Do we have a theme?
Obviously, I’m overwhelmed”we all are”by the Don storyline, but the overall theme, I think, is played out by Roger Sterling. And I’m a little bit annoyed, with so much going on, that Marti Noxon, Cathryn Humphris, and Matt Weiner together couldn’t come up with a better way to articulate that theme than with a Guest of the Week Whom We Will Never See Again.
I think we see two major themes here. First, Old Love/New Love: the past, its regrets, and the marriage you have today. Roger is as kind as possible to two old loves (Annabelle and Joan) while staying surprisingly loyal to his new one, who was herself a replacement for an old one. Joan has every reason to regret the new one, but stays loyal to him while reaching out to the old one. And Don leaves the new one behind, or, y’know, out front, while giving his undivided attention to the new one (who admittedly forced his hand).
The other theme is, of course, the gypsy and the hobo. What are you called? Who are you? “What’s your name?” “Donald Draper, but it used to be Dick Whitman.” An assertion; I am the name I use. The room I’m standing in. Find a new name for horse meat. “It’s a label on a can. And it will be true because it will promise the quality of the product that’s inside.”
Carlton Hanson: And who are you supposed to be?
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 26th, 2009 at 7:54 am
A couple other themes:
Labelling. Every single word out of Don's mouth about horsemeat, the product name, and people's perceptions of a name applied of course directly to him.
A beautiful story arc for the whole season based on the line "Our greatest fears lie in anticipation."
Man, I am so blown away by this episode, I can barely speak (or write or think)
October 26th, 2009 at 8:08 am
gypsy, I kind of meant "labeling" and "who are you" as one theme, if you see what I mean.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:15 am
A theme that ties together the two themes of this episode: the romantic vs. the real. The gypsy and the hobo are both exciting figures — not tied down, free to do as they please, not needing to conform, etc. But both groups are also looked down upon by society as wanderers, homeless, stateless. Annabelle is nostalgic for the romantic times she shared with Roger during the war, but what Roger reminds her is that they were not real or lasting. Don is the hobo who seeks out affairs with women that are full of romance — but can we say that what he really has wanted all along is the reality and security of a home?
October 26th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I too was surprised by Rogers loyalty to his new love, Jane. (And it really pains me to write that.) I know a lot of basketcases have commented that when Roger said "you weren't (the one)" the underlying meaning was that Joan was. But I don't think so. He stepped out (if you can call it that)on Joan with Mirabelle. I think Roger and Joan had spark, and yes- respect, for one another and I don't think that has faltered, but Roger believes Jane is the one.
It makes me wonder, however, about Joanie's comment to him when he finds her crying over Monroe's death. "Just wait to you lose someone you love…" or something along that line. Foreshadowing perhaps, of losing Jane?
October 26th, 2009 at 8:26 am
This is precisely why I'm not a big fan of the Theme of the Week method of writing which Weiner so loves. It leads to clunky Guest Star Who Reveals a Character's Past syndrome. It's ok to do a theme episode once in a while, but relying on it every week in order to give "meaning" is sort of sophomoric to my eyes. This episode really didn't need it – there was so much going on for the characters, so much that "paid off" what had been building since Smoke, that you don't need to hammer home some tacked on significance. Betty confronted Don, do we need anything else?
October 26th, 2009 at 8:41 am
JvJ, I agree. He wanted Joan in an apartment where he had access — a birdcage. He asked Jane to marry him. Two very different things.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Two very different things indeed, Deborah. However, I think Roger knew that Joan wouldn't have even entertained the idea of a future together. She's a woman of control and good at the game of romance, politics and the office. She's a Belle Watling. And I think Roger loves that about her, that she didn't demand more.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I don't know if this would be a theme but I saw lots of gypsies and hobos in this episode.
The Gypsy and the Hobo- Sally and Bobby (pretend). The Gypsy and the Hobo-Betty and Don. The Gypsy and the Hobo-Suzanne and Don. The Gypsy and the Hobo-Annabelle and Roger (past). The Gypsy and the Hobo-Roger and Annabelle (present). The Gypsy and the Hobo-Joan and Dr Greg.
