Mad Men C to Z S2E1 Transcript: For Those Who Think Young

Below, find the full human-edited podcast transcript for the Mad Men Season 2 episode premiere, For Those Who Think Young.

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Mad Men C to Z Podcast Transcript for S2:E1  For Those Who Think Young
 
Jenna: Hi, I'm Jenna.
 
Steve: And I'm Steve. Welcome to all things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou.
 
Jenna: We started this podcast to connect to fans like us, who pick up something new with every rewatch.
 
Steve: Be advised, our discussions may include spoilers so we can talk about character arcs all the way through the final season.
 
Jenna: We break down each episode of Mad Men, from the pivotal moments to our favorite scenes and lines. Let's get started with Mad Men, C to Z.
 
Welcome back to Mad Men C to Z. Season two. This is episode one of the second season called For Those Who Think Young. It was written by Matthew Weiner and Robin Veith, directed by Tim Hunter.
 
This episode opens on Valentine's Day, 1962, after leaving our characters at Thanksgiving in 1960 at the end of the last season.
 
Steve: Yeah, so it's roughly a 15-month jump from the outcome of the big Nixon JFK election to here, Valentine's Day, halfway through what would be Kennedy's three year term.
 
Jenna: I love the opening song for this second season too. It's Let's Twist Again by Chubby Checker. It was one of the top hits of 1961, and it's great getting to see the characters again, getting ready for the day.
 
Our big six women are shown independently.
Well, Pete combs his hair, looking of course at himself in the mirror, while Trudy adoringly helps fasten his cuff links and preps him.
 
We see Betty got a horseback riding hobby. We see Joan putting in earrings for work. And when we last saw Peggy, she was refusing to look at her baby and now she's thin and putting on perfume.

 
I do want to talk about that in a minute. Did you have any other noticings in this opening montage?
 
Steve: I was just going to say that to me, there's a very sort of celebratory, the band's back together vibe, you know, just with the music playing, you know, up tempo sort of happy music.
 
I guess maybe what I'm inferring and maybe it's not implied, but you know, when they ended season one, they don't know if they're going to get picked up for another season. And I think Weiner in his commentary mentions, you know, there's this uncertainty.
 
So it feels to me like season two kicks off with a little bit of a celebration as we cruise by and revisit all our principal characters and there's this sense of success, and now moving forward with a story that it wasn't clear there was going to be a season two, back when they wrapped up season one.
 
Jenna: Yeah. So our first proper scene, we see Don Draper getting an insurance physical. He's at the doctor's office. And I noticed it was interesting that the doctor seemed condescending to him. Not as much as Peggy's gynecologist visit in the pilot, but really talking down to him.
 
So he asks, what was the number? And the doctor says, will that blood pressure mean anything to you? And he says that your blood pressure “is high for boys our age.” A little bit dismissive.
 
I noticed he- he's seen a million of Don, he thinks. He tells him to buy a boat. And the doctor adds, Don has to take this seriously. He's 36, you know.
 
in an episode called For Those Who Think Young, that's just reminding us that Don can no longer be considered young.
 
Steve: Yeah, I think that's really the vibe I get out of this scene is emphasizing Don's waning youth. And for somebody who trades on his good looks, at least in his romantic life, this marks a real change.
 
And as we're going to see in this episode and throughout the season, there's this huge emphasis in the writing about this youth movement in the early 60s, as the children of the wartime generation are starting to come of age and starting to have a huge impact on society.
 
I didn't get the vibe that it was personal in terms of the doctor being somewhat condescending to Don. So I wondered if that was just the writing trying to reflect the times where the, you know, know-it-all, in-charge physician speaks down to the patients, and whether it's Don Draper or anyone else, that that's sort of going to be the default setting.
 
Jenna: Yes. I thought that was definitely a signs of the times moment, of this professional. And you notice it because people don't usually talk to Don Draper that way.
 
There are a couple of interesting quick exchanges, too, where we get the history of Don Draper's health and the fact that days of plenty drinking means five a day, he says. And this question, how do you feel when you wake up in the morning?
Don pauses and says, how do you feel?
 
He says, if you live too hard, it'll hit you all at once. And Don says, no, I've been good. That's a close to who-are-you call-out for Don here in this scene.
These questions add to this character, you know, who are you and what do you want are always muddled for Don.
 
When the doctor pushes on him, we can doubt that this I've been good is completely true for him.
 
Steve: Yeah. And I think, you know, given where we've gone in season one and spent much of the season wondering who exactly is Don Draper.
I think season two opening with this sort of question, how do you feel?
It's really a very natural follow on in terms of I think we've still got questions about who Don really is or who he's going to be, who he wants to be.
 
And then within that blurriness, just the question of and how does that lie in his own head with his own well being, his perception. So it does feel very thematically consistent and sort of evolving the story.
 
 
Jenna: In our next scene, we see Betty with a friend at the horse stables, Sarah Beth Carson, played by Missy Yeager. We get our first truth call out as the friend talks about her daughter and how she's been saving her lunch money and not actually buying lunch and lying about it.
And Betty says, you should be glad she watches what she eats.
The friend says, that's the truth.
 
Again, we start right off with Betty in her image conscious dialogue. What did you think about Betty and her horseback riding hobby here?
 
Steve: I mean, I take it on face value as I think Matt Weiner and the writers presented as you know, this is a new activity that Betty's undertaking as part of her quest to fill some of that hole in her life about who she is.
 
To me, the, the thing that jumped out the most about this scene was just the women sort of checking out the younger guy who's riding there and having a little bit of repartee about it.
 
And the friend seems a little more interested than Betty does. Betty seems to disavow the interest, at least verbally. But getting back to your truth call-out, that seems to be a bit, it seems a little disingenuous by Betty, because I get the perception she is taking a good look at this guy.
 
Jenna: Yes. So let's talk about this a little bit. The woman who runs the stables, Gertie, is played by Denise Crosby. You might recognize her as Tasha Yar from Star Trek: the Next Generation, or from Suits, General Hospital, or Pet Sematary.
 
Her character is critiquing this young man riding. This is Arthur Chase. He's played by Gabriel Mann, who has been in Revenge, and the first two Bourne Identity movies.
 
And as Betty and her friend, as you say, they're gossiping a little bit about this guy. We can take away that he's engaged - Sarah Beth says there's no point in being aloof.
 
So it's very telling about this need to keep a safe distance from unattached men. But he's attached. So it's kind of okay.
And we also get this judgment that he's a poor rider for his age, which is 25. We understand that they talk pretty often.
 
I've got a fun fact here. This actor is actually six years older than January Jones, even though Betty and Sarah Beth are talking about how young he is.
 
Steve: And similar to Don, you know, Betty has traded on her looks her whole life. So when we get into this question of aging and youth, I've got to feel that that's part of the worries that nibble at Betty's mind is as her youth fades, she's left to turn to this question of, you know, who is she?
What is she doing? How does she spend her time in a way that perhaps wasn't so pressing back when it was clear what she was bringing to the world, and the world paid attention to that fact?
 
Not that someone as beautiful as January Jones is in any danger of being ignored anywhere she goes for the foreseeable future, at the time she's filming this scene.
 
Jenna: So true.
As Betty gets into her car to leave the stables, Sarah Beth notices this is a new car that Betty's riding in. And she says, don't you hate getting manure in that? Because Betty's got her riding boots on. And Betty just brushes it off. She says, little children, what's the difference?
 
She does keep up appearances, and that's important to her. But here she's not taking extra care of what she has, which is kind of an interesting detail. I thought maybe it's just casual, but in Mad Men, you kind of think that everything is so intentional, that you really look into those details.
 
So I thought maybe this piece of her home life, this new car that she runs kids around in, she's taking maybe a little bit less care of that part of her life and a little more care of the things that she keeps for herself,
like this hobby.
 
Steve: I definitely think that's possibly true. The take I got from it was more along the lines of, she's got this affluence. She's got these material things, and she doesn't need to worry or fret about them or take especially good care.
 
If this car wears out, there'll be another better car upgrade coming behind it. And I just took it as a sign of the material success that Betty's having with Don.
 
