This episode begins with Betty and Carla working on a grocery list. Betty says that they need apples, but that they should come from Rodney Farms. Carla says that the farm is near her church, and that she’ll pick some up on Sunday. Sally then asks why the Drapers don’t go to church’ Betty says that they do. Sally says “on Christmas… Carla goes every Sunday”. Betty says that they don’t need to go every week. Don walks in and kisses the kids. He asks Sally how her day at school was; Bobby ass why Don never asks him how his school day was. Don says that he does, but that Bobby’s answer is always longer, so he asks Sally instead. Bobby then asks when Halloween is; Betty says that it’s “before Thanksgiving”, then mentions a Halloween party that Carlton and Francine are having, but says that they’ll probably have to miss it, as they will be in Philadelphia selling Gene’s house. Betty brings Don a drink, then asks if he’s sleeping there that night. Don says that he isn’t, which causes Betty to say that he’s working too hard.
We next see Don knocking on Suzanne’s door. She answers, and he leans in to kiss her. She steps back and tells him to come inside first. He asks if she was grading papers, because she has a gold star on her cheek. The two embrace, but just as Don goes to kiss her, she says that his service called and said that Hilton had called him, but that he (Hilton) was probably in an airplane by now. Don says “thanks Miss Farrell” in his best 3rd grade student voice. She leans in and says that she wants him to spend the whole night with her. Don doesn’t say anything, only pulls her back to the bedroom.
Back the the Draper house, we see Betty taking a bath and reading a book.
At Suzanne’s, we see a naked Don and Suzanne in bed. She says that Don can’t possibly be asleep yet. He giggles. She then talks about how Charlie, one of her students, asked her that days if the “blue” he sees is the same “blue” that Suzanne sees. Don asks what she said to him, and she says that she told him “the truth”, that she didn’t know. She ask Don what he would have said. He says that his job is about “boiling communication down to its essentials” and that he knows that there is a blue “that at least 45% of the population sees as the same”. He then says that people might see things differently, but they really don’t want to. She then asks if he feels bad about what he does; Don says that no one feels better about their job than she does. She smiles and thanks him for the compliment, then says that she wishes she could have seen him at age 8, and that she bets he was “serious” back then. Don says that he would have liked her and her long, curly hair, which “no one has any more”. She kisses him as he drifts off to sleep.
The next morning, Ken tries to get Allison, Don’s secretary, to accompany him to Sterling Cooper’s 40th anniversary party. She declines, asking what what Don would think if he turned up with her on his arm. Don walks up, and “the gang” follows him into his office to run through their ideas for a Aqua-Net commercial. Unfortunately for Paul, Don deems his plan for a commercial “too complicated”. Peggy comes up with an abbreviated version off the cuff, and Don likes her idea, but tells them to work on it more. He then asks about Western Union, but they gang says that it’s not until Monday, so they don’t have anything yet. Don reminds them that Hilton takes precedence, so they should get on Western Union now in case he needs them for Hilton at any moment. Harry reminds them that they’ll need TV spots to compete with the phone company.
Lane walks in just as the group is disbanding. After Allison leaves, he says that the paperwork on Don’s contract has been completed, and he hands him his $5,000 bonus check. Don opens the envelope and smiles, leading Lane to quip that he finally knows what makes Don Draper smile. Don wonders aloud why it took two months for the contract to go through. Lane then asks if Conrad Hilton will be at Sterling Cooper’s anniversary party. Don says that he will, “in his dressiest Stetson”. Lane think that’s “splendid” and tells Don that he will be speaking last, in the “prime time” spot, so he needs to be prepared. Their conversation is interrupted by Allison, who tells Lane that his wife is at the office and has requested to see him immediately.
We next see Paul bursting in to Peggy’s office to ask why she made him look bad in front of Don. Peggy says that no one is “keeping score”, but Paul says that he is, and that every time they work together he makes her look bad by spontaneously saving the day. He says that Peggy is Don’s favorite; Peggy says that Don hates her. Paul says that “wearing a dress” might have helped her with Aqua-Net, but that they’ll work separately on Western Union. “Let the chips fall where they may”, he says.
