Episode 5, combat vs confide, and Peggy on the carousel theme.
To me, the most interesting scene was Don with Dr. Faye.
She's in an office, yet in the kitchen. Shoes off. Doing dishes. And the only time in the episode, Don actually confides rather than combats. He talks personally which he rarely does. There's no element of vinegar in their presence, like it was before and like to a small degree his dates with Jane's friend, no matter whose fault it would be.
Since she's both in an office and a kitchen, which is the real environment Don is seeing?
Is it simply because she's a psych and it mirrors the Sally angle? Or is it something more, about the homestead blonde. Is that what unlocks the first lock of a safe with many locks to go through until he opens? Is that his pillow, is that his oasis his mind wants to finally rest upon and within? Anna does after all give him a bit of that as well.
Did he see the idea of a Betty without combat, in her? He's also straight with Anna. He sees nothing worthy of substance in Dr. F until that scene. And he is neither alpha male nor bossy toward her, choosing to confide. Most every other scene was one of combat and confrontation with him tonight.
And later with work, did we see Don employing the Cold War strategy of an arm's race?
In addition, Tonight we saw Don on different sides of things. The visual near the end was great, of Don in his chair and Pete and Layne in a big office with plenty of space, but sitting together away from him. With his coworkers, his wife, his date, competitors etc he was always on another confrontational side. Yet he was only together, and for only a few moments, with someone he was formerly on the other side of in blondy Dr. F.
Later we saw Betty in Sally's psyche's office looking wistfully at the idyllic playhouse. Not to mention her with Henry hanging together listening to the music in the living room like we saw with her and Don before. Also not to mention Betty complaining to Henry about parenting, yet telling him he's soft. She did basically the same to Don when he wouldn't smack Bobby.
(and unrelated it would have been very Joan as well looking at the playhouse; meanwhile Peggy is riding the Honda around and around in a circle [carousel style] ).
Which brings us to another unanswerable point: I've always believed in the carousel motif of unencumbered spinning round and round like a child with no admitted beginning or end, no worries as one of the underlying themes of this series (the Kodak presentation, and the visual carousel the episode we met Suzanne Farrell, and the emphasis on globes which spin around and around). Peggy, who we know has a lot of Don in her, visually spinning around and around tonight. We saw her within a round set, traveling around and around, and they could have had her do anything. Or maybe it's just a bunch coincidences through the seasons. Who knows.
If you look at last year with Joan, with her gone most of the season you had to know she'd be back with the gang, or else they'd have to write her out of the show. My feeling is the same thing with Betty.
She's too intrinsic to be now a fringe character. I thought the first two seasons had an underlying tryptic of Don, Betty and Peggy. (but I think it's unfortunate they seem to have gotten away from that). So you can't have Betty just peppered in now and then like Joan was last year. So Betty has to return to a more prominent role.
What I think will happen is that Henry will tire of her, it'll end, and Betty in desperation or maybe her own bout of loneliness like Don seems to be in now, will let Don come back home. And that's how Betty comes back into the show.
Otherwise they would have to just write her out. You can't have a Mad Men episode centering on Betty with very little Don. The show is about Don. It has an ensemble cast, but it's not an ensemble show like Cheers, Friends, etc.
Betty is too important to remain on the fringe all season so they have to have her come back to prominence somehow, so I think they'll both be back in cohabitation.
If you look and Don and Henry, on the surface they're both basically cut from the same cloth. They're both Alpha males, about power and are successful etc.
That's the only type Betty has an ability to be with.
That's why I think after some down time, Betty will allow Don to come back. At some point they'll probably have drunken accident sex. Betty is still Betty, if Henry doesn't last she'll go crawling back to Don if there's nothing immediately available after Henry.
She'll go crawling back to him in the form of allowing him to come crawling back.
Did you also happen to notice after the Ponds crying fiasco, Joan comes into the office where they were watching and asks if she can put the office back to the regular way and she proceeds t0 snap the curtains shut? Don was on the other side of the viewing glass watching Allison start to cry...for a moment he was able to see her pain and maybe start to feel a hint of remorse... Allison knows he is there though and runs out...and then a short time later Joan snapping the curtains shut. They didn't have to film that part with the curtains, there was no other point to it other than again showing Don being on the other side.
MAD MEN
4 comments:
Episode 5, combat vs confide, and Peggy on the carousel theme.
