http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/mad_men/the_benefactor.php#more
The word that came to my mind while watching this episode of Mad Men was fragmented. I think it could apply to the episode itself, which was the weakest of this season so far, but it can also apply to the characters minds and lives. We see another side of both Don and Betty this week. They both seem unsatisfied and uncomfortable in their own skins, reaching outward to figure out what it is that is going on inside.
After being a bit harsh for the first couple of episodes, Betty seems a little softer this week. Though when she asks Don, "Is this kind of dinner where I don't talk, or the kind where I talk?", she betrayed a bit of that edge in her voice. But after she charmed Jimmy at dinner, her tears in the car seemed to be about both what she said they were- happy tears at the way she and her husband worked together- as well as an unspoken acknowledgment that what her admirer sees inside her is true...she is profoundly sad.
That scene in the stables by the way was awkward and hard to watch for me. Arthur telling Betty he could see the sadness in her seemed a bit too obvious, but it may be that his character is a bit lame, not that the scene was. I am still not sure if it was purposeful, but that was definitely one of the most stiff, mannered scenes I have seen on this show.
There was also a change in Don in the first two episodes of the season, and though he is not back to his old stone self just yet, we did see him sliding into some old habits. He is called upon to fix it when the talent, Jimmy Barrett (based on Jerry Lewis or Don Rickles perhaps?) offends the clients he is working for. He ends up sleeping with talent's wife/manager, and after his conquest, he seems more potent in every way. Jon Hamm did a great job in the scene where he comes home after his encounter with Bobbi Barrett, washing his hands and mouth before he can even look at Betty. Also, he really conveyed such guilt when she gave him his watch that she had monogrammed for him.
At a dinner arranged to coax an apology out of Jimmy, Don shows who's boss when h
e grabs Bobbi by the hair, sticks his hand up her skirt, and with what can only be called sexy menace, hisses to her make her husband say sorry or "I'll ruin him". He means it, and she knows it. It is an interesting little turn for Don, who seems to have tired of being Betty's good little husband and Roger's clean-up man already.Don and Betty seem to be circling around each other, trying to figure out how to bring back something they have lost. Both of them are trying on different personas, and seem to be struggling with how to make one another happy, but even more so, how to find happiness for themselves.
The other story lines seem to be set-ups for something in the future-Harry takes a risk and becomes "Head of Television", Lois gets fired and Joan takes her place temporarily, Betty rebuffs the advances of Arthur, but her hand shaking returns. No Peggy or Pete this week, but the previews promise to remedy that. This episode was certainly still more compelling than 90% of what is on TV, but it just didn't feel as together to me as most hours of Mad Men do. Hopefully the magic will be back next week!
One more thought:
The controversy over the The Defender's episode portrayed here was real, like the crash of AA Flight 1 last week. An advertiser did end up sponsoring the abortion themed show at the last minute, and it turned out positively for all involved. I love the period details of the show and how they use these smaller moments in history to illuminate the characters and the times.
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