Mad Men: “Wee Small Hours”

This episode begins with Betty lying on the chaise longue, being caressed by an unseen man. Just as he leans over to kiss her, her dream is interrupted by a ringing telephone. It’s Connie, who asks Don if he ever prays over difficult problems. Don, confused by the late call and a now screaming Eugene, takes notes as Connie offers him all of Hilton’s international business. Connie sees Hilton as an outpost of America everywhere, and says that he wants Hilton Hotels all over the world, even the moon. He tells Don to write up a proposal for the the New York hotels as convention centers and get it to him by noon the next day.

Don can’t sleep, so he gets dressed and starts driving to work. He only gets a little way from home when he sees Suzanne Farrell jogging down the road. He asks what she’s doing, and she says that she likes jogging in the early morning because it’s quiet and no one bothers her. He offers her a lift home, which she accepts. On the way to her house, she listens to Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech with rapt attention. She says that she’s going to read the speech to her students. An amazed Don then asks if she’s “dumb or pure”. Don then invites her to get a cup of coffee; she declines, saying too much coffee might be the reason he can’t get to sleep.

We then see Allison sorting papers on Don’s desk. He greets her good morning – he had been sleeping on the sofa – which startles her. He asks her to get some papers typed up and sent to Hilton’s office before he leaves for Europe. She says that he’s going to California and that his office has already left two messages.

Back at the Drapers, Carla walks in with the newspaper. Betty opens it up to see an article that talks about how Barry Goldwater will likely be the GOP candidate in 1964, and that party insiders have written off Rockefeller’s chances for the nomination. She throws the paper down, then tells Carla that she didn’t sleep last night. Carla tells her to go take a nap. Instead, Betty goes upstairs and writes Henry a note: “does anyone else read this? – B”.

Back at the office, Kurt, Smitty and Peggy are pitching Don ideas for Hilton… only Don doesn’t like any of them, even his own! When Kurt shows Don one of his own ideas – a grid of 16 pictures of  Hilton Hotels throughout the world with the tagline “Go. We’ll meet you anywhere” – Don quips that now that he understands Kurt (who is losing his Swedish accent), he likes his ideas even less. Smitty laughs, but Don isn’t in the mood. “Give me more ideas to reject. I can’t do this all by myself”, he says.

On the set of a Lucky Strike commercial, Lee Garner Jr. offers Pete a cigarette. Pete tries to tell him that it’s a bad idea, but Lee is insistent. He lights up a Lucky for Pete, who takes a drag… and coughs for several minutes. Meanwhile, Lee is having “artistic issues” with the direction of Sal’s commercial. Sal wants the male model to take a puff off a cigarette and look into the horizon, thus causing the viewer to focus on the Lucky Strike cigarette. Lee wants him to stare directly into the camera. Lee turns to Harry and asks what he thinks. Harry takes the easy way out by saying that Lee is the client and it should be done the want he wants.

We then see Don driving home. He slows down at the spot where he picked up Suzanne. She isn’t jogging that night, so he speeds up and continues home.

Some time later, we see the kids returning from their first day at school. Betty spies that day’s mail on the counter, and sees a letter from Henry Francis on top of the pile. Eugene starts crying, and Carla, with a knowing look, says that she’ll handle the baby. Betty opens the letter to find that Henry has given her a private address that she can write to. Betty smiles, puts the letter back in the envelope, then puts it in her purse.

Late one night, we see Sal, Lee and Jerry (a technician) looking at an early cut of the Lucky Strike commercial. Jerry leaves to work on the audio for the commercial, leaving Sal and Lee alone. Lee says that he’s fascinated by how commercials are made, but when Sal asks if he wants to get in to films instead of (or in addition to) cigarettes, Lee says that he can’t “as long as [his] father’s alive”. Lee then says that he had a “long, wet lunch”. When Sal asks him to take a look at the commercial again (on a tiny projector), Lee leans over Sal’s shoulder to have a look. Lee puts his hand inside Sal’s vest then tries to embrace him. Sal nervously gets up, leading Lee to say that Jerry isn’t coming back for a while and that he’ll lock the door. Sal says that he’s married; Lee says that he is too. Sal says that there’s been a misunderstanding; Lee looks at him with a grin and says “I know what I know”. To try and end the situation, Sal walks over to the light switch, turns the light on and says that they’ll have the commercial ready as early as tomorrow morning. Lee walks towards the door, but stops to say that he understands that Sal’s “at work” and that the whole thing is “too bad”. After Lee leaves, Sal hurls some film canisters at the wall.