In Lane’s office, we see John bringing an upset Rebecca a glass of water (after he leaves she calls John a “toad”!). Rebecca complains about life in New York admits that she is homesick for London. She says that Lane has superiors, and that he instantly does what they say. A weary Lane then tells her to get it all out of her system. Rebecca then realizes that Lane likes it in New York, with the “smells and the noise and the criminals at every level”. Lane says that things are good for them there: he’s making a good salary and his company is doing well… and his wife has a beautiful gown. She says that New York is “not London… it’s not even England”. Lane agrees, saying that he’s been there for ten months and no one has asked him where he went to school.
That night, Don and Suzanne are having hot, steamy sex when they’re interrupted by a knock at the door. Suzanne calls out :just a minute”, and a paranoid Don asks why she even answered. Suzanne returns to the bedroom and says that her brother has shown up. Don asks her to get rid of him for 15 minutes so he can escape unseen. She declines, saying that she wants the two to meet. Don says that he “doesn’t want to ruin this”. Suzanne promises that it will be OK. Don grudgingly agrees, and leaves the bedroom to meet Danny. Danny apologizes for interrupting them; Don says that he’s leaving. Danny then tells Don not to think badly of him – his disheveled appearance is due to his epilepsy, not drugs. Don warms up to Danny a bit, extending his hand in greeting. After Don leaves, Danny tells Suzanne that he thinks Don is arrogant. Suzanne says that he doesn’t know Don. She then promises to find Danny a new job. Danny says that people’s fear of him is the problem, and that he’s safe with her. She says that people are just ignorant and scared of things they don’t understand.
The next morning, Roger and Bert look at a picture of the early days of Sterling Cooper and reminisce about the people they worked with over the years. Roger notes that everyone in the picture is dead except for Cooper and Doug Thompson, a man he wishes was dead because he left Roger a roll of Boll’s Laxatives, which Roger thought were candies. Bert says that he “doesn’t want to go to another funeral”, meaning the anniversary party. Roger jokes that he’d like the chance to out drink Sterling Cooper’s clients. He then sighs and says that he really doesn’t want to go either to see Don Draper “accept an award for his humanity”. Bert says that Don is important, but Roger says that he found Don, working at a fur company and going to night school. He then mentions Betty, and says that his ex-wife Mona thought they belonged on top of their wedding cake. “Screw him,” Roger says. Bert then says that he won’t go to the party.
At home that evening, the phone rings. Sally begs to answer it, so Betty lets her. But when Sally answers, no one says anything. Don tells her to hang up the phone. Sally asks why they didn’t say anything; Betty guesses that it was a wrong number. Sally asks why the person didn’t say anything, and Betty leaps down her throat, telling her not to take things so personally.
Back at the office, Paul is working on the Western Union account, but has come up empty so far. He chugs what appears to be whiskey for inspiration. At the same time, Peggy dictates some thoughts into a Dictaphone, and accidentally burps into the microphone. She apologizes to Olive on tape. Back in his office, Paul puts on some jazz and apparently begins masturbating to clear his thoughts.
At the Drapers, Don puts his $5,000 bonus (which he has converted to cash) in a locked drawer in his desk. Just at that moment, Eugene starts crying, so Don puts the key in the pocket of his robe and heads off to the baby’s room.
Paul has finished masturbating, so he leaves his office and calls out to Peggy. She doesn’t respond, but the custodian, Achilles, does. Paul follows the man’s voice to the break room, where the two introduce themselves. Paul stumbles over to the fridge where he steals an apple from a coworker’s lunch bag. Achilles starts to tell Paul a story about his family, but Paul cuts him off almost immediately. He has finally come up with the idea for Western Union. In triumph, he goes back to his office and pours himself a victory drink.
