# Mad-Men 2.13: Meditations in an Emergency, 10/26/08, season finale (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700 "2008-10-27T00:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/41 "2008-10-27T16:28:26Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I don’t think the salesman thing was jealousy, it was power. But the balance of power has shifted. By coming back to her, Don made it clear that he can’t live without her. He was in the middle of heaven, out there in CA. Free & easy T&A, no responsibilities, nobody that knew him as anyone. The perfect opportunity for him to set up shop doing anything he wanted, under any identity he chose. But he gave it all up for his wife, kids and job back in New York. So Betty knows where his weakness is. He needs her. > > She now has the upper hand in the relationship. He expressed the need and desire for her; she was aloof the whole time, even during the final awkward scene where he walked in the house. Hi and hugs for the kids, sit on the couch with the wife who barely even acknolwedged his existence. > > And if he ever starts to stray again? She has that one dalliance in her back pocket, which she knows will destroy him if he ever finds out. If by ‘destroy him’ you mean ‘prompt a vicious beating of her by him,’ yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/42 "2008-10-27T16:32:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Thank you. I was wondering about her insistence that she couldn’t have the baby now. I assumed that’s because it wasn’t her husband’s. It’s because it interfered with her option of jettisoning Don altogether. I’m pretty sure the pregnancy is the principal, if not the sole, reason she accepted him back. I think she’s pretty much over him. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/43 "2008-10-27T16:35:14Z")
I think Pete respects Don a lot, and probably more than that, looks to him almost as a father-figure-he-never-had. I don’t think his telling Don about Duck’s plan was calculated, I think it was intuitive. And not a bad intuition, because if Pete manages to stop being such an insufferable ass, Don will be fair to him. Don’s explanation to Pete about his disappearance, otoh, was complete and utter bullshit. I do think Don took a cue from Pete’s parting words about the missile crisis in informing his planned approach to Duck though. Worked, too. Peggy’s scene with Pete was just amazing - what incredibly powerful acting! I can’t remember the last time I saw something that good in a decent movie, let alone on t.v. She was basically telling him that he was living in fantasy land and that he never had a chance with her - that if she wanted him, she would have had him already, it wouldn’t have mattered whether he loved her or not. And like he does every time his masculinity is threatened, he went and spent some time with his Great Big Penis (gun). Trudy’s a piece of work, though. Just immature mostly - she’d probably grow out of it eventually. Peggy’s priest was looking for the same thing Betty was looking for - a confession. Betty got one, the priest didn’t. I think Betty WAS going to tell Don about the affair (from the way she was stammering) and changed her mind at the last second, played it safe, and told him about the pregnancy. She was at a crossroads: end the marriage or keep it. Joan should do everything she can to stay Don’s secretary for now. Maybe she’d actually get somewhere. They have great energy together, and not in a sexual way - they just understand the world in similar ways. I don’t think Betty was setting out to have an affair at all. It just worked out that way. She was just doing something she’d never do otherwise - go into a bar by herself. I think this show says a lot of subtle things about reproductive freedom. It’s hard to imagine now what it would be like to have that little control over your body, your future, or your life. I’m not going to be getting pregnant by accident (or any other way) any time soon, but I felt trapped just watching her! ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/44 "2008-10-27T16:41:46Z")
> [@jellyblue](#): > > Don’s explanation to Pete about his disappearance, otoh, was complete and utter bullshit. I do think Don took a cue from Pete’s parting words about the missile crisis in informing his planned approach to Duck though. Worked, too. That’s a major part of why I’m calling this the “dramatic irony” episode. Pete comes to Don with a completely legitimate complaint. Don, who at that moment has no reason to care about Pete’s good opinion, neverthleless feeds him a line of bullshit, completely pour le sport, about trusting Pete’s judgment and competence. This has the unintended and fortunate consequence of making Pete feel admired and valued by Don, at the same time that Duck is validating his manhood. Had that not happened, Pete would have been utterly on Ducks die; but it did happen, so Pete had to make a decision whom to support, giving Don a head’s up on the coming attempted-assfuck by Duck. Thus Don benefited from kicking an annoying puppy. And you people always claim evil never prospers. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/45 "2008-10-27T16:52:57Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > It’s because it interfered with her option of jettisoning Don altogether. I’m pretty sure the pregnancy is the principal, if not the sole, reason she accepted him back. I think she’s pretty much over him. But there was a first season episode about the divorced woman in Betty’s neighborhood (Glen’s mother?) and it seemed that the married women (including Betty) both pitied her and feared her as a threat to their marriages. So I would think Betty would be very reluctant to go that route. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/46 "2008-10-27T18:15:03Z")
The main poin tof this season is of course Do shifting his prioorities from work to his family and wife. Of course we will ahve to wait and see how long this holds up, but it is no coincidence that right after Don told Duck to shove it (more or less) came right after Betty got his note. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/47 "2008-10-27T18:43:53Z")