Back at the Draper home, the kids watch cartoons while Betty watches, nursing a drink. We hear her writing a letter to Henry, saying how glad she is to have a place to write to him, and how glad she is that the children are back in school. She says that she likes the idea of looking forward to the mail everyday, then apologizes for being rusty with her letter writing. She also says that she has thoughts and that she often wonders where he is and what he’s doing. She then says that they’ve only met three times and that she wishes she had a better metal picture of him.

Late one night, Harry and Paul are sitting in his office watching TV. Paul wants to change the channel, but Harry says that he can’t, as he needs to make sure that the networks are running the ads Sterling Cooper has paid for. The phone suddenly rings. It’s a drunken Lee, who tells Harry that he wants Sal fired, and he wants that kept a secret between the two of them. Harry protests that he doesn’t have the authority to fire Sal, and then says that the commercial is turning out beautifully. He says that Lee “has an eye” and asks if he’s enjoying the city. Lee says that he is. Harry then says that he has to go; Lee apologizes for bothering him, then hangs up. When Paul asks what that was all about, Harry says that he can’t tell him. But he can’t keep a secret, and seconds later is telling him what Lee had said. When Paul asks what he’s going to do, Harry says that he’s not going to panic and do something stupid. Paul says that that’s a good start. Paul notices that the TV show is back on and turns up the TV; Harry frets because he’s missed the commercials.

We then see Don, awake in bed with a sleeping Betty… when the phone rings. It is, of course, Connie, who invites him to the Waldorf to have a drink. Don says that he can be there in an hour.

At the hotel, Connie busts out some Prohibition-era liquor (“I have two cases, and they both say ‘hair tonic’ on the side”). Connie gulps it down easily, while Don makes a face and says that he “remembers this” (the awful taste of homemade hooch). Connie then launches into what amounts to a monologue about how he’s lonely. Don says that perhaps he is working too much; Connie says that he’s not working enough. He says that it’s his mission to provide America to the world, “whether they like it or not”. He says that America is a force for good, because we have God and the Communists don’t… and that is one of their most important beliefs. Connie then mentions the Marshall Plan, and how every country that saw it wanted to be us. Don says that he’s glad Connie is telling him all this, and he reaches for a notepad and starts writing down what Connie is saying. Connie then says that what really got to Khrushchev was that he couldn’t go to Disneyland. Don laughs, and Connie asks if he’s ever heard that before. Don says that he has, but that it sounded beautiful coming from Connie. Connie says that he doesn’t want any politics in his ad campaign, but that there should be goodness and confidence. The business talk over, Connie says that he sometimes feels like King Midas. Connie says that Don feels like “an angel… a son”. He says that Don is even more than a son, because Don didn’t grow up with all the advantages that Hilton’s sons did. “Thank you,” Don says “I mean that.” Don and Connie toast with more of the hooch.

The next morning Henry shows up unexpectedly at the Draper residence. Betty tells him to come in quickly, that “her girl (Carla) is due back any minute. Henry, gushing like a schoolboy, says that he stopped by after getting his mail, and that he drove around for a while before deciding to come over. The two hold hands, but only do so for a second before they hear the backdoor slam – Carla is home. They break their embrace, and Henry ad-libs a story about stopping by to see if the Draper’s home would be good enough to hold a fundraiser. Their conceit is obvious, but Carla doesn’t say anything.

Back at Sterling Cooper, a nervous Sal tries to load the Lucky Strike commercial into a film projector in the conference room, but is all thumbs, so he asks Lucy to do it. Harry nervously taps at the credenza, which causes Roger to order him to knock it off. The door opens, and Lee walks in with Pete just as he’s telling the punchline to a joke. Lee loses his smile the second he looks over and sees Sal sitting there, instead he turns and leaves the room. Pete, not knowing what’s going on, goes after Lee. Roger asks Sal what’s going on, but Sal denies knowing anything. He then turns to Harry, who says that he knows what just happened. He then explains that a drunken Lee called, but he (Harry) thought that the whole thing would blow over. When Roger asks why none of the partners were told, Harry says that Lee told him not too ,and he didn’t feel like he had any other choice. Roger then tells Harry that this type of situation is exactly what the accounts people are for. When Pete comes in and says that Lee’s gone, Roger turns to Sal and says that he’s fired. He later turns to Harry and tells him to “use his last dying breath” to tell Don about this.