The Gypsies sees things clearly, some for the first time, while the hobos are all running away from something.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:49 am
"This is precisely why I’m not a big fan of the Theme of the Week method of writing which Weiner so loves. It leads to clunky Guest Star Who Reveals a Character’s Past syndrome."
Only when it's done badly, and it usually isn't. One of the things I most admire about Weiner's writing is that he insists that each episode possess a thematic consistency, when it's so easy for a serialized drama to have no coherence beyond "these are the things that happened in all the ongoing storylines this week." Weiner's storytelling method is the ideal way to ensure that a) things don't happen just because the plot demands it, but because they actually mean something, and b) there aren't so many unrelated currents of meaning floating around that it becomes impossible to track any one of them in depth.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:50 am
#4. I also believe that Roger meant "Jane" was the one. His whole dialogue in the bar w/Don after they let Freddy Rumson go in Season 2- revealed what he wanted in life – Jane is the "one." Joan is important, but Jane is the one.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:52 am
But is Roger "the one" for Jane?
October 26th, 2009 at 9:23 am
#8 Peregrina–I was going to say the exact thing about the Gypsy and Hobo meaning. And Sally definitely sees things clearly even if she was pretending to be a Gypsy…that little girl is wise. She knew something was amiss with her parents.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:24 am
#9 things don’t happen just because the plot demands it, but because they actually mean something,
This is precisely why I don't like it. If your plot and characters are well-drawn, you don't have to tack on meaning. Betty confronting Don means something all by itself, especially because we have been on that journey with them, we know these people, we know the implications in their lives not as someone's masters thesis on Truth. Real life doesn't have THEMES it just happens to us but the meaning is still there.
Like i said, I don't mind it on occasion, but MM uses it to excess and sometimes it detracts.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:34 am
I thought the dogfood/name change scene was foreshadowing about SC being sold. The SC employees were acting as if it were No Big Deal to change the name of your company, like, "Come on, move past it already". I think they are going to have to eat their words when SC gets sold and they are the ones being told that a name change means nothing and they should just move on.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Deborah @#2, not only can I barely speak or think or write, apparently I can't read either.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Some unoriginal thoughts:
Yeah, there's the whole costume motif. You wear a cheap Halloween costume once, but try wearing a burdensome identity for 10 years.
"I get it. Don't change the name; don't change the product." So Don and Betty have their own expose, Don's own public relations disaster and now they must decide, which name? Don has to keep the Draper name. Will Betty keep the Draper name? "A new name is not easy to find." Yes, but would she rather have her heart broken every day by Don? Is he the one?
"You have three small children together. At least go home give it a try." At first I thought of this is as the harsh advice of bald patriarchy. But perhaps there's more wisdom in this than I realize. I'm curious as to what women think. Despite all the disadvantages of divorce Milton the lawyer lists, should Betty leave? I say yes–she's stronger and more capable than anyone in her life gives her credit for–but suddenly I'm willing to listen to the other side. I guess it all comes down to the kids.
Casablanca: "The only similarity is that you left me for another man." Yes, but are there any similarities elsewhere in the episode? Is Betty Rick? Is Joan Ilsa? Can't decide, presque vue! (Although part of tragedy of Vietnam was that the best and the brightest mistakenly thought it was just like WWII.)
I love that Betty says Don never understood money. It's true–not only the lack of self-worth in the Hobo Code from season one, where he gives Midge his $5,000 bonus–but also leaving all that cash in the drawer. Aside from being a remnant of Depression era behavior, it's financially stupid. The inflation eating away at that cash (especially in the 60s-70s) means a negative return. I guess it's his exit-gypsy-hobo money.
It's remarkable to me that during Don's tenderest moments, when he's crying over his dead, ignored brother, there's a mistress outside in his car!
Suzanne says, "I'm not talking about going there." The trip to Norwich–this idea of fantasy as a place to visit has recurred since Babylon in the first season. The consequences of visiting that place have never been good.
There's a whole American history parable somewhere in here, too. That underneath the old apple pie crust is some rather fetid, morally repugnant history. "All this time I thought you were a football hero who hated his father." Also Kennedy as well: underneath Camelot was a man propped up by his father's machinations, a nasty cocktail of painkillers, and a thousand sycophants.
I still don't understand why Betty fell in love with Don other than that she was a narcissist creating the myth she wanted to believe. But perhaps that's enough.
