That’s kind of how I saw it too.
This was a weird episode. The dream sequences sort of reminded me of Tony’s from The Sopranos. I was pulling for Peggy in her scene with Don, and loved this little exchange:
Don: What you want me to say?
Peggy: I don’t think I could have been any clearer.
Atta girl, Pegs!
Couldn’t the OMG face be simply, “Wow, I’m a father now”?
Yeah, there was definitely something weird there. Also, why was Medgar Evers in Betty’s dream?
I think it’s probably in Pete’s and Peggy’s best interests to leave Sterling Cooper. They and their clients are resisting the changes in society and in advertising that will soon make them obsolete. Everyone at S-C wears a suit and the atmosphere is strictly WASP, as evidenced by Admiral’s refusal to even consider advertising to Black people. Duck, on the other hand, was wearing a turtleneck with a sports jacket and throwing around Yiddish slang. It’s a sign that Gray is a more tuned into the cultural shifts that are happening. I was surprised that Pete immediately, adamantly refused the offer and that Peggy seems to be considering it. Pete’s never shown much loyalty to, well, anyone, whereas Peggy has a strong bond to Don.
Also, it stuck out at me that Admiral’s excuse for not advertising to Black people – “They’re buying our televisions because they think White people want them” – is essentially the same as what Peggy was told when she objected to the Patio ads – that the advertising should appeal to men because women want to be desired by men. It puts Peggy and Pete very much in the same boat, although I doubt Pete will recognize it.
When Peggy was in Don’s office looking at all the baby gifts he’d received, it was clear she was thinking about her own baby, which reminded me how frustrated I am that we never really saw Pete’s reaction when he found out she’d had his child. I really want to know how he feels about it, and how he and Trudy got past the adoption issue and turned into a happy couple.
Medgar Evers appears because Sally’s teacher mentioned his murder and the fact that Sally had been asking alot of questions about it.
I wonder why a prison guard? Also, I assumed the weird look was the guard’s embarrassment about being so emotional with another man.
Pete was insulted and felt more adamant about expressing that than considering his options. He thought he was a top man being courted by Duck. But, in his mind, how exclusive could this search for talent be if the net being cast was wide enough to include Peggy? It was his way of saving face from a humiliating encounter.
During the meeting with Sally’s teacher, she said Sally had been obsessed with the murder of Medger Evers which had been in the news recently.
Pete turned down Duck’s offer because he was annoyed that he wasn’t being wooed individually.
And when Peggy gave her gift to Don, she said, “Don’t return it.” Possibly a reference to the baby she gave up for adoption?
Well, Pete did tell Don about Duck’s plan, which I took to be a bit of new loyalty after Don praised Pete’s California efforts. Granted, Don was bullshitting an excuse to cover for his unexcused absence but the effect on Pete was there.
For a more cynical outlook, Pete probably views Duck as something of a loser. At least he should. He bungled getting rid of Don, threw a tantrum in the board room and is a drunk. He’s been bouncing from advertising firm to advertising firm and wasn’t exactly burning up SC while he was there. He lost accounts, got dressed down by Roger for failing to bring in promised business, etc. Pete is a bit bitter at SC but at least he has (50% of) the Head of Accounts title there. Would you really trust Duck to take you to the top?
I found it odd that Pete seemed so panicked that Peggy might have told Don about them meeting Duck. I mean, Pete at least has the “Hey, Duck’s trying to steal our people; I told him to get bent and walked out” defense working for him. I guess Pete’s feeling on eggshells. Did someone really load Cosgrove with the “good” accounts and leave Pete the chaff?
And also, like Betty’s mother in her dream sequence said about him being dead, “That’s what happens when you stand up for yourself.”
I was hoping Duck had been found decomposing, under a bush in the park , dead from a burst liver, for putting that poor dog out on the city street to starve or get hit by a car. But, like Michael Vick, I guess Our Duck deserves a big fat second chance. Still wish the bastard had killed himself, though.
I was thinking the same thing, but maybe even more realistic, considering the way her recent thoughts and experiences were conglomerated and played back. Also, her remark to her parents - something about school, right into “and I’m having a baby” came across as completely dreamlike.