Outside the conference room, Sal ties to get Harry to talk to him, but he’s in too big a rush to get to Don’s office. Both walk in to Don’s office with such serious looks that Don asks who died. Harry and Sal explain the situation, which angers Don as Lucky Strike is a $25 million account. He tells Harry to get out of his office, leaving Don and Sal alone.After dancing around the issue for a while , Sal eventually tells Don what really happened. Don suddenly turns cold on Sal, saying “you must have been shocked” with a mild amount of sarcasm in his voice and further saying that  “nothing happened… because you’re married”. Sal “swears on his mother’s life” that he’s telling the truth, and Don asks if he sure he wants to do that. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Don asks. Sal asks if  he was supposed to just “do whatever” to make Lee happy. “What if it was some girl?”, Sal asks. Don says that it would depend on the girl and what he knew about her. While looking at the floor and shaking his head, Don seals Sal’s fate with two words… “you people”. Sal says he didn’t do anything other than turn Lee down, and that he’s a bully. “Lucky Strike can shut off our lights. I think you know this is the way it has to be”, Don says.

Back at home, Carla serves the kids dinner while Betty (as always) smokes a cigarette. Bobby tells Carla that he didn’t want salad in a sassy tone that draws a rebuke from Betty. Carla, meaning well, asks Bobby what he’d like instead; this causes Betty to tell her to call it a day. Just then, Don walks in. He says hi to the kids and when Betty asks how his day was he simply says “not good”. Betty says “the man from the governor’s office” stopped by that afternoon and he wants to have a fundraiser at their house. Don says that’s fine as long as he doesn’t have to be there. He then asks when, and she says “soon, next week, I think”. Don says he needs to go lie down. Carla leaves, but not before exchanging a look with Betty.

We then see Sal, almost alone in the office, going through some of his old ads. He’s almost in tears.

Betty then calls Henry at his office. She tells him that her husband has approved the fundraiser, but the entire conversation is actually a secret code for them having an affair, as Don is in the next room. “I guess you’re going through with this,” Henry says. “I had to,” Betty whispers.

The next day we see Don giving his big presentation to Conrad Hilton. Don begins his pitch by talking about Rome and Athens, and how pictures of their fabulous ruins can make anyone’s pulse quicken. But what’s been missing from Hilton’s ads are the necessary luxuries that Americans have grown used to. “The average American,” he says “experiences a level of luxury that belongs only to kings in most of the world”. Don says that “Hilton” will be the one word needed in any language for the international travel, the one thing needed to combine the thrill of international travel with the comforts of home. He then shows Conrad and his people a series of mock ups containing phrases like “How do you say ‘ice water’ in Italian? Hilton” and “How do you say ‘fresh towels’ in Farsi? Hilton” and so on. Connie objects to the last mockup – which says “How do you say ‘hamburger’ in Japanese? Hilton” – because he doesn’t like the sound of “hamburger” and “Hilton” together. Perhaps, he suggests, they use fried chicken instead? Connie says that the ads are clever, yet friendly, and that they drawn you in. He then says that the ads don’t say anything about the moon. When Don says that the moon isn’t an actual destination yet, Connie says that he couldn’t have been more clear about wanting the moon in the ads. Don apologizes for misunderstanding what Connie had wanted, then says that he’s sure there must be a way to fit the moon into the campaign. “Well… isn’t this something”, Connie says. He then asks for a moment alone with Don. Everyone leaves the room except for the two, and Don nervously talks up the good attributes of the campaign. Connie tells him to calm down, and that he’s going to speak honestly with him.. because “people must not do that” with Don very often. He asks Don if he’s just supposed to say yes to everything he does. Don says that most admen believe that clients are what gets in the way of good work, but he’s never experienced that. Connie says that Don didn’t give him what he wanted. Don says that it’s a great campaign. Connie says “Fine. What do you want from me, love?” He says that Don’s work is good… but when he says he wants the moon, he expects the moon. Conrad then gets up and leaves.