The next morning, we see Betty sorting the dirty clothes.
Don is on a train on the way in to town when he sees a familiar face: Suzanne. She says that she’ll only stay on the train until the next strop because she wanted to see him. Don asks if she called his house last night, but apologizes after she says that she didn’t. She asks Don why he didn’t call her, and Don says that it’s because her brother is there. Ignoring Don’s comment, she says that she doesn’t care about his marriage or his work, “as long as I know you’re with me”.
Suzanne says that she’s gotten her brother a job at a VA hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. She says that he’ll be gone by the evening. The train rolls in to the next station. Suzanne gets up and tells Don that it was nice meeting him. Although they act like strangers, neither can help looking back at the other as she walks away.
Back at the Drapers, Betty puts the laundry into the washing machine.
At Sterling Cooper, Lois tries to wake up a still-drunk Paul, who passed out on his office sofa. He tells Lois that he needs her to type up his big idea… but then he looks through all his notepads and all over his desk for that special piece of paper. Lois annoyingly tries to help by giving him hints on how to remember where he put it. Paul keeps looking, and asks her if she’d been in his desk that morning. In a panic, he looks through the wastebasket as Lois keeps up her annoying tips. He begs her to shut up as he walks out of his office.
Meanwhile, Lane practices his anniversary party speech in his office for John. When John says the speech is “very rousing”, Lane asks if he means “Churchill rousing or Hitler rousing”. Before John can answer, the phone on Lane’s desk rings. John answers it – it’s Mr Ford calling from London. Harold asks how preparations for the party are going. Lane says that everything is fine, except that Bert will not be there. Harold says that that is unacceptable, as they are flying over from London and expect to see “all the flowers in the vase”. When Lane asks exactly what he means, Harold says that another company has expressed interest in Sterling Cooper. When Lane asks what he means, Harold says that he seems “foggy”. Saint John Powell asks for the phone, and drops a bombshell on Lane: Sterling Cooper is for sale. When Lane asks why – as he’s cut costs and raised revenue – Powell says that he’s answered his own question. A disappointed Lane hangs up the phone and dismisses John.
At home, Betty calls Henry to ask if he was the one who called the house and didn’t say anything last night. He denies it. She says that she’s embarrassed. Henry asks her if she wants him to call her; when she says no, he laughs. He flatly says that he didn’t call her, that he’s not going to call her, and if she wants to call him, go ahead and do it. Betty hangs up the phone.
Lane walks in to Bert’s office and comes up with several reasons why he should attend the party. After failing with most of them, he finally succeeds in getting Cooper to go by appealing to his vanity – Lane says that his absence will make people think he’s ill, which could hurt the agency.
Back at home, Betty hears a thumping noise coming from the dryer. She pulls several pieces of clothing from the dryer and finds the key to Don’s desk. She goes to his desk and unlocks the drawer. Ignoring the money, she goes straight for the shoebox. She opens it and finds several photos of the Whitman family (including one of Don labeled “Dick and Andy, 1944”). She then finds Don and Dick’s dog tags from Korea and his discharge from the Army. She then finds the deed to Anna’s house in California and then…
Holy crap! It’s Don and Anna’s divorce papers!
That evening, Don stops at Suzanne to find Danny still there. Danny says that they were supposed to leave after school, but he is still there. Suzanne asks if he’s going to stay and wait for her; Don says that he’ll take him instead as it’s nighttime and he’d worry about her driving alone. Danny actually encourages Suzanne by saying that he doesn’t want to say goodbye in Massachusetts, as it might sound ungrateful. She walks over to him and stuffs an envelope with cash into his shirt pocket. She then kisses him on the cheek and hugs him. Danny asks her how many times she has done this for him. Don and Danny leave.
Betty watches TV alone, waiting for Don to come home.