I loved the surreal effect as Betty is walking down the sidewalk. Green screen, maybe?
So, did the inchworm represent the new arrival?
To which Don could say, “Why did you meet with him in the first place?” Not a good place to be.
I’m not sure it’d be that bad. Hell, Don let himself be courted another agency (and Sterling knew something was up) and only really gave the other guy the bum’s rush because he was jacking around with Don’s wife. This sort of stuff goes on.
Of course it goes on. But that doesn’t mean your boss is going to be understanding about it.
I noticed Betty is left-handed. My mother, who was born around the same time, had the left-handedness… uh… re-directed by the nuns in elementary school. My impression was that most kids of that era would not be allowed to be left-handed. Am I wrong?
Ah, thanks, I missed Sally’s teacher mentioning Medgar Evers.
That’s what I took it for, but I’m not 100% certain. I thought it was a caterpillar and expected it to change into a butterfly, but when Betty closed her hand around it, it was unclear whether she was holding it protectively or crushing it.
I thought it was a dick move on Don’s part not to immediately agree to name the baby Eugene. I mean, come on, Betty’s father just died, it’s an obvious choice to name the newborn baby boy after him.
Ms. Jones looked spectacular in that scene. And I thought it was a silkworm, but not sure what it’s supposed to represent in either case.
For some reason I think it’s really funny that Duck still has those stupid ducks hanging on his wall at his new job.
Although I admit to not noticing whether Dennis the Prison Guard’s Wife was actually holding an infant or not, my take on the lack of acknowledgment was that the whole interchange never happened. There have been lots of hallucinations, visions and flashbacks lately and Weiner is a bit of a Freudian, as were the late 60’s.
So. Don sees a prison guard in the hospital waiting room and he symbolizes Don’s ego trying to clamp down on his ever-raging id (the prisoners/Don’s horndog, dishonest tendencies). His ego soothes him with alcohol (which is what egos do when they got nothin’ else) and starts reminding Don of his long term (better) interests, as well as his trauma of losing HIS mother in childbirth (“I’d never make it without her and how could I ever love that baby?” He ends up appealing to Don’s better nature, an aspiration: “You’re an honest man, and believe me I can tell.” Don’s talking to himself through this whole thing. I’m tellin’ ya, people this was some deep shit, this writer is not fooling around. Meanwhile, Betty’s busy hallucinating the entire thesis of the Feminine Mystique, complete with both parents urging her to shut the hell up and remain purely decorative, because that is what she is capable of, while the appalling sexism in Peggy’s situation is paralleled with the racism, overt (Medgar Evars) and (then) more subtle (the elevator operator and actually advertising to “negroes”). Both these forces are sounding the deathknell for SC, and they will never wake up to smell the coffee campaign in enough time. They are dinosaurs and even the Brits know it. Peggy needs to get the hell out of there - she will never get anyplace in an office where she was initially a secretary. Don needs to go too, and I think he might. Pete can stay and sink with the ship, he’s just not going to make the transition well. He has an inkling of what’s coming but can only tolerate it in his accustomed schema.
I thought it was a masterpiece of an episode, and something that’s going to end up being used in college level history courses.
Am I the only one who noticed the STRING on the caterpillar in the dream sequence (great Alice in Wonderland reference, btw).
I saw that differently, that Don thought Betty might regret it later. I think that’s the only reason Betty chose the name, because Gene had just died. If she cared that much about her dad, she could have named Bobby (or Billy or whatever his name is) after him.
Matt Weiner says in his comments about this episode that Duck is “on his way up” at Gray, and points out that Duck was drinking coffee at lunch. He’s on the wagon, and a sober Duck might actually be someone good to know.
Missed the edit window, which is what happen when you can’t articulate your thoughts!
Re the prison guard and that look he gave Don – he had told Don that having this baby meant that he was going to be a “better man”. I thought he was implying that he mistreated the prisoners (maybe even his wife). If the baby’s dead, he’s lost the reason for changing his behavior. There’s Don, leaving the hospital with his beautiful wife and his third, healthy child, and feeling quilty that he can’t appreciate what he has.