Basket of Kisses

Exactly why did Don Draper sign the contract at the end of Seven Twenty Three?  Ostensibly, it was because of Bert Cooper’s threat to reveal his true identity.  But I think Don’s encounter with the grifters has as much to do with the decision as does Cooper’s efforts at extortion. 

The morning after getting rolled by Doug and Sandy, the hitchhikers Don picks up, he finds a handwritten note from them. It reads (bold added):

“Thanks for the help. We left you your car. Your Welcome“

“You’re Welcome” is misspelled as “Your Welcome” in the note. At first, it struck me as a reference to the fact that the couple eschewed formal education. However, there may be more going on here (this is Mad Men afterall). The note could also reflect the rocky “welcome” Don has received upon his first foray into the new social paradigm introduced in S3.

(more…)

1998’s Who moved my cheese?, by Spencer Johnson, stresses the importance of being prepared for the inevitable changes that are going to occur in the workplace.

The book is told as an allegory featuring two mice, “Sniff” and “Scurry,” and two tiny humans, “Hem” and “Haw.” The maze they live in is a microcosm for all places of employment and they spend their time searching for happiness and success as represented by cheese. Only Sniff and Scurry notice when the cheese supply in their small area of the maze begins to dwindle and they take proactive steps to find a new source. On the other hand, Hem and Haw, as their names suggest, are oblivious to the shrinking cheese supply and taken by surprise when it’s totally exhausted. Their initial response is only to complain about the ”unfairness” of the situation. By the time they try to find other sources of cheese, it’s too late.

There’s seems to be a bit of this going on in Shut the Door. Have a Seat. Ever since PPL took over Sterling Cooper and began downsizing it, the amount of “cheese” available for executives like Don, Peggy, Pete, Harry and Paul has been getting smaller. This indeed has been the topic of many a bitch session in Season 3. Don thought he had found a rich new supply in Conrad Hilton. I realize this is a stretch, but I love the irony of Hilton’s association with the moon and the old myth about it being made of green cheese. The McCann Erickson acquisition is the last straw. The cheese supply looks like it was about to be totally removed. Don’s reaction, like Hem and Haw, is to rail at the less then sympathetic Hilton.

After venting his spleen, Don is inspired to start the coup with Bert, Roger and Pryce which results in the creation of Sterling Cooper Draper and Pryce. As the newly assembled team leaves their old office, one of the boxes they carry out with them is clearly labeled “Velveeta.”  The McCann deal moved their cheese.  So, they decided to take it back.

After the trauma of the JFK assassination last week, Mad Men’s finale takes a much lighter approach.  Consistent with its title, Shut the Door. Have a Seat offered viewers a comfortable chair (or Wentworth) to cool down in after the wild ride of Season Three.  That’s not to say important things didn’t happen.  They did. And there’s still a lot to be resolved (Sal’s future, most notably).  But more loose character threads were tied up than left dangling.  In some cases, I felt these threads were a little too neatly mended as Don, Bert and Roger get “the band” back together.  But, perhaps more on that another time.

A common element running throughout Shut the Door. Have a Seat was the idea of losing one’s blinders of blissful ignorance to the shocking light of reality.  This is done by literally depicting many of the characters being jolted out of a deep sleep.

In fact, the first shot of the episode shows Don waking up.  He’ll be facing many surprises this episode:  Betty’s affair, the sale of PPL, Peggy’s bitterness toward him, the fact that he really likes the ad biz, etc.  Bert complains to Don about being woken up for an “emergency” meeting at Sterling Cooper.  When Bert expresses reluctance about buying the company back, a frustrated Don tells him to go “back to sleep.” There’s a glass of milk on Bert’s coffee table that’s echoed later when Carla gives the Draper children milk before being putting them to bed.

(more…)

Bert Cooper: Would you say I know something about you, Don?
Don Draper: I would.

The Gold Violin and Seven Twenty Three

In The Gold Violin, YodaBert says this to Don as a way of welcoming him into the elite. I know who you were, this is who you are now. In Nixon vs. Kennedy, Cooper didn’t care who Don had been, because a man is the room he’s standing in. Fast forward to The Gold Violin, and YodaBert is telling Don exactly the nature of that room.

He’s telling him again. “Philanthropy is the gateway to power.” “Sign the fucking contract.”

They’re kind of the same thing: Be the man who stands in this room. That man is wealthy, respectable, powerful, and committed. That man is not a hobo. That man signs a contract. 7/23/63