Jenna: Our next scene takes us back to the offices of Sterling Cooper. Joan is trying to figure out where the copy machine can go. Remember last season in the pilot, Don said to Pete, it's not like there's this magical machine that can make copies. And here is exactly that.
 
And I love this detail of Joan saying, oh, you know, we can maybe put it in the break room. And a secretary says, oh, no, don't take the break room. And then she says, well, maybe we can put it in an office. And somebody complains, we're already doubling up. Don't do that.
 
And this is this great example of office dynamics where somebody's always unhappy with change.
 
Steve: And I have to say, personally, I just love seeing what is such dated technology through the eyes of the characters. At the time, it was cutting edge and new and exciting.
 
So I get a lot of personal enjoyment out of contemplating the concept of a photocopier being this amazing new tech that's come in, and the fact that they haven't even yet thought about all the ways it's going to change their work.
 
 
Jenna: Next, we move into an office where there's a meeting, and Don is late, and everybody has been waiting for a while. This is another great office detail. Ken says he's going to start eating, saying correctly that Don isn't going to care about ceremony.
 
And somebody else goes, if this is a thing where you think you're going to start eating and the rest of us are going to start eating, that's not it. We're not going to do that, because they just don't want to offend their boss.
And Freddy is clearly anxious about not having a drink yet.
And Peggy has a seat at the table. She's calm and she is ready to talk about work. She's not worried about food, she's not worrying about having a drink.
 
She says, you know, as the others are grousing around, she says, we have art. And you get the sense that she is happy to be there and ready to show her work, and she probably likes her job more than anybody else in the room.
 
The other guys are still treating her like a secretary to some extent, though. Ken asks her if there are any more glasses (for drinks). And eventually Fred sends her to go check on where Don is, and she sighs, but she goes.
 
Steve: Yeah, it’s an interesting scene because again, we get that duality of Peggy, as she's now one of them. Simultaneously, she's not one of them.
 
I also think it's striking the deference and fear they have around Don. It's very clear that there's a huge gap between what Don is and his power and theirs. And the focus and attention of the group is all around,
what can we do in the absence of Don? What will Don's interpretation of that be?
 
And later, when Don finally shows up for the meeting, we see this power dynamic extended. Don's large and in charge. They all know it, and they're all very cognizant of avoiding getting on his bad side.
 
 
Jenna: Peggy goes to find out what's going on with Don, and the men in the office gossip. They say Draper knocked her up, and Pete walks in and says, fat farm. I thought we had verification.
Gross.
 
This mystery about what happened to Peggy because they don't have any information, clearly, this is something in Mad Men that I don't really like that they make us wait for. We ended the last season, as we said, with Peggy in the hospital. She just delivered a baby, and now there's no reference to it. She's just back at the office, and it's this huge unanswered question.
 
And of course, I'm rewatching, so I know. But the first time, instead of building suspense, I felt like it really built irritation because it wasn't addressed. It was harder for me to focus on what Peggy's doing because I was focused on what wasn't there.
 
Steve: Yeah, agreed. It's a huge unanswered question that we're left with. And there's several going into this season. We haven't got to those scenes yet between the two of them, but at the end of season one, Don and Betty seem to be confronting his infidelity.
 
So the question is, what has occurred in the last 15 months between those two? Where? Where's that relationship at? And we really don't know at this point. In episode one, season two
 
Jenna: In episode one, season two!
 
I do really like this next scene, though. Peggy goes to find out what's going on with Don, and Lois from the switchboard is Don's new secretary. So, as promised, she asks where Don might be.
 
Lois says that Don is going to the movies to see Pinocchio, a story about love transforming characters with a lesson about the importance of being honest, which is, if you'll forgive me, on the nose for Don Draper and the show.
 
Peggy detects a judgy tone in Lois when she says the Don's at the movies. And Lois is so funny in this whole interaction, even while she's being disconcerted and confused. What did you think about Peggy here?
 
Steve: I think it's an interesting contrast because when she was in the conference room, we can see how she's both one of and not one of the gang. You know, working on the creative side for a client.
 
But here out with Lois now, Peggy asserts her own power and differentiates herself, and makes it very clear to Lois that she's not a peer and that Lois won't be speaking to her in a familiar tone about her boss, Don Draper.
 
So it's fascinating that as Peggy opts to concede to the assumptions and sexism of the men in the creative conference room, she asserts her power here against Lois. And I think I like that reading - that writing - because I feel it's very real in terms of how people actually exercise power and assert themselves.
 
And Peggy clearly picks her battles and chooses one where she's got total domination, and enforces it on Lois in a way that I think really surprises Lois, because she has no idea that this is coming when she initiates the comments she makes to Peggy about Don.
 
Jenna: That's interesting that you got that contrast, because the contrast I picked up was between Joan's advice to Peggy about being Don's secretary versus Peggy's advice to Lois.
 
So I remember in season one, Joan was fishing for details from Peggy about Don, and she talked a lot about her appearance and what was expected.
And here Peggy radiates loyalty to Don, saying that his secretary should imagine when she talks about Mr. Draper that he's standing right behind you, that this discretion is expected.
 
And remember, Peggy realized she had to keep secrets for him and observed to Joan that the job was odd. She wasn't gossipy about her boss, but it was just this combination of Peggy's expectations of competence blended with some loyalty. It’s an interesting take here.
 
On first watch, you might attribute it to the fact that Don promoted her to copywriter. But I think later this season we'll see she might feel some extra loyalty to Don for other reasons, too.
 
Steve: I definitely get the protective vibe there of Peggy protecting Don's rep, at least with the chattering class within the office.
I do think simultaneously there's a very personal aspect here in terms of the hierarchy and Peggy knowing she has to walk the talk if she's going to be taken seriously as a creative and distinguish herself from being a former admin.
 
And maybe that journey starts with making it clear to the admins that she's not one of them anymore.
 
Jenna: Don isn't actually at the movies. We can see in the next scene that he's having lunch in a bar and he sees a man. Notice that in the For those who Think Young episode, he is a younger man. He's reading Meditations in an Emergency. This is a collection of poems written by Frank O' Hara, published in 1957.
 
True to Mad Men's style, many of the poems are about identity and life in New York. And a line from the title poem reads,
I am the least difficult of men.
All I want is boundless love.
Don is forever seeking something that seems to be an empty place in him.
 
Steve: And it does feel there's a divide here. So the man fields Don's question about what he's reading and then makes an offhand remark.
I can't recall the exact word. Something to the effect of, you wouldn't like it or you wouldn't understand it.
 
And there's this off-putting feel of sort of us and them that he's now differentiated himself from Don vis a vis this particular work.
 
Jenna: I quite like this exchange. Yes. Don throws out the idea that reading during lunch, quote, makes you feel like you're getting things done. Which I think in an ambitious city like New York is a pretty common sentiment, probably. But here, Don hasn't read the room.
 
The guy goes, yeah, it's all about getting things done.
And that's kind of how Don responded to Carlton when he said, yep, we have it all.
You know, of course, Don's busy doing things, so he doesn't have time to meditate or think about his own identity emergency.
But he pushes in and he says, is it good?
 
And then, yes, the stranger replies, I don't think you'd like it. And I would find that rude, because I wouldn't like to think that anybody could size me up based on my appearance in a single comment.
 
But we understand he's correct. Don is not ready to face the reality of himself. He wouldn't like it.
 
Steve: Well, and whether he's correct or not, I think it emphasizes again this theme of youth, and this changing of the culture here as he's judging Don based on appearances that's really going to become more prominent now as the youth movement gains steam, and it starts to really matter, you know, which generation are you from? You know, do you represent the old or the new?
 
And this just feels like the thin end of that wedge starting to assert itself here in, you know, 1962.
 
Jenna: Thin end of that wedge. That was a good visual.
Well played, sir. Well played. Good job.
 
 
Next we get Joan and Roger talking, and Roger says it's Valentine's Day and he's taking Mona to Lutece. This was an exclusive French restaurant that opened in February of 1961. It closed in 2004.
 
And he pushes Joan about the doctor that she's been dating. What did you think about this exchange between them?
 
