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'Mad Men' Minutes: Who Will Come To The Emotional Rescue?
WHOA. OKAY, WAIT. THE STUFF THAT'S BEEN GOING ON SINCE LAST SUNDAY'S EPISODE IS GIVING MORE OF A BUZZ THAN ANY BOOZE. Although, I’ve chosen a very potent blend of Long Island Iced Tea to get me through tonight’s sideshow.
For starters, sweet little Sally Draper is trying her hand at smoking. Caught between puffs in the tiny bathroom by Betty, Sally drops the cigarette in the sink and delivers my own familiar standby, “I wasn’t smoking.” Next week, she’ll graduate to, “I was just holding it for a friend.” Heh. Incensed, Betty yells at her, “You could have burned the house down!” Which, you know, TRUE, but also, she can get cancer from those things. But I suppose that little nugget of truth is still about twenty or so years away from discovery.
Anyway, so Sally’s rebelling, and Betty’s reeling, wondering what’s going to happen next, but prolonging this purgatorial stint before the shit really hits the fan. Seems like there’s a lot of that going around.
Cooper, Sterling and Cooper’s relatives are trying to decide whether or not to sell the agency to Putnam, Powell & Lowe – and of course, it’s a tough decision: sell out for all that money or keep going as is and stay in charge of everything. I’ll bet you’ll never guess what they choose.
We see Don get off a bus in California and knock on the door of the ACTUAL Mrs. Draper. Remember, last season, we saw how Don Draper came to be Don Draper. Don’t forget that he’s actually Dick Whitman, and his sergeant, Don Draper, was killed in combat. Don/Dick stepped in as Don in order to make a new life for himself and escape his family. After the war, Don got a job at a car dealership (where Ann Draper ran into him and accused him of not being Don Draper), and now he and Ann have actually become very close. Turns out Don and Ann are like family, and pretend to be when Don introduces Ann to Betty. Hmm. Well played, Don/Dick.
So Don is spilling his guts (well, in a Don Draper sort of way) to Ann about his marriage and how he’s fucked everything up. The look on Ann’s face basically says, “Yeah, you did. Nice job.” Is it me, or does it seem like Dick Whitman just wants to keep destroying his life again and again so he can start over? Or is he just plain self-destructive?
Meanwhile, back at Sterling Cooper, Trudy has snuck in an appointment with an adoption agency, and Pete hits the roof when his secretary tells him. He goes home and they fight about it, with Pete being the usual drama queen and trying to illustrate his point by pretending to jump out the window. This guy is a one-man douche-a-rama, I tell you what. I am constantly amazed by what the women on this show deem acceptable behavior from men, and can see why Peggy is more interested in getting her name on the door at work. Which brings me to more interesting news: Peggy scores Rummy’s office.
This brassy, brazen bitch walked right up to Sterling and said she wanted the office, and that she was bringing in business and felt she deserved it. I was totally cheering for her, even if Roger was condescending: “You women today are so aggressive. It’s cute.” PUKE, but hey, it did the trick. Go Peggy!
Cut to a scene of Joan and Greg in bed. It’s time to get amorous, but Greg is tired, so Joan offers to, as she says, “drive.” Greg gets all suspicious and Joan’s like, “Come on. There was no before,” so she must have told him she was a virgin -- a lie that's so unbelievably fantastic. So what’s going on? Is she this desperate to settle down? I never thought I’d see the day where Joan would be so…so…insecure. But, as the ad men say, wait! There’s more!
It turns out Greg is not the All-American, perfect hero we expect. Joan brings him around for a visit, and they slip into Don’s office for a nip, where Greg proceeds to rape Joan on the floor! Then, they get up and go…to…dinner. Um.
This shit is getting WEIRD, cats.
Were you wondering what’s going on with Betty? Especially after last week’s revelation with Glen’s mom that she’s the head of the household? Well, I’ll have you know that Betty is RUNNIN’ THANGS. You’ll notice a marked difference in her from the start – much more aggressive, although still insecure. She’s also become sneaky, as evidenced by her phone call to Sara Beth, her riding partner. As you might have suspected, Sara Beth hooked up with that young guy they ride with after Betty flaked out on that country club lunch. Sara Beth tells Betty this, and a peeved Betty tells her that she shouldn’t have done that. Sara Beth accuses Betty of wanting that ride herself and Betty doesn’t deny it. But says that there’s a difference between wanting and having and Sara Beth should have understood that. True, but part of me wonders just how devious Betty really is…brrr. With friends like that, you really don’t need enemies.
Speaking of frenemies, Peggy moves into Rummy’s office and Joan is typing quietly just outside the doorway. The two stop to chat, and Peggy wonders aloud about Don. Joan’s kind of meh about the Don situation (I mean, with him gone, there’s probably not a lot to do, which…sweet!). Peggy compliments her on Greg, who’s dreamy. You know, aside from that whole date-rapey thing. Enter Kinsey, who’s fresh from a dangerous race protest down South. Sheila dumped him, which isn’t really a surprise. He probably babbled about how everyone’s the same, and she thought it best to distance herself from the kind of concentrated rage that those kinds of oversimplified statements create. Wise lady, that Sheila. Wanna bet that he and Joan get back together?
Back to Betty: she and Sally begin to talk. Betty says she realizes she’s been unfair to her and that it’s time to talk to her like a big girl. So she lays it out: Dad and I had a fight, he’s gone away for a while. Just know that everything’s going to be okay. Sally seems happy with this explanation. Hopefully, she’ll quit smoking. I can’t bear the sight of an eight-year-old smoking. I have a mouth like a sailor and I love a you’re-going-to-hell kind of joke, but damn. Even I have limits, people.
Lastly, as Peggy enjoys her new office view with a shot of J&B left over in Rummy’s stash, Pete drops by to chat. He’s been doing that a lot lately. I think he misses Peggy a little bit. Aww. You sweet little douchebag.
He tells her about how Clearasil is pulling out of Sterling Cooper (although he fails to really mention the details behind it – that his father-in-law is upset that he won’t help Trudy adopt), and she asks about the LA trip Pete took with Don. He tells her that Don just disappeared, but he didn’t call the police because he’s done this sort of thing before. Peggy is left wondering where her dashing mentor might be, and we then see Chisel Cheeks standing hip deep in the ocean, daring it to take him away.
Pssh. Coward. I need another drink.
Miz J, who works in advertising, has tons of opinions and a big mouth to broadcast them across the globe; however, the Internet saves her the trouble of yelling. Check out her blog at Miz J.
Posted October 20, 2008
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