We’re then taken to the fundraiser at the Draper house. The neighbors are unsure of who to vote for, and the conversation turns to the issues in the South. The women talk about civil rights issues as if Carla weren’t there, and take an “enlightened” view of they consider progressive which we today would consider entirely too maternal. The doorbell rings, and instead of Henry Francis, a woman named Elsa Kittridge shows up. Betty tells her that she assumes that Henry has been delayed, but Elsa says that Henry asked her to come talk to the women. Betty’s disappointment is obvious.

The next morning, Betty drives to Henry’s office where she hurls the lockbox from the fundraiser at him. Henry asks what’s wrong and Betty says that she “stared at the door all night like a sap”. Henry says that she had to come to him because she’s married. The two then share a passionate kiss, but when Henry goes to lock the door Betty changes her mind. She thinks it’s tawdry to sleep with Henry in his office or a hotel room. She apologizes for “starting this”. Henry says that he doesn’t know what she wants. Betty apologizes and leaves.

Don is sitting at his desk when the intercom buzzes: Roger is there to see him. Roger storms in and gives Don hell for letting both Hilton and Lucky Strike leave the office angry. “You’ve got your face so deep in Hilton’s lap, you’re ignoring everything else,” Roger says. Don assures him that everything is under control. Roger says that Don won’t even let him meet Conrad, and asks what else is Accounts for (if not to schmooze clients). Don says that he could tell him, but he doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. Roger tells him to keep joking, but they’ve had two clients leave angry within a week. Roger tells Don that he’s putting Don on notice that he’s in over his head. A visibly angry Roger stomps out of Don’s office.

Later that night, Carla listens to Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver the eulogy for the girls killed in the Birmingham church bombing. She changes to a music station as Betty walks in. Betty tells he that she can leave it on her program, then asks what she was listening to. After Carla tells her, Betty says that the whole thing is “horrifying”. Betty asks Carla is she’s OK and if she needs a day off. Betty then says the whole thing makes her wonder about civil rights, and perhaps it’s not supposed to happen right now. Carla gives her an “eat shit” look just as Don walks in.

We then see Sal calling Kitty from a payphone, pretending that he’s still at work.

Later that night, Don wakes up Betty to say that Hilton has called and he needs to meet him. Betty says that she didn’t hear the phone ring. Don ignores her comment, only telling her to go back to sleep.

We then see Don knocking on the door of Suzanne’s apartment. She says that “someone will see him”; he tell her to let him in. She’s standoffish at first, but Don says that he can’t stop thinking about her, and challenges her to say that she doesn’t feel the same way. “But then I have the luxury [of running alone] that last half mile home where I go through every step of the future until it ends. I know exactly how it ends,” she says. “So what?” Don asks. Suzanne says “[y]ou live two miles from here, your daughter was my student, I’ve seen your wife at the market… I don’t think y9ou’ve done this before this way”. Don says that he wants her and that he doesn’t care. The two begin kissing passionately:

We then see Don and Suzanne asleep in her bed together.

NOTES

– Are there any Conrad Hilton scholars out there? Any idea who the “lady friend” was who liked to say “a little bit of wow” that Connie mentioned in the opening scene? I googled it for about 10 minutes but couldn’t find anything.

– Here’s a great article about Mark Young, a University of Houston historian who was contacted by Mad Men for more information about Hilton’s life. Among the nuggets in the article: Hilton really was shopping for a new ad agency in 1963, and the view from Don and Betty’s hotel room in Rome is the actual view from a room at the Hilton Cavalieri. That just goes to show you the depth to which Mad Men’s creators will dig for realism! And, in case you were wondering, the University of Houston is the home of the Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management.

– When Don starts talking to Suzanne at the beginning of the episode, the radio announcer says that it’s “5:01 on Thursday, August 29, 1963”. It’s also 66F (18C).

– Suzanne wears a Bowdoin College shirt whilst jogging. The school, founded in 1794 and chartered by Samuel Adams, is a private located in Brunswick, Maine. It was male-only until 1971, thus making it a mystery why Suzanne is wearing it. Famous alumni of the school include US President Franklin Pierce and writers Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Harriet Beecher Stowe also wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin at Bowdoin while her husband was teaching there.

– Suzanne lives on Ross Lane.

– In the car, Suzanne listens to the news report about Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech, which King delivered in Washington the day before.