Steve: I think it's really a carry on from last season where, you know, Joan is moving on, leaving Roger and that relationship in the rear-view mirror. Roger's still not happy about it.
 
If he had it his way, he'd still be able to, you know, maintain this dalliance with Joan. He's a little - I don't know if he's bitter, the right word, or hoping to maybe get one more kick at the can there. And Joan just shuts him down and makes it very clear, you know, she's moved on.
 
Jenna: At the same time, I think it's interesting how well Roger knows her, too, because he says, how is everything going with the guy? And she says, I already know what day he's going to ask me.
 
And he goes, does he know that? I feel like there's a penalty for passing that date.
And she looks at him. Then she says, he knows.
And she's not arguing the point.
 
Roger knows exactly how strong she is and how determined she can be. So I know, I know he's not good for her. But I also appreciate that, that he has this read of her. And I think that quality in Roger sometimes goes unappreciated, how well he's able to really gauge what moves people and what doesn't. And I agree. I think he's a little bit petty and a little bit childish vis a vis, wanting all access to her at any time.
 
And she's not wrong to shut him down. But they do have this relationship where they. They get each other. They really do. Flaws and all.
 
Steve: I think in his heart of hearts, Roger knows Joan is not incorrect.
So I don't think he begrudges her the conclusions she's reached, nor does he think she's made a mistake.
 
I think really he's just lamenting something that was magical and that he values that's going away, and it's not going away by his choice.
 
Jenna: Yeah, agree.
 
 
Steve: Duck walks in the office and has a discussion with Roger about the need for youth. And the example is Martinson Coffee, where apparently young people are drinking coffee in lower quantities and switching over to soda.
 
They talk about the need for youth in the office, that clients want to see it, that their agency needs to exhibit the influence of youth. Roger doesn't put up any sort of fuss or argue against Duck here. It seems like he concedes the point that Duck's absolutely correct.
 
This youth movement is a sign of going forward. They're behind the curve because they really don't have many people who fit that description.
 
Jenna: In signs of the times, there was an early 1960s commercial jingle called Pepsi: For Those who Think Young, which of course is a reference to this episode title. If you want a quick research dive, there is a Britney Spears Pepsi commercial from 2002 Super Bowl 36 that reenacts this jingle, and travels through time with snippets from Pepsi ads ending back at this original song.
 
And the 60s Pepsi commercial with the For Those who Think Young song is really funny to watch, because it's a lot of overhead shots of Pepsi bottle caps and bottles in a six pack case. It's really simple looking today, but it was kind of charming to discover it.
 
And I love that line. Duck says, nobody under 25 drinks coffee anymore. They pour Pepsi on their Frosted Flakes. So this idea of how the landscape is changing everywhere, I agree with you – Roger hears Duck. He hears what he's saying, and he doesn't give any promises.
 
And they have this back and forth too, about how Duck says, I thought Roger was supposed - I thought you, Roger, were the bridge between accounts and creative. He's trying to do things the way they're done at Sterling Cooper.
 
Roger goes, just assume Don knows just as much about business as you do, but inside there's a child who likes getting his way.
And Duck goes, he's not my first creative director.
So they're all judging on the creatives, right.
 
And we can't argue that Don really does like to get his own way. And this child image references the episode title, and we get further evidence that in spite of the blame that Betty always gets for having to be childish, Don is just as bad, if not worse.
 
Steve: Yeah. And I think the. The premise of Duck, at the heart of it is it takes young people to sell to young people.
So the artistry or the things that creative clings to so hard,
Duck assumes that's present in every generation. So you just tap into the right generation to get the cohabiting creativeness, you know, in order to make the sale.
 
So this total business perspective on it, which we know, if Duck were to lay that out for someone like Don, he would get a ton of pushback, because I would guess that Don Draper believes that the artistry and the creative genius transcends generations and isn't fundamentally changing or shoehorned or unique by generation, it's across it all.
 
And I think this business and friction is going to come to a head, you know, as we go through this season, because these are just two fundamentally different ways of positioning creative within the organization.
 
Jenna: And I like seeing that part of the show. To me, that conflict is present in many seasons of the show, and I think it's an interesting one because it doesn't mean that either of them is bad or wrong.
 
And you can see this in any industry, any field, right. That you have just completely different ways of viewing process and outcome.
We tend to align very strongly with one or the other, I think. And it's funny to see, in spite of bad behavior on the part of one side or the other side, it has to move forward, and you need a little bit of both to get where you're going.
 
And the question just is, of course, how much and who ultimately will carry the day.
 
Steve: I was wondering, too, you know, we had the blowup with Pete back at the end of season one, and as part of the resolution of that whole blowup, Don went with Duck to head accounts.
So in many ways, Don's responsible for the hiring of Duck.
 
Jenna: We talked about this. Yes, we talked about this last season. Yeah, you're so exactly right. I know. I'm looking at it like, are you sorry now? Are you sorry?
 
Steve: So. So I wonder if there was any sort of petulance or impulsiveness in that hire. As Don was looking to stomp on Pete in the moment very clearly. And what stomps on Pete more clearly than filling the position that he's seeking to blackmail you in order to take?
 
And now we're seeing the consequence or the comeuppance on this. Maybe it's a moot point because whatever head of accounts you put in, there's just a natural tension with creative.
 
So perhaps Duck doesn't make it any greater or worse than it would naturally have been. But it does make me wonder a little bit, because I know, you know, having in my professional career hired people, there is a fundamentally different way you perceive people that you hired and added to the organization versus people that you inherited or were served up to you, and you had no voice in their presence being there.
 
Jenna: So last season, we also didn't know how Roger's health was going to end up. So you made this really great point about how when he hired Duck and Duck was all business, it wasn't like Roger's party time,
that Duck was really large in charge and driving forward.
 
So it is interesting that we see Roger is back, and Roger is a bridge between accounts and creative. And Roger's a lot more interested in finessing Don's feelings and making sure he's happy than Duck ever will be, because Duck is all about the next account.
That's all he cares about. He doesn't care if it's great work.
He cares if he gets paid.
 
So now Don shows up for the Mohawk Airlines meeting.
This was a real company. It was founded in 1945 and lasted until 1972. Paul pitches some ideas and Don shoots them down saying,
stop writing for other writers. And, there's got to be advertising for people without a sense of humor.
 
It's clever, this juxtaposition of Don being childish in the sense that he's walking into the meeting extremely late, unprepared, and he expects to get his way. But he hasn't communicated his expectations to the team.
 
And at the same time, his wishes are a little bit old fashioned. He's arguing against a sense of humor in advertising, which we can see that's where it's going for something like adventure.
He says a pirate or a knight, A fantasy. In our Don-moving-forward motif in Mad Men, we also get this when he says when he gets on a plane, he just wants to see the city disappearing behind me.
 
He never minds leaving his past.
It is kind of funny that we're complaining about, you know, he's not my first difficult creative director. And then we see him walk into a meeting being capricious and difficult.
 
Steve: Well, and Weiner, in his commentary also mentions that this is very clearly Don's mentality about creative, and what the essence of good creative is. And that is not following trends, being on that cutting edge, helping people see and perceive things in a way they haven't previously, and being that vanguard that others seek to follow, rather than jumping on the bandwagon.
 
So the sheer contempt that Don shows for Paul and this, I think, what Don would view as a creative cop-out of jumping on the humor bandwagon is interesting. I guess I was thinking if I were one of Don's direct reports, that would be something I'd want to be attuned to going forward: that you never want to look to be jumping on a trend in front of Don, because he has such contempt for it.
 
And then I also found it interesting, this element of personal confession from Don, of how does he view air travel and what does it represent to him? And it's, oh, you're leaving stuff behind and moving forward in this adventure.
 
And it just seemed very confessional that this is his take on a trip on an airplane and this is the beginning of the golden age of air travel. I don't know what percentage of the population would have a similar view to Don on that. You know, is it half of them? Is it two thirds?
How much of it is Don imprinting on this, and how much of it is an objective assessment of how the potential air travel public would take it?
 
