I think Don’s talk with Sally defused that situation. Don and his magic touch works at home as well as the office.
I think the baby dying (in any fashion) would take the show in a whole other direction. The writers haven’t had to manufacture a lot of drama – it’s enough just to show these people coping with the cultural shifts without adding murder and craziness. Peggy’s pregnancy in S1 was the closest they came to cliche and they managed to turn that on its ear and surprise everyone.
I was going to say that Cooper & Sterling probably have non-compete contracts, but as I think on it I’m not sure. We know Don doesn’t; there was non when SC was an independent entity, and though I’m sure the corporate bosses would like him to sign one now they have no way to force him to do so.
Maybe so. But it’s quite likely that Betty will do something to reignite it.
I’m imagining Sally as one of those cartoon bombs with the really long fuse. The fuse is lit. Don comes along and stamps it out, but the fuse is still sitting there. Then Betty comes by and casually throws a lit cigarette over her shoulder…
I think Lane’s real failing is that he is not a handsome, charming young man. He’s an older man, hence his needing to take off his glasses so as to not remind people of that fact.
Unfortunately, to PPL he was the Beast Rabban sent in to whip Arrakis into shape, before PPL sent in adorable Feyd Rautha to ease their pain.
As I said earlier, Conrad Hilton’s comment to Don was not very clear (when he said that Don needed to think bigger) but I think he was suggesting that Don should have asked for a job at Hilton Hotels, perhaps as head of marketing, and that had Don done so, Hilton would have granted it to him. Certainly the two of them bonded at the country club over their shared experience as poor boys looking in at the people with money.
FYI, here’s a link to the Time magazine cover story on Conrad Hilton which ran in the issue dated July 19, 1963. So presumably it was on sale the week after Independence Day.
Doesn’t Don have half a million dollars? Couldn’t he use that as start-up money?
Beautiful metaphor; hat’s off.
Isn’t there some saying about never gambling with your own money?
That’s what I thought – is everyone going to pass out from carbon monoxide poisoning?
But if a big ol’ lawn tractor is comin’ at ya, wouldn’t you at least get out of the way?!? It’s not like you couldn’t out run it.
My guess is that *any *handicap is frowned upon at PPL. Poor vision that requires glasses, missing a foot, etc.
…as soon as Don placed it on the dresser I told my husband that Sally was going to freak out over it. I remember that much about being a kid.
I wonder if Don was cautious in the meeting with Conrad Hilton because the story he told Connie in that country club about being a poor kid parking cars at a roadhouse was one from Dick Whitman’s childhood and not Don Draper’s. So that if Conrad Hilton or his people do any digging around, they will notice the discrepancy.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I thought the whole British subplot was basically an echo of the last gasp of British Colonialism. Sending Lane to Bombay because of all the problems there, putting on airs of strength to mask crumbling vision and crippled executives… It’s like they were convinced that they were commanders of all, while the artifices crumbled around them. I thought the treatment of Lane was simply an example of indifference towards the ‘menial people.’ A vestige of the colonial class hierarchies. They seemed actually surprised that he didn’t take it like a good soldier. They were probably thinking that America was a bad influence on him.
I just realized something!!!
(and if somebody has said this before, I must have missed it)
Gene’s name is gene! Like DNA and stuff. Gene has Gene’s genes.
Don was saying at the end that baby Gene was a blank slate and that the possibilities were endless. But they’re not. Baby Gene is stuck with that family, and will be a product of it, both genetically and emotionally.
Coming from Don, who knows that life can throw you a curve ball allowing you to totally skip out on and overhaul your entire personhood, it’s a telling line.
How does that explain the “only one getting promoted” to head of the media department, for example? Lane didn’t have his glasses off for long, either; he put them on to view his ‘gift’ more clearly and had them on in the meeting where Sterling got left off the chart.
just watched that lawnmower scene like three times… Jesus.
Why would you do that?
Okay, so the mower was a giant Chekov’s Gun. But no way did I expect it to be “fired” that way. Wow. That’s what makes this show great.
As to story of the Brits. Lane Pryce may be very good at what he does. But Mackendrick is clearly from the right pedigree. So it’s a British class thing. Pryce can do the dirty work, but when it comes to the “real work” only someone from the right background is allowed the position. And since Don clearly doesn’t have the right family connections, he shouldn’t have assumed he was going to move up.
Note that for monarchies of old, a deformity would take someone out from the line of succession.
Roger has clearly done something to offend the Brits. Maybe it’s the divorce/young bride thing. Since Don not being under contract was considered a big issue, I’ve assumed that Bert and Roger were. Which is why they have to do what they are told. Since Harry was the only guy to get a promotion, is there something about his background the Brits like?
As to Hilton: I think Don’s answer suggesting that they could work together was viewed as not a big enough grab. Hilton wanted Don to ask for the Hilton account (for S-C). But Don played it cool and told the story of the snake. I think that sort of folkiness works best on a guy like Connie.
I heard this: “… Ken Cosgrove (pause) and Pete Campbell, for now.” So they were both mentioned but with a telling pause. Not so explicit but still noticable.
I see Joan arranging to be persuaded to come back (to save face) but moving into the creative side. A hint of this was given when she suggested changes to Peggy’s roommate ad, as well as her script reviewing story arc from a while back.
Yes, this seems very possible. If she feels that she has some status of her own, it would set things up nicely for her to dump Dr. McRapey.
It would also open up some real possibilities for some story lines involving Peggy. A lot has been made of her alienation from both “the boys” and “the girls.” I could see Joan being quickly adopted by the gang of guys, which would make Peggy feel even worse. Would this lead to friction between Joan and Peggy, or will Joan a chance to take Peggy under her wing and break her out of her shell? (The roommate ad could foreshadow this.)
Isn’t it? I really had no idea if it would be one of those things that they never mention again or if it would create a spectacular scene. Someone mentioned being worried about the fate of baby Gene, and that Sally’s acting odd (I swear I thought she was going to say she’d seen a ghost. Not sure how I would have taken that). I wonder if her own storyline is going somewhere tragic, or if it will be a more traditional power struggle between her and Betty.
What a fantastic episode, all around, and delightfully odd in that Weiner kind of way. Whereas past episodes, especially in the first season, made you feel sympathy for the cemented roles these people have to work with, you can’t help but feel everything’s juuust about to collapse.
Plus I loved watching Don and Joan together. You forget that they don’t actually interact that much, when they are such kindred spirits.
My guess, they have both in there until one proves himself. And with Ken just landing the John Deere account, Pete may be “for now”, since he was already on the org chart.
I really liked that too. And, like someone else said, I was really hoping she would open up to him and tell him she wanted her job back and Don would “take care of it” in a sympathetic way.
But, Joan’s not that person and Don’s not that person so that’s not how it worked out. Good on the writers for keeping up with the characters, I suppose.