Why did Don keep the box in the drawer? His answer is so unsatisfactory. "I had no choice. What's the difference?" Is Betty right when she accuses his unconscious of wanting her to find it?
Oh yeah, did I mention there's a mistress outside in his car!?!?
October 26th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Mike, you self-deprecate too much. They're that unoriginal.
I think he kept the box close by because he just didn't trust himself to fully remember the details of what he thinks (or thought) was his true self. (??)
I confused even myself.
"The faintest ink is better than the best memory."
October 26th, 2009 at 10:17 am
# 14 rachel – Astute!
I think Betty has had her heart broken everyday of her marriage. I think she sensed this, earlier this season she said something was between them, but she would have assumed it was his philandering. I know the previews are misleading but I think Betty tells Don they should tell something of his background to their children and he strongly disagrees.
I LOLed when Roger suggested "Peter Lorre?" as the character Annabelle reminded him of from Casablanca. (But Lorre does want Bogart to save him.) Casablanca is where everyone was waiting of course…things are not what they seem…vultures, vultures everywhere…
#16 "On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place."
October 26th, 2009 at 10:18 am
I was struck by Don wearing his full Don Draper regalia, hat and suit, to go trick-or-treating. He was wearing his costume.
It was surprising to me that Suzanne waiting in that car so long. What did she think was going on?
October 26th, 2009 at 10:25 am
re:# 16 …I still don’t understand why Betty fell in love with Don….
My mother married in 1952. She picked my dad because he was fun to be around, he was tall and a good dancer. They had a 50 year terrible marriage. Lot's of women married for the wrong reasons.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:26 am
#16 Betty was ready to leave, and the lawyer suggested she at least try. His reasons may have been stuffed shirt patriarchy, but had she ever tried before? Had she ever said, sit down, we will FUCKING TALK? To think she would even consider leaving without confronting!
As to Casablanca, it is a great movie because it is about something larger than its characters. Don, Joan, Greg, Roger, Annabelle–they are little people whose problems don't mean a hill of beans. None of them are saving the world from fascism.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Taiga- I'm going to guess that it was a little while until Suzanne realized that something was up in the house (if nothing else, she must have seen the lights going on in different rooms) and then once she figured out that Don wasn't coming out, she waited until it was very dark & quiet in the neighborhood to slip quietly back home.
I read the very last shot of Don's face as him saying "I'm not pretending to be anyone anymore, I'm ME. With my family."
I think I'm going to have to watch this episode about 500 times this week.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Mike Gibson – I apologize once more. I'm goofing off at work, submitted without proofing, and while I am fairly snarky at times, I try not to be insulting.
#17 post – second sentence RETRACTION!! RETRACTION!!! A well place NOT makes that sentence a compliment.
Carry on.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:34 am
#20-Taiga–I didn't connect his clothing to the 'And you are you supposed to be?' line. But that's so true…that's what the audience is supposed to think and I believe that's what Don and Betty both think when Carlton says that. Also, is it significant that it was Carlton that said it? Foreshadowing? Or do we think it's just random.
About Suzanne in the car: I think she is that in love with Don that she stayed hoping he would eventually come out. Sure his family came home early but he's already told her he doesn't care about any of that. So in her mind, he must be coming out soon.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:36 am
#22 Except, remember Deb, when you and I blogged about this on an earlier thread we more or less agreed that it was precisely the problems of the three small people in "Casablanca" (and all the fascinating individual stories of each character in MM) that ultimately mean more to the viewers than the "hill of beans in this crazy world.":)
October 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
#20 , Suzanne's been involved with married men and she's used to waiting, that's the big cliché of being in those relationships. Sitting around, pretty and ready for action, waiting for him to drop by, waiting for him to leave his wife, not minding when he can't get away.
And one can get paralyzed in those situations, where you don't know what's going on and can't figure out a way to find out. Keep telling yourself "I'll give her another fifteen minutes to call me back".