Jenna: Yes, it doesn't seem as professional. Exactly. Because of that. Because we can't assume that the air traveling public identifies with Don in this particular way, since this is so unique to his character and so defining for it. So that's kind of a funny error, or if. If it is an error, I guess.
 
Steve: I also liked when Don is talking about, you know, the spirit of adventure, fantastical people going to a magical place, and then he goes, blah, blah, blah, which I think really underlines the sheer cynicism of the creative task before them here.
 
They're pitching something. Don's not swept up in the romantic vision of this. He's not buying into it. He's laying out something that he thinks the public will buy.
 
Jenna: There's also a fun nod in this scene.
We've got Dale back. He's the mysterious disappearing creative department worker on Mad Men. We saw him in season one, episode two, with a group who took Peggy and Joan to lunch.
 
And we're going to see him two more times in seasons three and five.
It's a good detail, I think, that Mad Men acknowledges, even though there's this big ensemble cast in the show, there are a lot of other people in each department at Sterling Cooper, and we don't see them all all of the time.
 
Dale is played by Mark Kelly, and he's maybe best known for the Hot Zone.
 
 
Steve: The next scene shifts to the Draper household.
We've got Carla there with the kids, and Betty's come home from riding.
Sally mentions that she'd like to go riding with Betty someday. And Betty makes it clear that riding is not something that she does with Sally.
 
Jenna: She says, remember what happened to the little girl in Gone with the Wind? And I was like, how likely is it that Sally has watched Gone with the Wind? But okay.
 
Another thing that Betty says really stood out to me.
Sally says that everybody at school had to give everybody else a Valentine. And Betty goes, that defeats the purpose. And you know she's keeping score of how many Valentine she gets. That would be really important to Betty.
 
Steve: Yeah. And I'm guessing that women who look like Grace Kelly probably have enjoyed a lot of Valentines.
 
Jenna: Probably no shortage of macaroni Valentines coming her way.
 
Steve: Yes, absolutely.
 
 
Jenna: So Roger does go to Don in our next scene about hiring younger people, per Duck's request, and Don immediately gets that. Roger doesn't say anything, of course, but Don is like, this smells like accounts to me.
 
And Don is very averse to the idea that young people are needed. He rattles off multiple arguments. He says young campaigns don't necessarily come from young people, he says one wants to be the needle in the haystack, not the haystack, and young people don't know anything.
 
 
Steve: And also, just to point out one little detail,
Roger says Cooper wants younger people for Martinson's Coffee. He doesn't say Duck, and he says Cooper. And we've not seen Bert Cooper in season two to this point.
 
Jenna: So Roger absorbs all of the arguments that Don offers. He stays calm, and he nods, and he leaves Don with,
Let me set this in a more appealing context for you:
Prove him wrong.
Boy, does he have Don's number. Because that is exactly the right thing to say.
 
Steve: Again, we get a chance for Don to emphasize his perception of success and where it comes from, and that success is standing out, separating yourself, not fitting in with the crowd.
 
And the fact that Don dismisses the youth movement as a concession and a trend and a fad, I think really underlines just how he does not perceive this cultural shift that's about to take place in the United States.
Or if he does perceive it, he's desperately trying to keep it suppressed and held down and avoid admitting that it's coming, and there's no stopping it.
 
Jenna: He's kicking and screaming against it, yeah.
 
 
Our next scene is in a restaurant at the Savoy Hotel,
and there's a shot of Don's back to camera with him smoking, this classic camera angle. He looks up, and we have a musical cue with a fantasy aura as Betty comes down the staircase toward him.
 
And this is the first time we have confirmation that, in fact, they are still together. The song is Rimsky-Korsakov's Song of India, from an 1896 opera called Sadko, which is about a married man who leaves his wife to go on adventures, including marrying a mermaid. And he returns a wealthy man.
 
Don kisses Betty's cheek, looks admiringly at her, and wishes her Happy Valentine's Day. And they drank champagne, and it's very pretty. They do the public performance of their relationship so well.
 
It's almost like they can pretend to themselves that things are fine and that that will be enough. And the last time we saw Betty, as you said, she told her therapist that Don wasn't faithful to her.
And here they're both playing the part of this happily married couple.
 
Steve: Yeah. And I think the scene opens in such an idyllic, romantic fashion, and it's just picture perfect. Betty is gorgeous and all dressed up. Don is handsome and dapper.
 
And then as we morph through the scene, we start to realize that as we get closer and look more closely at the realities that this facade is just that. It's an image. It's a perception. And under the surface, we're aware of all the cracks and fissures and brewing problems.
 
We see they're still together, but we know that they've not resolved the problems and issues that sparked up over the course of season one.
And even as they look around the room and Don's perceiving the other couples in that superficial cosmetic way, we know that those other couples would be looking at Don and Betty, probably viewing them as saying, wow, there's the prom king and queen, you know, for this Valentine's Day outing.
 
When Betty recognizes her former classmate or roommate, I guess, is it Juanita? And then we get into the details of, basically, Juanita's working as an escort for a businessman out of Detroit who's, you know, much her senior. And it's clearly just a business transaction.
I think we get the sense that provokes some thoughts in Betty's head.
 
Jenna: There's a fun fact about this actress who plays Juanita Carson, Betty's former roommate. This is Jen Siebel Newsom. She's a producer best known for her documentary Miss Representation, and she's married to Gavin Newsom, who's governor of California.
 
Steve: After Juanita and her date depart, Don and Betty are discussing what they just witnessed. And Don enlightens Betty on the reality that clearly Juanita's an escort, and that's why she's out on Valentine's Day with this older man.
 
It's interesting to see that realization creep across Betty's face, and we can start to see Betty contemplating what that means for Juanita and where her life has taken her. But then, almost simultaneously, I get the impression Betty's contemplating that reality in the context of her own relationship, drawing some connections and similarities between the two.
 
Jenna: She makes a comment to Don, that was not who I thought Juanita would end up with. She's reaching for her regular superiority, right? Because Don is much better looking than this guy that Juanita was with.
 
But we also understand that this has rocked her world, this idea that somebody she was a roommate with could have ended up so differently.
And as they were talking, she's all bubbly, and it's such an awkward encounter, and Betty goes, I have a little boy and a little girl, and Juanita goes, of course you do.
 
Because everything about Betty's life is picture perfect, except we know it's not.
 
Steve: Yeah. And I think as Betty contemplates Juanita's life and how she's making an economic choice here, I think that's the opening for Betty to contemplate her own choices and how much of her choices parallel or represent an economic consideration in a different way.
 
Jenna: So Betty seems very pleased when Don suggests they get room service. They go up to their hotel room. And I love this - these details, because it's so married life. It's not a fast fling. She comes in, and she inspects the room a little bit. She gives Don the valentine that Sally made, and they talk a little bit more about Juanita. She has this thing where she smooths the bed and she goes into the bathroom.
 
She leaves the door ajar. She comes out stunning in black lingerie. She's totally ready to impress her husband.
 
And he says, wow. And then he walks past her and goes into the bathroom himself. He would never do that with Rachel or Midge.
But it's not this passionate, I'm gonna grab you in the moment because I can kind of a thing, right? Even though they're doing the right steps to the dance, it's just not quite working.
 
Steve: Yeah. And I think it's further reinforcement of going through the motions, the cosmetic aspects. When we know that there's an issue at the heart of the machine here and trying to rekindle the flame, that I think our perception is it - it was there at one time, but it's gone through a lot of wear and tear to get to this point in this particular Valentine's Day in their marriage.
 
Jenna: And they continue this conversation about Juanita, and she says, I suppose people get lonely. And, of course, we know Betty knows that feeling really well.
 
And she adds, I told her I wanted to have hundreds of babies with you. The writing here is so good because you can absolutely picture Betty going out on a date with Don, this dashing, handsome, young guy.
And then coming back and, you know, cuddling up with her roommate and sharing all the gossipy details and how in love she was.
 
And then when we come to this point, where we can see her walking down the stairs, and it looks the way that she probably pictured it, but it doesn't feel the way that she pictured it.
 
