In many ways, Bob is simply a a manifestation of the dying embers of the old business thinking, wear a suit, be a yes man, be a loyal and obedient servant, etc. It’s more about who you know versus what you can do. Not that those are dead, but compare Bob to his contemporaries, they dress less stringently, they seem to care less about what the bosses think about them personally. Bob would not have seemed at all out of place in the first couple of season of Mad Men, but now he seems a little off.
He did a very interesting spot in 30 Rock once as a nutty fringe politician that Jack backed as a Republican candidate.
You’re comparing apples to an orange. His contemporaries that we see are the Creative types, who are more or less hired because they’re more in-touch with the zeitgeist than, say, Don. But Bob is not in Creative, he’s either Accounts or Accounting, for which more formal attire is still expected.
He’s basically a more modern Pete Campbell, who was quite the brownnoser himself in the earlier seasons. So far, though, he doesn’t seem to have Pete’s overblown ambition nor his smarts.
Although there’s certainly been no passion between Bob and Joan, I’m not convinced “gay” is where they’re going with this. He seemed perfectly at ease being Pete’s wingman at the brothel, which seems unlikely if he’s playing for the other team in the late 60s. Also, if he does turn out to be gay, then his admiration for Pete is probably a bit more… and that’s really something I don’t need to contemplate. Vincent Kartheiser has done too good a job making him repulsive over the last few seasons.
“The Better Half” was directed by Phil Abraham.
My mistake, I was catching up last night and must have transposed them in my head. Slattery did episode 7, Man with a Plan, per IMDB.
Saw an interesting theory on Reddit showing a possible parallel between Megan and Sharon Tate.
This pic is slightly NSFW (see through wet t-shirt on Tate) but you’ll see that the theory isn’t completely crazy. Link is in spoiler box under 2-click rule.
http://i.imgur.com/ oGWGEFE.jpg
I don’t know what this means for Megan, if anything, but Tate was an up and coming actress around the same time period. I don’t think they’ll have Megan meet the same fate as Tate but it’s an interesting theory to say the least.
I’ve been noticing this as well, and it’s not just at Peggy’s place–you hear the same background noise at Don’s, which I believe is somewhere in the Upper East Side.
Don has the benefit of being 25 floors up. Harder to throw a rock that far.
Still, next time Sally stays over, a broomstick/cake knife spear might be in order.
It’s not like Pete’s going to be sitting there watching as Bob fucks his hooker. And I doubt any of the girls would complain about him not having sex as long as they got paid.
I’d assume any number of homosexuals in the 50s & 60s (and beyond) did what they had to do to pass themselves as straight. Both to hide it from others and possibly from themselves. not a whole lot of “You’re okay, I’m okay” going around.
Sal was married and presumably slept with his wife on numerous occasions.
That said, I’m not on board the “Bob Benson must be gay” train yet. I don’t think the brothel scene was evidence one way or the other though.
Not unless Don turns into a director. There are tons of up and coming actresses, and Megan is not exactly Miss druggie party animal.
Speaking of dead women, I’m surprised they dropped the story of Sally’s friend who vanished in the East Village. There was an article in the Times where New Yorkers commented on how there were no rundown tenements on St. Marks at that time (true, I hung around there in 1968) but that there was a missing girl a few blocks to the east.
I don’t think the brothel scene was concrete evidence. But also after Roger came by, Bob could tell that something was going on and tried to leave. Once Roger left, Bob didn’t display the slightest bit of jealousy that I could see. If Bob was dating Joan or even just interested in her, I would think he would show at least a little jealousy or some reaction when someone who seemed to be a former lover came by. Instead he just was somewhat surprised by Roger’s visit.
It is possible that I misread his reaction, or he’s just not the jealousy type, or he’s straight but they have a purely platonic relationship. But it made me think that he might be gay.
I understand that, but I think it is still a point of emphasis with the show. Yes Bob is in accounting, but it is far more than just wearing a suit, it is an attitude that underlings are there to perform at their bosses whim. Yes he is an aggressive brown-noser, but even for an accountant his attitude seems far more awkward here in the late 60’s than it would have eight years earlier.
Not Accounting, Accounts. Big difference.
Yeah, Bob was saved under the premise that he knew Ken’s accounts now that Ken was off living the fast-style Detroit life 
That sounds like someone in Accounts/Sales rather than Accounting (which I’d think would fall under Joan’s bailiwick).
Correct. I should have been clearer. I meant the audience caught him in a lie.
I don’t believe he is supposed to be gay. He is basically Pete from Season one but better at it in some ways and worse in others.
And people wonder why American cars were shit for a generation or two…
I don’t think we know if he’s gay or not; the show is being intentionally obtuse on that point, in my opinion. He’s never acted romantically toward Joan, which seems mighty odd for a straight man. And he had no interest in the prostitutes at the brothel either. (The shorts are meaningless; that was the style of the time)
I’m not sure what his deal is, but I think it’s clear they’re building towards a reveal. His being gay is a definite option. I just hope they don’t make him a gay sociopath. I am SO TIRED of that stereotype.
eta: obviously I’m posting about Bob Benson.
I’m thinking the brothel is a tell that he’s not gay, because I don’t think the show would have portrayed him as so comfortable there if he is supposed to be gay. Sal certainly wouldn’t have been. Maybe that young foreign guy they had in Creative who “makes love to the men” might’ve been comfortable enough, but they haven’t portrayed Bob as smooth and comfortable – he’s been awkward.
Also, I actually think his approach to Joan is pretty spot-on: show up with gifts for the kid, don’t pursue her aggressively, but be available. We’ve seen Joan shoot down guy after guy that aren’t in her league. Bob is the first guy we’ve seen who let Joan stay in the driver’s seat, and it seems to be working for him (and for Joan, apparently).
If Bob is gay, and I don’t think he is, but if I’m wrong… Maybe he’s the path to us seeing Sal again.