October 26th, 2009 at 10:41 am
The reason I was puzzled that Suzanne stayed was that I figured she would be worried about being caught if she DID stay, that Betty or one of the children would come out and see her in the car. I can see what you mean about paralysis, though.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Great posts…
I would add that it's also about "when are you going to man-up and tell the truth/get real?" We know the episode is about truth – but it's about the WHEN or the DECISION to make that leap into truthfulness…
- Annabelle refuses to change her company name – won't get real
- Betty decides to get real (she could've waited)
- Don STAYS and gets real – he could've fled
- Roger decides he's really married and tell's Annabelle a painful truth (did not let her down easy)
- Dr. Rapist gets real, but Joan doesn't…
Also – Lippsisters -we need a beautiful blog about January's performance last night… I've watched it 3 times so far and while I was too overwhelmed to notice her performance the first time through – it's only because she was pitch-perfect – you could not see any acting – she was pure Betty, but a new Betty that we have not seen so far. (I also loved the sewing machine on the table. I felt like Betty was becoming a fierce mother, not the wine-drinking absentee mother that she can be at times – but the sewing-costumes-from-scratch-mother). When Don left for work the next morning – with NO DIALOG – I could tell she was wondering if Don would ever come home again… or if this was the last she would see of him. She is angry, tenative, strong, worried, confused, and hopeful all with one facial expression.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Re Roger & Jane: another prediction:
Remember way back when when Joan said to Roger "Someday you're going to lose someone important to you. It's very painful." I wonder if Roger will be losing Jane. I keep thinking of how disgusted she looked in the car on the way to the dinner last week when Mummy Sterling asked if Mona knew. Jane looked like she'd about had enough.
Or maybe Joan's statement is only ringing in my head because now I realize Roger already lost someone important when Annabelle dumped him, and he knows exactly how painful that it.
So many reasons to love this show.
Now that betty has finally finally cleared the hurdle of Don's lying, will it help her in any way to deal with the rest of her dissatisfaction with her life? Even if she and Don figure out a way to make their marriage work, she still has the problem that has no name. But we just saw a much stronger and in many ways more beautiful Betty emerge from her cocoon. I have great hopes for her.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I really don't know where to post this, but I just wanted to say congratulations to Fred and Elisabeth (Moss) for marrying over the weekend!
=)
October 26th, 2009 at 11:09 am
You know, I suspected it was this weekend, but I haven't seen a news report.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Less of me–ha! No worries. Thanks.
DL @22 The confrontation, yes of course! She had to do that. She had to talk. And didn't Betty mature quickly? Wow, incredible performance. But having been lied to for so long…are some things not able to be forgiven? In those last two scenes, there seemed to be a rapprochement. Maybe not tho, I see in these comments others had different reactions.
I guess that's why I compared Betty to Rick–all of a sudden her lover is someone else. But you're right, we shouldn't read too much into that.
@21 Dianeb very true. Also the desire to be loved. That nothing changes.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:20 am
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b150685_whoopi_sp...
October 26th, 2009 at 11:24 am
I guess that’s why I compared Betty to Rick–all of a sudden her lover is someone else. But you’re right, we shouldn’t read too much into that.
I hadn't even thought of that parallel. In Casablanca Rick is bitterly angry at Ilsa for leaving him, and only softens toward her and makes the big sacrifice of sending her off with Laslo after he learns that her lies have a solid, real and traumatic foundation. He realizes she was between the proverbial rock and the hard place, so he forgives her.
Betty did the same thing. I don't for a minute think she is okay with what Don has done, but she can understand why he did it. And she only feels that way because he told the whole unvarnished truth (another reason Hamm's acting was so good, he had to make it clear to Betty and the audience that he was really telling the truth this time), including "my mother was a prostitute who died having me." The truth, including Adam's suicide, had to be that shocking, that horrible to soften Betty.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I still don’t understand why Betty fell in love with Don other than that she was a narcissist creating the myth she wanted to believe. But perhaps that’s enough.
I believe Matthew Weiner has said that the initial attraction was almost purely physical. The man is gorgeous. Plus he's really good at teh sex. And he makes a lot of money.
Many women have endured a lot more for that middle reason alone…the money is good, too.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:28 am
New York's then divorce law IS NOT the problem. Betty could get an annulment without question on several grounds. The problem is not the legal "how" to end the marriage, but the devastating consequences of ending the marriage through either annulment or divorce, especially upon the chldren. At least, that's always the thinking/rationale. But the truth does eventually come out and the consequences of living/hiding the lies then can be even more devastating.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Another absolutely heartbreaking line: "He was nice to me" in reference to Uncle Mack.
