Mad Men 2.12: The Mountain King, 10/19/08 (open spoilers)

[Prelude_to_Fascination]

@acsenray

I don’t think he has any moral obligation to be open-minded about it. We’re talking about raising a child as one’s own. That’s a life-long commitment. And there’s nothing evil or unnatural about being uncomfortable about making such a commitment to a person who is not a genetic descendant.

I should think that Pete’s mother’s “dregs and rejects” comment is the one that ought to be offensive.

I found Pete’s attitude pretty deplorable because of his mother’s comment: his behavior makes it clear the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.

[Beware_of_Doug]

@acsenray

Paul Kinsey?

Yep. He’s a fatuous poser. Don portends something different coming - I think of it as the groundwork being laid for The Sixties - but in the context of the show, he’s earned the right to break the roles, by having invested so deeply in them for so long.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@Beware_of_Doug

Yep. He’s a fatuous poser. Don portends something different coming - I think of it as the groundwork being laid for The Sixties - but in the context of the show, he’s earned the right to break the roles, by having invested so deeply in them for so long.

He’s earned the right to abandon his children? :dubious:

[The_Weird_One]

@SaharaTea

I don’t think she’s saying that everyone should be willing to adopt. Adoption isn’t for everyone. But Pete’s made it pretty clear he thinks a child who isn’t biologically his is somehow inferior, and I can see how this would be very hurtful. Yes, it’s the 1960s and it’s a fictional tv show, but this is a stigma that adopted children and their parents still struggle with today.

I agree that Trudy is all kinds of wrong to make the appointment behind his back and run to Daddy when things go wrong. But Pete isn’t exactly being open-minded about it either.

You nailed it. And the idea that an adopted child is a “reject” or less loveable than a biological child is particularly hurtful to my boyfriend, who still feels that his father didn’t love him as much as if he had been biologically related. Now, if Pete were a real person, I’d feel obliged to consider that he does have some good qualities (presumably, though I can’t think of any at the moment) and that Trudy handled her end poorly. But as he’s just a fictional character, I’m happy to write him off completely.