Well, "Field Trip" certainly didn't end the way it began. Or did it?
This week's episode of Mad Men taught us something about how quickly life can just be pulled out from under you and rearranged entirely against your plans for it. Do you think Don envisioned returning to SC&P with the reduced role that he took at the end? Do you think he envisioned his marriage ending on Megan's terms rather than his own? Do you think Betty saw herself clinging to her youngest child, desperate for them never to grow up and grow apart from her? And do you really think Peggy saw herself so miserable and still so consumed by the man who gave her a chance and held her back at the same time?
Probably not.
But that's the beauty of this show. This cast of characters is so diverse and so different, yet one thing connects all of them. They're all lost. Not a single character on this show has the ability to think two even one step ahead. They are all so stuck in the moment, and not in a pleasant, Bob Marley kind of way. No one is living for the moment, they are all stuck in the moment, and I think there is a huge difference. By all means, this show seems like it is set in 1969, 1970 at the latest. The 70's by large were a time of carefree, living for the moment lifestyles. Who on this show will be ready for that? And by ready for that, I mean actually ready to take advantage and thrive in that type of mentality and culture? Sure, everyone on this show has the ability to make decisions in the moment, but 99% of the time, they end in heartbreak, disaster or some other negative term. Not a single person on Mad Men will be ready to live in the moment and actually be successful. Except for maybe Roger, although it will be entirely on his own terms, as we saw heavily in this week's episode.
Let's start with Betty, as she finally appears on the show. I was starting to wonder if the show would just kill her off and never mention anything about it. But, as usual, I couldn't be any farther off. Betty decides to actually take an interest in her son, Bobby's, life by volunteering to go on a field trip to a farm with him. He seems so excited, and I can't help but feel bad for him. He's so enthusiastic and dorky at the same time, yet his parents are so flawed, maniacal and dishonest. Poor Bobby, he should have stuck to Duck's advice and went after baseball. Anyway, Betty and Bobby bond on the bus trip about superheroes and breasts that are out in the open. Betty and Bobby actually seem to have a pretty good time on the field trip, until it is time for lunch. Before we get to that, though, I need to point out the milking the cow scene. Some farmer milks a cow and offers it up to the parents and kids to try, and Betty (of all people) wants a taste. Is it to rinse the taste of cigarette from her mouth or to impress her son? I can never tell with Bets, she is as distant to my understanding as Arabic mathematic terms. Except at least I know Arabic mathematic terms are probably consistent. In classic Betty form, she does a 360 at lunch. Bobby sets up a blanket for them to eat on, and when another kid wants to sit there while Betty is away, Bobby says he is saving this spot for his mom. Cute, right? Well when Betty returns to find that Bobby has traded her sandwich to a girl who didn't have anything to eat in exchange for her gumdrops, she is livid. She doesn't understand why her son wouldn't care about what she gets to eat. The entire day turns sour, which comes full front at the end when Betty is putting Gene to sleep back home and Henry asks what happened. Betty asks if she is a good mother, to which Henry has to be lying when he says yes. How long can Betty full herself into thinking that her children can love her when she can't even love herself, not to mention the minimal effort she puts into their lives? Betty has been broken this entire series, but I have to imagine a breaking point is coming soon. And who knows what that will look like.
As for Don, he finally spills the beans to Megan that he got "fired" and has been at home all this time, but that he hasn't been cheating on her. He's just been lying about his job instead of coming to live with the wife that he definitely misses. Sounds about right, right? Well, Megan isn't just mad, she all but divorces him right there. This was inevitable, I think we all know this marriage wasn't going to be one to ride off into the sunset. But I didn't think it would end this way. My fiancé imagined Megan cheating on him, which would have been an interesting full circle. I thought Don would screw up again, but I didn't think that Megan would just end it because he wasn't loving her the way she wanted. I didn't think Megan could actually feel. It seems that she just wants him to drop his life and miss her and come to live with her, the way she was willing to quit her job and move out to California with him (albeit for an acting opportunity, but thats not the point). I never liked Megan and I'm happy to see their marriage end, which sounds dark, but I think its best for both of them. But if they are done, I can't help but wonder if we will ever see Megan again. Where would she fit in without Don?
