So as usual we had parallel storylines with Don and our first Betty appearance. They were both in their own version of their office, and they both were rejected in attempting to be accepted. Betty was especially interesting because she's never exactly been mother of the year. But she tried. Don has rarely been great co-worker of the year, but he's trying.
This was very Don/Betty centered, which leads you to think they're setting up something in getting we the viewer used to seeing them together again, if together can mean two mirroring storylines all episode. Obviously not on screen together, yet they both filled our screens.
Look how they chose to edit it, there was a portion there where it went very quickly from Don back to Betty constantly. That seemed inportant that they did that. And Don is looking for acceptance as his office self and Betty is trying to be accepted in her child's life in actually going on a field trip.
Goodbye was a lot of things, which I supposes is a further underlying theme of the late 60s motif. Goodbye to Betty the homebody in her scene with Francine, who had said goodbye to being a homebody. Goodbye is Don's way of doing business over drinks, (except for client hospitality of course). Before you saw this goodbye in the way of doing business we saw one last gasp of the old, in his giving Dawn his hat and coat in a meeting/break room and not an office, plus between Dawn and Roger's secretary, the idea of coffee. Also goodbye is the old way of doing business and the first introduction of the idea of computers.
I think a lot of things were using characters to explore the exposition of the idea of being an outsider which is what Don was all about this episode. Megan says, "it's sunny here for everyone except me" in her own rejection. Peggy is an outsider in her meeting in the beginning. Betty seems an outdated outsider with Francine. Harry is an outsider when he is called into an office he should have been brought into in the first place. That builds the foundation of what both Don and the episode is about, rejection.
Then you say hello again. Birdseye wants Don. Roger wants Don and fights for him.
Two things regarding Betty and Don. You had him saying to Megan, "I just felt if you found out that you would think different of me". Its basically the same thing he said when Betty found the box. Megan says, "Don't lie to me". I felt what that was all about was actually pouring some concrete in getting us back to the idea of Betty and Don. Lastly, it's interesting that Betty's rejection came on a farm of all places, given Don is originally from a farm, further uniting the two storylines, further uniting Betty and Don toward we the viewer...
Way back season 3, I posted something I felt was important in the whole Mad Men idea, and have posted the idea when it's come up again subtley at times. It was when we first met Suzanne Farrell, the scene of the maypole dance, with Don oggling her etc.
We all speculate (which makes this the best character/series ever) about what he is inside and where he will end up.
Flashback to the series premier, the Kodak pitch for the carousel and how you got teary eyed. Remember the idea of how a child travels, around and around, etc; how he spoke of a carousel. We've since grown into Don's themes: No real past, an individual with no begining and no end, and individual who constantly gets up and leaves and comes back (which is exactly what tonight's episode was about), an individual spinning around and around, we used to see a lot of globes in backgrounds, travel has been a constant theme and not simply a sign of the times but has been an inner theme with him, the themes of suitcases, and much more.
During that maypole scene if you watch it close, what does visually the whole maypole thing look like? You have a central axis in the pole, that has streamers that come down similar to a canopy, and two circles of children, both inner circle of children and outer circle of children circling different directions and circling in simple and safe joy. It's visually representative of a carousel, at least to me.
They've done a bunch of this stuff, the two examples there being the biggest ones. Here tonight, did you catch where Ken says to Don, "that's the carousel, always makes me think of you".
You know how something just sticks with you? It kinda bothers you in a funny way? Especially with this show? I swear that carousel motif will come into play at the end. Everyone at some point says ok how do you think it will end which is always great to talk about. Some feel Don will end up in jail, some think suicide, some think happily ever after with Betty after redeeming himself, some think all a dream etc. That whole carousel thing is what really sticks with me and I believe that somehow that whole idea (especially with the prior hobo and gypsy thing) is how he will end up, in some fashion, travelling around and around, happy and alone. We all have different radar for different things with this show and here again was mine, the mention of carousel again here tonight in now the last season. We'll see.
Part of the whole late 60s motif is people getting tossed out. Rejection and change and how they intertwine were relevant here, especially in Betty's story here.
She changed of sorts to come to Bobby to be part of his field trip. When they had lunch and she went to go wash her hands, we saw Bobby be a male telling another male, no, that's her place so scram.
However when she comes back we find that the same male, while she was gone, gave her place of sorts to...another female. Betty got tossed. That leads to the scene with her holding Gene saying it's only a matter of time. And the background tv sound of someone being a Martian, an outsider.
The theme of tossing-out is really ramping up now.
3 comments:
You say goodbye and I say hello.
Rejection met with wanting acceptance.