The only time we saw Uncle Mack interact with Dick was when Dick fell down the stairs. There was no tenderness or caring in Uncle Mack's demeanor in that scene, and yet to poor abused Dick, compared to everyone else in his sad little world that's what "being nice to him" was.
And the way Don said it, he sounded like a sad and wistful little boy.
My heart just broke for him.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Can anyone answer a Whitman family tree question?
Don is the biological child of Archie and the prostute.
Adam is the biological child of Abigail and whom? Archie or Uncle Mac?
October 26th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I finally registered! I finally registered! So much to process about this episode; mainly stuck on the violent Harris family but wow, if John Hamm's FACE doesn't get the emmy for this, I'll eat my hat.
1) I went to Phoenix Park last night! I am sorry I hadn't been online. It was just me; they changed the TVs in the pool room for me, it was really nice. The waitress confirmed that yes, Rich did indeed go there to watch last week and encouraged me to go back next Sunday. I will and if anyone wants to join I would love the company.
2) So I'm on my way to work today, still processing, and I run into a friend on the L train I hadn't seen in ages. One of those friends you always have random, philosophical chats about big-picture topics like Life and Stuff and Moving On vs. Holding On when – really – Matthew Weiner and his wife get on the train. I know it was him because famous people make me all deer-in-headlighty and he reacted to my reaction before we both quietly went along to mind our own business. I am guessing, if he at all thought twice about it, that he figured he ran into a basketcase
So amazed with Betty right now!
October 26th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
#39 I was wondering about that too. Wasn't there a flashback scene when Adam was born that had Uncle Mack in it? Or am I misremembering. It seemed like Don was saying Archie was both boys' father, but I'm confused. Dick looks a lot older than Adam, could be more than 10 years, in the pictures and in the train scene.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Archie is Adam's father, otherwise he would not be Dick's half-brother.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
That's what I thought Deborah, but I too remembered Adam's birth scene and Uncle Mack talking to young Dick. Somehow in Don's telling of the story to Betty, it made me think Adam was really Abigail's child with Mack. "Uncle Mack" must have been a family friend. And I assume it was he who moved the family to PA from IL.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
@41 & 42 — Yes, and I believe Adam referred to him as Uncle Mack too.
How very sad that this is what constituted "nice to him" in Dick's world.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
#39
Don call Adam his half-brother, not his step-brother. That implies a shared parent. But I could be wrong, since I don't have clear memories of the flashback scenes.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
#42 That's the way Don referred to him last night, but I was trying to remember that flashback when Adam was born and wondering if it was a continuity error or not.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Archie is Adam’s father, otherwise he would not be Dick’s half-brother.
I got the impression, during 5G in S1, that while Adam was officially Archie's son, Don thought Abigail was fooling around with Uncle Mack before Archie's death and he believed Mack was really the father. I believe that the birth flashback also implies Abigail was pregnant with Adam when Archie died, so Mack was the only father Adam really knew. It could be that Don only believed in Abigail's infidelity because he didn't want the connection to Adam and his past, but who the hell knows, ya know?
October 26th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
It's funny that Don says Uncle Mack was "nice" when in season 1, he described Rachel that Abigail and Mack as "two sorry people."
Adam was Archie's son as Mack told Dick at the birth scene, "Of course you are brothers. You two share the same daddy." Adam was about 10 years younger than Dick. I figured Archie died soon after Abigail became pregnant with Adam. And she didn't spend long mourning her husband before taking up w/ Mack, hence his presence at Adam's birth. Considering the stillborn Whitman baby we saw in the "Out of Town" flashback, Archie and Abigail certainly tried to have children during their entire marriage.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
#12 Stace
"…Sally definitely sees things clearly even if she was pretending to be a Gypsy…that little girl is wise. She knew something was amiss with her parents."
That's right! Bobby would know too since all children are sensitive to what is happening between their parents. Some children (Sally) acknowledge what is going on while other children (Bobby) run away from what they know.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
#48 – If Adam were raised primarily by a decent Uncle Mac and a mother who wanted/loved him – it would account for Adam's sweet personality we saw in "5 G". It makes his suicide all that more painful.