She's been raised to pay attention so much to how things look,
and yet we know with the issue with her hands and everything,
she can't ignore the way things feel. And this is a huge growth point for her, you know, how is she going to reconcile that tension between those two things?
 
 
Steve: The next scene cuts to Pete at home with Trudy, where he gives her his rather unimaginative box of chocolates.
 
Jenna: Pete Campbell's version of wooing. He brings home the chocolates and he's like, open them. I want one.
 
Steve: The conversation morphs into Trudy's great source of sadness,
which is she wants a child. And they've been unsuccessful so far in conceiving one. I think the writing and the acting here is excellent. You really get a sense of just her pain and desperation.
 
It feels like the whole world around her is getting pregnant and there's a club that she can't be part of. Pete here is as considerate and thoughtful as I think we see him trying to console her and divert her attention a little bit. But short of her having a child, there's really no way to dodge the fundamental issue here, from Trudy's perspective.
 
Jenna: I think this scene is really telling in a lot of ways.
It's ugly and honest and it's a really well done, complicated scene.
Pete has given her these chocolates, and he tastes one and he's like, oh, I should have got one with the chart on the box, because these are coconut. And I have to say, I also really like the chart on the box for the chocolates. That this is so on brand for Pete to push someone to do something, even something small, and then to be dissatisfied with what he gets.
 
And he doesn't notice how Trudy is preoccupied and upset until she tells him Jennifer Crane is pregnant. And she's sad, as you say. Pete is kind. He says, Tweety, there's no reason that's bad for us.
And. And he's right. There is no reason.
 
But this nickname is an interesting choice, because we know Don calls Betty Birdie sometimes. And Roger gave Joan a bird in the cage in Babylon. So this idea that you're a little bird and you're fluttering around this, this whole symbolism is maybe not super respectful.
 
And then this anecdote that Trudy gives, like some of Bettys’, is so painful for her, and you can see her pain, but you also judge her for how judgmental she is. She talks about this dumpy woman she saw pushing a stroller and she was round, expecting another.
 
She says it's this big club they're all in together, even her, and that “even her” has so much entitlement. Trudy expects to get whatever she wants. But unstylish, less attractive, less wealthy women?
They might have to give up some things, but not her.
 
And Pete's assurance is along those same entitled lines. He says,
rest assured, she doesn't have what you have.
And his mindset is also this score-keeping, comparative thing.
I like that they come to a bit of peace and she gives him a real smile. And he reaches for another chocolate.
So I guess he got himself a Valentine's Day present.
 
Steve: Yeah, it's probably the least complimentary look we've gotten into Trudy's mindset, but I'm with you. I like the writing because I do think that's a very real thing. And here in the privacy of her home with her husband, she can reveal that jealousy, envy and sense of privilege that, you know, she's learned the manners and how to behave properly in public not to express those types of sentiments, but she's human and she feels that jealousy and envy.
 
Jenna: And she trusts Pete enough to be honest with him about that. I don't think Betty would have made that speech to Don. So you kind of have to give them points for, again, having some real honest dialogue here.
 
 
Steve: We cut back to the hotel room at the Savoy - Don and Betty. And Don cannot perform. They lie back and have a cigarette. And Betty tries to console Don. She makes one comment where she says, I, you know, I wish you'd tell me what you want, which felt painful and sad to me because as much as she's trying to say, oh, you had too much to drink, or, you know, it's not anybody's fault, you can see that she's questioning herself to say, is it something about me that I'm not appealing or attractive to him, to this stage in their relationship?
 
It seems clear that, you know, their sexual attractiveness to each other was a big part of things. So if even that is starting to crack and crumble,
it does feel like we've sort of gone over the cliff here in terms of, you know, what are they going to be left with here if they lack any of these pillars of a healthy long term relationship.
 
Jenna: And he doesn't say anything to her. She's trying to be patient. It's okay, we've got all night. And she says, I wish you would tell me what to do. He still doesn't say anything. Then she brings out her excuses about, you know, we drank too much, I don't know where I am. He's silent. And this is exactly the problem with their relationship is that he won't join her in intimacy in lots of different ways, right? And as you say, even now this one is broken.
 
Steve: They order room service, flip on the TV to Jackie Kennedy giving a tour of the White House, which I guess was a major television event special, which I guess aired on two of the three networks at the time.
 
Jenna: We see Betty in this troubled relationship, and yet for room service, she knows exactly what she wants. So Don starts to order something and she says, no, no, not that. And then he tries again and then she says, no, no, not that.
 
And then he hands her the phone and she can get exactly what she wants. And it's really specific. I want the avocado filled with crab meat and a rare petite filet. Two places she says. Do you have anything special, out of season? She wants something special here. She wants this to work. She still does.
 
And instead she can order whatever she wants, but she can't get the thing that she really wants. He does put his arm around her and they watch TV with Jackie Kennedy, and we transition from them watching the tour of the White House to the tour in a different house.
 
This is our first appearance of Kitty Romano, who we'll come to see is Sal's wife. This is actress Sarah Drew. You may have seen her in Everwood, Mom's Night Out, or Grey's Anatomy.
And Kitty and Sal are happily eating cake on the sofa, watching TV on Valentine’s Day.
 
Steve: But just passively watching TV, and not interacting at all together.
So the reveal here I guess is that Sal is now married.
We know that there's going to be complications to that arrangement and that's where his character's gone in the past 15 months.
 
Jenna: We also get a peek of Joan, and she's kissing a doctor on the couch and she is getting distracted from the kissing by the seeing Jackie Kennedy on TV.
 
This doctor is not the regular Greg Harris actor we know, but he is named Greg Harris in this episode, so it isn't some different doctor. This is actually Greg, even though we're going to meet him later, being played by somebody else.
 
Steve: And I think this is a bit of a statement of where this relationship is even in these early stages on Valentine's Day. And Joan’s got one eye on the TV to see Jackie's tour of the White House rather than being wrapped up with her relatively new lover on the sofa.
 
And I think that's a bit of a telling comment about what, you know, what are the long term prospects for this relationship? And it has,
has she upgraded, or what does this relationship represent compared to what she determined was a dead end relationship with Roger?
 
Jenna: It already seems to be transactional, because all the information we got about him was, he's a doctor. She didn't say he's kind or he's funny. Not that she would go on about his attributes to Roger necessarily, but he's a doctor. That's the important thing. Maybe that's not going to be enough.
And then we cut to Pete's house. He's watching TV, but he is not watching Jackie's White House tour. He's watching cartoons and eating the rest of Trudy's chocolates.
 
For those who think young, indeed.
 
Steve: And he's alone, so Trudy's not there with him. It is Valentine's Day, and I guess, you know, she's gone to bed and he's staying up eating chocolate.
 
 
Jenna: The next day, Francine comes over to Betty's and they're talking about the White House tour and Valentine's Day. I feel like the writers really get this rhythm right between them. They're gossiping about their impression of Jackie being nervous and, quote, playing house with Jack.
 
And then they look at laundry and they're trying to discern whether a stain is chocolate, ice cream or blood. It's such busy chatter with these revealing details. We remember last season that Francine discovered Carlton's affair, but a year or so later, she says her Valentine's Day was delightfully disappointing. She will take dull and know where she stands. So that was the choice that she made.
 
Steve: Yeah. And we can see here Betty, as she talks about Juanita making these connections and that when they were younger, that she and Juanita had the exact same ambitions.
 
Clearly, Betty's contemplating Juanita's life now in the context of her own. And seeing some parallels here in terms of what they've traded or what they've obtained.
 
And then I think the other piece here, Betty maintaining the facade for Francine's benefit of, oh, we went to the Savoy and we had this romantic evening together, you know, again, keeping up all the appearances when we know the reality is something less than that. And despite her denial, we know Betty was watching the Jackie tour from the hotel room because it wasn't the sort of dream Valentine's Day evening at the Savoy that it's being pitched to Francine.
 
Jenna: Even Francine has a line saying, if prostitution is Don showing up with a fur coat, sign me up.
Betty looks at that and knows that it's sad and empty, so she can see Juanita. And just like when she looked at Helen's life, it was this mix of choices. How did this happen to you?
 
