“They say, as soon as you have to cut down on drinking, you have a drinking problem,” Don intones, while we watch him dive in a pool for a swim. It is a healthy rebirth, like a baptism in the River Jordan. Still, his health is poor and his mind a jumble. It is June 1965, and the Rolling Stones score a hit with “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction).” (For you history freaks, yes, that single was released in the U.S. in June 1965.) The song is an interesting choice, what with its blatant frustration over commercialism on the radio and on tv. The lyrics, too, remind us of Don’s white shirt, his cigarettes, and his failure to get “girl reaction.” But times are a-changin’ for our mad ad man.
At the office, Peggy feels like (the famous anthropologist) Margaret Mead, observing the boys club’s odd behavior around the candy bar vending machine. When Joan demands that they keep it quiet, the new kid Joey tells her off, calling her a Shanghai whore walking around like she is trying to get raped. He later draws a sketch of Joan and Lane having sex and sticks it to her office window. His sexism is unnerving. Joan is already on edge because her husband Greg (the man who raped her in the office to vent his own insecurities) is leaving for basic training before being shipped out to Vietnam. She has no friends and no one else to talk to beside him.
Since Ken Cosgrove brought in Mountain Dew, Don wants to bring in more creative talent, especially after their ad concept was rejected – and he asks Joan to hire Joey full-time. She tries to tell him about Joey’s inappropriate behavior (generalizing her own experience as if it is office-wide, which only Peggy notices), but Don brushes her off with the old “boys will be boys.” Joan, as always, wants to fight her own battle at the office, but Peggy feels drawn in as she has long been upset by the boys club’s misconduct. Don encourages her to get some respect for herself and she demands that Joey apologizes to Joan. When he refuses, she outright fires him. Joan is none too pleased, “All you’ve done is prove to them that I’m a meaningless secretary and you’re another humorless bitch.” There is truth to that, but what is really going on is that Joan feels outmaneuvered.
Betty informs Don that he cannot have the children this weekend, because it is Gene’s second birthday. When her husband is having a business diner with a political aide at some fancy restaurant in the city, he brings Betty along, who notices to her great consternation that Don is sitting there with his date Bethany van Nuys (the actress Anna Camp who also played the wife of Fellowship of the Sun freak Steve Newlin on True Blood). Only now does it dawn on me how similar their names are, Beth and Betty. Betty cannot hide her distress seeing Don with another blonde, while Beth cannot help smiling about their resemblance. It is awfully gratifying seeing Betty argue with that Henry Francis of hers in his car on the ride back home. Don is taking too much space in her life, he worries. And then the scene cuts to Don and his pretty blonde Beth kissing in the back of a cab. She even goes down on him!
It does not take long before Don is kissing another blonde in a cab! This time it is Faye Miller. He had asked to discuss her research over dinner, but she pushed him for a proper date (although that is strange, because she has been pushing him off all this time). Earlier, he overheard her breaking up with a man. So, he confidently suggests dinner on Saturday. Meanwhile, Henry called Don at the office asking him to collect his boxes still stored in the garage – on Saturday, because it is Gene’s birthday on Sunday (an implicit way of saying Don is not welcome at the party). At his date with Faye, Don shares his run-in with Betty and Henry, and that he feels unwelcome at his son’s birthday. She encourages him to go nevertheless. Their cab ride home is in marvelous contrast to his ride with Beth. They kiss, but he drops her off with a cool, “that’s as far as I can go right now.” Of course, his rejection only makes him more attractive to Faye. Next day, Don does attend his son’s party, literally bringing a plush elephant in the room. Betty stares at him, and it is unclear whether she is confident that she is better off now, or if she is wondering if she should have stayed with him.
At the office, Peggy feels like (the famous anthropologist) Margaret Mead, observing the boys club’s odd behavior around the candy bar vending machine. When Joan demands that they keep it quiet, the new kid Joey tells her off, calling her a Shanghai whore walking around like she is trying to get raped. He later draws a sketch of Joan and Lane having sex and sticks it to her office window. His sexism is unnerving. Joan is already on edge because her husband Greg (the man who raped her in the office to vent his own insecurities) is leaving for basic training before being shipped out to Vietnam. She has no friends and no one else to talk to beside him.
Since Ken Cosgrove brought in Mountain Dew, Don wants to bring in more creative talent, especially after their ad concept was rejected – and he asks Joan to hire Joey full-time. She tries to tell him about Joey’s inappropriate behavior (generalizing her own experience as if it is office-wide, which only Peggy notices), but Don brushes her off with the old “boys will be boys.” Joan, as always, wants to fight her own battle at the office, but Peggy feels drawn in as she has long been upset by the boys club’s misconduct. Don encourages her to get some respect for herself and she demands that Joey apologizes to Joan. When he refuses, she outright fires him. Joan is none too pleased, “All you’ve done is prove to them that I’m a meaningless secretary and you’re another humorless bitch.” There is truth to that, but what is really going on is that Joan feels outmaneuvered.
Betty informs Don that he cannot have the children this weekend, because it is Gene’s second birthday. When her husband is having a business diner with a political aide at some fancy restaurant in the city, he brings Betty along, who notices to her great consternation that Don is sitting there with his date Bethany van Nuys (the actress Anna Camp who also played the wife of Fellowship of the Sun freak Steve Newlin on True Blood). Only now does it dawn on me how similar their names are, Beth and Betty. Betty cannot hide her distress seeing Don with another blonde, while Beth cannot help smiling about their resemblance. It is awfully gratifying seeing Betty argue with that Henry Francis of hers in his car on the ride back home. Don is taking too much space in her life, he worries. And then the scene cuts to Don and his pretty blonde Beth kissing in the back of a cab. She even goes down on him!
It does not take long before Don is kissing another blonde in a cab! This time it is Faye Miller. He had asked to discuss her research over dinner, but she pushed him for a proper date (although that is strange, because she has been pushing him off all this time). Earlier, he overheard her breaking up with a man. So, he confidently suggests dinner on Saturday. Meanwhile, Henry called Don at the office asking him to collect his boxes still stored in the garage – on Saturday, because it is Gene’s birthday on Sunday (an implicit way of saying Don is not welcome at the party). At his date with Faye, Don shares his run-in with Betty and Henry, and that he feels unwelcome at his son’s birthday. She encourages him to go nevertheless. Their cab ride home is in marvelous contrast to his ride with Beth. They kiss, but he drops her off with a cool, “that’s as far as I can go right now.” Of course, his rejection only makes him more attractive to Faye. Next day, Don does attend his son’s party, literally bringing a plush elephant in the room. Betty stares at him, and it is unclear whether she is confident that she is better off now, or if she is wondering if she should have stayed with him.
"Girl reaction." Oh man, I always thought it was "girly action." Thanks for the history lesson(s).
ReplyDeleteSame here! Thanks for the post, and you're welcome. History is my business (-:
ReplyDelete