Last night’s Mad Men - what a doozy! Again, nothing and everything happened at the same time… but mostly everything, this time.
The episode begins with Betty Draper taking the kids to dead Grandpa Gene’s house for Halloween, where Betty gets into a disagreement with her brother William over what to do with the house. But Betty’s mind is elsewhere - she just discovered husband Don Draper’s big secrets! She pulls the family lawyer aside and confides in him (”He’s been married before… It’s a lie so big”). He basically waves her away and tells her to stay in the marriage unless she feels physically threatened. Ugh.
Meanwhile, Don takes Betty’s absence as an opportunity to get some more time with lover Suzanne Farrell. However, Miss Farrell thinks something’s up - regardless of their nights of bliss, “I see a man who is not happy,” which he denies. She goes on to admit to him that she wants more from him and their relationship than she thought she would. He seems somehow alright with that, and proposes that they go on a trip out of town together for the week that Betty’s out of town. They settle on Norwich, Connecticut, for some reason.
Across town, Sterling Cooper’s got a new PR emergency to solve. Annabelle Mathis of dog food company Caldecott Farms comes to the agency, hoping to fix her company’s image. It seems yes, dogs love the food but no, owners aren’t really into the fact that it’s made out of horse meat (think of the ponies!).
It turns out, however, that newly-widowed Annabelle’s visit to Sterling Cooper might have some ulterior motives. It’s apparent right away that she and Roger Sterling have a romantic past and, when they go out to dinner later that night, we find out that she’d left him years ago for her husband. She tries to get sexy with him, but he turns her down.
Joan Holloway is practicing with her man Dr. Greg for upcoming interviews as he prepares to make the medical switch into psychiatry. She gets him to open up a bit about his father’s nervous breakdown and why he might be interested in pursuing psychiatry, and all seems fine.
The next day, at a Caldecott Farms dog food focus group, the gang watch a handful of test subjects and their dogs interact with the dog food. It looks like the dogs are loving it - but when the owners find out that the food is Caldecott, they freak (ponies!!!). Don Draper gives it to Annabelle straight: she needs to rename the product STAT and free herself from all negative connotation. Annabelle takes offense to this and runs out, with Roger following - he knows there’s more to it. Annabelle confesses that he was “the one,” that she never got over him and always regretted letting him go. Roger responds by basically telling her that he got over it long ago. She wasn’t his “one.”
Later that night, Don and Miss Farrell are all packed up and ready to go on their romantic getaway. Don pulls the car up to his house to quickly run in and grab something for the trip, and is met with the icy gaze of wife Betty, who is unexpectedly home from her trip to Grandpa Gene’s. She takes him to his drawer o’ secrets and shows him that she’s got the keys and knows its contents. Betty knows he changed his name, he’s divorced, he purchase a home for a woman in Long Beach. “I respected your privacy too long,” she tells him. What gives?
Don Draper / Dick Whitman is knocked off his ass and responds unexpectedly: with the truth! Don breaks down and tells her everything; he opens the box and tells her about his mother the prostitute, the real Don Draper, his relationship with Anna Draper, and even the part about his half-brother Adam Whitman, who killed himself after coming to Don / Dick for help and being turned away. Don bursts into tears and Betty, never wavering from her steely demeanor, lends him a comforting hand on the shoulder.
Outside, Miss Farrell realizes Don isn’t coming back to the car and starts walking home dejectedly, suitcase in hand.
The next morning, Don gives all three of his children kisses on the head and exchanges a warm look in his stone-faced wife before leaving for work. At Sterling Cooper, he shuts himself into his office and immediately calls Miss Farrell to apologize for ditching. “Did you get caught?” she asks him. “It’s more complicated than that,” he answers. I think it’s safe to say their affair is over for the time being.
Meanwhile, our Joanie finds Dr. Greg wallowing in his own filth in front of the TV, all boozed up - he’s clearly botched up the interview, just like he did that surgery! Obv, he takes it out on her: “Stop acting like you know everything,” he tells Joan. “You don’t know what it’s like to want something your whole life, and to plan for it, and count on it, and not get it.” EXCCUUUUUSE ME?! I believe Joan had always dreamed leaving the degrading working world (a man’s world!) and marrying a doctor who could provide for her - not a pathetic whiny baby. Joan’s next move? To smash a flower vase against his head. Suck it, Dr. Greg!
What does Joan do next? Calls up old buddy Roger Sterling back at Sterling Cooper and asks him to get the word out that she’s looking for new work - something above office management and department store work. He seems more than happy to track down a role for her (”She’s expensive,” he boastfully tells a lead).
However, in the end, a new job may not be needed. Dr. Greg apologizes to Joan and tells her he’s joined the Army to become a surgeon again and support her as planned. Seems like a pretty decent idea - however, since I’m writing this blog post from the future, I know that things might not work out so well for Dr. Greg. I think we all know where he’s headed: Vietnam!
“The Gypsy and the Hobo” ends with Don and Betty taking the kids out trick-or-treating. Little lisping Sally is dressed as a gypsy and Bobby, a hobo. The clan walks up to a neighboring house, and the man at the door immediately identifies them as such. “And who are you supposed to be?” neighbor man lightheartedly asks Don and Betty. Don responds with a wry smile - is he Dick or is he Don? End scene, cue the song “Where is Love?” from the musical Oliver!
Ah yes, and furthermore! Don is Dick, but Don, too, is the gypsy and the hobo. A hobo is a tramp, a wandering worker. A gypsy is a traveler with the reputation of swindling folks out of their money. The distinction is perhaps negligible, but marked; it can be said that Don, himself, climbed from poor vagrant (farmer’s son / salesman) to wandering swindler (advertising wiz / adulterer) over the years. And yet, though they are different, they are essentially the same. Don can’t really escape his true essence… Dick Whitman will always come back to haunt!
And Don is Oliver! The musical (based on Charles Dickens‘ Oliver Twist) is one I know well; it follows orphan Oliver as he dares ask for more porridge at the orphanage, as he falls into a group of pickpockets, as he wants nothing more than a family, a place to be, a sense of belonging.
HELLO! What is Don Draper if not an orphan who asked for more? What is advertising if not picking the pockets of the common man? What is all the adultery if not a chance to feel as if he belongs to someone/something significant for a moment?
Has Don Draper turned over a new leaf with all this honesty? Will he find a place to belong within the structure of his family? Or is it too late for Betty? Oh, how that woman has suffered!
Leave your thoughts. So curious to find out more.
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