And she really of course, has that about herself. How could this have happened? And how could even my best friend look at me and say, I have a fur coat and a beautiful house and Don, that's all I need to be happy, and yet I'm not. It's not working.
And you can't admit that or confess that. It's so sad. Betty is so sad.
 
Steve: Well, and I think it also underlines her loneliness again,
because there is a real conversation to be had here about the true state of each of their relationships, and what it means for them and what their options and choices going forward might be.
 
Yet for various reasons, they're not going to engage in that. So the conversation is cut off and limited to superficial and cosmetic matters where, okay, you can make a glib remark and wallpaper over the big holes in the drywall, but they're still there.
 
There's a sense of sadness and loneliness creeping into this. This scene that otherwise looks like just a perfectly nice little visit by Francine in the house as they chit chat.
 
Jenna: And it's all on Betty, because Francine admitted her own Valentine's Day was delightfully disappointing.
And she admitted that Carlton was having an affair. So she has confessed this to Betty. And I think she would receive the truth from Betty very kindly and patiently and with support.
 
But Betty can't even admit it to herself on a regular basis. So she certainly can't tell Francine because if she tells her that, then she's going to have to really face it. And it's the ultimate loneliness because there's somebody sitting right here who could support you and who maybe could help make it a little less awful.
 
Steve: And I think this shows the responsibility Betty has for her loneliness, because if you aren't going to be honest and open with the people closest to you, that's a choice you're making here. And there is a risk in doing so.
 
But Betty chooses what she perceives as the safer course here is to keep up appearances and to avoid the difficult subject.
And she's going to pay a price for this isolation.
But I think it really shows how much she's isolated of her own volition.
 
Jenna: In some ways, it's interesting how Betty is kind of the ultimate in advertising. Her whole life is an advertisement, even though she doesn't work at Sterling Cooper.
 
Steve: And I think if you were to extend the analogy, she suffers from the same flaws or failings as advertising.
 
Jenna: In the next scene, we get a bunch of really interesting small details because we have so many characters. The office guys are sitting out in the main area.
And Sal complains he wants to meet in the conference room.
And Paul insists he wants to stay where they are so he can keep an eye on things. He realizes that he gave this list to Roger with young creatives, and now he understands that means potential creative replacements.
 
And Ken gets it instantly. And Paul's going, he's really meeting them.
Why are they doing this? And Ken goes, you haven't been privy to Duck’s scoutmaster talks about how we need younger creative?
He's like, he said that?
And he's like, several times.
 
So again, Ken kind of has the pulse here where Paul is left out and worried about his status. That's kind of a constant for him.
 
And then Peggy comes by and she goes, there was a meeting? Nobody told me there was a meeting. And you know, this is an ongoing thing for her to be included. It's just two sentences, but it's so character defining.
 
And then they talk briefly about how Harry's going to be a father.
Pete says, aren't you happy? Harry's pretty matter of fact, he says, well, there are going to be some headaches, but, you know, of course this is happening. This attitude really echoes Trudy's pain a little bit, that for some people pregnancy is just an easy thing, and then for others, it's a much more difficult process.
 
Steve: Yeah. And by the luck of the draw or whatever, that's sort of determining which team you're on the team envy and team longing, or on team taking it for granted, team privilege.
 
So I do think, you know, we see Ken consistently represent a higher level of analytical thought than most of the frat boy crowd.
Not to say he doesn't have his own boorish tendencies, but it does seem that he's consistently expressing things a little more intelligently or observing and noting things a little more diligently than some of the other children.
 
Jenna: I think that is what makes his boorish remarks so difficult. Because we want this guy who is insightful, who sees things clearly, who's open to a marginalized co worker, you know, to really be a collaborator with her.
 
You want him to be kinder and all around a good guy. And Mad Men doesn't let you have it, even with a supporting character. So it is good writing. But we talked about that with a Double Dip question last time about what do we think of Ken - Is he a good guy or a bad guy? And he's a guy. He's. He's complicated.
 
Steve: I like the line from Peggy when she points out that she's young and they all dismiss her like that somehow that doesn't count. Or she's not representative of the youth movement.
 
So again, it's this funny inconsistency. Sometimes she's in, sometimes she's out. When it comes to the youth movement, she's out by definition. Which I guess the corollary of that would be, well, then she's in because she's part of the old group that needs to add youth to it.
 
So it's just funny how Peggy can't win for losing in many of these sort of inconsistent measurements and assessments.
 
 
Jenna: So now we get to go behind the door and we see Don interviewing this young creative team. One's a writer, one's an artist. You can see this huge gap between his conversation with them and the shorthand he speaks with Roger.
 
He doesn't quite get anything about them, why they work as a team or why the one gets paid more, their whole energy.
 
So he says, I'm going to ask you a question I was always asked in interviews. And the guy replies,
that is divine, man. So they're both speaking English, but it feels like different languages.
 
Steve: I enjoyed Weiner's comment in the commentary too, where he said that Kurt the foreigner, his dialogue was all intended to be unintelligible, and it really is. So there's sort of these non sequiturs come out and Don has this puzzled look on his face, and he doesn't have many lines, but the ones he throws out are just hilariously perfect at achieving Weiner's goal in this scene.
 
Jenna: But you contribute words?
Only when it's a distance.
 
[Laughter]
 
Steve: And again, you gotta feel like Don is just sitting there in this meeting saying, I told you so. I told you so. You know, there's nothing here. They bring nothing. There's no value. He's just probably feeling very righteous and correct after this particular interview.
 
 
The next scene is Joan with the copier.
She encounters Lois crying in the break room over Peggy yelling at her, and corrects her about her attitude, makes it clear that it's Miss Olson and not Peggy, then morphs into talking about the copier and asks what Lois thinks of the copier and it being in the hall. And Lois says, well, you know, it's fine, but It's going to look messy once it starts getting used, which is actually very, very correct, as anyone who's worked with the old copiers knows.
 
Jenna: Yes. Joan tells Lois, I don't allow crying in the break room. It erodes morale.
 
And I'm just thinking, okay, it's too bad you don't put the brakes on sexual harassment, because I feel like that probably also erodes morale. But I guess even Joan's powers have limits.
 
 
Next, we get a quick scene as the young creative team leaves. And interestingly, as much as Don doesn't get them, they don't want to be caught meeting at Sterling Cooper either.
 
And Duck tries to compliment Don on hiring them, but Don won't accept it. He says, there can't be any excuse now if you can't bring in this Martinson Coffee account.
And Duck answers, don't get worked up. There are other ways to think of things than the way you think of them.
 
And he's right. Don is selfish, and he likes to see things his way. We saw this in that Mohawk meeting earlier, and you can see this relationship fraying a little. Where a year ago, Don was supporting Duck in the meeting about bringing in new business, and here they've got tension.
 
Steve: Yeah, I think it's a brilliant scene because there's a menace between the two characters, and you get the sense of two guys, each holding a knife, walking around each other in a circle as they're trying to figure out how to get in their pokes.
 
Don initiates the first jab, saying, you've got no excuses now because you've got your youth blood. And then I love Duck's statement back to Don about there are other ways to think about things, because it is so true.
 
And for intelligent, accomplished people in their fields, ideally, they really need to find a way to work together and harvest the best of each other while mitigating the worst. And instead, it's become a winner take all kind of conflict dynamic that's evolving here, and I think it's great foreshadowing to where this relationship is headed.
 
Jenna: And it's interesting because as a viewer, I blame Duck, but really, it's Don.
 
I don't know for sure if Duck would be amenable or helpful to Don if Don would reciprocate over time. I. I don't know. Maybe Duck is just, you know, stick the knife in and too bad.
 
But it feels like Don's temper tantrum nature is responsible for the bad vibes they have between each other. You see that Don holds himself apart from everybody. He doesn't really get close to people, and this is his flaw. So, you know, just as you were saying about how Betty is responsible for keeping herself in isolation instead of confiding in Francine, Don does not open himself up to anybody at work, or open himself up to collaboration.
 
