Beware of those dog days of August if you’re married and it’s 1963. I never thought that I would be comparing Pete and Betty while watching Mad Men, but, by golly, they were certainly going through parallel plots in this episode, weren’t they? I didn’t think this episode carried quite the same gravity as the previous two, but watching Betty strut around Rome like she owned the place was worth the price of admission.
Betty’s relationship with Henry took a step forward at the beginning of this week’s installment, with Betty letting the older man kiss her in her car after a town meeting. I thought it was put into an interesting context later in the episode, when she was chiding Sally for kissing a boy. “You don’t kiss boys. Boys kiss you,” she told the younger Draper. She then added that the first kiss is when “you go from being a stranger to knowing someone.” I suppose she’s no longer a stranger to Henry, then, but I have to wonder if she will allow herself any further dalliances with the man. At the end of the episode she certainly seemed to indicate that she was done with him.
It seemed that Betty was smart enough to take herself out of a dangerous situation. I think she knew that she was going to get into trouble with Henry if she were left alone without Don while he was in Rome. She joined Don on his trip to Europe, and it seemed to reinvigorate their relationship a bit. I thought it was very interesting watching the two pretend to be strangers in the cafe, flirting with each other. Maybe a little fantasy is all Betty needs.
Pete, on the other hand was not as smart as Betty. Unlike Betty, he didn’t go away with his wife, instead letting Trudy vacation without him. This led to trouble as Pete seduced the nanny from down the hall. It’s unclear whether he slept with her or they just fooled around, but it is clear that he felt tremendously guilty about it. Poor Trudy deserves better than Pete. Sure, there is a double standard here; it seems that Don gets a free pass for his bad behavior. I can’t really explain why it’s so much more unsavory when Pete cheats on Trudy, but it is.
In any case, I’m interested to see how these relationships will be evolving over the remainder of the season. Is Betty really done with Henry? Will Trudy stay with Pete? And how long before Don sexes up Sally’s teacher?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Oct 05, 2009 @ 14:30 EST5EDT
Don gets a pass (nope – its not free; Betty gets to kiss and fuck others and I root for her…that’s not free) because we know he is not (in spite of the fact he does not even use his real name) a complete and utter fake in everything he does. Pete is conniving in an ugly way; at work and at home. He has never shown an ounce of love or compassion in his exploits. That’s why he comes across looking like a crazed loon every time he tries to be one of the guys.
Loved Betty in Rome. That was some fun stuff. I’d love it if the writers explored a bit more of the potential wild side of Don and Betty – I don’t know that they realize how much there is.
I disagree–Don does not get any pass from me. I think Don is more repulsive in his cheating, since he is a serial adulterer, whether with the same woman (Rosemary DeWitt in Season one) or with random strangers. Even after vowing faithfulness to Betty, his pregnant wife, he cheats on her with a stewardess. While Pete is smarmy and gives me the creeps, at least he feels remorse for what he did, and felt the need to confess to Trudy.