Mad Men Retro-Perspective S1:E2

Welcome back to Mad Men Retro-Perspective! Each week, I view an episode of Mad Men from a past season, provide some Notes on the context and themes, ask a bunch of annoying Questions, and then post a collection of fun things I noticed in the episode and ask Did You Catch That?. 

If you've seen all of the released episodes of Mad Men, you are welcome to follow along, using this as your guide to your re-watch. If you haven't seen all of Mad Men, get the hell out of here, there are spoilers everywhere!

Just FYI, I've begun with Season 1, but beginning later this month, I will be delving into Season 6 to sync up with Mad Men Replay. I will likely post my viewing guide a few days before their scheduled re-watch to give you some fodder as you follow along with their live tweet. Be sure to check out their calendar to stay abreast of the episode dates!

S1:E2 Ladies Room

During my re-watch, I realized this is one of my favorite episodes of Season 1, mainly because, as implied in its name, it's all about the ladies. Don spends the entire episode asking himself and all of the men in his life, "What do women want?", and unsurprisingly, ends up deducing that women just want "any excuse to get closer". If he had thought a little harder, maybe he would have come up with something other than this trite idea that all women depend on male attention. Maybe he should have asked an actual woman, since there are no shortage great female characters on this show. 

We were already introduced to Joan and Peggy in Episode 1, as well as his current mistress Midge and his future mistress Rachel, but what of Betty, arguably one of the most controversial characters on the show and a major source of conflict in Don's life? We meet Betty at the end of Episode one, waking from a peaceful slumber to welcome home her husband, the conquering hero, and watching over him as he says goodnight to their children. This episode is largely about defining who Betty is and identifying what will become the ongoing issue in her life over the course of the series: her dissatisfaction with the life she leads and the inability to fix it. Who better to juxtapose this character with in this episode than Peggy, who, unlike Betty, repeatedly strives to overcome her dissatisfaction through her own ambition. 

Additionally, the stories of both Betty and Peggy are told through the same lens: male attention. Betty, alone in the suburbs, is starving for Don's presence and participation in her life, and as a result has nervous hand tremors that cause her to crash her car. Peggy, on the other hand, suffers from what she considers too much male attention in the office, and (uncharacteristically) allows it to affect the quality of her work.

Interestingly, the synopsis for this episode makes no mention of Betty other than as a "complication" in Don's life. 

1. What did you think of Roger and Mona's marriage when you first watched this episode? Does it seem different to you now that you've seen him married to someone else?
2. What do you think of Mona herself? How do you interpret her silent reaction to Betty telling her that her mother just died? Is the woman in this episode the same as the one we see in Season 3 when Roger has remarried and Margaret is planning her wedding?
3. What do you think of Roger's statement that he can't wait until his daughter is another man's problem now that Margaret is married and they are often at odds? Do you think he feels the same way?
4. What were your initial impressions of Betty when you first watched this scene? Do you think she is meant to be portrayed as a sympathetic character? Is she sympathetic at this point? When does she, if ever, become unsympathetic in your eyes?
5. Betty says that she "knows better than to ask" about Don and his childhood and/or past. How do you think this played out early in their marriage? Do you think it was stupid of Betty to not get to know Don before she married him?
6. Betty later says she always thought Don was a football star who hated his father. What was your picture of Don's childhood when you first watched the series? Did Don seem to fit into the life he created for himself, or did he seem, as he does to Rachel, to know what it's like to be on the outside of something?
7. When Don mentions Betty to Midge, she says it makes her feel "cruel". Do you think Don feels any guilt over his affair with Midge?
8. Who do you think gave Midge her television?
9. Why do you think Don resists Betty's suggestion that she tries visiting a psychiatrist so vehemently? Do you think he is threatened by the idea? For Betty or himself?
10. What do you think of Don asking Betty is she is happy with her life? Do you think her is bullying her, or is he truly befuddled? Do you think Don's perception of happiness is affected by his line of work? How might that apply to Betty's situation?
11. What do you make of Paul Kinsey's attempt to seduce Peggy? Do you think he really ever liked her at all or was he acting in response to the wager Ken and Dale mention at lunch?
12. Why do you think Paul told Peggy about female copywriters? Do you think he was acting sincerely? Knowing Paul, do you think he'd ever do this if he could imagine she would later trump him creatively when they work side by side?
13. Why do you think Don chose to give Betty the watch?
14. Were you surprised that Betty then started talking about the "what ifs" regarding her accident? Did you feel that she was being genuine? Knowing how she is later in the series, do you think she was being manipulative, or is this Season 1 Betty too naïve for that behavior? When does she stop being that way?
15. Where do you think Midge "spent the night abroad"? Why do you think the writers made her lose her key at all? Was it necessary? Does it serve another purpose in the grand scheme of her character?
16. Do you think it's coincidental that Don comes up with the line for Right Guard when he's with Midge? What do you think this says about their relationship verses Don's marriage?
17. How do you feel about Joan's advice to Peggy? What other occasions has Peggy taken Joan's advice and put it into practice? How has it worked out for her?
18. What do you think Betty was expecting when she went to see the psychiatrist? Does Betty's session live up to her expectations? She mentions to Henry later on that she once saw a psychiatrist. What do you think she took away from the experience?
19. Betty says to her psychiatrist that her mother taught her it's not polite to talk about oneself. Don says something very similar to this while they are at dinner with Roger and Mona. Is she being sincere, or do you think she is just echoing Don's excuse for not opening up?
20. What do you think of the psychiatrist's characterization of Betty as "a very anxious young woman"? Is it accurate? How do you think that same doctor would characterize her by the end of Season 6?
    

• Don's kids are watching the same show Midge mentioned to him before throwing her TV set out the window, People Are Funny.
• In the first episode, the Drapers' famous teal velvet headboard his missing. This episode marks its debut!
• Speaking of the Draper bed, did you notice after they (presumably) have sex, Don ends up on Betty's usual side of the bed while she is wondering who her husband is?
• Roger drinks whiskey while he's in Don's office, but is normally a vodka drinker. Roger also, despite how "comfortable" he claims he is with his mind, is one of the only characters who later ends up in a psychiatrist's office.
• Both Peggy and Midge remark on the scent of the men around them, while Don is asking himself what women want and fishing around for the Right Guard deodorant slogan.
• The ladies room is an ongoing theme in this episode. Betty shares some personal time with Mona in the restaurant, Peggy and Joan find Bridget crying in the office, and Peggy later returns there to attempt to cry, presumably over Pete, only to find no tears. Peggy finds herself in the ladies room twice once again in S4:E7, the Suitcase. The first time, she shares awkward conversation with Megan and Trudy, and later returns to cry over Don's harsh criticism of her ambition.