Even with Roger, who he's maybe closest to in the office right now, he's very guarded. Not that it's useful to say who's to blame, but if collaboration were possible, as a viewer, I sort of think that Duck - we don't like him. And then I look at it, I'm like, yeah, I think this is on Don. I really do.
 
Steve: Yeah, I think. I think Duck is on very solid professional ground here. And I think he goes about it the right way in terms of initiating the youth movement. He works through Roger, and he enters into that scene with Don basically extending an olive branch and trying to pitch it as a win, win, not a, oh, I got one over on you, and we're able to force through some youth.
 
I think the other fact that we can take as modern viewers of this is we know Duck is correct. There is a huge youth movement and this cultural change is going to sweep over America. So from that perspective, we know who is actually correct objectively, never mind the particular debate they're having on Valentine's Day in 1962.
 
 
Jenna: Next, we get a short scene with Peggy, Harry, and Sal in Pete's office, talking about Clearasil. They suggest we could get younger girls in sixth grade. And somebody says, do they even have acne? And they're like - Pete and Peggy really casually agree with each other.
Doesn't matter.
Doesn't.
And it's interesting that they are able to work together so successfully.
 
They have this comment about young creatives again, and Peggy saying, I'm only 22. And Paul's like, you don't count.
Some people stop by, they're going to celebrate because Harry and Jennifer are expecting a baby. There's this line, how often do you get to celebrate getting some girl pregnant?
And, Campbell, you're buying.
And this is such an awkward nod to the fact that Campbell did get some girl pregnant and she's in the room, but his wife is home wishing for that to happen.
 
Steve: Yeah, well, I guess we know whose fault it is that she's not pregnant.
 
Jenna: Goodness, yeah. Pete is going to frame it exactly that way. Coming up. Sorry, we just spoiled that. But oh, my gosh, Pete.
 
This little scene between Pete and Peggy as they wrap up, Pete says, kids, what the big deal?
Here we get that his wish is not as strong as Trudy's, and he says to Peggy, do you want to have kids?
Which, again, is so awkward because she just had a baby and they have told us nothing about it. And so it just really . . .
 
Steve: She just had his baby. His Baby.
 
Jenna: Yes, yes. And. And her answer is, eventually.
Exactly, he replies.
 
Steve: And as viewers first time through, we don't know the status of this baby. Right. Like, is she going home every night to this baby? Like, I guess that's where - what I would assume.
If you think about your first ride through, we - we just don't know at this point.
 
Jenna: And again, Pete is revealing some dissatisfaction with Trudy to Peggy here, and imagining some alignment with Peggy, even though he's missing very important information.
 
Steve: It's also,  I think, a contrast from last season where most of the Peggy / Pete scenes, there's a lot of friction and tension and they don't seem to have a way of working together.
 
This scene, I didn't get that vibe on the tension. I get the sense that, you know, it's been 15 months, they've worked through those things, they've moved on and they're now settling into a manner of working which maybe as we were lamenting Don and Duck arriving at some sort of understanding, you get the vibe here that Peggy and Pete have got to that place.
 
Jenna: Yes, good point. Especially since Pete did not even want her on the Clearasil account. And now here they are having this shorthand about sixth grade. Is that too young? Doesn't matter, doesn't.
 
And you can see that among all these people in the room,
they are having this productive work discussion. So it's interesting that they're able to get to that place.
 
Steve: The next scene is working on the Mohawk account, and we get to see the capriciousness of the creative director as the team comes back, presenting to him what he had directed them to work on in the previous session, which had gone rather badly.
 
And we can see that the winds have shifted and now the creative director’s moving the goal posts, which they had duly put down in the location specified.
 
And I think it's a brilliant scene showing just that natural tension and challenge of working with the creative mind that is going to zig and zag. You just have to be attuned to it, try and anticipate it as much as possible. And then I think, also just resign yourself to the fact that even if you completely followed the prior instructions and deliver exactly what had been requested, that might not be good enough in the subsequent meeting.
 
Jenna: It's very clear that he's a hard person to work for. So Don and Sal and Peggy are here, and Don has a valid writing point critique, though. Her idea was where are you going? Or come away with us. And he says, well, you have to underline “you.”
Otherwise people will be like, where are you going?
And it's like, okay, that's - that's valid. He's treating her like a professional. That's a useful thing.
 
But his dissatisfaction with the concept does start to get a little petulant.
He draws a box around the child by the plane, and Peggy immediately judges. And the fact that she feels safe to do that is interesting. She says, I think it's sentimental.
 
And Sal kind of interrupts to correct her from saying that because he wouldn't critique that back.
And she says confidently, sex sells. Which, given this office and the prior scene where he talked about a flight attendant short skirt, you would think is not off-base. But Don argues the point.
He says, you are the product.
You feeling something. That's what sells, not sex.
 
They can't do what we do, and they hate us for it. And the fact that he includes Peggy here is a really big deal. What we do, they hate us for it.
Paul just told Peggy she didn't count, and Don is counting her in.
That's amazing.
 
Steve: It's to Don's credit that he recognizes Peggy has that creative spark. I would guess he believes she has it to a greater extent than anyone else in the room, despite the fact that she's at the very beginning of her career and has a lot to work at.
 
I think that is an interesting insight, that Don does have a code. He does recognize the meritocracy around true creative talent. And he's not going to hold it down because she's the wrong gender or she's too young, because, again, he's not grouping her in with this new youth movement.
But in effect, she is part of the youth movement.
 
Jenna: Matthew Weiner, in his commentary, has a suggestion, too, that Don's frustration with this comment that she makes about sex sells is too simplistic, and that it reflects his impatience with Duck and his viewpoint.
 
So he says, you know, the people who say things like that think that monkeys can do this work, what we can do.
 
I think there's some relief when he looks at Peggy and sees her willing to stand on his side and approach the creative process and this business the way that he sees it, that is affirming for him.
 
Which is interesting because I look at that scene and I see it as being really affirming to her. So it's funny that she's also offering that back to him.
 
Steve: I think what Don is concluding about Peggy is that she's a fellow traveler, she is truly creative, and I think, in not so many words, he is going to mentor and guide her and leverage her talents as they go forward.
 
Jenna: And she looks at the artwork and gives it a go: Welcome back, Daddy.
Is that a question? he prompts her.
And she says, what did you bring me, Daddy? And she revises that. And then Don smiles, and they've landed on this idea with the shorthand together.
 
And he goes, you can put that in your book.
Again, they've got this professional language, and Sal is there. He's part of it, but he's excluded, right. In this scene, he doesn't count. He came in with artwork that he made, to your point, exactly what he was supposed to do.
 
And Don drew a crayon box around one part of it, and that's the part that he's going to keep. And Peggy went with it and rolled with it, and now Sal has to literally go back to his drawing board and do it. He wasn't part of this decision making at all.
 
Steve: Well, and also Don's tip of the cap to Peggy. You can put that in your book.
That solution was a collaboration that happened in the moment.
 
And there's Don Draper in that as much as there is Peggy Olson. But you can see he's valuing her and willing to give her that recognition and acknowledgement that she was central to what they just achieved there, you know, in his opinion.
 
And again, I think that really speaks to his professional respect for her creative talents and what she's bringing, and him looking to reinforce and reward that somebody else, you know, Pete would try and steal credit for it or say, I'll put that in my book.
 
But, you know, Don. Don flips it into her and says, you, you know, you can put that in your book.
 
Jenna: Well, if only he would keep that mentality going for future seasons. But I don't know that we're going to be able to pat him on the back for this too much longer. But so we'll take it.
 
Steve: I'm only representing episode one, season two, today.
 
Jenna: Understood. And just when things were going very well professionally, Peggy heads back to her office, where the copier is now located.
 
Steve: There's a crowd of people in there horsing around with it. They're photocopying faces. We know butts and other body parts are coming up next. It's very clear that Joan has spoken and gotten her revenge on Peggy crapping on Lois and the administrative staff, and maybe getting a little too big for her boots.
 
Jenna: So that's what Weiner says in the commentary. I have to say, before I heard him say that I didn't interpret it that way. I appreciate Peggy's irritation because this is such professional life, right?
Like, something like this always happens. She slams this file on her desk, and she just knows this is her life now. She's not going to go fight it.
 
