# Mad-Men: 7.03"Field Trip" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142 "2014-04-28T00:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/61 "2014-04-28T21:35:53Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Just like last week’s best line to the effect of “I’d stay here till 1974 to see Betty in the ground.” > > That picnic scene was so painful for me. I had a father like that, who let you know when you had ruined things. I could totally experience how those gumdrops went down like lead, because he had screwed up and felt that pit in his stomach. First of all, his trading away a sandwich can hardly be considered to “ruin the day”. Betty must be freakin’ nuts to see things that way. But, much, much, worse than that … she must be totally out of her freakin’ mind to say that to her (maybe 10 year old?) son. Second, did you hear the kid say “I’m sorry” at least 3 times? He reacted as if he had caused the end of the world. What kind of relationship does Betty have with her children if one very minor mistake causes the kid to apologize like that over and over? He is either terrified of her cuz she beats him all the time. Or he is terrified of her because no matter what he seems to do, it is always wrong and everything he does seems to always cause terrible problems that are always his fault. My mother was a real nasty bitch. But she was a Saint compared to Betty Draper. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/62 "2014-04-28T21:53:28Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > First of all, his trading away a sandwich can hardly be considered to “ruin the day”. Betty must be freakin’ nuts to see things that way. But, much, much, worse than that … she must be totally out of her freakin’ mind to say that to her (maybe 10 year old?) son. Then she went on a hunger strike for the day just to rub in what a little jerk her son was (well, no he wasn’t but that was her intent). The woman’s a god damn lunatic. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/63 "2014-04-28T22:01:06Z")
The partners have effectively hamstrung Don, taking away some of his best tools. I hope before Weiner knocks him down again that he lets Don succeed, if only to spite them. That thing with the blonde - Emily? – was just so weird. Obviously a setup, I think from the three guys he was meeting with. But why would they care if he was still a horndog? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/64 "2014-04-28T23:13:57Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Except he can’t do that because of the non-compete clause. It’s actually really confusing; they brought up the non-compete clause and not wanting Don to go to the completion, but at the same time it seems that that was exactly what they expected him to do. 😕 Or did they expect him to look for work in a difference city/field? Clearly the partners were confused; Jim “Sexiest Man Alive” Cutler thought they had already fired him. > [@drastic\_quench](#): > > My take on Don’s “Okay” is that it is a beachhead. He can’t storm the place without a foothold, and now he’s got one. And the board has to be shitting, because that was an offer crafted to be denied. > > He’ll butt heads with Lou and clean his clock with his work, and over time the strictness will lighten up. Maybe Lou will fall down that elevator shaft. That was my take on it. If they thought they could cow him by threatening to make his life shitty, too late! His life is already shitty. And now he can outcompete Lou with both hands tied behind his back. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/65 "2014-04-28T23:17:39Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > That thing with the blonde - Emily? – was just so weird. Obviously a setup, I think from the three guys he was meeting with. But why would they care if he was still a horndog? They wouldn’t care. It was a bribe, not a test. We’ve seen that the accounts men at Sterling Cooper have a stable of escorts to throw at their clients. Presumably the new agency is used to arranging similar things. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/66 "2014-04-28T23:31:03Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > First of all, his trading away a sandwich can hardly be considered to “ruin the day”. Betty must be freakin’ nuts to see things that way. But, much, much, worse than that … she must be totally out of her freakin’ mind to say that to her (maybe 10 year old?) son. The actor playing Bobby is 11, and I don’t think he’s playing older than that. This is a bit of a continuity problem, because the first season is set in 1960, and Bobby was 4-5 that year (He has been recast several times, unlike Sally). By 1969 Bobby should be around 13-14 (I remember thinking the first year that Bobby and Sally were the same age as my sister and myself – and coincidentally, Gene was about the same age as my younger brother). > [@](#): > > He is either terrified of her cuz she beats him all the time. Or he is terrified of her because no matter what he seems to do, it is always wrong and everything he does seems to always cause terrible problems that are always his fault. I don’t think there’s any serious physical abuse going on, but Betty is a Gold Medal purveyor of mental abuse. