I Didn't Think, I Didn't Think of You, I Guess That's All There Is: Mad Men, Season 2 Episodes 10 and 11, The Inheritence and The Jet Set

I will be back to my once a week posting for Mad Men for the last two episodes of the season, but since these past two weeks were a bit crazy for me, we are going to have to do two at a time!

"The Jet Set" and "The Inheritance" are linked in many ways, and one is that they both have odd structures, different from any other Mad Men episodes we have seen, this season or last. In "The Inheritance, we spend most of our time out of the office and in the homes and heads of two characters that can not often be described as "likable", Betty and Pete. The scenes with Betty's father were heartbreaking, especially since we know that Betty's home-life is falling apart. I have to admit though, even with everything Don has done to her, I still kind of felt for him when she kicked him out again. "Stop it Don, nobody's looking!" was pretty harsh. I thought he really was trying to comfort her, and of course he thought that the late night romp meant things were going to go back to normal.

The scenes with Betty and Pete's families remind us why they are who they are. Just as learning about Don's abusive past helps us understand his pathologies, seeing Pete with his horrible mother, and Betty forced to play the role of perfect daughter (and wife!) while getting her only actual love and comfort from the maid let us see why they act out in the ways they do. We have been told more than once that Betty has the emotional maturity of a child, and it seems that she was set to prove it after the nightmare at her father's. Sitting with Glenn, drinking her Coke out of a straw, she looks like a happy little girl. But Betty defies the audience, her psychiatrist and most notably Don's expectations by eventually realizing the inappropriateness of the situation. She even has an adult conversation about divorce with Glenn's mother! I do wonder if the fear of being "in charge" is the thing that is going to convince Betty to take Don back. I do believe that she will, as the I don't think her character could continue on the show without Don and I don't think January Jones will be leaving.

I think Pete was a bit more likable in both of these episodes. He was pretty funny all on his own in "The Jet Set" getting clients to meet him by the pool, laughably hitting on pretty ladies, using his mothers name to try to impress people, etc. In "The Inheritance", I think it was pretty interesting that he was intrigued by bringing in new blood, since he seems to know that he and his brother aren't exactly ideal men. "Look how we turned out..." His scenes with his wife are always so sad. Poor Trudy.

After spending all that time with Betty and Pete, with Don on the sidelines, we get plenty of Don Draper in "The Jet Set". Or do we? In "The Inheritance", he is in full Don mode, cool, calm demeanor, unflappable even in the face of rejection. But in "The Jet Set" he much less the Don who is master of all he surveys. Away from eyes that know him, he is slipping further back into Dick Whitman, hobo wanderer. He even calls a mystery person and gives his name as Dick Whitman! Their really are two different people inside him at this point. Don Draper stands by his wife through her grief. Dick Whitman runs away to California when things don't go his way. Don Draper knows what to say in every situation. Dick Whitman is easily flustered in the presence of people he doesn't get. Don is how he wants the world to see him, but Dick is still the guy who pissed his pants after battle, causing the death of the real Don Draper. Hearing Don say his real name without hesitation is an incredible moment, considering he basically drove his brother to kill himself to continue the denial of who he really was. It was the moment of the episode, and it left me hungry with anticipation to see who it was he called, and who is going to see.


Other interesting threads in these two episodes include:

-Roger and Jane getting married. This is one mother of a mid-life crisis Roger is going through! I have a feeling it will be expensive in many ways for him.

-Paul registering voters in the South. It's incredible how far Paul will go to maintain his bohemian persona. He clearly was not comfortable on that bus. Let's hope he makes it home safe and maybe a little changed.

-Duck! Back to drinking and making a power play! Don might really regret being out of town when all this went down.

-The scene where Kurt came out was hilarious and heartbreaking all at once. Bryan Batt did such a great job as Salvatore, silently letting us know what he was going through.

-Oh, show, really, a gay guy who's good at hairstyling? I expected more from you. (Peggy does look better though)


Next week:
Who is Don/Dick meeting? That's honestly all I can even think about!