I don’t think Don was playing with Pete. Don’s attitude when he came back to the office was that of someone who’s had an epiphany. He was _nice_. Also, I think he was truly impressed that Pete did okay in California on his own. Don seemed to be looking at everyone with new eyes. Maybe it was the doomsday effect, but it’s just as likely that his time with the jet setters made him see how empty his life could be, if he keeps on like he’s been doing. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/48 "2008-10-27T18:49:23Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > If I recall correctly, there was an episode near the end of the first season where Pete bought the gun and Trudy was pissed off about him buying it. They’d gotten duplicate wedding presents, and he was supposed to return one and get something else from their registry, but instead got the rifle, and Trudy pitched a fit and told him to take it back. We see him back at the office with it, but I thought he did return it; interesting to see that he kept it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/49 "2008-10-27T19:50:00Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > But there was a first season episode about the divorced woman in Betty’s neighborhood (Glen’s mother?) and it seemed that the married women (including Betty) both pitied her and feared her as a threat to their marriages. So I would think Betty would be very reluctant to go that route. Well, half the season has shown her to be _reluctant_. The point is that she was seriously considering it. Until the pregnancy, it seemed to me that each episode was moving her closer to pushing Don over. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/50 "2008-10-27T20:09:27Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > The main poin tof this season is of course Do shifting his prioorities from work to his family and wife. Of course we will ahve to wait and see how long this holds up, but it is no coincidence that right after Don told Duck to shove it (more or less) came right after Betty got his note. Not only was Don shifting his life around – _Pete_ was, as well. He came into the office having all but told his wife he didn’t love her, and then chose to throw his lot in with Don, and make a play for Peggy. It’s an interesting parallel. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/51 "2008-10-27T20:35:43Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > …Perhaps his inclusion in the firm’s equity was structured in a similar fashion as the fourth partner, who was clearly an owner but did not work there… Speaking of _Alice_ Cooper, is she a lesbian? 😕 Bertram asked about her _companion_ who’s visiting _her_ mother. [QUOTE=jellyblue] …Joan should do everything she can to stay Don’s secretary for now. Maybe she’d actually get somewhere. They have great energy together, and not in a sexual way - they just understand the world in similar ways… [/QUOTE] That’ll only work if she calls off the wedding with Dr Rape. There’s no way he’ll allow her to keep working. Any bets on how far into the future they’ll skip next season? If my timelines correct season 1 ended Thanksgiving 1960 and 2 started Valentine’s Day 1962. That’s about 16 months. This season ended in October 1962 and Kennedy was assassinated in late November of '63. A 13 month gap would be in keeping with the last break. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/52 "2008-10-27T20:42:03Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Speaking of _Alice_ Cooper, is she a lesbian? 😕 Bertram asked about her _companion_ who’s visiting _her_ mother. They didn’t say what the deal was. A “companion” wasn’t always a lover. _Mad Men_ doesn’t give up details easily. It wasn’t until this episode that we knew for sure that Peggy’s baby was given up for adoption. I have to say that the most enjoyable parts for me are the peanut gallery scenes. Big smile when Harry pulled a memo off Kinsey’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/53 "2008-10-27T20:45:54Z")
> [@Geobabe](#): > > They’d gotten duplicate wedding presents, and he was supposed to return one and get something else from their registry, but instead got the rifle, and Trudy pitched a fit and told him to take it back. We see him back at the office with it, but I thought he did return it; interesting to see that he kept it. “It’s a chip 'n dip!” ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/54 "2008-10-27T21:10:44Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Any bets on how far into the future they’ll skip next season? If my timelines correct season 1 ended Thanksgiving 1960 and 2 started Valentine’s Day 1962. That’s about 16 months. This season ended in October 1962 and Kennedy was assassinated in late November of '63. A 13 month gap would be in keeping with the last break. From a recent interview, Matt Weiner says: “I can say one thing in advance: the Kennedy assassination is very well-trod territory, and I just don’t see myself adding to that.” I hope they’ll pick up where S2 left off, but they probably won’t. I want to see the characters go through the process of dealing with what’s happened to them, rather than a big time jump where we see them all settled in – or _not_ settled in. I want to see how they get there. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/55 "2008-10-27T21:19:17Z")
deleted. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/56 "2008-10-27T21:21:58Z")
deleted. how did that happen? ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/57 "2008-10-27T21:33:05Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Speaking of _Alice_ Cooper, is she a lesbian? 😕 Bertram asked about her _companion_ who’s visiting _her_ mother. I thought the same thing-- a never-married woman of means with a “companion”? Though Roger implied that she was infatuated with Don: “Want me to get a picture of him so you can stare at it?” So who knows? I hope they don’t skip ahead too far. I want to see how Pete and Peggy interact after her bombshell. Is he through with Trudy or will they stay in their loveless marriage? I want to see Joan’s struggle with her engagement… will she go through with it? Will Roger really marry that dipshit Jane? Will Duck be out on his ass or still struggling with Don? Who will wind up the president of SC under PPL? Which of the peanut gallery will stay on which will be downsized? How will Don and Betty negotiate their reunion? Fast forwarding through that feels like a cheat, but I’m sure they’ll pull it off. Any word on when we can expect S3? Summer of next year? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/58 "2008-10-27T22:03:30Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Speaking of _Alice_ Cooper, is she a lesbian? 😕 Bertram asked about her _companion_ who’s visiting _her_ mother. > > That’ll only work if she calls off the wedding with Dr Rape. There’s no way he’ll allow her to keep working. With any luck, Dr. Rape will choke on a chicken bone. Or Joan will snap and kill him, be tried by an all-male, all-straight jury, and be acquited on the strength of her testimony that he ws mean to her and her ridiculous hotness. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/59 "2008-10-27T22:12:41Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Speaking of _Alice_ Cooper, is she a lesbian? 😕 Bertram asked about her _companion_ who’s visiting _her_ mother. Alice is clearly the next reincarnation of Doctor Who, and Mad Men has been the elaborate lead-in to a cross-over series. 😃 _d&r_ ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700/60 "2008-10-28T00:45:54Z")
BTW, _Chuck_ fans, did anyone else notice that Betty’s barroom fuck was Captain Awesome? Awesome! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-2-13-meditations-in-an-emergency-10-26-08-season-finale-open-spoilers/469700.md?page=4)