Peggy, about to be embarrassed
As I sit here watching the still rings event finals for the men in Beijing, let’s talk about the latest episode of Mad Men: Season 2, Episode 4.
First off, in my opinion, this was the strongest episode of the second season. Thus far, I don’t think Season 2 measures up to the drama, tension, and frankly, novelty of Season 1. I think we’ve strayed a bit too far from the smaller-scale stories like Don Draper’s past, the Peggy-Pete dynamic, and Betty’s growing insanity.
Betty and her gun
Betty and her dress
That said, Episode 4 was terrific. Some thoughts:
1. My new favorite character? Don Draper’s daughter, Sally.
When Don finds out that he has to go in to the office on Palm Sunday to deal with the American Airlines, and when Betty has to take Bobby into the emergency room for his burn, Don takes a deep breath and looks down at Sally…. who proceeds to clap enthusiastically! Loved that moment. Sally also got a chance to observe a lot of people at the office, most interestingly Pete Campbell taking a little swipe at Don behind his back, and Duck Phillips using that frustration to unite some employees against Don. Will that come back to haunt them? I wonder, probably not. But you just never know.
2. In a moment of great casting, Don’s son Bobby looks a lot like Don’s half-brother.
That last conversation between Bobby and Don really brought out an almost sad look from Bobby that harkened back to Don’s half brother. Overall, this was a very interesting episode to me, precisely because of this hinting back to Don’s hidden past and his seemingly lasting issues regarding his childhood. Also, the fight with Betty revealed a few things that will definitely play out for this season:
a. That theme of distance between man and woman, husband and wife, has come back strong here, right when it looked like Don and Betty were starting to really grow a little closer. Betty had no idea about Don’s past, about how deeply his father hurt him both physically and psychologically, and so she kept pushing Don to discipline Bobby by hitting him. And Don never took the opportunity to talk to Betty, let her know about his past, not until they had a shoving match. And even in the end, Don left a lot unsaid to Betty. Why? What is preventing him from opening up to her? And how long will Bobbi (the manager) hold sway over Don’s fidelity?
b. Father figures. Don is becoming more of one for Bobby. I still think we’ll see a bit of a relationship between Don and Pete. Betty may need to rely on her parents a bit more if Don can’t come through. There’s something a little fatherly between Roger Sterling and Joan. And to get religious, the Father and Peggy had a quick falling out… but will that reverse itself in the future? Where will some of these play out?
3. Duck Phillips and Don Draper are coming to a brutal fight.
It’s clear that Don made a professional mistake bringing in Duck Phillips. It almost seems like Duck is Don’s boss, what with making Don go through that terrible breakup with Mohawk, with Roger seemingly taking Duck’s side on everything… It makes me think that Don’s standing as partner at the firm is going to be in jeopardy. How will Pete side on this one? After all, with American falling way way through, Pete no longer has a reason to stick with Duck… in fact, he’s back to square one in a way.
Some additional thoughts? Add them in the comments section!
