# Mad-Men: 4.09 "The Beautiful Girls" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352 "2010-09-20T01:39:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/41 "2010-09-20T20:41:31Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Sally’s bright to pick up on the fact Faye knew Don had peanut butter and where it was. > > [QUOTE=Mr. Moto] > > “That’s a bottle of rum.” Does it taste bad? [/QUOTE] Not really. I laughed my ass off at least 3 different times–when Harry protested they were using his afghan for the Queen of Perversions (“My mother made that!”), the aforementioned line from Don, “I’d have my secretary do it, but she’s dead!”, and above with the rum. Especially the rum bit, because Don contemplated it for a half second before answering. The end was interesting, with the three women in the elevator; I was musing how their stories played out in this episode, and where their futures lie. I believe Sepinwall mentioned how it could be significant that the 2 older women hold the door open for Peggy (after she asks them), symbolically opening doors for her career-wise. Gads, I love this show. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/42 "2010-09-20T20:58:36Z")
Anyone else recognize the voice of the actress that played Mrs. Blankenship? None other than Randee Heller, Mrs. Larusso from the Karate Kid (the original) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/43 "2010-09-20T21:09:11Z")
> [@whole\_bean](#): > > Anyone else recognize the voice of the actress that played Mrs. Blankenship? None other than Randee Heller, Mrs. Larusso from the Karate Kid (the original) Weird. I think that factoid has come up in every thread since she first appeared as a character, as well as every review I’ve read since then. This may become our new “Rio”. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/44 "2010-09-20T21:13:18Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > > That bothered me, as it bespeaks a lack of interest in making his home kid-appropriate. > > Is the booze locked away in Betty’s house? I didn’t think so. Woman, what have I told you about bothering me with FACTS? > [@Lightray](#): > > > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > > That bothered me, as it bespeaks a lack of interest in making his home kid-appropriate. > > **Skald** , you’re bringing your 2010 expectations into Mad Men’s 1960s world. \ What I said to Pep, gender-adjusted. Though it’s less my 2010 expectations than my personal baggage. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/45 "2010-09-20T21:36:08Z")
> [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > Not really. > > I laughed my ass off at least 3 different times–when Harry protested they were using his afghan for the Queen of Perversions (“My mother made that!”), the aforementioned line from Don, “I’d have my secretary do it, but she’s dead!”, and above with the rum. Especially the rum bit, because Don contemplated it for a half second before answering. > > The end was interesting, with the three women in the elevator; I was musing how their stories played out in this episode, and where their futures lie. I believe Sepinwall mentioned how it could be significant that the 2 older women hold the door open for Peggy (after she asks them), symbolically opening doors for her career-wise. > > Gads, I love this show. And wasn’t that Pete who got called for “haul out the dead body” duty? With the body language of “you want me to do WHAT? Why the hell do I have to do that?” ---
**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:** [September 20, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/46 "2010-09-20T21:36:17Z")
Are folks arguing that Don would be a better parent than Betty? I loathe betty and do not think she is a particularly good mother, but I think living with Don would be an equally bad situation. The episode where Sally cut her hair was because Don was not spending time with the kids. That kind of shocked me, I have to admit. Henry expressed my sentiments exactly when he said he would never consider leaving the kids if he had them for short visits. The sad truth is that Sally is kind of screwed and probably going to Woodstock. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/47 "2010-09-20T21:48:31Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Are folks arguing that Don would be a better parent than Betty? I loathe betty and do not think she is a particularly good mother, but I think living with Don would be an equally bad situation… I think we can all agree that _Carla_ is a better “parent” then either Don or Betty. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/48 "2010-09-20T21:53:58Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > > [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > > > Are folks arguing that Don would be a better parent than Betty? I loathe betty and do not think she is a particularly good mother, but I think living with Don would be an equally bad situation… > > I think we can all agree that _Carla_ is a better “parent” then either Don or Betty. HOMER SIMPSON is a better parent than Betty. And possibly Don. I was going to say an inanimate carbon rod, but that wouldn’t be fair to Don. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/49 "2010-09-20T21:57:48Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] I think we can all agree that _Carla_ is a better “parent” then either Don or Betty. [/QUOTE] Just once I’d like to see a movie about a child growing up with a warm and loving white mother and the emotionally distant and abusive black maid.😃 ---
