This week’s Mad Men seemed to focus on the problems with some of the marriages on the show. In particular, the oft-troubled relationship of Don and Betty, and the young marriages of Joan and Greg, and Roger and Jane.
Oddly enough, it would appear that Roger and Jane are the happiest couple, even as Don took time out of his evening to totally cut them down. “No one thinks you’re happy, they think you’re foolish,” he told Roger. Is Don just jealous of Roger’s happiness? Perhaps, but there is certainly a grain of truth in what Don said, even if it is cruel. Roger’s actions, while maybe not so crazy to us, were most likely unheard of in the 1960s.
Poor Joan seems to have lost all her power by marrying her doctor husband. The strong and confident man-killer that we watched tearing through the halls of Sterling Cooper over the first two seasons has become a shadow of her former self. I think she got so much empowerment and confidence through being the queen bee of the office, and now, as her dinner party with Greg’s coworkers showed, she is just a wife. It was hard watching her brought down, forced to perform for her guests … with an accordion for crying out loud. I can’t imagine what will become of her if she does end up leaving the office. She is just not cut out to be a quiet little wife.
For Don and Betty it seems like the more things change the more they stay the same. Even after getting back together things are still tense. Betty seemed to be ready to flirt with an interested gentleman who wanted to touch her pregnant belly. There was a particularly tense moment when a very drunk Jane revealed that she knew that Betty and Don were separated and Betty nearly flipped. At the end of the day though, their family is the most important thing to the both of them, and they ended up kissing in a secluded area away from the rest of the party.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Aug 31, 2009 @ 19:57 EST5EDT
I thought it was a great episode, but for me the accordion scene was greatly diminished by the very poor job they did choosing the voice for Joan to lipsync to. She did a good job of it, but in my opinion the choice was all wrong and ruined the moment for me– I think I even laughed out loud in disbelief.
The best part of the Episode was “I am Peggy Olson and I wish to smoke Marijuana.” The whole office weekend pot smoking was a real hoot and just fascinating to watch. Peggy says “I am so high.” hilarious.
I think Don cut him down because he is, in fact, acting foolish, and because Don didn’t like that girl in the first place. Besides, she said she always knew Betty and him would “get back together” and that was just over the line for Don. He chose not to let her ‘pay’ for it but Roger.