It's just, okay, now I'm going to have to somehow write with all these people coming in and out of my office. So I didn't read it as a punishment from Joan. I read it as she's new. This is part of working your way up, is you have to deal with indignities and inconveniences like this.
 
And I thought, I really, actually liked that, because as much as you came from the office of your boss and got this really huge pat on the back, and then you come back and it's like, yes, but also, I have to put in my time and handle this.
 
So I was a little surprised that he saw that as Joan's revenge, because Joan has a real sense of pecking order. And I would think, given what Peggy actually said to Lois, I think that tracks pretty well with what Joan believes in, too. So I felt like that was a little inconsistent, but that's just me, I guess.
 
Steve: Yeah, I think I. I can see your point there.
I just think Joan has infinite options on where to stick this copier.
So when it ends up in there, in Peggy's office,
I interpreted it as Joan saying, I'm going to put Peggy in her place because I've just - she's basically taken away her office, you know, because now everybody can come trooping in there to get their copies.
 
Joan didn't give Peggy the office in the first place. You know, she was instructed to give Peggy an office, and now, in effect, she's taken away much of what makes an office special.
 
Jenna: I don't know if you've ever tried to get rid of a copier in your workplace so that it was farther away from your office. But, yeah, I feel Peggy there. I feel that.
 
 
In the next scene, we see Don on the elevator, and two younger men are gossiping. A lady enters the elevator, and their conversation is lewd. It's about some other girl.
 
And Don doesn't call them on that. What he says is to the young man,
take your hat off. And the guy looks at him like, is this any of his business? He says, is there a problem?
 
And Don takes the man's hat off his head and hands it to him and gestures for the lady to exit the elevator first. When they get to the right floor, he is clinging to the older fashions of manners and maybe a little extra salty about young people not managing themselves correctly because of Duck.
 
But it's certainly hypocritical for him to be so judgy about language used in front of a lady in the elevator when he's guilty of plenty of flaws himself.
 
Steve: Yeah, agreed. But I think, I think it is his own agenda and his own battle he's facing now with this tide of history that's about to sweep through his world.
 
I love the casting of the actress who plays the older woman who's embarrassed and put out by the talk of these younger guys.
Don Draper is significantly larger than either of them. So when he intrudes in their physical space in a closed elevator, clearly the reminder of potential violence in that moment, they've now got a choice.
 
They can accept what's just happened to them, or they can make a move again. Given Don's hardscrabble background, I have to imagine the look in his eye would convey that he's coming from a place where this won't be his first situation with somebody. They meekly silence themselves and tolerate what's just happened there. So I just love the way the scene plays out in terms of that power dynamic as Don serves them up a choice and they take the less painful choice.
 
Jenna: He's pretty intimidating when he wants to be.
 
 
Next, we see Don coming home where Carla is with Bobby, and she asks how his day was.
 
He pours himself a drink and asks if she wants a ride to the station. And she has this great shot where she eyes his drink and she says, no, it's a nice night out. And she wishes Bobby a good night. You can see that she has a nice relationship with Bobby. She likes him very much.
 
And she also has a really good read on Don and why it is a great idea not to ride in a car with him right now.
 
Steve: Yeah. And I guess the other piece that's sort of outlined here is given how rare it seemed Don would come home in the evening in season one. Here he is dutifully arriving home and dismissing the maid, even while Betty's not yet back at home.
 
Jenna: And so where is Betty? She's on the side of the road. Her car has broken down. She sent somebody to get a tow truck. And we have a “That's true” call-out here:
Betty says, I just know when smoke starts to come out, I have to stop. And the tow truck driver agrees. That's true.
 
And the fan belt will be $9, but she only has three.
I know when I first saw this scene, I really found it strange. I was just trying to figure out what is this scene doing here? And I think, you know, I was worried for her safety when I saw the scene.
 
And I think this is unusual to Mad Men. They give us a scene where they set something up, it doesn't go anywhere, and we're left wondering what it means for the character. What did you think about this?
 
Steve: Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the scene. I'm such a fan of the writing. But I have to say, it feels a little contrived trying to spark a sense of sexual tension and fear, you know, sort of on an isolated road where out. Out in the affluent burbs with the tow truck guy.
 
And even the negotiating there in terms of, you know, oh, will you do it for $3? And et cetera. I just didn't buy it as a viewer so much. So listening to Weiner's comments, he said it's, you know, about how Betty's trading her beauty for services and how she's playing with fire, playing a game here.
 
Okay, I can accept, you know, the writer's vision for this scene, but I didn't feel I got anything new about Betty here. And it didn't move the character forward for me in any way.
 
Jenna: Unlike the air conditioning guy last season, this interaction is different. The AC salesman was just selling air conditioners, and this guy's attitude is a little more menacing.
 
I think this amplifies Weiner's intention to have Betty be a little bit childish or naive that she's engaging in this fantasy, simply to gratify her own vanity that she can make this happen so comparatively.
Her college roommate is out collecting furs and jewels from various men.
 
Betty's husband wasn't into her on Valentine's Day, so it's like, I want to validate my game. I'm still young enough, men still want me. But I agree. I didn't especially enjoy it, and I didn't think it brought anything super new - super new to her character, that is.
 
 
When Betty gets home, she lies to Don about why she's late. And her secrets aren't as nefarious as Don's, but she's keeping secrets some.
And they sit on the couch, and they watch Sally demonstrate what she learned in ballet that night. Again, they're a picture of what a family is supposed to look like.
 
Steve: I like that when Sally comes in the door, she gives the dog a hug, not her father. And that struck me as being very true to real life. You know, the dog gets the hug.
 
Jenna: And in the last scene, Don is reading Meditations in an Emergency with the sentence,
“Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again and interesting and modern,”
which definitely echoes a lot of the identity and moving forward issues that Don Draper has.
 
Don walks the dog to the mailbox and mails the book to someone with a note that says, this made me think of you, but we can't see who he's sending it to.
Did you have an idea about who the recipient was when you saw it the first time?
 
Steve: I honestly can't remember who he mailed it to, so I'm still in the dark.
 
Jenna: Okay, well, who is your prediction?
 
Steve: How about to the Don Draper's wife, Real wife out in Cali.
 
Jenna: Okay, interesting prediction. When I first saw it, I predicted it was Rachel. I thought he was trying to get in touch with her. He had had some honest conversations with her, so I thought that's the most likely person.
 
Steve: I like your logic there. My problem with it is when this woman who you've opened up to condemns you as a coward. I just wonder how anybody with any self respect could then go back and say, well, yeah, you know, maybe we can rekindle things.
 
Jenna: You're not wrong. But we haven't seen them for 15 months, so we don't know if there's something missing that, you know, there's some details, things have come around we didn't know at this point.
 
Steve: Yeah, but I guess what I'm saying is if Rachel had called him a coward in the heat of an argument where it's hyperbole and, you know, you're just saying mean things, that would be one thing.
 
When she calls him a coward, it feels like a very rational, well-considered conclusion based on the fact pattern presented. And to me, you know, I could take a million insults in the former style, but one of those ones in the latter style, it's just okay, like, draw a line under that conclusion. Case closed.
 
Jenna: The quote from the book ends, “perhaps I am myself again.” This show is always reflecting about who is Don Draper.
 
Steve: In the commentary at the end of the episode, Weiner emphasizes that a lot of this season is going to be about this sense of self of who am I and what does that mean and what am I doing? So I think episode one really fits into that theme.
 
Jenna: Our closing song is Rimsky-Korsakov's Song of India.
 
We'd like to give a special shout out to Aluciano from Argentina. We are so appreciative of your positive podcast review on Spotify, and we want to thank you for listening.
 
Steve: That's it for this episode of all things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou. Visit our website, Mad Men C to Z  dot com to vote for your favorite Sterling lines, and to share your opinions on our Double Dip questions for each episode.
 
Jenna: You can find us on Instagram and YouTube at Mad Men C to Z. And please listen, like, and subscribe. That's what the podcast's for!
 
Steve: Thanks for listening, everybody.