In the car, Danny asks Don if he needs gas. Don says that the car is fine, and asks if Danny needs to stop. Danny says that he “had a movie in his head” about giving Don the slip, and further says that he’s not going to Bedford. Don says that he’s going to Bedford, so it looks like Danny is too. Danny asks why he cares, since he’s just going back to Suzanne’s and “screwing her”. Don gives him an eat shit look, then says that the job in Bedford is important. Danny asks if Don got him the job. When Don says no, Danny tells him to shut up, and reminds him that he’s not retarded, and that Julius Caesar had epilepsy. Don says that things didn’t turn out so well for Caesar. Danny says that he knows what his life will be at the hospital if he turns up for the job. He says that he doesn’t want to clean toilets until he dies. He asks Don to pull over. He does. Don starts to give Danny a speech about how he can pull himself together. When Danny scorns the idea, Don arrogantly asks if that sounds stupid to him. Danny says that he can’t do anything that Don can do, that everyone eventually finds out that there’s something wrong with him, that people are kind and they try, but when he comes to having pissed on himself, they start at him as if he were from another planet. Don looks away, finally understanding where Danny is coming from. Danny says that he’s sick, and that his life (or really, his lack of a life) is not a matter of him lacking will. Don asks if he need money (“Always,” Danny says). He then gives Danny his business card and tells him to call him if he ever needs to, and that if something ever happens to Danny, Suzanne will never forgive herself. Don tells him to take care… then speeds off into the night. We see Don, alone in the car, obviously feeling guilty about not doing the “right thing” with Danny.
Back at home, Betty sits at a table with a glass of wine, a cigarette, and the box, waiting for Don to come home.
We then see Don returning to Suzanne’s. He lies to her about dropping Danny off at the hospital. He starts to kiss her, but she says that “she doesn’t want to”. Don, an understanding guy for once, says that its okay, and draws her to him in a hug.
Just after 2am, we see Betty at the kitchen table, alone with the box. She gives up. She puts the box back in Don’s drawer, locks it back up, puts the key back in his robe and goes to sleep.
The next morning, we see Don walking in to his office. Allison asks if she can get him some coffee. Don says no, but asks her to get Betty on the phone. As we’ve so often seen him do, he reaches into his drawer for a fresh shirt just as the intercom buzzes. He picks up the phone. Betty, who is lying in bed at home, asks where he was last night; he says he was with Hilton. Don asks if she picked up his tuxedo. She says that she picked it up yesterday and that it’s in his closet waiting for him. Don then tells her that they’ll have to leave by 6:30 that night. Betty says that she might not go. When Don asks what’s wrong, she angrily says “What’s wrong ? What’s wrong?” before checking herself and saying that she just doesn’t feel good. Don tells her to get in bed and rest, that all the clients and partners will be there, and they’re all expecting the “glamorous, elegant, stunning” Betty to be there. He says that he wants to show her off. Betty simply says “OK” and hangs up the phone.
We then see Betty walking in to Pauls’ office and asking if he’s ready to give their Western Union ideas to Don. Paul tells her that he has nothing, and Peggy says that her ideas are bad too. Paul says that he had a great idea, but apparently didn’t bother writing it down. It might have been the best idea he ever had, even. He says that he tried to recreate every last event of the night before, but he just can’t remember it. It was there, he says, and then it was gone. Peggy asks how he talks to Achilles; Paul says that he’s a janitor with a bad memory. He then tries to get philosophical by quoting a Chinese proverb: “the faintest ink is better than the best memory”.
