There was a quality of Shut the Door. Have a Seat that felt like, They’re getting the old gang back together. Out with PPL and back to being independent. Don and Roger renew their friendship. And finally, Roger says he’ll “make a phone call.”
I watched the episode with 150 of my dearest friends. When Roger said that, a huge cheer went up; we knew he was calling Joan, and we were so happy.
When {whoever} said that the art department door was locked, another (not quite as boisterous) cheer went up. There was the feeling that Salvatore would surely have that key. There was a feeling, I think, that what was happening was contrivance, a series of events designed to bring that old gang back together.
And then Don kicked in the door.
To a certain extent, I feel that Don was kicking in the fourth wall; he (or Matt) was telling us that our dreams would not all come true; this was still Mad Men, where happily ever after is definitely beside the point. It was a forceful reminder that, as thrilling as the adventure of this episode was, and as gratifying as it felt to take back the Sterling Cooper reins, we couldn’t just erase the past: This ain’t Dallas and it wasn’t all a dream.
In addition, it reminds us of exactly how and why Salvatore is gone. Don fired him. Don. Because he was disgusted and unwilling, in that moment, to be loyal. That hasn’t changed. Don Draper is someone we tend to sympathize with, and often for good reason, but when he kicked in that door, he reminded us that he’s also the person who called a gay man “you people” and his wife a “whore.”
72 Responses to “Don kicks in the door”
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This may not be the correct place to ask but I did not see a place that did look fitting. Here goes, in the finale, when Don goes to Peggy's messy apartment and makes his speach, he says something like, "Something terrible happened and the person does not see himself as he used to be…" Can someone please explain that speach? It did not make sense to me, is he referring to her past pregnancy or his damaged past? And what does that have to do with working with him? Sorry, it was too subtle for me.
Susan, he was pitching Peggy to get back into working for him. Great as the speech was, it wasn't all that different from his speech to Betty when he said that she'd find someone else, but he'd be all alone forever. Don wants to win the pitch.
My take on why Don said "you people" to Sal. Don thought that Sal knew what he was doing and that he jerked (no pun intended) the customer around and now they could lose the customer. The bottom line is Sal almost lost a massive customer over a romantic entanglement, however innocent, and that will get anyone fired, straight or not.
Susan, he was saying that they are kindred spirits, because of their imperfect backgrounds, and have to stick together.
#55 – I also think he was telling Peggy that their experiences gave them insight into how to sell things to a public that didn't even know it had changed yet since the Kennedy assassination.
…and of course, selling things is not just selling things. it's how to define Americans to themselves, in the same way that love is something Don invented to sell… himself on that notion.
I expect that next season Joan and Roger will accept that they love one another. I would be surprised if either of them got divorced, tho. It would make for some interesting moments with Jane and Joan. Greg will be the wild card.
Pete and Peggy will tap into the youth demographic. I read somewhere that Duck was having his way with Peggy as a way to stick it to Don. Hope Pete does not tell Trudy about Peggy in a jerk-o-matic moment.
don't know if Smitty and Kurt will be there. Or Paul, tho I hope so (someone has to give Peggy her first acid…j/k) Maybe Pete will go to an Af-Am business man to work with him on accounts. If this is a forward-thinking biz, they could be able to integrate a little bit. It's not freaking Alabama.
Bill Cosby had already done stand up in NYC by 1962 so one of the changes that I would welcome is a character who has a little more melanin. One of the unique things about Cosby back then was that he was simply a guy, not a guy who embodied all racial issues. His humor wasn't racial; it was about the things that made us all alike. He bypassed all the cultural war issues and time traveled to some decades later when Americans happily welcomed their first African-American president (well, most welcomed.)
calling Lucky Strike out Jr!
I hope Don has an interesting affair or two.
I hope he watches Ed Sullivan with his kids. I hope they go to Shea Stadium.
I hope Betty and Henry get married and we see her occasionally but not every episode because this season spent too much time in the suburbs, for me. While I understand and think this was the "Betty's story" season – or the Betty and Don's marriage dies season, next season needs to be less… grim. Betty is a character that will find the coming decade difficult. Who knows what she'll do or if her life will change in any way. We had a season to find out and the choice was to leave her in her dollhouse.
I think Don was telling Peggy that he's grown up enough to try to mentor someone. He made amends to her but couldn't with Betty because Peggy understands Don's inner world in ways that Betty never will.
So I watched this again, and I'm loving Harry Crane. Only barely aware of what is happening, yet he must have mad skilz if they brought him into the inner circle.
Someone said that Harry was the only one who didn't get a sales pitch. Maybe so, but he got his motivation, which was Bert's attention.
In MM everything happens for a reason, and there was a reason the guys brought Harry into the fold.
I agree with Deborah, Donny Brook and MD Man that Don didn't believe Sal's story. That was how I read the scene, too, and was confused when everyone started saying that Don was encouraging Sal to service Lee.
Hmm…when I saw the Don/Sal scene, I wasn't thinking that Don thought Sal had come on to Garner and that Garner was actually straight. I was thinking Don was trying to convey something more like, "Oh, come on, you'll sleep with anything in pants, I saw you with that bellhop," not knowing that the bellhop was Sal's only sexual encounter with a man (and it lasted all of ninety seconds).