**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:** [September 20, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/50 "2010-09-20T22:00:05Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [QUOTE=alphaboi867] > > I think we can all agree that _Carla_ is a better “parent” then either Don or Betty. Just once I’d like to see a movie about a child growing up with a warm and loving white mother and the emotionally distant and abusive black maid.😃 [/QUOTE] Why would the warm, loving white mother tolerate the emotionally abusive maid, whatever her race? How about a lil black child growing up with a cold, distant, slap happy mom and a loving white governess, which magical powers of course? We could get Tyler Perry to write & direct. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/51 "2010-09-20T22:12:24Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Why would the warm, loving white mother tolerate the emotionally abusive maid, whatever her race? [/QUOTE] Sheer unadulterated terror. That’s what would make it a great movie. It’s _Whatever Happened to Baby Jane_ meets _Corinna Corinna_; Cicely Tyson is attached. [QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] How about a lil black child growing up with a cold, distant, slap happy mom and a loving white governess, which magical powers of course? We could get Tyler Perry to write & direct. [/QUOTE] That could very well be the plot of _House of Payne_ and I wouldn’t know as I’ve never been able to make it past the first 3 minutes. (I’m still trying to figure out how he got into _Star Trek_.) ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/52 "2010-09-20T23:22:06Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I don’t see Don & Faye getting married, but it would be interesting to see Don in a marriage/long-term relationship with a woman totally different than Betty. One with her own career. I don’t see Don and Faye staying together much longer. Faye was part right when she mentioned she “failed” at the test. Not that Don intentionally tested her, but he did expect that a partner of his would take care of his kids for him. Don may be attracted to unconventional women (Rachel, Midge), but he likely wants a wife who makes up for what he lacks: someone warm, nurturing, and good with kids like Megan. Don’s kids may love him, but he puts no effort into parenting. I suspect that’s something he expects to leave to the woman in his life. Before Ida, he had his secretaries buy the kids’ presents. As much as I loved seeing Faye state that she was proud of the decisions she made, I don’t think she’ll last much longer with Don. I think both of them knew that. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/53 "2010-09-20T23:28:07Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > > [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > > > Yeah, the attorney did warn her of that. But I think a judge would be more inclined to give Betty Frances, married to a stable man in the suburbs custody of Sally rather than a single-father who lives in the village. > > Then there’s Betty’s nuclear option; out Don as army deserter Dick Whitman. I was just thinking about that. It really is a two edged sword though. If she destroys Don’s career people will know _she_ married the deserter son of small town hooker, and it potentially crushes the income he can devote to the kids upbringing. She’s just childish enough, however, that she might try to use this to get the house or some similar “big” thing without thinking about the consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/54 "2010-09-20T23:53:55Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > And the booze wasn’t hidden or locked away during my own childhood in the 70s; it’s surely not something to be expected of a man in the 60s. Nor my childhood in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/55 "2010-09-21T01:16:00Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > > [@Lightray](#): > > > > And the booze wasn’t hidden or locked away during my own childhood in the 70s; it’s surely not something to be expected of a man in the 60s. > > Nor my childhood in the 80s. Locking liquor cabinets always seemed strange to me. Unless you’ve got kids or hired help etc. that are too fond of booze, why would anyone need to lock up the liquor in your house? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/56 "2010-09-21T01:21:15Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Ms. Blankenship indeed did come a long, long way from her birth in a barn in 1898. She really was ‘an astronaut’. My namesake, my grandfather on my mom’s side, was born in 1898. The astronaut line was yet another one of the little details of Mad Men that puts the viewer back in time 45 years, in a way that a trip to the graveyard can’t. When I was a kid in the 1970s, there were still a lot of people around born in the 1890s, a few from the 1880s, and plenty of World War I vets. We thought nothing of it. Today, the number of people on this planet born in the 1800s is probably in the low single digits. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/57 "2010-09-21T01:28:48Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > My namesake, my grandfather. Nitpick: You are his namesake. He can’t be yours (unless there’s a time machine involved). ---
**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:** [September 21, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/58 "2010-09-21T02:04:42Z")
Faye’s howling at the beginning of the episode was certainly notable. I don’t imagine any of Don’s other liaisons to be that hot-monkey-sexy. “It’s a business of sadists and masochists and you know which one you are.” “Are you going to the toilet?” - You’ll be missed Mrs. Blankenship. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/59 "2010-09-21T02:05:25Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > [@Mr.Moto](#): > > > > “That’s a bottle of rum.” > > That bothered me, as it bespeaks a lack of interest in making his home kid-appropriate. In a previous episode, either last season or the season before, he had Sally mixing drinks for him. ---
**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:** [September 21, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/60 "2010-09-21T02:10:16Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > > That bothered me, as it bespeaks a lack of interest in making his home kid-appropriate. > > In a previous episode, either last season or the season before, he had Sally mixing drinks for him. Which is also completely normal for the time period. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352.md?page=4)