This episode was peppered with small happenings which were eclipsed by two colossal events. I intend to focus on the latter, as the small things are likely to be revisited later and explored in greater detail, ultimately becoming the big things that overshadow other small things to come. Ahem.
As soon as Kitty said, “Something’s wrong,” to Sal, I knew that she was about to discover the truth. I didn’t expect him to actually tell her, as he can barely even admit it to himself, but I was sure that she was somehow going to find out. And he made it completely obvious to her, elaborately imitating Ann Margaret with such giddy enthusiasm. It amazed me that he didn’t stop himself mid-motion, realizing how flamboyant he appeared, but I suppose that he didn’t because he was lost in the moment and just had way too much fun with it. The stricken look on Kitty’s face demonstrated that she finally understood. It had nothing to do with her, and it never did. She wasn’t a failure as a wife, nor as a woman. Because no woman could possibly be to Sal the one thing he really wanted.
Sal has long been interesting to me, not for his admirable creativity or impressive wit, but because he symbolizes what so many of us feel in life: inherently unable to be open about who we are. It was indeed a different time then, and the homosexual community was considerably less visible than they are today, often because the shame that the majority of people associated with it kept legions of gays in the closet. But in many parts of the world, it is still shunned and condemned. Some people struggle with their sexuality just as Sal does, remaining silent over fears that they might be isolated or even put in danger by admitting their identity. We had the chance to see Sal experience a singular moment of bliss with the hotel attendant in the season premiere, bliss felt not only for the sheer physical ecstasy but for the rare opportunity to be honest with himself and someone else. It was a rather brief and unfortunately interrupted moment, but those moments are precious to people who otherwise live in hiding.
It is impossible to tell how Kitty is going to process her realization. As mentioned, she may feel relieved at the assurance that the lack of passion between she and Sal had nothing to do with her. But she now has to contend with the fact that her husband is a homosexual. My guess is that she had been worried about the state of their relationship since The Gold Violin episode in season two, in which Ken came over for dinner and Kitty felt noticeably alienated. I wonder if she is now looking back on that evening and seeing that she did nothing to spoil their evening or distance herself from her husband. Sal was simply more interested in Ken’s company, for reasons that she could not possibly control.
Once it had been decided that Gene would come to live with the Draper family, I assumed that his interaction with them would become a large portion of the storyline, at least for the duration of the season. So it threw me for a loop when he unexpectedly passed away in last night’s episode. I’m not sure why they chose to eliminate his character so abruptly. We learned a bit more about him each week, and I was beginning to understand how severe his influence was on the children, but I thought that the writers were building towards something bigger. Sally was rightfully devastated by the loss, as Gene was encouraging her to strive for more in life and exert her independence (including driving the family car before even hitting her teen years- golly!) And this will certainly affect Betty, who clearly felt responsible for her father. I suspect that Don may feel relieved at his passing, as they despised each other, but Betty will have some difficulty with this, which often causes further tension between she and Don. Also, it seemed a little too convenient that Betty and Gene had just gone over his will together. I suppose that such coincidences are entirely possible, but when they are that eerie, it almost seems as if there is more happening than meets the eye. Perhaps Gene had some inkling that death was on the horizon, which is why he made such an effort to instill certain values upon Sally, namely the aforementioned independence. Apparently some people have reported smelling oranges or similar strong scents before having seizures. I was unaware of this phenomenon, and it’s hard to tell how many people are, but maybe Gene merely noted that smelling oranges was completely out of the ordinary and could have been somewhat foreboding.
Peggy’s experiences in this episode weren’t exactly monumental, but I feel compelled to mention that the girl can’t catch a break. I did think it was cruel when the guys had Lois call Peggy and pretend to be a prospective roommate. It didn’t seem like it was done in the spirit of friendly ribbing, and if it was, Peggy certainly didn’t take it that way. Additionally, her mother reacted horribly to her plans to leave Brooklyn. I realize that Peggy put the family through a lot with her pregnancy and its subsequent consequences, but she obviously feels enough shame and regret as it is. I was, however, somewhat impressed that Peggy managed to let her mother’s harsh words roll right off her back and leave the situation without stooping to her level. It seems her tragedies have left her much stronger than before, and if anything good could come out of such difficult times, I’m glad it was that.
I’m excited to see more interaction between Kitty and Sal, and I’m so curious as to how she will deal with such a serious discovery. It will also be quite interesting to see how the loss of Gene affects the Draper family in the long run. We’ve been given some pretty substantial story lines to contend with, proving that Joan Holloway isn’t Mad Men‘s only bombshell.