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2014, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/67 "2014-04-28T23:32:20Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > …The way I heard the deal, if he violates the agreement, his shares are “reabsorbed” and he loses everything. I can’t imagine he would agree to that (or that it would hold up in court), but then the script was kind of ambiguous… I’d love to see Don violate the agreement followed by the firm’s counsel explaining to the other partners that the agreement is invalid for some reason or another. Or Don follows the agreement _to the letter_ and it turns out to cause more problems than Don not being there at all. > [@Lightray](#): > > …For all Roger has been frustrated and feeling useless lately, he pretty much dominated that partner meeting to get his way. I almost forgot that Roger was “the President” of SCP; IIRC it was a meaningless title with no authority the other partners gave him to shut him up. > [@Jophiel](#): > > She was furious because she thought he showed up because he missed her and instead was only there because her agent was telling Don that she’s a lunatic. Then he admitted that he not only hadn’t been working for SC&P but didn’t use all that free time to come stay with her while she was all alone trying to make a career in the place promised to her by Don last season. Even if he was trying to find new work, he could have been trying to find new work at an LA agency. Agreed. I think Megan would’ve even forgiven him if stayed in LA, but lied to her about going to the office (when he was really meeting with local firms). > [@kath94](#): > > I thought maybe the woman in the restaurant was a actress friend of Megan’s, sent to tempt him to disprove his claim that he hasn’t cheated on her. I thought that for a moment, but how would Megan know Don was having dinner at that restaurant that night? She’d have to have had her friend staking out Don’s apartment and following him. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What kind of computer would Harry be thinking of purchasing? At this point, I think they’d need a dedicated computer room, computer analysts and so forth. Or was he imagining renting time on someone else’s system? They’re already renting time on a third party computer; it’s very clear he & Cutler were talking about actually buying a computer just for SCP. > [@Jophiel](#): > > I don’t think the woman was from Roger; how would Roger know that Don was meeting someone there? And Roger seemed legitimately surprised to answer the door and find Don there instead of Hippie Girl. It was just a fake-out. > > Agreed that the woman on her own seemed a bit out of place. It does really make sense for Roger to have sent her either. Unless he’s having Don followed by private detectives he’d have just seen Don going into the restaurant of the hotel’s he’s at then run back to his room to order a girl. [QUOTE=Sampiro] If Betty and Henry divorce, I hope Henry gets the kids. He’s a better parent than either of their bio parents. [/QUOTE] It doesn’t work that way; Henry’s only a step-parent. And the only way Don could get custody would be if Betty died or was institutionalized. In default of Don & Betty the kids’ closest relative is Betty’s brother who we haven’t seen her father died. [QUOTE=Sam Lowry] …I think Betty’s story was showing how things for women are changing. Betty’s friend talking about working part-time while Betty isn’t. Since Betty has no other job other than being a mom (and a politician’s wife), she was trying to be the best one she can be, but doesn’t fully understand what that means… [/QUOTE] I have a feeling Betty’s reaction to all this is going to be to get pregnant again. It’s only a matter of time before Bobby starts to hate her. I see boarding school in his future, and he’ll probably prefer it just as much as Sally does. Then it’s Gene’s turn. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Then she went on a hunger strike for the day just to rub in what a little jerk her son was (well, no he wasn’t but that was her intent). The woman’s a god damn lunatic. I think the word you’re looking for starts with the letter “C”. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/68 "2014-04-28T23:41:32Z")
Well at least Betty is smart enough to realize her kids hate her or will soon enough. She just can’t figure out why it is those stupid ungrateful brats who ruin everything don’t love her. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/69 "2014-04-29T00:05:49Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] It doesn’t work that way; Henry’s only a step-parent. And the only way Don could get custody would be if Betty died or was institutionalized. In default of Don & Betty the kids’ closest relative is Betty’s brother who we haven’t seen her father died. [/QUOTE] I know, but he’s still the best of their four parental figures, with Megan second best. I wonder what he sees in Betty. (Granted, she’s good looking and much younger, but she ain’t worth it.) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/70 "2014-04-29T00:27:40Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > The movie Don watches according to Sepinwall is [Model Shop](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064679/combined), released on April 1, 1969, and with a limited release in NYC on February 11, 1969. > > Don doesn’t strike me as someone going to see a limited release, so I’d date this episode somewhere in April 1969. I don’t usually notice these things but there was a block calendar in one of the shots that showed “31” so I am going to place this at March 31, 1969. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/71 "2014-04-29T01:06:56Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Then she went on a hunger strike for the day just to rub in what a little jerk her son was (well, no he wasn’t but that was her intent). The woman’s a god damn lunatic. I think that from now on we should refer to Betty as … Betty the God Damn Lunatic! ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/72 "2014-04-29T02:57:49Z")