Don realizes that he needs to get his job back or a job. We see him what appears to be some kind of an interview when a girl who looks eerily similar to Anna Draper's niece approaches him at the table. She asks Don if she remembers him, and he stares at the woman as though he is all kinds of intrigued and confused at the same time. She is his type. Blonde, mysterious and easy. Yet, Don doesn't play into it and he turns down the offer to come back to her room. Who is this Don? Celibate Don makes me more uncomfortable than promiscuous Don did. Nevertheless, Don gets a notice that he has been fired and tracks down Sterling to confront him about this. Sterling is, of course, having "company" over in his hotel room and really, who knows what drug is on the agenda for them tonight. But first, he has to reassure Draper that he can come back and that he wasn't fired. He tells Don that he can come into the office on Monday morning.
Don seems to have some confidence back at first when he walks through the halls of his old stomping grounds. I love when he ran into Lou, who I have decided is really just a complete asshole. In the beginning when he asks what has Peggy's pantyhose in a loop, I can't help but feel bad for everyone around him. I wonder what Lou did to make the company want to hire him. Think he slept with Jaguar, too?
Don's a little bit lost when he realizes that Sterling hasn't come in yet, which I think Don should have accepted. When did Roger ever show up on time? He was probably just getting to bed at 9 in the morning. Don waits in the creative room with Ginsberg and the new guy whose name I don't even remember. I just remember him asking Don "what he's been up to", which is golden. Don replies with "some R&R", which was more of a response than the old Don would have given some scrub at the bottom. Roger finally arrives and Don is furious that he let him show up without anyone else knowing about this. Sterling erupts right back, yelling that he is the President of this company and that he can do whatever he wants. The partners meet with the exception of Draper, Campbell and Ted. No one seems open to having Don back except for Roger, who actually fights hard for him. He mentions that they will have to buy him out of his partnership and that financially, they won't recover from that until 1973. When they call Don into the conference room, I was a little worried that they would have decided to just buy him out, but Cooper drops the news that he can come back...with stipulations. He can never be alone with a client. He has to go off of a pre-approved script (approved by the partners) before each client meeting. He can't drink in the office. He will have Lane's old office (does anyone miss Lane like I do? Does his wife miss Lane like I do?), and perhaps, worst of all, he will report to Lou. Lou.
There's no way Don would take this, right? Why would Don subject himself to all of these stipulations? He practically built this company, he is a creative genius! He's Don freaking Draper! He doesn't do demotions and he doesn't play by the rules. But that was the old Don Draper, whose confidence filled a room right as he walked in. That was the old Don Draper, who while his life was crumbling around him, was always the king of that office. But not anymore. The office eventually caught up to his mess of a life, and when it had the chance, it kicked him to the side and moved on without him. Now, in making a pit stop to pick Don back up, he needs to change himself to get back on for the ride. And I really think Don wants to change his life. He wants to right the ship with Megan and with Sally. He doesn't want to find console at the bottom of a bottle. He doesn't want to have sex with every woman on God's green earth. And most of all, he wants to be honest. And to change all of this, he needs his job back. And that's why he said yes to Cooper's stipulations.
So yeah, "Field Trip" ended the way it began. Don was at the bottom, and he still is. But at the same time, he's not. You dig? Don is at the bottom of the company, but he is on the path to getting his life back. He realizes he has no other choice than taking the back seat in this company now. Now, I haven't even gotten to mention the drama with Peggy's unwillingness to welcome him back (Does she feel threatened by having him back? Really, as Copy Chief, she seems to be gunning for his job but she can't possibly enjoy having Lou over Don, right?) or the problems that Crane is having with the changing advertising around him (he wants to be recognized, but he isn't willing to do anything to get it. And when he gets it from Cutler, he was a phony all along. I hate Crane). There's so much in each 64 minute session of Mad Men, which is one of the beautiful things about this show. And again, the 70's are calling for these flawed, lost souls on Madison Avenue. I just can't wait to find out how the handle them.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment