Oct 11, 2009
Mad Men Season 3 Episode 9 Recap
Lots to talk about tonight with several seemingly major plot points. Let’s get right to it:
-While Don has been courting Conrad Hilton, (Eddie Harris in Major League, by the way), Betty has been doing her own thing with Henry Francis. Getting caught by Carla and throwing a fundraiser as a useless cover. Betty sniped at the Governor’s woman sent to the fundraiser, then threw the money from the fundraiser. In the end, she decided she didn’t want to debase herself on a desk, ffice sofa, or random hotel room. Hard to tell if this one is over.
-As far as what we’ve seen on the show, Hilton might be the first thing Don’s gone after and not gotten. Yet. Since we met him, Connie’s been flirting with Don, begging him to tell him what to do. (”How do we know to do it, Don? How do we know to do something.”) And now he’s pulled back. I’m not certain what made him so mad, since… couldn’t they just come up with a slide for the moon?
-I want what I want when I want it. Roger said that earlier in the year, so when Betty said it tonight, I figured it was something. And lo, it’s a movie from 1908.
-The teacher went to Bowdoin (Actually, she didn’t. Women weren’t allowed at Bowdoin until 1970. Must have been a boyfriend’s shirt. Thanks commenter.), Betty is left-handed, Peggy died her hair, and Pete doesn’t smoke. The last, I hadn’t noticed. What are they trying to say there?
-Ahh, Sal. If you had Lee Garner, Jr in the pool to figure out which known character would come on to Sal, well, you win. I didn’t see it coming until he started nit picking the commercial. So he’s gone, then? Sort of surprising the way the show is jettisoning some pretty big characters (Sal and Joan), while giving less and less screen time to those that are still there (Peggy and Roger, and Kinsey to an extent). Is it Betty that’s taking up the time, or extra Don?
So this was the culmination of what Don saw in Baltimore? All the people who thought Don was ‘cool’ were proven wrong by his ‘you people’ remark, but maybe it’ll come back around somehow. If you missed it, Don wasn’t mad that Sal was gay, just that he didn’t do what he needed to keep Lee ‘Lucky Strike’ Garner, Jr happy. Though, it should be said that sex means something different to Don than to… most everyone else on the show. Hard to say why Sal was calling his wife from the cruisy park. Going on a bender? Prepping for Lee? Showing that he did have some experience? Somewhat connected to Sal getting fired, I thought Betty was going to fire Carla to avoid having to deal with getting caught.
-We got another, “What do you want me to say?” when Don went to see the teacher. His dalliances, by the way, keep ratcheting up the danger (this one only 2 miles from home) as if along with the chance at another life, Don is also feeding on the risk. First a stranger in the village, then a client, then his daughter’s former teacher.
-Finally, tonight’s episode had Don about as unlikable as we’ve seen for most of the episode. What’d you think?
Bowdoin had nt admitted women yet in the 1960’s….
Great catch, I’ll add it into the recap.
I was wondering if Sal cruising was perhaps his way of finally dealing with it. I’m gonna do it and see what’s up (so to speak). He’s been in denial so long, maybe it’s just a way for him to figure himself out.
Shocked though about Sal and Joan’s firing. What’s up with getting rid of two of the strongest characters? Frankly, I find some of these moves odd. I am wondering if these are the result of a more personal situation – perhaps Matt had a falling out with these actors and jettisons them. It’s not always what it seems; in other words, not ALWAYS creative.
Also RE: Carla’s looking oddly at Betty and Henry – at first I thought she figured something was going on, then wondered if it was simply the fact that it was Republican-oriented and thus Henry as a Republican (and Betty by association) represented opposition to civil rights.
Sometimes Don seems to be too inconsistent to be a real character. I get frustrated by his lack of response. Does he care about anything? What is his problem? Agree on Joan and Sal. I enjoyed both characters. Shame if we are losing them. one thing i like about mad men is the abundance of assorted characters, dont lets lose them.
I have rarely been a fan of Don, I miss Peggy.
I agree that Don didn’t really seem to care that Don was gay in Baltimore but that what Sal does, or doesn’t do with it in the case of Lee Garner that’s a problem for Don. After all, Don is a company man, if not THE Company man at Sterling Coo.
Don is an amoral character as written. It’s about where Don’s journey will take him as a character that is the meat of the dramatic narrative in MM. That’s why we keep coming back for more. What will he do or not do, approve of or disapprove of and the inconsistencies that fascinate. Aren’t we all inconsistent in our behavior?