I think the offer he got from the competition must have been a good one. It just wasn’t a partnership, or maybe it’s an inferior firm, which is what prompted Roger’s “demotion” comment. If it was a bad offer, Don wouldn’t have let Roger know anything about it, and Roger would have phrased his comment differently. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/73 "2014-04-29T03:24:38Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > For all Roger has been frustrated and feeling useless lately, he pretty much dominated that partner meeting to get his way. I thought the best part of the episode was that they kept it ambiguous whether or not Roger inviting Don back without telling anyone and then having him sit around the office for hours was a clever strategy to force the Partners to take him back, or just Roger being an irresponsible lout. Either case would be believable with the character. Other then that, and the writing staff welcoming him back, the episode was kind of meh. The “leave of absence” thing never really made sense to me. Don’s “Double Secret Probation” makes even less sense. Betty’s character is just unrelentingly depressing. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/74 "2014-04-29T03:29:29Z")
So I just saw the episode and thought it fantastic! Don’s “OK” at the end was definitely in the character arc of him being honest and trying to fix things that he messed up. In that guise, who sent the girl (I definitely don’t think it was Roger - he was surprised to see Don) is irrelevant compared to Don not taking the bait. Though the reception Don got from Joan and Peggy was sad, I loved how Ginsberg was so excited to see Don (as if to say “FINALLY someone I can work with”). In addition, even though Roger showed up late and drunk to the office, I love how he fought so well for Don in Bert’s office. He was on top of his game and blew up all of Cutler’s points left and right, as if he even prepared for the meeting (but I’m sure he didn’t). It was great seeing that. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/75 "2014-04-29T03:35:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think what it is, is that Megan rejected Don. All he has left is that he’s an ad man. So he’s willing to do whatever is necessary to get back to work, even if that involves a bad deal. Why not work for the other place then? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/76 "2014-04-29T04:10:30Z")
Non-compete clause. He’d have to get himself fired first. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/77 "2014-04-29T04:13:05Z")
1. Re Betty being a bitch mom and punishing the kid all day over the stupid sandwich: this reminds me of something I read in Diane Rehm’s wonderful autobiography, _Finding My Voice_. Her mother used to punish her when she was really little by giving her the silent treatment. I might be remembering this wrong (I loaned out the book and never got it back), but I think when she was still a toddler (about age 3), her mom didn’t speak to her for three weeks over some tiny childish infraction. (I’ll gladly stand corrected if someone has the correct story.) 2. Re Megan’s outfit, the micro mini with the hem-length crocheted sweater vest: **I had that outfit!** BLECH. :eek: That damned long sweater vest… :smack: **Egads**. At least mine was white and not Harvest Gold. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/78 "2014-04-29T04:46:06Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > In that guise, who sent the girl (I definitely don’t think it was Roger - he was surprised to see Don) is irrelevant compared to Don not taking the bait. Why is everybody just assuming the girl was sent to his table as some sort of trap arranged by someone (either Megan or Roger or someone else?) It is 1969 after all, the sexual revolution is in full swing. And while I was only just being born at the time, the way everyone who was there tells me, NYC was ‘f\*\*k central.’ Just simply stroll down the block on any given day and you could find someone who wanted to have sex with you. I think the key point to the girl’s brazen proposition is that it occurred just as Don is on the verge of accepting a business offer from his four-eyed friend. They are the two talents that Don has always excelled at - business meetings and random sex hook-ups. It’s as if the universe was signaling to him “Yeah, Don, you still got it!” ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/79 "2014-04-29T05:12:45Z")
It’s about time that sonofabitch Draper got shoved down a notch or two. I would hate to be in the same office with that prick control freak, sticking his fat inflated ego in to everyone’s business. Poor fucking Don, his narcassim finally catches up with him. There’s lots of people who have shitty childhoods but they don’t grow up to be liars and cheats. And poor Megan, she made the mistake of falling in love with him. He essentially gets her out to California then proceeds to lie to her for a whole goddam year. I don’t care how cute he is, (and frankly he doesn’t look that great anymore, he’ s puffy from the drink )I could care less about him. I’m more interested in how they weave the 60’s into the show. I hope Megan doesn’t get killed out there alone in Laurel Canyon in 1969, hopefully her agent won’t introduce her to the LaBiancas, Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/80 "2014-04-29T05:54:36Z")
[QUOTE=Andiethewestie] I hope Megan doesn’t get killed out there alone in Laurel Canyon in 1969, hopefully her agent won’t introduce her to the LaBiancas, Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski. [/QUOTE] I know nothing of metro L.A. geography. Is her house supposed to be in the same general area as the Tate-Polanski residence? Or as the Labiancas (which IIRC is not close to Sharon Tate’s house at all)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142.md?page=5)