John, I think you're dead-on about the symbolism in Mad Men: Sometimes it's deft and thought-provoking, and sometimes it reminds me of reading East of Eden the summer before ninth grade and feeling really pleased with myself when I figured out that all the evil characters' names started with C and the good ones with A. (Like Cain and Abel—get it?) And Patrick, thanks for explaining what made the episode's temporal gimmicks feel so cheap.
Before we wrap up for the week, though, I want to highlight a few intriguing observations from our ever-vigilant readers in "the Fray."
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StumbleUponFirst: Readers who lived through the '60s have been debating whether it's plausible that young hitchhikers would really be worried about Vietnam in 1963, with strong arguments on both sides. Click here for an interesting thread on the subject; the general conclusion is that your awareness (and fear) of the war during that summer would have depended a lot on your family background and where you lived.
Second: Click here for an interesting thread on why Peggy really slept with Duck. Poster desiree is particularly astute, arguing that Duck's line about not noticing her in the past could be taken as a compliment on how far she's come: "She could have interpreted this to mean that she was unnoticeable before she had the cojones to ask for an office, get a haircut and move to Manhattan." Poster itochka also had an interesting theory on why Peggy wore the same outfit to work the next day: "she WANTED people to notice that she hadn't been home."
Finally, poster vyreque pointed out something intriguing about Conrad Hilton's background:
Conrad Hilton was, in real life, a Norwegian Catholic. … A few episodes ago, Peggy's being both Norwegian and a Catholic was brought up with her mother and with the roommate. This was [met with] much disbelief in the general blogosphere, for many reasons—it's unusual, the Olsons' Brooklyn neighborhood was Norwegian Lutheran / Irish Catholic and not the other way around, etc. It seems a little odd to write her this way if her family is otherwise portrayed as fairly typical Brooklyn. So I wonder if this will come up later somehow? … Americans of Norwegian Catholic descent aren't exactly common, and now we have two.
This is a sharp observation. Peggy mentions several times during this episode that her mother had given her Conrad Hilton's book (called Be My Guest, and for a long time found in Hilton hotel rooms around the globe). Perhaps Don will find a reason to put Peggy on the Hilton account after all.
Until next week,
Julia
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Series creator Matthew Weiner has stated he leaves nothing for future seasons and puts everything out there each season, like its the last, and this episode could almost double as a series finale. I think when Mad Men eventually ends its run, there will be discussion whether this episode was the proper series finale and should have called it quits right here, or will Weiner have new and interesting places to take us in season 4?
-- guyroy
(To reply, click here)
"And the way that they saw themselves is gone." Julia, I think this pretty clearly refers to Peggy having her child and giving it away. Until Peggy told Pete about the baby, Don was only person on the show outside of her family and priest that knew her secret. Don was the one that visited Peggy in the hospital after she gave birth and had been out of work for a while.
-- BumblebeeMan
(To reply, click here)
Who's in charge, Betty or Henry? Something that surprised me was the amount of involvement Henry had in Betty's divorce advice. Does it ring true for the period that Henry went to the lawyer with Betty and apparently also knew the lawyer and may have selected the lawyer for Betty? And, when Betty told Don that she would be consulting with a divorce attorney and Don should too, was she simply parroting Henry's words?
Certainly since Henry's divorced he knows the routine and I can understand him giving Betty the benefit of his experience. Last episode Henry was willing to give Betty the time she needed and he would wait. Now, things are fast-tracked to Reno. I'm sure that it's been hard for Betty to continue to live in the same house with Don who continues to deny Betty's feelings. But, seeing Betty sitting in the lawyer's office on the sofa with Henry, reminded me of Betty sitting on the sofa with Glen last season. Then, when Don confronts Betty about Henry, they seem to be having their first real fight.
Anyway, I wonder if Betty/Henry are the 'lasting love' mentioned in the Roy Orbison song at the end.
-- lkd711
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I think season 4 will include a serious health issue for Don-perhaps lung cancer. Note the cough at the beginning of the last episode. Also the brief scene when Sterling's dog food heiress old flame states that her first husband died of lung cancer, there is a brief cut to Don lighting up another. Thoughts while I write an order for Don to get a screening cat scan.
-- ldbmd
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