I found it interesting that the two facts Don didn't offer in his confession were:
1) the woman who raised him – hated him (I think this would've explained a lot to Betty)
2) Did not reveal that it was Dick/Don who switched the dog tags and not a "mix up" as he suggested.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Yo!! That reads so wrong!! They are not that unoriginal.
Sorry, I will sack the copyeditor again.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
@ Mike Gibson — NOT unoriginal–loved your commentary! I'm feeling the same, but I'm going to wax banal anyway.
I see redemption through revelation of the truth in this epi.
In "The Hobo Code", Dick discovers the hobo has left the symbol of "a dishonest man lives here" regarding Archie. I can't help but believe that Dick, in cloaking himself as Don Draper, felt he was also being a dishonest man like his despised father. In an ironic twist, coming clean to Betty about his past also separates and redeems him from it.
If only he could keep it in his pants, because that's where the lies continue.
Also wondering if Don's filleting his soul to Betty will a. result in him feeling closer to her, and/or b. Betty being turned off by Don because he's not the suave, manly, stoic man she thought she was marrying? Her obligatory, patronizing pat on the back while Don was crying said volumes to me about her current opinion of him.
This epi, IMO, also seemed to redeem Roger through his revealing the truth to Annabelle about how she hurt him and how she isn't the one for him while at the same time proclaiming his faith to Jane. Perhaps all his philandering was salve for the pain Annabelle caused in spurning him? Not that I would forgive him all that, but he did turn down some obvious advances.
And while I'm on the subject of Roger, it certainly seems he showed a mature side of himself this epi, along with Betty. Kind of refreshing to see that side in them, but I'm dubious it has staying power in either character.
Lovin' the comments on this site. Brilliant episode. Fucking. Brilliant.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I don't think the confrontation is anywhere near over with Betty. As a previous post indicated, this show doesn't like to follow the typical conflict story. The issue is not resolved…but Betty has reached out (in the form of a partially eaten sandwich, no less.) But there will be more talk….more conflict, just like in real life. (This episode felt so REAL to me.)
Life intervened in the form of Halloween. Just like when I might fight with my spouse, as much as I would love some big dramatic soap opera resolution, the reality is that we come back together (for lack of a better term) in lots of small ways – interacting with our children, living our day-to-day lives.
I also believe Betty would have been (possibly will be) more ANGRY when/if the affair with Suzanne is revealed..
And I absolute believe that Roger was thinking that Joan was the "one".
(Lurked forever…first post I think.)
October 26th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
my netbook played a trick on me. Do you really want the Hollywood ending? I doubt it. Men and women cheated in this decade…Betty reading The Group…is she more pure than Don? Don's self-centered nature? not mentioned much. He got caught and no way out, no escape, but he does want to escape..he is not crazy about his job, but it is lucrative. How many work at crappy jobs? for money?? we all do in some degree. Roger thinks he has achieved something and he is not ready to toss it away like Mona. Don and Roget both want the same thing…to rescue a young hot woman and to be admired by her. when you stop admiring them, it is time for the eye to wander. who wants to come home to a COLD atmosphere everyday? He married Betts b/c she was a beauty queen and he uses her as that–always needs to show her off when needed, but he is not free to be open with her….will be good to see if their relationship changes. Walter Mitty said, "Men live lives of quiet desperation." if women only knew this. Betty is not always warm to him and he has kept her in the dark for long time. he was heartbroken to lose the weekend of frivolous-ness with the skool teacher. he is self-centered. now for all those ppl downtrodden over the season's end, take heart, Br Bad will be back soon and you can catch up with the chemistry teacher….who would probably not cheat on his wife, but then again, how do we know?? MM is best TV show in my opinion.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation."
– Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), "Walden" (1854)
This is sometimes reported as: "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walden
October 26th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Betty has decided she is no longer willing to hold on to Don no matter what. That's what has allowed her to confront him like that. If he turns his back on her and walks out, she calls the locksmith to make it permanent. She's made her decision.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
I think Roger definitely believes Jane is "the one." Whether or not she actually is remains to be seen. I know he's not really one of the show's main characters, the way Don and Betty are, but I wish we knew more of Roger's history. Did he believe Annabelle and Mona were both "the one" at some point? (I'm assuming he thought Mona was "the one" when he married her.) Is he constantly searching for his ideal, perfect woman, and do all real women eventually fall short?
