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Mad Men: The Inheritance
by Allison Waldman, posted Oct 6th 2008 9:29AM
(S02E10) This seemed an oddly structured episode, with the emphasis more on Betty than Don, with a splash of Pete and Kinsey thrown in. The idea that life was simpler in the old days, should anyone still think that adage applies, is disproved with every hour of Mad Men that unfolds.For Betty, the impending death of her father has shaken her to the core. A series of strokes has led to dementia and when Don accompanies Betty to visit him in her childhood home, she has to come to grips with not only the fact that he's slipping away, but also be reminded that nearly every vestige of her mother has also gone.
Betty's crying in the arms of Viola, the family housekeeper who probably raised her -- like Carla is raising Bobby and Sally -- was poignant, especially when Betty described herself as an orphan.
That orphan status explains, in part, her connection to 10-year-old Glen Bishop. This time around, Glen wants more than a lock of Betty's hair. He takes her hand at one point and says he wants to rescue her.
Glen looks more and more like a miniature Don, an idea underscored when he puts on Don's tee-shirt, sits with Betty and takes her hand. But Betty has been taking charge in her relationship with Don. On the trip to see her father, she relegated Don to sleep on the floor, an action that really speaks of who's in power in their relationship. Then, she awakens him for sex, climbing on top -- controlling the action -- and initiates the lovemaking. In the morning, Don finds himself alone on the floor. When they return home, Betty again banished him.
Like Helen says when Betty reveals that she's separated from Don, "The hardest part is realizing that you're in charge." Betty's reaction to that reality (at least for now) is a non-reaction. Is that what she wants, to be in charge? If so, that would mean she has to become a grown up. Hmm...we'll see if that's where this is going.
Other points of interest
-- Pete's approach to Peggy before leaving on the California trip was a come on for sympathy sex. Like she should give him comfort because he has to go on a plane for the first time since his father died in the American Airlines crash. Peggy wasn't biting.
-- Kinsey received another slap in the face from Sterling-Cooper when Don decided to take the business trip in his place. In a fashion that Don would approve of, he lied to his girlfriend, Sheila, claiming that he chose to go with her to Mississippi on a Civil Rights mission, never letting on the truth.
-- Don had the idea of going to L.A. before seeing Harry's baby shower, so I don't buy that it was a family reminder that motivated him to leave town. He's fed up with Betty and her unwillingness to get over it. Although I wonder if Don had said "I love you" to Betty when they returned home if she would have forgiven him. Instead he said, "You need me." Big difference.
-- Don't you love Joan? She's so much better than her job. And what about Peggy? Her notes for the Rocket Fair were spot on, as Don pointed out, proving again that she's a star on the rise.
-- Funniest moment in a rather dour episode, Bert Cooper opening the door to the conference room where the baby shower was going on and saying, "Happy Birthday!"
| Take Don back | |
|---|---|
| Have an affair | |
| Start divorce proceedings | |
| Run away with Glen |
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