sure a confrontation is coming, but to me Betty finally came to realize what a fantasy her marriage really is . . ."
In that realm, she is one step — well, more than one step — ahead of Don.
This episode continued to highlight a supreme acting job this season by January Jones — and most of her acting in this ep was done without dialogue.
The shots of Betty waiting for Don in the darkened kitchen, the light shining on her face, were wonderful, close-ups of quiet, desperate, sad, angry, confused beauty.
I have a terrible cursh on JJ.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
#147 This show has always indulged in lots of red herrings and dropped plot points, and yes, some of them will get picked up later, but what bothers me the most is that what they are chosing to show just isn't that interesting.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Hell's bell's donny brook, you didn't think this week's episode was kinda … interesting?
October 19th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
What strikes me about this season, is while I'm watching it, it does seem like it's been slow and not going anywhere. But after it's over, it keeps churning through my mind like neither of the first two seasons did.
I am 100% skeptical of the idea that Don is falling in love with Suzanne. Helping her brother is his way of trying to make-up for his fatal mistake with his own brother. Seeing her show up on the train was kind of creepy, now that you mention it. Of all of Don's mistresses, she's the one I like least. For her to go after the father of one of her former students shows no regard for the children she's entrusted with.
Some of the posts in another thread have taken aim at Betty, but I really think the theme of this season has been her development, much like Season Two was about the (apparently failed) redemption of Don Draper. her father died, a child was born, and like the wife in "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit," she discovered something in getting involved in life outside the home. And unlike Don, when she had her chance to have an affair, she decided against it.
Don Draper/Dick Whitman is not a likeable man and is very much in need of another visit to Anna Draper to get his head screwed on straight again. The Draper marriage is not happy, but there had to have been something there that brought them together. As I said before, I see so much of myself in Don reminiscent of my drinking days that it pains me to him make so many bad mistakes over and over and over again. The sad thing is, he never seems to realize that these actions don't make him happy.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
“Look how pretty Mommy is.â€
Translation: “Look how well Mommy cleans up, even when overcome with a towering rage that I refuse to acknowledge.”
Here’s something I think is interesting about Don Draper. One fascinating detail, on which his whole story hangs:
He’s a man whose life is in pieces. He used to be one guy and then he didn’t want to be that guy so he took the name of a dead guy … including more or less co-opting that guy’s wife. Then he met Bets, divorced the dead guy’s wife, and married up. In time, became an ad exec. Left Dick behind. For all intents and purposes, killed not only Dick Whitman, but also his half-brother Adam.
This broken guy, Don Draper keeps it all — all the evidence of this accelerating series of disasters — in one box.
Dude. Convenient!
Also: Dumb!
The difference between a TV character and, say, me? I KNOW the One-Box Rule. Especially after last night.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:21 am
Teacher is crazy. Bunny-boiler crazy. Stalking Don on the train. And I think she did call and hang up.
So I think Carla is gonna blow the whistle on Betty, and Teacher is gonna bust Don's world open.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:19 am
@#154 David – I question whether Betty's really "developed" a lot in the past 6 months of this season. I just think that a lot of the times she's just being stuck on the screen for the sake of it, without something meaningful, insightful or even randomly entertaining happening. Even though the show is about Don Draper/Dick Whitman, I don't feel like it's taken away from other characters in past seasons like I do for this one. As I said though, the drawer opening was significant – I really wish Betty had confronted Don instead of just repressing it. Also, I don't feel this way just about Betty – Don's screen time (particularly with the annoying Ms. Farrell and her brother – seriously, do I care about these characters? nope) is sometimes just as wasted. Unlike Betty though, he has the advantage of interacting with people at the office who are interesting.
@#147 Stace – yeah, maybe you're right that stuff will be picked up in season 4. My concern though is that the "oomph" of certain storylines (i.e. Pete and Peggy) will be lost after after a season of practically no focus on it. For example, even now, I feel like it would be strange (for lack of a better word) to suddenly go back to the Pete and Peggy story in the last two or three episodes of this season – the last time they talked was like, 4 episodes ago. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see this, but it would feel disjointed with the rest of the season. Versus last season, it wasn't that Pete and Peggy had a scene together in every single episode, but once Matt Weiner established that Pete was starting to fall in love with her, he made sure to include little moments here and there (even non-speaking scenes) to get that across to the viewers – and importantly, they happened on a regular basis (maybe not every episode, but every 2 episodes). He did the same thing with Joan and her fiance.