But the first scenario is actually worse, in a way, because it says Don thinks Sal is a lying sleazebucket who doesn't care about anything but getting himself laid and has no discrimination about who he comes on to, instead of simply thinking Sal is a priss who should have been all too happy to give up the booty to satisfy a horny client.
The first explanation would be very believable for 1963, though; it was commonly believed that gay men would sleep with anything in pants and would come on to just about any guy who gave out the time of day. But when Sal said (paraphrasing), "You mean I should have just slept with him? What if it was a girl?" and Don said, "That depends on what kind of girl it was and what I knew about her," that sort of indicated to me that Don knew Sal was not BS-ing him about what happened, just that he thought Sal should have dropped trou if that was the case.
(So basically, Sal's choice is say no and get shitcanned, or say yes and get shitcanned, because Garner can always claim the whole thing was Sal's idea. Nice.)
Don had no choice but to fire Sal because if he didn't they would have lost Lucky Strike which might have bankrupted the agency. Don's "you people" comment was made more out of anger at the situation. Don does not like being backed into a corner and in this case he was def. backed into a corner in that he had no other option but to fire Sal.
As Roger said to Don "you are in way over your head".
I could see Sal coming back on a freelance basis. He could work ad hoc on many accounts with the exception of Lucky Strike. That way Sal gets to keep his dignity and call more of his own shots and hopefully grow his own team apart from Don and Cos. new agency.
"Don had no choice but to fire Sal because if he didn’t they would have lost Lucky Strike which might have bankrupted the agency. Don’s “you people†comment was made more out of anger at the situation. Don does not like being backed into a corner and in this case he was def. backed into a corner in that he had no other option but to fire Sal."
I believe it went a bit deeper. During the scene in which Don had fired Sal, he seemed determined to believe that the entire situation was Sal's fault. He could not fathom why Sal, a homosexual, would not be willing to drop his pants for any man (especially a client) who approached him. I suspect Don believe that Sal was naturally promiscuous because he was gay, and was stumped at why Sal rejected Lee Garner Jr'.s overtures.
What about when Paul goes to Peggy's office door and finds she's left with Don? That look on his face! I think Paul just lost his reason for coming to work.
Someone said that Harry was the only one who didn’t get a sales pitch. Maybe so, but he got his motivation, which was Bert’s attention.
Bert made the sales pitch to Harry – he could join SCDP as Head of Media or go to McCann as a mid-level cog in their machine. Harry already complained to Pete in the last ep that he was going to die unnoticed behind the desk at SC. Bert pushed exactly the right button.
Here's how I interpreted Don's conversation with Peggy (YMMV):
He didn't say they were SELLING things, he said "people BUY things." As in, people buy a certain vision of themselves in the world, a vision of who they are, of how the world is supposed to work. And then something terrible happens and that image is destroyed. Parts of yourself are lost forever. He and Peggy understand that and know how to tap into that void. They can speak to the deep need inside people to make their world whole again, because they've experienced it.
That's a very rare and very valuable talent.
That was my take on it, anyway. I think the scene could have been written a little better. What's the point of dialog that leaves so many people saying "WTF was that supposed to mean?"
@ Susan #52, (+ 53, 55, 64)
I saw it as a very Don way of seeing the world. His genius as an ad man (one that Peggy shares) is that he can draw from himself and relate it to the world at large. When he talks about the terrible thing that happened to the world i.e. the Kennedy assassination, he knows that only someone who has already experienced such a terrible dislocation in their personal life AND knows how to use it (as Peggy can, and as he can), will be able to communicate in the new world coming.
As for the over-subtlety. that's a very Mad Men thing, especially in the Don/Peggy relationship. Their secrets are so sensitive to them that, even between each other, they can't come out and speak them directly.
I have to add that the scene was also the first expression of true affection between the two. I never quite felt any father/daughter-like bond between them before, but when Peggy said "you'll never speak to me again," I welled up right along with her.
^Ooops, forgot to also cite esme's comment #56.
Dear Gypsy, esme, duane, and Melville, – Thanks for the help. It makes sense now that you guys put the pieces together. I like the aspect that Don sees himself and Peggy as kindered spirits, Melville. That works in my view. Remember the time he compared her to Irene Dunn? And their feelings for each other are deep and unspeakable. Great acting. Thank you for help. Sometimes I need to share a brain! And Gypsy, you crack me up on your take on Henry Frances. Thanks.
Have I missed it our is everybody forgetting about Freddy Rumsen? He and Don have some backstory and I'll be amazed if he is not back for season four!
Have I missed it or is everybody forgetting about Freddy Rumsen? He and Don have some backstory and I'll be amazed if he is not back for season four!
Did anyone else notice what seemed to be a twinge of desire that came over Don after he called Betty a whore? In the moments that the camera lingered on his face after he pushed her away, it appeared that there was a fleeting element of lust. Interesting dynamic.
Ohhhh scot. You must join us at the bottom of the Rude Awakenings thread. Fights are breaking out! Fists are flying! Names are being called!
Scot – I noticed that too. For a second, I thought they were going to start passionately kissing!