“You have everything, and so much of it.”
Don Draper seemingly does have everything, and yet it has never been quite enough for him. I wonder if he devotes serious thought to this when others point it out. It doesn’t appear so, as he continues to jeopardize his family life by engaging in extramarital affairs time after time. I for one thought that he was going to try much harder to stay faithful to his wife after discovering that she was pregnant with their third child, but he still managed to pick up a flight attendant in the season premiere. I do wonder if his conversation with Dennis Hobart, also awaiting the birth of a son, will have a lasting effect on Don’s parenting. When Hobart asked if Don and Bobby “threw the ball around,” Don paused before replying, “Not often enough.” Hobart also vowed to be a better man in the future because the baby marked “a fresh start.” Could this also be a fresh start for Don Draper as a family man? Will he turn his back on his sordid past and womanizing ways in an effort to be the great father that he never had? Sadly, my money is on “no.”
Betty’s pregnancy was not an easy one, nor was her delivery. I’m not sure exactly what her dream symbolized in total, but I must say that the music throughout the sequence was magnificent. It surprised me how harsh her mother was to her in the dream, but it still wasn’t as shocking as Gene’s insinuation that people who open their mouths face dangerous consequences- more specifically, African Americans.
In that vein, Pete’s discussion- or confrontation, rather- in the elevator with Hollis was certainly uncomfortable, if not altogether horrific. Pete hasn’t been that forceful or intimidating in a while, and I wasn’t happy to see the behavior return. What amazed me was how he said, “It’s my job,” as if that warranted his stereotyping and automatically required Hollis to reduce himself to a statistic or demographic for the better of Pete’s career. I really found it disgusting, and I have an inkling that Pete’s very dark and ugly side is going to take center stage once more.
Duck Phillips is playing the same game, inviting Peggy and Pete to lunch and not only announcing that he’s aware of their cavorting but attempting to snag them from Sterling Cooper. His attempt to appear sharp backfired, as he seemed more like a duplicitous blackmailer. He had some good bait- telling Pete that Sterling Cooper would never supply the freedom he needed and telling Peggy that she had nothing to lose in the gamble- but I think the fact that he ambushed them with a joint luncheon killed his chances of recruiting them, at least for now.
Sally’s reported antics at school don’t seem all that troubling, and I do think that her teacher’s response to the behavior was an overreaction. I also thought that her phone conversation with Don was too much, and even hinted at flirtation. I’m not sure why Don told Betty it was “no one” when she asked who had called. Either he didn’t want to arouse her suspicion because they had enough to deal with already or he has something up his sleeve regarding the willowy Miss Farrell.
In contrast to his exchange with Hollis, Pete proposed integrated ads for Admiral. This was obviously a good idea, but the Admiral people immediately shot it down. It did get Price thinking about marketing to certain groups, a concept which may eventually be explored.
Does Peggy actually want what Don has? I hadn’t thought so before. I assumed that her attempt to be a carefree career girl was genuine. But maybe she regrets the choices that she’s made over the past few years and wishes that she’d had the ability to deal with the real thing when given the opportunity. It seemed for a moment that she was manipulating Don by using her past to invoke empathy, but I don’t think Peggy is ultimately that calculating. And it was especially sad that as soon as she left Don’s office, Pete accosted her about the meeting with Duck. Moments before, she had been contemplating the life she could have had, possibly with Pete, and shortly thereafter he was practically threatening her. It might be the nature of their specific relationship, or it may just be the way that things so often go in romantic entanglements.
I really enjoyed the guest stars in this episode- Yeardley Smith as the nurse and Matt Bushell as Dennis Hobart. Both were fantastic. It’s too bad we won’t be seeing them again in later episodes {unless the writers come up with a way to bring them back} but I’m quite glad they illuminated this one. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for Matt Bushell in the future.
