# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/81 "2010-09-21T22:22:10Z")
[QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] Wait, how is he a deserter? I thought he woke up in the hospital wearing Don Draper’s dog tags, and he just went along with the mistaken identity. Dick Whitman is officially dead, and Don Draper was honorably (medically?) discharged. If he’d woken up wearing his own dog tags, Dick Whitman would still have been medically discharged, I think. He may be guilty of accepting whatever additional benefits there were for an officer, rather than an enlisted man. [/QUOTE] I might be wrong, but my understanding was that his wounds didn’t qualify him for a medical discharge. He was sent home because (the real) Don Draper was at the end of his term of enlistment. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/82 "2010-09-21T22:37:48Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Wait, how is he a deserter? I thought he woke up in the hospital wearing Don Draper’s dog tags, and he just went along with the mistaken identity. Dick Whitman is officially dead, and Don Draper was honorably (medically?) discharged. > > If he’d woken up wearing his own dog tags, Dick Whitman would still have been medically discharged, I think. He may be guilty of accepting whatever additional benefits there were for an officer, rather than an enlisted man. He _did_ wake up with Don Draper’s tags. After he stripped them from Draper’s burnt and smoking body and put them on. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/83 "2010-09-21T22:45:55Z")
Surely the technical legal charge Dick Whitman would face for stealing Don Draper’s identity is secondary to the fact that bringing his deception to light would pretty much allow Betty to get whatever she wanted out of him? I doubt we’ll ever see any of this happen anyway, but I was wondering what resources Betty would have to really prove that Don isn’t who he claims to be. Strange to think of the relative ease with which Don slipped into someone’s shoes compared to how something like that would (most likely not) work today. It wasn’t that long ago. I very much agree with **Jophiel** in regard to Cosgrove. He’s nice to have around specifically because he isn’t a brooding wreck of a human being. One of my favorite moments of the series was his reaction to receiving the promotion to Head of Accounts vs. Pete’s. Pete is unpleasant, awkward, and regards his promotion as proof of his obvious superiority - which just emphasizes his inferiority complex and sense of entitlement. Cosgrove’s reaction is essentially “Neat!” I prefer having him back to, say, having Kinsey back. Kinsey is arguably more interesting, but there are already plenty of awful, insufferable, sad people populating the show. Cosgrove is a good contrast. In regard to Sally, living with Don would probably be the one thing worse for her than living with Betty and Henry. Until two episodes ago, Don spent his evenings getting blackout drunk and bedding random women. Having children never forced him to clean up his act before. ---
**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 22, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/84 "2010-09-22T00:11:01Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Wait, how is he a deserter? I thought he woke up in the hospital wearing Don Draper’s dog tags, and he just went along with the mistaken identity. Dick Whitman is officially dead, and Don Draper was honorably (medically?) discharged… That’s the half-truth he told Betty; he switched tags with Lt. Draper before the medics arrived. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/85 "2010-09-22T00:24:55Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] > Wait, how is he a deserter? I thought he woke up in the hospital wearing Don Draper’s dog tags, and he just went along with the mistaken identity. Dick Whitman is officially dead, and Don Draper was honorably (medically?) discharged. > > If he’d woken up wearing his own dog tags, Dick Whitman would still have been medically discharged, I think. He may be guilty of accepting whatever additional benefits there were for an officer, rather than an enlisted man. I might be wrong, but my understanding was that his wounds didn’t qualify him for a medical discharge. He was sent home because (the real) Don Draper was at the end of his term of enlistment. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: officers don’t have a term of enlistment. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/86 "2010-09-22T02:11:48Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > He _did_ wake up with Don Draper’s tags. After he stripped them from Draper’s burnt and smoking body and put them on. Ok, I think I remember that, now. He already intended to switch identities at that point, even before he got to the hospital? ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/87 "2010-09-22T03:16:13Z")
> [@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. Hubby and I think that’s her ace in the hole against Don if he ever tries to do anything that upsets her little world. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/88 "2010-09-22T03:24:50Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > > [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > > > He _did_ wake up with Don Draper’s tags. After he stripped them from Draper’s burnt and smoking body and put them on. > > Ok, I think I remember that, now. He already intended to switch identities at that point, even before he got to the hospital? He took the dog tags while the body was still smoking. He had a game plan in mind before he reached the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/89 "2010-09-22T03:33:29Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > He took the dog tags while the body was still smoking. Man, everybody smoked in those days. Even the corpses. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/90 "2010-09-22T03:45:15Z")