*sigh* I just hope that this season ends really well and that next season returns to the form of the first two. I'm not against experimentation (I personally wasn't bothered by the dream sequence in "The Fog" for example), but I do think that when you have a balance that works, you should stick with it. Matt Weiner is overestimating the audience's interest in Betty and he's probably not gaining that many new viewers who've just turned on the show this season. Frankly, if I had heard through word of mouth that this was a great show and only started watching this season, I don't think I would get what all the hype is about.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:50 am
I think Suzanne is a total nutjob. I got those vibes when she was first introduced. Don is setting up his own downfall and he is too clueless, careless, or both, to realize that.
The next 3 episodes will certainly be interesting.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Wow. WHAT an episode.
I don't think Don is falling in love with Miss F. I think this is just more of his romance/sex addiction that is playing itself out. Top that with the rejection he's gotten from Betty, and it's not surprising that's he's run to another dark-haired, exotic beauty to escape with. That little house of cards is going to fall, mark my words. He doesn't love her any more than he loves Betty. He isn't really with her (Miss F), it's just another fantasy relationship. All of his relationships with women are fantasy-based. One could say especially his relationship with Betty.
His dalliances are a way to let off steam. He gets to be Donald Draper in most of them, even if only for a short time. I think it's the only way he sustains the madness of leading a double life.
I must say… he truly disappointed me in this episode. I said out loud, 'this guy is really sick.' I think it was when he lied about dropping off Miss F's brother and even going so far as to say the facility was 'nice', etc. And then proceeded to try and rev up the sexy time… if that is not classic sex addiction behavior, I don't know what is.
I still agree with Deb (and many others) that Miss F is potentially a nutjob, and certainly a loose cannon if nothing else. Showing up on the train? Um, stalk much? And you know she called him. Of course she did. This is so going to blow up. (And I can't wait!)
Finally, the scene with Peggy showing her true colors as a gifted, talented, natural copywriter was just fabby. I loved the recognition in Don's eyes at that moment. He and Peggy understand each other on a deep level, and that is a very interesting thread in this story.
I literally gasped when they rolled credits at the end of this one. How can I possibly wait a whole week to find out what happens next???
October 20th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
# 157 – "The next 3 episodes will certainly be interesting."
This is especially true if you compare the "preview snip" at the end of the Mad Men aired episode, with the preview for the next episode, on the AMC website.
Is the woman seen in the AMC website preview the same one in the old photo that Bert and Roger are looking at, in Episode 10?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
SmilerG, I know we're not supposed to talk spoilers here, but I already have a theory about Roger and that person. As in, they have a history. Ya know what I mean?
October 20th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
SallyS, I agree that it will be slightly disjointed if they do go back to all these other stories and resolve them in the last three episodes or leave them until next season(Ha…I guess the 'previously on Mad Men' is supposed to take care of that for us.) I am so annoyed at how they gave us so many new situations for Peggy(Duck, new roomie) and they have yet to be continued. I guess the only reason it wouldn't be weird for me as a die-hard is that I've re-watched those episodes since they've aired to remind myself that there are other characters in the show. But, you're right about new viewers. I am trying to get friends to watch the show and really nervous about them seeing this season before seeing the others.
Anyway, because the previous seasons are so amazingly crafted, I still have hope that, in the end, I will be satisfied with this season.
And thank God for more Joan this Sunday. But, what about Sal?
October 20th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
#156 Sally: Great points. It's almost like MW has become obsessed with his blonde leading lady a la Hitchcock and lost all sense of proportion. He is tormenting Betty for his own pleasure the way Hitchcock reportedly tormented, say, Tippi Hedren during the bird-attack scenes.
In fact the whole series seems to be a Hitchcockian exercise in audience manipulation — the twists and turns seem designed not so much to (eventually) produce a cohesive narrative but to rile us and provoke a range of emotions from week to week. Do you suppose the show creators read these blogs and chuckle at the speculation, frustration, identification with the characters?
Unfortunately exasperation is the primary emotion I'm feeling with 10 down, 3 to go this season.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
[...] or she is determined to tell. However, I can’t disagree with the point of view of Donny Brook over at Basket of Kisses: There are so many intriguing ideas and characters they’ve just left lying around while we obsess [...]