So Don Draper grows a heart. And, subtly, signs a contract.
But before we get into that, to me this episode was about 2 things: Bonding and mirroring.
Don bonding with Anna even deeper than their prior deal. Joan actually bonding with Dr. G with her marriage. Don and Layne bonding.
All three are mirrored in the idea of marriage, like Goldilocks and the porridge: one marriage is over, (too cold), one is in shambles in the process of ending (middle can go either way as we begin), and one is turning upside (surprisingly good news). The over-schooled will draw Greek literature philosophy of everything in moderation, "a bad, a good. and something in between." The 3 bears motif. The ancient Greek philosophy of literature and life. That's what I think bc they've done it before, notably w the 3 parties episode last year.
Starting with Don:
Don has a bond obviously with Anna. He's cared, but he's never been affected. This is the first time we've seen him that affected over a woman. When Pete's dad died Don offered him a drink and to go home. Don, with Anna, actually wants to stay... in her home, unlike his own with Betty. His painting of the wall was just like when in season 2 when he was fixing her chair (after Betty had smashed their chair bc he didn't fix it).
And this is important: He actually signs his name on the wall, in ink, a CONTRACT. He signs his name, in ink, to a woman.
In the end though, he's still Don, with his arm comfortably around his call girl. It's comfortability like a relationship but with no strings. Perfect Don, all middle ground. Not exactly something that we all haven't been there.
Joan and Dr. G: She cuts her hand, and here Dr. G is right on it. And competent. And her Superman. As much as women love Joan bashing his head with the vase, she still needs him to be her Superman. The conflict within us all. We're one thing but still need another. We both men and women have a little Don and Joan in us respectively.
But quite a difference from last year during Guy getting his foot cut off. There, she was the one Dr. G couldn't be in his own life, she was the calm, collected one, taking charge and ruling with common sense over blood. He was the one she found out had bad hands, while she had delicate hands in her time of stress.
Here, very different isn't it. Total direct reference. Here she's in a little blood, and he now has the steady, reassuring hands. He's filling her stereotype that she's generally always wanted. They started out arguing, and end up bonding. Not the first two people. Dr. G even says later, "I can fix this".
Layne: The fish out of water, which seems to be a common theme we see much of. Layne the priss, now Layne one of the locker room boys. The rite of ritual, the "virgin" Layne now initiated as one of the real men via getting laid through the boys will be boys office. Now he's a man.
Most of the women can't get into Don Draper, but one of the boys now is, without much effort on his part and actually more effort on Don's part. One of the general mysteries women scratch their head at when it comes to guy/male bonding vs guy/girl/relationship things. Welcome to the world of men behaving badly, i.e. another theme of Mad Men.
So Layne has the bad marriage now. Another theme of life we see in Layne is that you can only punch a man so much in the face until he eventually leaves.
His wife and his former company did just that. He left his former company, now he at least symbolically is leaving his wife. Did you notice, actually since last year, the slow assimilation of the outside Layne? In the beginning of the episode he's talking about ordering chicken, an American home food staple, and at the end he's all about steak. Hardly tea and crumpets, fish and chips. And of course it ends with what it ends with. Not where Layne started out last year is it?
And did you catch the upbeat music at the very end as Layne walks in the office? Metaphor intended.
Two men who are opposite, and yet come together. Similar to sometimes Don and Peggy (Peggy last week acting the virgin as if to have a past she erases from her mind and acts like it never happened; just like Don has. "This never happened")
An exploration of binding and mirroring, this whole episode.
We had the psych woman at the Christmas party last words to Don: "You''ll be married within a year, you're the type".
Don is real, real lost right now. Hiring hookers, sleeping with his secretary when he never dabbles in the office. He's desperate. He needs something to live for.
He did in fact sign his name on a contract with Anna when he signed her wall.
Bringing the kids out to meet her?
Last season he tried to be responsible with and toward Betty, but with no reciprocation he quit. Maybe take 2 of that idea with him is coming.
In the previews we see Don opens a package with a Polaroid of himself an Anna, standing almost like the wedding cake couple. I say that because there have been jokes before about Don the guy on top of wedding cakes.
Don has acted spontaneously irrational before. Wanting to run off with Rachel Menkin after Pete busted him for example. Did you see the looks on his face between when he found out about her until he left? It's the most affected we've ever seen him. Add that to his not being in a good place right now, sometimes bad desperate decisions get made.
I don't know folks, I think it's a possibility. Imagine that can of worms that will be opened if he does something stupid like that, his issues of illegal identity and everything. Not to mention a reinterpretation of the idea of wearing a dead man's helmet, since he killed Dick Whittman off in Korea.
MAD MEN 
3 comments:
So Don Draper grows a heart. And, subtly, signs a contract.
