Does anyone besides me wonder if Don is already dead?
Oh, @musicamusica, I certainly hope not! Your idea almost has me ready to rewatch the episode to look for clues…
Loved the scenes with Peggy & Roger – and then bada** Peggy strutting into the office with shades, a cigarette and Japanese porn art in hand.
Peggy will make it at McCann, in part because she has to: unlike Joan, she has no partner money or rich boyfriend to fall back on. And unlike Joan she’s made it in the business largely without relying on her sexuality.
I love it how some of the characters are happy as a clam at McCann, while others chafe. In so may ways, predictably.
I understand the comments about Joan vs. Peggy…“old way” of women getting ahead in the world vs. “new way.”
musicamusica…as in The Sixth Sense? An interesting idea…
Regarding Joan and the partnership: yes, she literally slept her way to the top, but did she deserve it anyway? I think she did. And I think she wasn’t going to get it simply because she is a woman and they all took her for granted. Could she muffle her sexuality in her dress? I suppose she could, to some degree, but with her figure she would have to be extremely careful not to just look frumpy and dumpy. She really wears clothes that are similar to Peggy’s, but on her they look different. It is true that Peggy doesn’t use her sexuality, but it is also true that she just doesn’t have what Joan has in the first place. It is also interesting that Joan is a college grad, and Peggy is not.
I’ve been interested in the men who have grown mustaches, vs those who haven’t.
Who was Joan married to besides Gregg? A week ago she had told her new boyfriends she’s been married twice. Never thought that Don would already be dead…wow…
OR----he is ending “Don Draper’s” life and heading out to California to be his real self? It was made apparent that no one who he knew and loved needs “Don Draper” and he is free to be Dick Whitman.
Now THAT would be a cool ending, Musicamusica!
We in California welcome Dick Whitman and/or Jon Hamm with open arms. Dick/Jon or whatever…I will PM my address.
The comments sections and blogs are proposing the " social security" card may end up in the hitchhiker’s possession. Other theories, are that don reverts back to Dick Whitman, and the contract becomes null and void with McCann.
I really find the window scene so manipulative. Are we to believe don is measuring the window, and ends up like the show’s intro depicts man literally falling? Is Weiner toying with the audience?
About facial hair and not…in 1970 what would we/clients have thought about a guy who looked like Don? No longer hair, no wider sideburns, no mustache, no colored shirt. Would a man who had not changed his look in at least 7 years have been considered a catch?
Regarding the Joan conversation above.
I understand the issues regarding Joan’s rise. I’m sure there are plenty of men who have less than deserved promotions, but Joan arrives at McCann as a partner, regardless of her path there.
McCann is like a throw back to the white boys club of the 1950’s. Roger’s secretary knew she wouldn’t be welcome there, so I will be very disappointed if the writers allow that plot line to end with Joan’s acceptance of 50% of what she is entitled to.
I disagree that Joan used her sexuality to get to the top. People who are not qualified do that. Joan IS qualified - as another poster mentioned she has a degree unlike Peggy. And she is competent. She was forced into using her sexuality literally by the men in her office and because there was no way for her to break the glass ceiling purely on merit. It’s tragic and, short of getting a breast reduction, she can’t be blamed for her looks.
She dressed well and professionally. Did you ever see Joan’s cleavage during office hours? Anyone hating on Megan or Jane?
The most galling moment was when the McCann guy insulted her client and then told her she (as a woman) had zero right to be pissed about it or anything else.
I understand what you are saying. But she would never have been made partner…ie risen to the top, if she hadn’t used sex to get there. I’m sure she wished they would have made her partner for her talent and competence alone, but they didn’t. So I have to disagree that she didn’t used her sexuality to get to the top.
I remember 1970 very well, having graduated high school in 69. And yes, Don would be considered a catch for those in his age cohort, for sure. Maybe not to an 18 year old, but certainly to anyone 30 or older. He still wore what was professionally acceptable at that time. My step dad was in advertising at the time this show takes place and dressed very much like Don.
SouthJerseyChessMom- While it would be disappointing if Joan’s acceptance of the 50% is final, it is realistic considering the sexism of the time period. And it’s not a throwback to the 50s; it’s a very accurate picture of corporate life in the late 60s as well. The women’s movement was just beginning to get some traction, but big business came to it unwillingly, and later in the decade. When I graduated, it was important that I had taken shorthand in high school, according to my mom, so that I could get a job if I ever needed one. The only other guaranteed employment for women was teaching, which is what I decided to go into.
The brightest girls from my high school went into traditional female occupations. Teaching, dance, art, music, etc. No young women I knew from my high school of 800 students went into medicine or science, even though they all went to college. But several married doctors.
^ thanks for sharing personal memories! moonchild. Guess I’m hoping the rich boyfriend’s advice about 1) suing 2) sending in " a guy" proves fateful, and Joan’s pitch perfect responses to McCann, sets the stage for a ground breaking lawsuit.
But, alas, the show is depicting the times !
I looked it up and $250k is worth about 1.5M in today’s dollars. I think Roger gave her very wise advice, but I also hope she sues them.
50% on the dollar is a good settlement nearly all the time. People underestimate what it costs to collect in court and then when you settle you end up with much less because you’re paying your lawyers.
I thought much of the point about Joan was she needed to sleep with that client because, bluntly, the men at Sterling Cooper wouldn’t have made her a partner on their own. And I thought the worst thing said was when Ferg said the other account manager wouldn’t be able to work for a woman boss because it was emasculating; he has a wife and so on and they’d look at him funny.
I have no idea what is going to happen with Don because we just went through a long series of episodes where he is humiliated and made to write tag lines and then tells Ted how much he missed the work. Maybe he accommodates to McCann, though I doubt it because he simply can’t function that way. I thought as well he might become Dick Whitman but he has kids, though I suppose he could say in touch calling himself anything he wants.
The neat part is that after all these years they’ve written it so the last 2 episodes ever are here and we have no idea what is going to happen with Don, where he’ll be and even who he’ll be.
@conmama in #92: exactly. They never would have made her partner despite the fact that she deserved it. Joan was forced to debase herself to get what she had earned anyway. It’s what others extorted from her as opposed to what she was trying to sell. There’s a big difference.
Being a true CC parent, I think, “Don can’t just disappear! Who will pay for the kids’ college?!?” I hope he has enough money to live on forever, having given Megan $1mil.