In Don’s office, Peggy gives Don her ideas. She says that phone calls are every day, but telegrams are important – and used for weddings and baby announcements, etc. She also says that old people love them. Her tagline: “When you care, send one there”. Don calls it a “slogan, not an idea”. Don then asks Paul what he has. When Paul mumbles that his ideas aren’t as good as hers, Don pointedly asks what his excuse is. Peggy tells Don not to yell at him. “Excuse me?” Don asks, his voice rising in anger. Peggy begs Paul to tell Don what happened. He refuses, then says that he had a great idea, but forgot it before he could write it down. Don, angry but understanding, says that he hates when that happens. Peggy then turns to Paul and says that she can’t stop thinking about the Chinese proverb, and how when you call someone on the phone, it’s there one minute and gone the next… but telegrams are the printed word – telegrams are permanent. Don, intrigued looks on. Peggy gives “a telegram is forever” as a tagline. Don replies with “you can’t frame a phone call”. Don and Peggy stare at each other for a few minutes, then Paul breaks the silence by looking at Peggy and saying “oh my God” – he realizes that Peggy really is as good as Don thinks she is. Both get up to leave the office. Peggy is out the door by the time Paul stands up. “See,” Don says, “it all works out”.
We then see a beautiful Betty Draper sitting alone in the bathroom at home:
Don calls her, as their car has just shown up. Sally and Bobby laugh, as the driver is apparently Chinese. Don calls her again, and she finally gets up and walks out of the bathroom.
We then see Roger in a limo with his mother and Jane. She’s apparently going senile: she thinks that the Waldorf Astoria is still at its original location, and that Jane is Roger’s daughter Margaret. When Roger says that Jane is his wife, his mother asks if Mona knows.
Lane and Rebecca are stuck in traffic. Lane tells her that Sterling Cooper is for sale. She is delighted; he is sad. Smiling, she tells him to take comfort in the fact that they’re returning to England. From the look on his face, this is apparently the last thing Lane wants.
At the party, Roger gives a gushing, yet tongue in cheek, speech introducing Don. Don is given a rousing round of applause. Don says that he’s very honored by the applause, but begs everyone to stop. All the while, he has a giant “perma-grin” on his face. He’s happy, deliriously happy. And he’s too busy loving the attention to notice the evil looks Betty is giving him from her seat.
NOTES
– There is a “Rodney Farms” in New York, but it’s in Scottsville, near Rochester. That’s a five hour drive from Ossining, making it unlikely that Carla could “pick some apples up after church”. It amuses me that if you go to Google Maps and get directions from Ossining, NY to Scottsdale, NY, the route goes through Scranton, PA. Perhaps Carla could stop and say hello to the folks at Dunder Mifflin on the way back!
– For you young’uns out there… before there were answering machines and voicemail, people used “answering services”, which were actual human operators who sat in front of a bank of phones and took messages for people. Once the message was written down, the operator would call various numbers the client provided (home, a country or social club, a favorite bar or restaurant) until the message was delivered to the client. So Hilton probably called Don’s office and, not getting an answer, he called Don’s service, who then called Suzanne’s house instead of his home.
– In the bathtub, Betty reads The Group, a 1963 novel by American author Mary McCarthy. The book is about a group of female friends that have graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Most of them come from wealthy backgrounds, but the Great Depression means that five of them to go to work. They all move to Manhattan and become more liberal and autonomous. The book then discusses the way the women, who were originally conservative, deal with the way they become liberal in some ways, but remain conservative in others. Topics in the book include socialism, birth control, and having affairs. The book is thus a microcosm of the early 1960s, in the same way that Sex and the City was a more frivolous look at liberal urban women in the late 1990s.
– Does anyone think that the book looked genuine, as in “an actual book from 1963 that has yellowed and faded because it’s 40+ years old”? In other words, am I the only one who thinks the book didn’t look “new” enough?
– At one time, Aqua-Net was the leading brand of hair spray in the United States. It’s interesting that it’s now a bottom of the barrel product. I suppose that Unilever decided that the brand couldn’t compete with “fancier” new brands, so they chose to compete on price.
– Conrad Hilton really was a fan of Stetson hats. In fact, the company often made him special hats and even gave him a bespoke carrying case for his beloved hats.
– I loved Allison’s cute little look when she said “I’ll find out” when Don asked her what was going on with Lane. It’s good to see her character develop – earlier this season, I had to actually hunt for her name earlier this season (I referred to her only as “Don’s secretary” in a couple of recaps).