But before we get into that, to me this episode was about 2 things: Bonding and mirroring.
Don bonding with Anna even deeper than their prior deal. Joan actually bonding with Dr. G with her marriage. Don and Layne bonding.
All three are mirrored in the idea of marriage, like Goldilocks and the porridge: one marriage is over, (too cold), one is in shambles in the process of ending (middle can go either way as we begin), and one is turning upside (surprisingly good news). The over-schooled will draw Greek literature philosophy of everything in moderation, "a bad, a good. and something in between." The 3 bears motif. The ancient Greek philosophy of literature and life. That's what I think bc they've done it before, notably w the 3 parties episode last year.
Starting with Don:
Don has a bond obviously with Anna. He's cared, but he's never been affected. This is the first time we've seen him that affected over a woman. When Pete's dad died Don offered him a drink and to go home. Don, with Anna, actually wants to stay... in her home, unlike his own with Betty. His painting of the wall was just like when in season 2 when he was fixing her chair (after Betty had smashed their chair bc he didn't fix it).
And this is important: He actually signs his name on the wall, in ink, a CONTRACT. He signs his name, in ink, to a woman.
In the end though, he's still Don, with his arm comfortably around his call girl. It's comfortability like a relationship but with no strings. Perfect Don, all middle ground. Not exactly something that we all haven't been there.
Joan and Dr. G: She cuts her hand, and here Dr. G is right on it. And competent. And her Superman. As much as women love Joan bashing his head with the vase, she still needs him to be her Superman. The conflict within us all. We're one thing but still need another. We both men and women have a little Don and Joan in us respectively.
But quite a difference from last year during Guy getting his foot cut off. There, she was the one Dr. G couldn't be in his own life, she was the calm, collected one, taking charge and ruling with common sense over blood. He was the one she found out had bad hands, while she had delicate hands in her time of stress.
Here, very different isn't it. Total direct reference. Here she's in a little blood, and he now has the steady, reassuring hands. He's filling her stereotype that she's generally always wanted. They started out arguing, and end up bonding. Not the first two people. Dr. G even says later, "I can fix this".
Layne: The fish out of water, which seems to be a common theme we see much of. Layne the priss, now Layne one of the locker room boys. The rite of ritual, the "virgin" Layne now initiated as one of the real men via getting laid through the boys will be boys office. Now he's a man.
Most of the women can't get into Don Draper, but one of the boys now is, without much effort on his part and actually more effort on Don's part. One of the general mysteries women scratch their head at when it comes to guy/male bonding vs guy/girl/relationship things. Welcome to the world of men behaving badly, i.e. another theme of Mad Men.
So Layne has the bad marriage now. Another theme of life we see in Layne is that you can only punch a man so much in the face until he eventually leaves.
His wife and his former company did just that. He left his former company, now he at least symbolically is leaving his wife. Did you notice, actually since last year, the slow assimilation of the outside Layne? In the beginning of the episode he's talking about ordering chicken, an American home food staple, and at the end he's all about steak. Hardly tea and crumpets, fish and chips. And of course it ends with what it ends with. Not where Layne started out last year is it?
And did you catch the upbeat music at the very end as Layne walks in the office? Metaphor intended.
Two men who are opposite, and yet come together. Similar to sometimes Don and Peggy (Peggy last week acting the virgin as if to have a past she erases from her mind and acts like it never happened; just like Don has. "This never happened")
An exploration of binding and mirroring, this whole episode.
Uh Oh..
What if Don marries Anna as Dick Whittman?
We had the psych woman at the Christmas party last words to Don: "You''ll be married within a year, you're the type".
Don is real, real lost right now. Hiring hookers, sleeping with his secretary when he never dabbles in the office. He's desperate. He needs something to live for.
He did in fact sign his name on a contract with Anna when he signed her wall.
Bringing the kids out to meet her?
Last season he tried to be responsible with and toward Betty, but with no reciprocation he quit. Maybe take 2 of that idea with him is coming.
In the previews we see Don opens a package with a Polaroid of himself an Anna, standing almost like the wedding cake couple. I say that because there have been jokes before about Don the guy on top of wedding cakes.
Don has acted spontaneously irrational before. Wanting to run off with Rachel Menkin after Pete busted him for example. Did you see the looks on his face between when he found out about her until he left? It's the most affected we've ever seen him. Add that to his not being in a good place right now, sometimes bad desperate decisions get made.
I don't know folks, I think it's a possibility. Imagine that can of worms that will be opened if he does something stupid like that, his issues of illegal identity and everything. Not to mention a reinterpretation of the idea of wearing a dead man's helmet, since he killed Dick Whittman off in Korea.
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