Mad Men: The Gold Violin - VIDEO

Regarding Jane's gambit with Roger - seems to me that Roger didn't come through at all with his promise. He told her to come on in Monday morning, everything will be taken care of. Obviously it wasn't, and Jane had to think on her feet and play the Roger card herself. So now Jane might have a little interpersonal leverage with Roger.

I think the littering was symbolic
Don wants to keep his car/home/family clean and perfect
And does not care about trashing anything that lies outside
..Jimmy's wife
"You'r garbage and you know it" :)

About the littering, in 1964 when LBJ was re-elected president, Lady Bird Johnson started a big campaign to clean up America. It was her "just say no" public service initiative. There were PSAs and a jingle that went, "Please, please, don't be a litter bug, 'cause every little bit hurts." Could Sterling-Cooper eventually be the company to head up that campaign!!

Another link to Billy Wilder's movie "The Apartment," the Cadillac salesman was named Kirkeby, same name as David Lewis' character.

I thought this was a great episode. I loved the hint of Don's transition from Dick to Don, the blonde knew he wasn't really Donald Draper. How did Don deal with her? If he was Tony Soprano, I'd say he killed her. But Dick/Don's not a killer....is he?

The final scene with Betty throwing up in the car was amazing, especially compared to the previous scene in the car a few episodes back when Betty was crying in happiness after the dinner at Lutece, thinking that she and Don were a team. Her puking was the antithesis of tears of joy -- she was violently sick at the fraud of their marriage.

Sal keeping the lighter was like a trophy, a momento of his love for Ken. Note that in the last scene, the lighter was in his breast pocket, near his heart.

My random thoughts:

- I'll be honest: I was admiring Jane's ass when she stood up when Don arrived (early in the episode). But then I noticed her panty lines, which indicated that she was wearing some SERIOUS "granny panties". Was that intentional? I know that Joan's bras were modeled on an early 60s era bra which was carefully taken apart and used as a pattern... but Jane's underwear was HUGE! I don't even know where you can buy panties that big any more. Does the costume department of Mad Men have it down pat so well that they even pay attention to panty lines? If so... wow!

- Like most folks, I wonder if Kitty crying because Sal was being a jerk to her, or if she was crying because she suspects that her husband is gay.

- For some reason Sal keeping Ken's lighter squicked me out. I don't know why. I certainly remember keeping similar "mementos" from girls I had crushes on when I was a teenager. Is it because I outgrew such a thing when I was 17? Or is it just because it's Sal?

- I liked the brief shot of Sal in the foreground, lovingly looking at Ken's lighter whilst lighting a cigarette, while in the background Kitty does needlepoint and her mom watches TV. This show can say so much without even a word of dialogue.

- What does Cooper see in Don? And why does he take Don under his wing so much? I mean, it's not that Don's incompetent... far from it, in fact. But in the scene with Don and Cooper, we get the feeling that Cooper has brought Don up from the gutter or something. And he didn't seem especially surprised in season 1 when Pete came to him with the news that Don is really Dick Wittman. Does Don have some dirt on Cooper? Did Cooper "take Don in" on some kind of Trading Places style bet? What's up with those two?

- And lastly... there was the flashback. It was tantalizing. I wanna know what that was all about. Does Don have EVEN DARKER secrets in his past? It's never been mentioned how Don was able to "disappear" upon his return to the US without any of the real Don Draper's family, friends or schoolmates tracking him down. Was this girl a friend or family member of the real Don Draper? How did Don deal with her? He obviously didn't yet have the money to buy her off... so (sotto voce) did he kill her? (/sotto voce) And how did Don go from (apparently) owning a used car lot to become the head of creative at a powerful New York law firm? If I remember correctly, he have no idea when Don left Korea, but the conflict ended on July 27, 1953. Even if Don left in the early days of the war, he had to have done something amazing to go from used car salesman to partner in an advertising agency in less than 10 years.

Dammit! This is driving me insane! This teasing, this hinting at all the things that have happened in Don's past. I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! And why can't this show go on forever?

I am glad they created a nice foil for Joan in Jane (that does sound stupid). This is a perfect opportunity for Roger because he can get back at Joan and get with the young, extremely attractive Jane. I like the element Jane adds to the office so far.

Its hard to tell if Ken is as naive as he seems, and I found the majority of the scenes with him, Sal, and Sal's wife to be extremely awkward.

Betty puking in Don's new car was really the least of what he deserved. I found the littering scene to be hilarious, though.

As far as the littering is concerned, it goes back to the 50s. I was in grammar school in the late 50s, and clearly recall a class project/contest in which we were asked to make posters relating to a national "do not litter" campaign. So it goes back a lot further than people think --

Great episode. Jane is in way over her head -- Joan is not someone to mess with, and Roger will most likely get an earful from Joan about it...which won't stop him from getting his "payback" from Jane!

Looking forward to the next episode.

This show is so great.

The Smith & Smith storyline, with the Sterling & Cooper upper brass simultaneously uncomfortable with and interested in them and their personalities and ideas, reminds me of the dynamic between the Gen Y'ers and older generations in the workforce today. It's so similar. This show really integrates some very relevant topics into its episodes.

My son (15) laughed his butt off when they shook the trash off the picnic blanket and left. He asked me if they really did that (now I wasn't born yet) and I said they probably did. I told him about the lovely habit of dumping one's car ashtray wherever people wanted. Weird because now a days you have to purchase the smoking package instead of the lighter and ashtray coming standard.
My son is officially hooked on the show after the trash scene. He was intrigued by the stark differences between what the show portrayed and what things are like now.

*I wanted italian food after watching last night!

*Jimmy is hilarious, and bravo to him for talking to betty about his wife and Don. she knew about him cheating, i think she just thought it was the one time, or wanted to believe that.

*I love Sal, and I am happy they are finally getting to showing him more, how hard it must have been to "keep up appearances" back then.

*I dont like Jane, what a manipulative crybaby, she thought by going to roger to turn on the waterworks was all in her control, but she just turned it over to him. Expect him to show up at her door in the village soon, she owes him bigtime now.

I can't really formulate my opinions on the show yet, but have two points:

The crying Indian wasn't on TV talking about the perils of littering until I was a kid, and that was in the 70s. I'd assume mid-70s, as I would have been 10. Or maybe he made a bigger impression and I was younger. Point is, I think it really wasn't a big deal. Matter of fact, I can remember even as a teen (ssshhhh) tossing a cup out the window and it being no big deal...then I can remember a distinct point that someone did it and I cringed. All of a sudden it was the wrong thing to do. So, 1962 must have been litter friendly.

I CANNOT BELIEVE KITTY (Sal's wife) IS HANNAH FROM EVERWOOD!!! Holy moly. Talk about a complete character change. I really liked their home and the insight into his life. Poor Ken doesn't know what's coming.