Ep. 11 "The Jet Set"

While Pete sorta works in L.A., Don gets caught up by some 'Beautiful People'. Peggy's attempt to connect with Kurt brings up an awkward revelation. Duck attempts to grab the reins at Sterling Cooper.

As I mentioned last time, Mad Men has episodes that are mostly set-up, and episodes that are mostly pay-off. This'un's a 'pay-off' episode, with Kurt's revelation, Duck's revealing his true intentions at Sterling-Cooper, and Don's final line.

-When is Pete not an oaf? Sitting in his suit at the hotel pool, (and lamely hitting on girls in bikinis) and bullying the hotel bartender. He seemed pretty excited over the MIRV presentations at the Kubrick-influenced meeting room. Contrast that with Don's obvious unease.

-Don's encounter with the 'jet set'. Your first thought is that these people are way too friendly, maybe they're con-artists? The thing is, Don's too self-assured to come across as a potential mark, and while it's obvious Don has money, he doesn't have enough to make a long-con worth while. So I suppose these people are what they appear to be. That is, self-involved new-rich types who live a life of rootless privilege. It's this rootless aspect which appeals to Don, which is why he impulsively jumps into Joy's convertible to Palm Springs.

-However, even a life of rootless privilege has its costs, which is evident to Don upon the arrival of a member of the jet set hauling his kids around. (It's no coincidence they resemble Don and Betty's kids.) It's that incident, coupled with Don's passing out from heatstroke and his anxiety at the MIRV demonstration - and perhaps the glimpse of the Betty doppleganger at the episode's beginning? which makes Don place a phone call and give us the jaw-dropper of the season this far:

"Hello, this is Dick Whitman. I'd love to see you soon."

-Kurt's 'coming out' is right up there with Adam's suicide and Peggy's pregnancy as one of Mad Men's false notes. (Though Sal's reaction is priceless...) Looks like Ken, Pete and Harry are gonna be doin' some queer-stompin' in the halls of Sterling-Cooper pretty soon. Yee-haw! Seriously, though, Kurt has nothing to gain from coming out of the closet, and in all likelihood, will get booted from S.C. for being a 'pervert'. ( You can imagine a red-faced, furious Bert Cooper firing Kurt: "This company has a reputation to uphold, mister- or should I say, missy!! Why can't you be a normal man like that Salvatore in the art department?" ) The only reason I can see for it is so's Kurt can be a dramatic counterpoint to the repressed Sal in season 3.

-Duck looks to be the series' 'bad guy', with his motivations for trying to get his former employers to buy out Sterling-Cooper. (It's more to spite Don and Roger than to prove his business acumen.) The results are somewhat anticlimactic, however. Roger and Bert seem to warm to the idea right away, which makes Duck's fall off the wagon over his betrayal somewhat pointless.

Episode 10, "The Inheritance"

Betty visits her ailing father and confronts both Don and Glen, that creepy neighbour kid. Betty also makes a tentative connection with an unusual contact. Paul's girlfriend asks for a bigger commitment from him. Pete confronts his family about legacies.

-"Madmen" seems to be divided into episodes that mostly set up, and episodes that mostly pay off. (Episode 13 of last season being a 'pay-off' episode, for example.) This episode's a set-up one, with the impending trip to L.A., Pete's intent to adopt, and Paul taking a 'Freedom Train' to Birmingham with his girlfriend.

-It's Betty's story here, with her realization that for all intents and purposes, she's now an orphan. It's a tribute to the nuanced writing on this show that while Betty toys with Don and Glen, she never loses our sympathy. She's going to let Don back home, eventually. It's just a question of when. (And when she kicked Don out again, weren't you thinkin' 'You go, girl!')

-We haven't seen the last of Glen Bishop, the creepy kid of divorcee' Helen. I figured she'd be back this season. She was too prominent a character in season 1 to be pitched on the discard pile. And yes, Betty putting him in one of Don's t-shirts and combing his hair in Don's 70-30 split was intentional...

-"He has no people! You can't trust someone like that!" exclaims Betty's dad, before he mistakes Betty for his late wife in the wrongest way possible. While that statement sums up Don in a nutshell, I bet Betty lets Don back home after her father's funeral.

-Pete's Creepy Family makes an appearance, and I suspect Pete and Trudy will adopt a child, more out of Pete's need to spite than out of any desire to have a real family.

-Harry's the most morally grounded character on the show. He feels genuine guilt over his drunken office fling with secretary Hildy from last season, which Hildy smooths over during the baby shower. Remember his bit of slapstick over opening Ken Cosgrove's pay stub?

-This episode's best moment? "Well, Happy birthday!", exclaims Bert Cooper as he pops his head into the baby shower.

-Paul is rapidly becoming unlikable to me personally. His treatment of his girlfriend makes me hope she dumps him in Birmingham. ("From a Marxist standpoint, the markets dictate a colorblind society. The consumer has no color," he smugly pontificates to the black passengers on the bus.) You just know when the rocks start flying, Paul'll be hightailing it back to New York, rationalizing all the way. ("Ultimately, I can effect more change in one day in my position at Sterling-Cooper than walking a hundred miles through Georgia!", he will say, than demand a double martini from the stewardess on his first class trip back home...)