Q: How much did I love Peggy’s head peeking over the wall?
A: So, so much.
Okay so first thing is, what a sight gag. It was absolutely hilarious, and it just kept going. But second thing, what I loved about it, is how entirely plausible it was. Because of course Peggy would be up there trying to see what’s going on. She can hear everything; she’s now spoken with Allison so she knows there’s some dirt there—she’s dying to know what comes next. So yes, gimme a sight gag, but if it doesn’t make sense, it’s stupid. This one makes perfect sense ergo, as is the case with all things Mad Men, does not insult my intelligence.
Remember that Peggy climbed up on the kitchen counter in Three Sundays. What you may not remember is how important that moment was to Matt—they actually did not have time to get the shot the day they filmed the scene, and had to go back and do it separately. He wanted to show Peggy as full of life—radiant, which is what Father Gil responded to. Everything about her in that sequence was so much more natural than we’d seen in Season One—there she was, among her family, truly in her comfort zone (even if she would deny it to be so).
But also, Peggy is the youngest, and she’s little. I ran this whole thing by Deb–I’m 5’2″ish, and can’t reach a damn thing, and I can’t tell you how many times I climbed up in my mom’s kitchen cabinets. Deb is only a couple inches taller, but it was enough of a difference—she never climbed the counter.
Now in real life, Lizzie is about 5’4″, and Audrey Wasilewski, who plays her sister Anita, strikes me as rather diminutive. So really I think it was about showing, more so than Peggy’s littleness, her youthfulness as compared to the matronly-at-a-too-young-age Anita.
Regardless, what we know is that Peggy is a climber. And I just adore that kind of follow-through.
21 Responses to “Peggy over the wall”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I loved the overthewall scene too! MM provokes some wry, ironic comic moments (so many furnished by Roger), but this was a LOL moment — with a great almost-getting-caught flurish. And as a vertically challenged person myself, I totally relate to having to climb where others merely reach.
Of course Peggy's going to peek up to see what was going on! I just replayed Allison's hurling scene on my website and realized that when the paperweight hits the framed ads Peggy, sitting at her desk, must have also felt it on her side of the wall. Wouldn't you be curious?
I just love the insight that Peggy has been seen climbing things before.
Oh wow, now that you mention it – I recall that scene in Three Sundays. It was natural the way she climbed up there. I did that as a kid to get things for my mom. Thanks for pointing that. I will reflect on this – tells us alot about little Peggy.
That was hilarious – second only to "No, but he's renting it".
Great connection! I'd love to have seen how Don would've reacted had he caught her peek.
Yup, I'm 5'1 and I climb things all the time. I've never felt the need to invest in a step ladder. At work I'm always scaling shelves to reach things and people look at me like I'm nuts, or ask me if I need a hand, but us shorties are used to having to climb things and don't even think twice about it.
I'd like to add that Peggy also saw over Don's "wall" when she paid his bail.
It struck me very much like the scene from the Wizard of Oz when the curtain is pulled pack to reveal the sham about the Wizard. I'm still waiting for Peggy to get from Pete the information about Don's past which would totally pull back the Don's curtain for her.
Oh, and I'm wondering if Peggy is going to put in a peep-hole or a listen device…
she is a VERY clever person!
Great post, I had forgotten about Peggy getting the sherry for Father Gil. I myself am still scaling supermarket shelves.
#9, Peggy's clever but I can't see her putting that much effort into spying!
Shelf-scaler and cupboard climber myself and I totally would have climbed on my desk to peek over the wall. Loved Peggy in this episode even more than I usually do.
I've been wondering and haven't had a chance to go through all the threads, but knowing how nothing on MM is a coincidence, I'm wondering the significance of Peggy wearing a Jean Seberg style striped shirt to the party shortly after Pete mentions seeing a girl on the subway in a Jean Seberg shirt.
# 8 JohnR – that's a very astute observation. Once the curtain was pulled back the Wizard became a real person and was able help everyone's problem – Dorothy was able to finally go home.
But I think if Peggy knew about Don's real identity she would still have his back. She is like Anna – she cares for him – even when he is an A-hole to her at times.
That has made me curious – How many people know about Dick Whitman? Anna, Pete, Bert, Betty
Anna keeps his secret away from NY but it seems everyone in her family in CA calls Don “Dick” even though they surely know he was not her original husband.
Pete told Bert – has Bert told anyone else?
Does Rodger know?
Betty knows – has she told anyone? Will she
tell if provoked by Don to sell the house?
Eventually, will someone out him? or will he be smart and out himself first
the suspense builds
#13 Gingere "Anna keeps his secret away from NY but it seems everyone in her family in CA calls Don “Dick” even though they surely know he was not her original husband."
Gingere, you are a little confused. They call him Dick because he is Dick. They don't know he is also Don Draper. Don was Anna's original and only husband. She was never married to Dick.
Cheers
Remember the moment in "Sit Down, Take A Seat" when Pete told Trudy to call clients, and they each dashed off in the opposite direction? That reminded me of Peggy peeking over the wall.
My mind immediately went to Peggy climbing up onto the kitchen counter at home, too, when she climbed up to peek over the wall.
And, that Peggy is now as at home in the new office as she was in the home she grew up in – different from the others, but accepted, and the vibration around being an outsider who has infiltrated the fold feels most homelike to her.
A lot of bonding probably went on in the weeks when they worked at the Pierre, so Peggy is freer now to act as she wants. I hope the early days of SCDP will come up in conversation as we go along. For one thing, what did LGJr think of the temporary digs? Did he nudge Roger into the Time-Life Building?
# 14 Josie – OMG – thanks for correcting me – I had a senior moment.
This was honestly one of the best–yet seemingly tiny–moments in the entire episode, and one of Peggy's best moments thus far! I laughed at the "sight gag" (thanks for the term!) and yet I knew that it symbolized Peggy's ever-growing curiosity and confidence, not to mention the dissolution of the walls that Don has worked hard to construct around him.
I love JohnR's (#8) allusion to the Wizard of Oz. The new office digs are also important, as this kind of transparency could have never happened at SC.
That scene was awesome, though I must say, I'm 5'11'' and if I heard that much noise going on in the office next to mine and it was clear so I could peek in, I'd do the same thing too, though I'd have to crouch not to him my head. And though I don't have to do it often, I will happily hop on anything to get something I need which happens a lot when you work in oddly shaped cubicle office module places.
[...] Comes But Once a Year, we see Peggy pulling pencils out of the drop ceiling (another instance of Peggy climbing things). We have no idea why she’s doing [...]