– Rebecca’s cab fare would have been $15.66 in 2008 dollars. It seems like she didn’t have enough cash on her, even for 1963 Manhattan. And was London any cheaper than Manhattan back then? All of Britain’s wartime rationing ended on July 4, 1954 (yes, almost ten years after WWII ended), so London should have been swingin’ by then.
– England’s business community – especially in 1963 – was an old boy’s network, and where one went to school and who his parents were was almost as important as anything someone might do in their actual job. It wasn’t uncommon for someone from the “right school” to get promoted over someone of lesser background that actually did a better job.
– Google returns zero hits – not a one – for “Boll’s laxatives”.
– IMPORTANT: Roger says that he found Don “working at a fur company and going to night school”. This this the first we’ve ever learned about how Don Draper came to be at Sterling Cooper!
– ALMOST CONFUSING: Roger says that Mona thought that Don and Betty should have been on top of their wedding cake. This is almost confusing. Taken literally, it would mean that Don and Betty attended Roger and Mona’s wedding… which would mean that Roger’s kids should be no older than 11 (they’re much older), or that Roger and Mona got married years after having children (unthinkable in polite society in the US in the 1940s and 50s). I almost thought that way, until I realized that Roger meant that Mona remembered the couple on top of their wedding cake and thought Don and Betty looked like them years later.
– Remember: Don’s $5,000 bonus is almost $35,000 in today’s money. That’s a lot of cash to keep in a desk drawer!
– A drunken Paul steals an apple from Sarah’s lunch bag.
– How telling that Betty ignored the money in Don’s desk and went straight for the shoe box! She didn’t seem to think it odd that Don kept a year’s worth of most people’s salary in a drawer in his desk?
– $375 in 1963 dollars is around $2,610 2008 dollars. That’s a fair amount of cash, but some people on other sites have insisted that it was simply not possible for Suzanne – an elementary school teacher – to have that kind of money lying around. Suzanne lives pretty frugally, and she also did that stint as a summer school teacher, so to me it’s certainly possible that she’d have that kind of money saved – especially for her brother.
– Bedford, Massachusetts is a three hour drive from Ossining. We don’t know what time it was when Don and Danny left, but since that’s six hours round trip, why would Don have waited for her had she taken Danny?
– Yep, Julius Caesar most certainly had epilepsy.
– Danny asks Don if he’s going to tell Suzanne that he’s not going for the job… but won’t the people Suzanne called about the job call her when he doesn’t show up for work… especially since he’s epileptic and all?
– As mentioned in the “Notes” section of a previous recap, the Waldorf-Astoria was originally two separate adjoining hotels (The Waldorf opened in 1893, and The Astoria in 1897). Both moved to their “new” location on Park Avenue in 1931… a full 32 years ago, Mrs. Sterling!
– The “lion’s share” is an interesting phrase. The term was coined by Aesop in one of his fables. In it, the “lions share” meant everything, all of it. Since then though, the phrase has come to mean “the larger of two amounts” or the “largest of several amounts”. Some even argue that the “lion’s share” is simply the best part of something, regardless of quantity. Funny how the meaning of that phrase has drifted over the years.
– I couldn’t find anything to specifically date this episode, except for Don’s comment that it took “two months” to get his signing bonus. If we assume that Don is speaking generally, then this episode takes place around September 23, 1963.
– Many online folks have asked about this episode’s title: “The Color Blue”. Everyone seems to agree that it relates to what Suzanne said at the beginning of the episode about what one of her students had asked her… but others wonder if the title has a deeper meaning. One of those most intriguing, if not accurate, theories is that “blue” is a reference to the French story “La Barbe bleue” (in English, “Bluebeard”). Here’s a plot summary from Wikipedia; I’ve bolded the most relevant parts:
Bluebeard is a very wealthy aristocrat, feared because of his “frightfully ugly” blue beard. He had been married several times, but no one knew what had become of his wives. He was therefore avoided by the local girls. When Bluebeard visited one of his neighbours and asked to marry one of her two daughters, the girls were terrified, and each tried to pass him on to the other. Eventually he persuaded the younger daughter to marry him, and after the ceremony she went to live with him in his château.