So as usual we had parallel storylines with Don and our first Betty appearance. They were both in their own version of their office, and they both were rejected in attempting to be accepted. Betty was especially interesting because she's never exactly been mother of the year. But she tried. Don has rarely been great co-worker of the year, but he's trying.
This was very Don/Betty centered, which leads you to think they're setting up something in getting we the viewer used to seeing them together again, if together can mean two mirroring storylines all episode. Obviously not on screen together, yet they both filled our screens.
Look how they chose to edit it, there was a portion there where it went very quickly from Don back to Betty constantly. That seemed inportant that they did that. And Don is looking for acceptance as his office self and Betty is trying to be accepted in her child's life in actually going on a field trip.
Goodbye was a lot of things, which I supposes is a further underlying theme of the late 60s motif. Goodbye to Betty the homebody in her scene with Francine, who had said goodbye to being a homebody. Goodbye is Don's way of doing business over drinks, (except for client hospitality of course). Before you saw this goodbye in the way of doing business we saw one last gasp of the old, in his giving Dawn his hat and coat in a meeting/break room and not an office, plus between Dawn and Roger's secretary, the idea of coffee. Also goodbye is the old way of doing business and the first introduction of the idea of computers.
I think a lot of things were using characters to explore the exposition of the idea of being an outsider which is what Don was all about this episode. Megan says, "it's sunny here for everyone except me" in her own rejection. Peggy is an outsider in her meeting in the beginning. Betty seems an outdated outsider with Francine. Harry is an outsider when he is called into an office he should have been brought into in the first place. That builds the foundation of what both Don and the episode is about, rejection.
Then you say hello again. Birdseye wants Don. Roger wants Don and fights for him.
Two things regarding Betty and Don. You had him saying to Megan, "I just felt if you found out that you would think different of me". Its basically the same thing he said when Betty found the box. Megan says, "Don't lie to me". I felt what that was all about was actually pouring some concrete in getting us back to the idea of Betty and Don. Lastly, it's interesting that Betty's rejection came on a farm of all places, given Don is originally from a farm, further uniting the two storylines, further uniting Betty and Don toward we the viewer...
The carousel theme appears again this episode.
Way back season 3, I posted something I felt was important in the whole Mad Men idea, and have posted the idea when it's come up again subtley at times. It was when we first met Suzanne Farrell, the scene of the maypole dance, with Don oggling her etc.
We all speculate (which makes this the best character/series ever) about what he is inside and where he will end up.
Flashback to the series premier, the Kodak pitch for the carousel and how you got teary eyed. Remember the idea of how a child travels, around and around, etc; how he spoke of a carousel. We've since grown into Don's themes: No real past, an individual with no begining and no end, and individual who constantly gets up and leaves and comes back (which is exactly what tonight's episode was about), an individual spinning around and around, we used to see a lot of globes in backgrounds, travel has been a constant theme and not simply a sign of the times but has been an inner theme with him, the themes of suitcases, and much more.
During that maypole scene if you watch it close, what does visually the whole maypole thing look like? You have a central axis in the pole, that has streamers that come down similar to a canopy, and two circles of children, both inner circle of children and outer circle of children circling different directions and circling in simple and safe joy. It's visually representative of a carousel, at least to me.
They've done a bunch of this stuff, the two examples there being the biggest ones. Here tonight, did you catch where Ken says to Don, "that's the carousel, always makes me think of you".
You know how something just sticks with you? It kinda bothers you in a funny way? Especially with this show? I swear that carousel motif will come into play at the end. Everyone at some point says ok how do you think it will end which is always great to talk about. Some feel Don will end up in jail, some think suicide, some think happily ever after with Betty after redeeming himself, some think all a dream etc. That whole carousel thing is what really sticks with me and I believe that somehow that whole idea (especially with the prior hobo and gypsy thing) is how he will end up, in some fashion, travelling around and around, happy and alone. We all have different radar for different things with this show and here again was mine, the mention of carousel again here tonight in now the last season. We'll see.
Betty, Bobby and more rejection.
Upon further review:
Part of the whole late 60s motif is people getting tossed out. Rejection and change and how they intertwine were relevant here, especially in Betty's story here.
She changed of sorts to come to Bobby to be part of his field trip. When they had lunch and she went to go wash her hands, we saw Bobby be a male telling another male, no, that's her place so scram.
However when she comes back we find that the same male, while she was gone, gave her place of sorts to...another female. Betty got tossed. That leads to the scene with her holding Gene saying it's only a matter of time. And the background tv sound of someone being a Martian, an outsider.
The theme of tossing-out is really ramping up now.
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