– The news reporter then mentions the “brutal murders” of two young women before Don turns the radio off. This is the so-called “Career Girl Murders”: On the same day that MLK gave his famous speech, Patricia Tolles, 23, came home to her NYC apartment to find her two roommates, Janice Wylie, 21, and Emily Hoffert, 23, brutally murdered. The two girls had been stabbed over 60 times and there was evidence that Wylie had been sexually assaulted (she had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing only a towel). Despite the fact that hundreds of detectives had been assigned to the case, there were no leads and the case cooled off… until April 14, 1964 when another dead woman was found in Brooklyn with similar stab wounds… and again on April 23, when another woman was attacked. On April 25, the NYPD announced that a young black man named George Whitmore, Jr. had confessed to the crimes. Unfortunately for the NYPD, their case quickly began to unravel: an alleged photograph of one of the victims in Whitmore’s possession turned out to be something he found in his father’s junkyard, and of a completely different (very alive) girl. It was found that Whitmore had been in Wildwood, New Jersey watching MLK’s speech at the time of the murders. Despite this, the fact that Whitmore has a very low IQ, and the fact that the NYPD already had another suspect in mind, prosecutors went ahead with Whitmore’s trial. After being wrongfully convicted, Whitmore was held for 1,216 days until he was fully exonerated on April 10, 1973. Because the authorities acted so poorly in this case, Whitmore’s plight was frequently mentioned by the United States Supreme Court in their famous ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, the decision which led to the establishment of “Miranda rights” in the United States. The murder case is actually really quite interesting, you can read a really in-depth summary of it here in TRUtv’s Crime Library, and here’s another article written several years later by man who was then an NYC beat writer.

– After Don startles Allison, he says that he needs her to get some papers over to Hilton before he leaves for Europe. She then says that he’s going to California. Is Don confused, or did Hilton change his plans already? I re-watched the first scene with Don and Connie on the phone, and I don’t believe that Connie ever says where he’s going (although I only watched the last bit of the conversation, so he could have said that at the beginning).

– When Don is driving home and looking for Suzanne, the radio announcer says that it is Wednesday, September 4, 1963. It is also 64F (17C) in Manhattan.

– I’m unclear on exactly what date the kids are returning from school. In the previous scene, the radio announcer says that it is Wednesday, September 4. But the kids are coming home from their first day of school (which was always a Monday when I was a kid). So I would think the next scene takes place on Monday, September 9. But if that’s true, then it seems like a long time has passed between Betty sending the letter to Henry and his response to her. Is it just me, or is that confusing?

– Henry’s address is on 28 Whippoorwill Road. Although the city name is not entirely clear, I’m guessing that the city is Chappaqua, New York. It’s in Westchester County, and it’s a very rich town. It’s also home to Bill and Hillary Clinton.

– Even in our enlightened age, I still had to giggle when Sal told Jerry that he sounded like he “had a salami in his mouth”.

– The European Recovery Program (commonly known as the Marshall Plan, after Secretary of State George Marshall), provided $13 billion (just over $124 billion in 2008 dollars) in aid to many of the devastated European countries after World War II. Not only did the United States government give money and aid to innocent countries harmed by the war, billions were also given to Germany, Austria and Italy in hopes of rebuilding their economies and ensuing future prosperity and peace.

– Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union during the hottest part of the Cold War, holding the office of Premier from 1958-1964. In 1956, he made his most famous public comment at a meeting of Western ambassadors at the Polish embassy in Moscow: “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in”, which was somewhat mistranslated into English as “We will bury you!”. On July 24, 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon was in Moscow to open the American National Exhibition. There, he toured a model American home meant to display all the wondrous devices that the average American could afford. Khrushchev and Nixon got into a heated debate there, and Nixon’s emphasis on household appliances led to the the title “Kitchen Debate”. As a result of the debate, Khrushchev was invited to come to the United States, which he did in September of that same year. He was scheduled to go to Disneyland on the trip, but this was canceled for security reasons, leaving Khrushchev extremely disappointed.

– King Midas is a (likely fictional) Hellenic king commonly known for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. However, many forget that this power came at a great cost to Midas – he could no longer eat or drink, and he accidentally touched his daughter, turning her into gold as well. Midas, in his despair, grew to hate the very thing he once loved so dearly.

– The joke that Lee tells Pete as they walk into the conference room has a thousand variations, all revolving around a boy asking a girl if he can “put his finger in her belly button”, and when he instead puts his penis into her vagina, the girl says “that’s not my belly button”, to which the boy says “that’s not my finger, either”.