October 27th, 2009 at 6:45 am
Another twist on the old love/new love theme: what you wanted vs. what you got.
Kids want to be an astronaut and Minnie Mouse (best laid plans of mice and men?). They turned out to be a hobo and a gypsy. Joan wanted to marry a doctor to support her; she got a loser to support. Roger/Annabelle wanted and didn't want each other by turns.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Jane is "the one" for Roger because after his heart troubles he's realized he's got a limited amount of time left. Roger wants to be with someone who is fun, for whom all the trappings of wealth are exciting and new, and who doesn't challenge him, just lets him be. Joan, Mona, Annabelle and any number of others may have been "the one" at different life stages.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
1. Am I the only one not buying in to Jane being "the one"? I can see Roger staying loyal because he's not attracted to Annabelle. She's not as attractive as his wife is. And the "newlywed" comment? IOW, he won't cheat because he's still getting a lot at home. Either the writers are not letting us see enough about their relationship, or there really isn't much of one.
I don't think it's honor, I don't think it's scruples. He goes for the pretty young things with clear faces unblemished by thought.
2. Am I the only one who thinks Annabelle's question about the "window" between Mona and Jane is anachronistic? I can't find a source but I don't remember hearing this usage ("window of opportunity" etc.) until much later.
3. While it makes a killer scene, I thought it strange to see both Drapers accompanying the children on trick-or-treat. In the 60s I thought kids were on their own. I remember I was. Besides, who's handing out candy at the Draper's house then? If the house is unattended, what if Ms Farrell comes by? Could she be psycho enough to trick-or-treat at their doorstep?
October 27th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
@40 Valley Road
I'm sorry I'm only responding to this now. Yay for registering, and I'm so sorry about Phoenix Park. When I only got one response (and I'd already switched gears) I just didn't get it together. I live in NJ and I get up early so it's a pain for me, but a fun pain. Maaaybe this Sunday? I'll post again, take a pulse. Maybe on Saturday I'll post. It is a wonderful, warm room and they are entirely accommodating.
And OMG your sighting!!! How fun!
October 27th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
#59 WTJB, you're not alone on (1.) — and I agree, without knowing a lot more about their relationship it's hard to gauge how much depth is there.
We haven't seen Jane and Roger like we've seen Pete and Trudy (or, goes w/o saying, Don and Betty) but I'm struck by things like the contrast of Roger slow dancing with a drunken Jane after Pete and Trudy's look-how-happy-we-are "So You Think You Can Dance" performance … and then Don's walk across the grass, taking the very pregnant Betty into his arms off in the distance, as handbag and coat fall to the ground. A physical show of the difference between any of Roger's self-proclaimed happiness vs. the foolishness Don calls it.
From S1, "Ladies Room" …
Roger Sterling: You know what? I am very comfortable with my mind. Thoughts clean and unclean, loving and… the opposite of that. But I am not a woman. And I think it behooves any man to toss all female troubles into the hands of a stranger.
Roger doesn't do complicated. But uncomplicated does not equal vapid. So I disagree that all he goes for is "clear faces unblemished by thought."
Annabelle is not uncomplicated. Mona may not have been, but as Margaret matured and her issues made her complicated, the must have bled over into the marriage and made the lovely and uncomplicated Jane seem irresistible.
Enough that even after bashing the institution of marriage (remember Joan's reaction that she thought it was just Mona, not the whole concept of marriage), Roger was happy to marry Jane.
Joan was not complicated either, nor were the twins, and all of his single-encounter women are easily accessible.
Point (2.), I don't know, but a phrase etymology resource book or site might help nail it down.
Point (3.), agreed it's odd for both of them to go. I trick-or-treated with a pack of neighborhood friends without supervision too. But there were times when for some reason both parents were away (like my dad not being home from work in time) and my mom would leave the porch light on with a big bowl of candy on a stool and a sign asking kids to, "Please take two or three but not the whole bowl!" So maybe we can hope Betty was such a Halloween hostess.