Very shortly after, however, Bluebeard announced that he had to leave the country for a while; he gave over all the keys of the chateau to his new wife, including the key to one small room that she was forbidden to enter. He then went away and left the house in her hands. Almost immediately she was overcome with the desire to see what the forbidden room held, and finally her visiting sister convinced her to satisfy her curiosity and open the room.
The wife immediately discovered the room’s horrible secret: Its floor was awash with blood, and the dead bodies of her husband’s former wives hung from hooks on the walls. Horrified, she locked the door, but blood had come onto the key which would not wash off. Bluebeard returned unexpectedly and immediately knew what his wife had done. In a blind rage he threatened to behead her on the spot, and so she locked herself in the highest tower with her sister. While Bluebeard, sword in hand, tried to break down the door, the sisters waited for their two brothers to arrive. At the last moment, as Bluebeard was about to deliver the fatal blow, the brothers broke into the castle, and as he attempted to flee, they killed him. He left no heirs but his wife, who inherited all his great fortune. She used part of it for a dowry to marry her sister to the one that loved her, another part for her brothers’ captains commissions, and the rest to marry a worthy gentleman who made her forget her ill treatment by Bluebeard.
OK, maybe that’s a real stretch, but the “hiding a key and keeping a secret” thing is pretty apt.
MY THOUGHTS
Wow… just wow! Was this episode just something or what?
First we learn that Roger Sterling Jr. found Don working at a fur company and going to night school. This is the very first we’ve heard about Don’s immediate pre-Sterling Cooper days. Last season, we saw flashbacks to 1952 when Don was a used car salesman, but since then we haven’t had any clues as to what Don did between then and now.
Then we have the bombshell about Betty finding Don’s other identity. I don’t even know where to start with this. Knowing how potentially explosive it is, why would Don keep all that stuff at home? Why not open a safe deposit box at a bank somewhere, even under the name “Dick Whitman” if necessary? It wasn’t like there were a lot of computers back then, and it seems unlikely that anyone would have put together a Pennsylvania man that “died” in the Korean War with a single safe deposit box in a New York bank… but I could be wrong. At any rate, what’s going to happen now? I mean, Don having affairs is bad but ultimately… “acceptable” in a way. Finding out that everything you knew about your husband is a lie… well, that’s pretty much instant divorce right there. The previews for next week show a huffy Betty packing a bag, but we know how tricky they can be with those previews.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Don just leveled with Betty… and she ended up liking it? Let’s face it, Betty’s a bored housewife with a somewhat warped attitude about sex. I can almost picture her, after calming down, being somewhat turned on by what Don did. And here’s something else… what if Don liked that she liked that? They’ll be humping like rabbits, I tells ya! Or, maybe they’ll just get divorced. I dunno.
And then there was the last of the bombshells – that Putnam, Powell and Lowe are putting Sterling Cooper up for sale. It seems like Hilton might have been just what PPL needed. Let’s face it: Sterling Cooper is a great agency, but they’re nothing without Don Draper. And now that Don is under contract and can’t simply walk away from the agency, its value has increased dramatically. I wonder who will buy them out, and if news of the sale will finally be the thing that gives Bert a heart attack.
I also wanted to mention the relationship between Don and Danny. Was it just me, or did it seem like Don wanted a second chance with his step-brother Adam, and he chose Danny as his vehicle? It seems to me like Don wanted a second chance with Adam, and used his time with Danny to do so.
All in all, an amazing episode. After the past couple of episodes, not “filler” exactly, the show has now been kicked into high gear.
I seriously can’t wait until next week!