– Loved the lines: “Is he here?” “I can see you, I can hear you… what do you want?”

– A $25 million account in 1963 would be a $174,000,000 one in 2008.

– LOVED the look on Carla’s face when Betty said “Carla met him” (about Henry stopping by that afternoon).

– When Sal goes through his work alone in his office, we see the Popsicle ad from “The Mountain King”.

– Betty tells Henry that the “fundraiser” will be on Tuesday, September 17, 1963.

– I loved Hilton’s sycophants. They frowned when their boss did, smiled when their boss did, and looked concerned when their boss did.

– I also loved the look Peggy gave Don when she closed the door after Connie asked for a moment alone with Don. Subtle, but cute.

– How interesting that Connie said that he felt like Don was a son over late-night drinks, but he asks Don if he “wanted his love” during the pitch. He went from nearly being Don’s long-lost father to a cruel client in a matter of days. Of course, there’s the whole issue of whether Don, in fact, does want love. I think he’s seen Conrad as something of a surrogate father during this time, and now that father is rejecting him, just as his actual father had.

– The 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing took place on September 15, 1963. Members of the Ku Klux Klan planted 122 sticks of dynamite just outside the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. At 10:22am, 26 children were walking downstairs for closing prayers when the dynamite exploded, killing Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley (all aged 14) and Denise McNair (aged 11). 22 other people were injured. The bombings shocked America.

– The funeral for the four young girls took place on September 18, 1963.

– Read the full text of MLK’s eulogy for the Birmingham bombing victims here.

– Several online folks have wondered if Sal was calling Kitty from a pay phone in Central Park, where an area called The Ramble was known as a gay cruising area for decades. It’s certainly possible (the guys in the background look like they could be stereotypical “gay extras” on a movie set), but I don’t know enough about the area to say one way or another. Some folks have dismissed the idea entirely, on the grounds that Central Park couldn’t possibly have had pay phones. I think this is silly, and the lack of  street noise makes me think that he is, indeed, at a park of some kind. But I could be wrong, though.

– The song playing at the end of the episode is “Prelude to a Kiss”, a 1938 song written by Irving Mills and Duke Ellington. The version on the show was sung by either Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday. The lyrics are as follows:

If you hear
A song in blue
Like a flower crying
For the dew
That was my heart serenading you
My prelude to a kiss

If you hear a song that grows
From my tender sentimental woes
That was my heart trying to compose
A prelude to a kiss

Though it’s just a simple melody
With nothing fancy
Nothing much
You could turn it to a symphony
A Shubert tune with a Gershwin touch

Oh how my love song gently cries
For the tenderness within your eyes
My love is a prelude that never dies
A prelude to a kiss

MY THOUGHTS

Well, the Lipp Sisters are pissed that Don slept with Suzanne. I can’t say that I feel the same way. I mean, I’d certainly prefer it if Don could keep it in his pants, but I think he’s been “cooped up” too long. Don has a big dick, and he needs to swing it every so often. Perhaps this will give Don some sort of “release” or “mojo”, and allow him to focus on Hilton and make it the best ad campaign ever.

Of course, that just brings up the question of why Don and Betty just can’t have sex. They both so beautiful, but neither one seems to like the other these days. Sure, Don’s being a much better husband and father… but a lover to her he apparently isn’t. And while I’m on the subject… damn, Betty’s a tease, is she not? If I were Henry Francis I’d be pissed off.

I liked how this episode featured so many people talking about civil rights around Carla, but few people actually paid any attention to her. It must have been humiliating to have people talk about the plight of your people… then completely ignore the fact that you exist. And it’s also interesting that the South was so demonized in this episode, but the Yankees couldn’t see that their blind ambivalence about “those black folk” was not much better, either. Also, it’s nice that they touched on gay rights issues in the background as well. Don would never think to call a black employee “you people”, but he has no trouble saying the same thing to Sal, a guy he’s worked with for six years.

I can’t wait for the upcoming show-down between Don and Roger. That’s going to be epic. Given that Slattery is listed as a “guest star” and Don is the main character, I’m guessing that Roger will lose (especially since Roger’s been marginalized anyway). But it will certainly be something to see.

I liked this episode, but think the show’s getting a bit to soap-opera-like.

I will, as always, be waiting on pins and needles for next week!