Men! Never happy! At least Don. Look at Don - he failed in his marriage to the perfect (looking) wife and so is not much of a father now to his three kids. Well, that’s a downer, I guess, but who screwed around for years, anyway, and failed at that marriage? So he gets divorced, gets a bachelor pad, you’d think he’d be on top of the world without the old ball and chain, and all that freedom! He could become a little Hugh Hefner. He could throw himself into his work and become ridiculously wealthy in the world of advertising. I thought it was every man’s dream to get his freedom! So what does he do? Drink. Drink a lot. Hire hookers. Mope in his dark apartment. He seems to be going downhill, and why is that, Don? What the hell do you want out of life, anyway?
…that’s the question. Who is Don Draper, and what does he want out of life?
It’s important to remember that Don is not a hero. He is very talented, but he is also a world class poon hound who will sacrifice almost anything for some fresh action. His word is only as good as his current libido.
Loved the party; Weiner knows how to throw a good party. I miss Sal, and I really hope he returns. Garner Jr. was spectacularly awkward; it really showed how much Roger doesn’t really care for Jane by not getting upset that his arm was around her. I suspect that Roger also has a hunch that Garner Jr. is gay - Roger is rarely caught off guard.
I hope Weiner doesn’t make Don any more unlikeable. There’s very little to like or admire of him now - thought if he finally kicks miserable Betty out of his house, that’ll be something, he’ll have more money to buy a real apartment in the city with.
The “on the next Mad Men” bit, Joan seems to be arguing with her new hubby. I wonder where that’ll go.
Isn’t Peggy firmly on the Pill now? Didn’t she see the doctor after she was knocked up?
Actually Hugh wouldn’t be a bad real-life character to bring on like they did Conrad Hilton. In the early 1960s he had clubs and a TV show and and other interests to promote that would bring him often to NYC.
I think he’s just petite. Like a wee(er) Jon Cryer. And Peggy clearly pretended she was a virgin because she actually cared about him. Good god, career women still pretend to have minimal sexual experience so they don’t come off like whores or intimidate their partners – just because Peggy’s a feminist who wants equal say at work doesn’t mean she’s willing to stand firm with every decision she makes, especially if that means ending up alone.
Seconded. He was kind of a kid like unknown till he opened his mouth this episode. He’s (IMO) an opinionated and aggressive little SOB who wants some Peggy action. I think he and Don are potentially going to go at it physically over Peggy, and Don’s treatment of her, at some point in the not too distant future.
I’m interested in the scene with Joan in the hospital gown asking if she should be worried. The most obvious possiblities are of course pregnancy or cancer so we can rule those out. And yes, I think Peggy’s still on the pill (& she never went off it until she actually gave birth). Last season she picked up a guy in a bar and stopped him when he didn’t have a condom, but then they did “other stuff” and he seemed quite happy. She could’ve been worried about VD or just doubling up on birth control methods. BTW that could be how Mark finds out she’s not a virgin; he finds them and wonders she started taking them before they started sexing.
Oh, and the actor playing Mark is Blake Bashoff, best know for playing a gay teenager on Judging Amy. I can’t seem to find anthing on wether he’s gay IRL.
Why could we rule out cancer? It could be something like they found a lump/cyst/etc that later turns out to be benign. They could have Roger or her hubby come out in full force (something like Roger would attest his undying love upon hearing the news or her hubby could have a breakdown). But I can’t see Joan pregnant. Just too weird, bad timing, would tie her down to the hubby forever, etc.
Don is a lot like Tony Soprano in that both characters were written to be likeable, yet to behave badly enough at times to make them very unlikeable. It’s the dichotomy that makes them interesting.
Don is a cad and can be cruel and he cheats and takes advantage of women. But he’s also the guy who Peggy knew would have moral qualms about faking a fight in a store, and who’s pretty much a straight shooter with clients.
He’s the guy who can treat women as sex objects while also being the most enlightened guy in the room when it comes to recognizing Peggy’s talents and rewarding them.
He’s the guy who will notice the crying woman in the corner and comfort her when everyone else ignores her - then he’ll sleep with her and not call her back. But the original comforting will have been completely sincere.
He’s the guy who will look after the widow of the guy whose identity he stole just because he feels it’s the right thing to do, but then reject his own brother and cause his brother’s suicide. He’s the guy who can give a presentation about slide projectors so emotionally honest that it brings you to tears, then sleep with his kid’s teacher.
It’s that combination of strength and class coupled with the ability to do rotten things because he feels like it or because he’s self-destructive that makes the character compelling.
I’m a little worried about the character so far this season, because he’s losing the things that gives him balance. If he just becomes a pathetic loser he’ll be much less enjoyable to watch. The Sopranos had that problem towards the end.