Guess I’m the only one who didn’t like this ep. I thought the dialog was stilted, the story choppy and the editing poor. The idea for the ep was a good one, but the execution sucked. The whole scene between Peggy and whoever that writer is was boring beyond measure. Mrs. Blankenship dying was at least some comic relief, but I hate to see the character go. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/91 "2010-09-22T03:55:35Z")
> [@BaneSidhe](#): > > > [@alphaboi867](#): > > > > Then there’s Betty’s nuclear option; out Don as army deserter Dick Whitman. > > Hubby and I think that’s her ace in the hole against Don if he ever tries to do anything that upsets her little world. It the “get out of the house” thing comes to a head this may be the card that gets played, but there is blow-back for her latest marriage if her first husband, and the father of her children, is revealed as a deserter and son of a prostitute. There may even be consequences for her marriage as she now has to maintain very high levels of proprietary WRT Henry’s political ambitions. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/92 "2010-09-22T04:01:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Guess I’m the only one who didn’t like this ep. I thought the dialog was stilted, the story choppy and the editing poor. The idea for the ep was a good one, but the execution sucked. The whole scene between Peggy and whoever that writer is was boring beyond measure. Mrs. Blankenship dying was at least some comic relief, but I hate to see the character go. There was a lot more clunkiness in the writing than usual. The Peggy-eager suitor scenes were all ham handed and the Don - Dr. Faye scenes were no better. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/93 "2010-09-22T04:04:22Z")
> [@astro](#): > > There may even be consequences for her marriage as she now has to maintain very high levels of p\*\*ropriety \*\*WRT Henry’s political ambitions. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/94 "2010-09-22T04:39:52Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > > [@Sampiro](#): > > > > I might be wrong, but my understanding was that his wounds didn’t qualify him for a medical discharge. He was sent home because (the real) Don Draper was at the end of his term of enlistment. > > Nitpick: officers don’t have a term of enlistment. I didn’t know that. How do they leave the service? Can they put in notice like at a civilian job or… what exactly? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/95 "2010-09-22T05:18:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > > [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > > > He took the dog tags while the body was still smoking. > > Man, everybody smoked in those days. Even the corpses. :smack: Couldn’t even pry the cigs from their cold, dead fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/96 "2010-09-22T14:11:08Z")
> [@astro](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > Guess I’m the only one who didn’t like this ep. I thought the dialog was stilted, the story choppy and the editing poor. The idea for the ep was a good one, but the execution sucked. The whole scene between Peggy and whoever that writer is was boring beyond measure. Mrs. Blankenship dying was at least some comic relief, but I hate to see the character go. > > There was a lot more clunkiness in the writing than usual. The Peggy-eager suitor scenes were all ham handed and the Don - Dr. Faye scenes were no better. I guess they decided that they didn’t want to prolong the sexual tension between Don and Faye, although I thought it was working well in the last ep. So now he’s screwing her, so it won’t be long before he dumps her. Oddly, the chemistry between the two actors now seems to be gone. My wife thinks the new secretary is the same one he had sex with in a drunken stupor; I think it’s a new victim for him. Who’s right? Is it just me, or did Don’s daughter seem to be showing an awfully large expanse of thigh for a girl that young? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/97 "2010-09-22T14:16:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My wife thinks the new secretary is the same one he had sex with in a drunken stupor; I think it’s a new victim for him. Who’s right? New victim. Don’s old secretary was Allison who threw (an award?) in Don’s office before charging out. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/98 "2010-09-22T14:17:25Z")
The secretary he had sex with left the company. I agree that Sally was shown in a bit of an odd light this episode. Somehow the way her legs were shot . . . dunno, made me feel vaguely uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/99 "2010-09-22T14:17:45Z")
Allison was the secretary he slept with. She quit. Megan is the secretary who knelt down and hugged Sally. She has been in a few episodes (notably, Peggy’s lesbian friend mentioned she liked to hang out in the lobby and stare at her, or something like that). _edit_ Wow you guys are fast! ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352/100 "2010-09-22T15:48:15Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > The secretary he had sex with left the company. > > I agree that Sally was shown in a bit of an odd light this episode. Somehow the way her legs were shot . . . dunno, made me feel vaguely uncomfortable. A couple of people have mentioned Sally looking a bit…sexy. I thought so too from time to time, but a couple things: [ul] [li]the actress is growing up & its unavoidable with the fashion of the time[/li][li]people then were used to “sexy women” looking like Betty or Joan, not adult-sized young girls (we’d _just_ be getting Twiggy at this point, no?)[/li][li]hi Opal[/li][/ul] I was more struck about how well the actress did in putting some “Betty” in her mannerisms, especially when opposing her father: “There’s no reason I can’t stay.” I can’t decide whether she’s mimicking Betty or whether Betty’s just always argued like a stubborn and obstinate child. Hmmm… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-09-the-beautiful-girls-open-spoilers/554352.md?page=6)