To me, the most interesting scene was Don with Dr. Faye.
She's in an office, yet in the kitchen. Shoes off. Doing dishes. And the only time in the episode, Don actually confides rather than combats. He talks personally which he rarely does. There's no element of vinegar in their presence, like it was before and like to a small degree his dates with Jane's friend, no matter whose fault it would be.
Since she's both in an office and a kitchen, which is the real environment Don is seeing?
Is it simply because she's a psych and it mirrors the Sally angle? Or is it something more, about the homestead blonde. Is that what unlocks the first lock of a safe with many locks to go through until he opens? Is that his pillow, is that his oasis his mind wants to finally rest upon and within? Anna does after all give him a bit of that as well.
Did he see the idea of a Betty without combat, in her? He's also straight with Anna. He sees nothing worthy of substance in Dr. F until that scene. And he is neither alpha male nor bossy toward her, choosing to confide. Most every other scene was one of combat and confrontation with him tonight.
And later with work, did we see Don employing the Cold War strategy of an arm's race?
In addition, Tonight we saw Don on different sides of things. The visual near the end was great, of Don in his chair and Pete and Layne in a big office with plenty of space, but sitting together away from him. With his coworkers, his wife, his date, competitors etc he was always on another confrontational side. Yet he was only together, and for only a few moments, with someone he was formerly on the other side of in blondy Dr. F.
Later we saw Betty in Sally's psyche's office looking wistfully at the idyllic playhouse. Not to mention her with Henry hanging together listening to the music in the living room like we saw with her and Don before. Also not to mention Betty complaining to Henry about parenting, yet telling him he's soft. She did basically the same to Don when he wouldn't smack Bobby.
(and unrelated it would have been very Joan as well looking at the playhouse; meanwhile Peggy is riding the Honda around and around in a circle [carousel style] ).
Which brings us to another unanswerable point: I've always believed in the carousel motif of unencumbered spinning round and round like a child with no admitted beginning or end, no worries as one of the underlying themes of this series (the Kodak presentation, and the visual carousel the episode we met Suzanne Farrell, and the emphasis on globes which spin around and around). Peggy, who we know has a lot of Don in her, visually spinning around and around tonight. We saw her within a round set, traveling around and around, and they could have had her do anything. Or maybe it's just a bunch coincidences through the seasons. Who knows.
Regarding Betty and Henry:
If you look at last year with Joan, with her gone most of the season you had to know she'd be back with the gang, or else they'd have to write her out of the show. My feeling is the same thing with Betty.
She's too intrinsic to be now a fringe character. I thought the first two seasons had an underlying tryptic of Don, Betty and Peggy. (but I think it's unfortunate they seem to have gotten away from that). So you can't have Betty just peppered in now and then like Joan was last year. So Betty has to return to a more prominent role.
What I think will happen is that Henry will tire of her, it'll end, and Betty in desperation or maybe her own bout of loneliness like Don seems to be in now, will let Don come back home. And that's how Betty comes back into the show.
Otherwise they would have to just write her out. You can't have a Mad Men episode centering on Betty with very little Don. The show is about Don. It has an ensemble cast, but it's not an ensemble show like Cheers, Friends, etc.
Betty is too important to remain on the fringe all season so they have to have her come back to prominence somehow, so I think they'll both be back in cohabitation.
And it will be absolute hell.
If you look and Don and Henry, on the surface they're both basically cut from the same cloth. They're both Alpha males, about power and are successful etc.
That's the only type Betty has an ability to be with.
That's why I think after some down time, Betty will allow Don to come back. At some point they'll probably have drunken accident sex. Betty is still Betty, if Henry doesn't last she'll go crawling back to Don if there's nothing immediately available after Henry.
She'll go crawling back to him in the form of allowing him to come crawling back.
Did you also happen to notice after the Ponds crying fiasco, Joan comes into the office where they were watching and asks if she can put the office back to the regular way and she proceeds t0 snap the curtains shut? Don was on the other side of the viewing glass watching Allison start to cry...for a moment he was able to see her pain and maybe start to feel a hint of remorse... Allison knows he is there though and runs out...and then a short time later Joan snapping the curtains shut. They didn't have to film that part with the curtains, there was no other point to it other than again showing Don being on the other side.
Post a Comment