(S01E12) "Fire him if you want. But I'd keep an eye on him. You never know how loyalty is born." Cooper, to Don, about Pete.
I don't think I'm giving anything away when I tell you that at the end of this episode, Kennedy wins. But it's not really about that anyway, despite the title. The first half of the ep is all about the election and the different pairings we see at the Sterling Cooper all night party - Harry and Hildy, Ken and a secretary, even Sal and Joan, though not in the way you might think - but the second half finally explains what the deep, dark secret is in the past of Don Draper.
And the secret is...
...well, before we get to that, we have to talk about that all night party. Don leaves for home and that's when the big party begins. The gang gets out all the booze and cigarettes and drags the TV into the middle of the office to watch election results. There's even a water cooler filled with Creme de Menthe (and later, a trash barrel filled with Creme de Menthe vomit, but let's not talk about that image). The girls are tipsy and the guys are all unbelievably un-P.C.: Paul chases Helen, tackles her, and actually puts his hand up her dress to see the color of her panties (the guys had a bet - ah, the days before sexual harrassment lawsuits), Harry and Hildy get it on in his office (he breaks his glasses), Peggy is all business-like and unhappy at the way everyone is acting, and Paul and Joan dance and talk about their former dalliance (Joan didn't go any further back then because he has a big mouth). Speaking of mouths, Joan locks hers with Sal. No, it was just part of the play that Paul is writing. When they kiss, the look on Joan's face is either "wow, he's a better kisser than I thought!" or "hmmmm, I think he might like guys."
I thought Pete might have a change of mind about blackmailing Don after a talk with his wife, but he's even more blunt about it than I thought he would be. But it backfires, of course (Pete is evil but incompetent about it). Cooper doesn't care about it even if it is true. Pete is confused (the quote above is from this scene, said by Cooper to Don).
And what is the "it" I speak of? Pete doesn't even know these details, but one of Don's commanders in Korea was accidentally blown up after Don dropped his lighter. This was the real Don Draper. Dick Whitman immediately changed dog tags and the army assumed Don was Dick and Dick was Don. So Don isn't an evil guy - it's not like he murdered someone in his past - though the morals of it are shaky.
One of the reasons - the many, many reasons - I like this show is because I truly have no idea where it's going. It has plunked me down in the center of 1960 New York City and I've been engulfed in an unpredictable drama that completely has my attention. The season finale is next week - shown without commercials courtesy of DirecTV - and I have no idea how the events of this episode are going to play out in the season finale and set up next season.
And if Jon Hamm isn't nominated for an Emmy...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-12-2007 @ 12:12PM
Tele-Toby said...
Don's warning about what might happen if Pete told anybody his "wild story" about who Don really is reminded me that Pete probably still has that rifle in his office.
And as we saw in this episode, it seems to be pretty easy to take things that don't belong to you from other offices....
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10-12-2007 @ 12:40PM
khamel said...
where are my mad props for predicting this as soon as we found out that draper might not be who he claims. i want my props!
anyway, i was surprised that cooper's response was "who cares" but only because he didnt seem to have any affect at all. they are in advertising so he must realize nothing is as it seems and all that matters is how you sell it. i really thought pete would chicken out too.
i thought only kids in my generation (im 24) expected the world on a platter. pete was a vanguard of being a cocky asshole.
and yes, if i dont get a promotion at the end of the year i'm going to tell the owner that my boss uh... killed kennedy? something like that.
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10-12-2007 @ 12:43PM
Midnight13 said...
One day Pete's willingness, even eagerness to step on his co-workers toes to climb the corprate ladder is going to catch up with him. In business it would seem loyalty is worth more. Don has shown his when he stayed with Sterling/Cooper when he was offered a sweet deal from a rival agency, and Pete seems to want to own the place before he's 30. We didn't really get any Don/Betty scenes this week. Possibly setting up for some possible trouble, between Betty's increasing unhappiness, and Don's extra-marital excursions, its a confrantation just waiting to explode.
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10-12-2007 @ 12:48PM
Tele-Toby said...
Anybody else think Whitman and Draper were setting up the location for M*A*S*H 4077?
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10-12-2007 @ 1:08PM
Kel said...
Don's "I'm in total control" demeanor sure crumbled quickly, even though he seemed to have pulled it together when he went to talk to Cooper. I hated seeing how unnerved he became. His hair was even mussed up. I hope we don't see any further unraveling.
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10-12-2007 @ 1:43PM
Lizbeth said...
The worst part about Don's secret -- he pissed his pants -- and then idiotically proceeded to blow up the real Don Draper.
Dick Whitman was not some killer or war deserter (that would be too sexy) - he was just a weak, inept, coward (and we saw signs of him re-emerging tonight...as did Rachel Menken). I love that Rachel was disgusted by his willingness to just abandon his wife and kids.
Honestly, from what we saw of him, I hate Dick Whitman almost as much as fake Don Draper does. I never want to see him again. He just ruins my image of Don as the strong, handsome, silent type.
But that's why I love this show. What a complicated hero they've given us. Besides, despite all fake Don's flaws, we still love him.
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10-12-2007 @ 4:04PM
Bryan Castaņeda said...
Tele-Toby:
The same thing crossed my mind too. Perhaps 'cause I was thinking about that, the "Korea" scenes looked like Malibu Canyon to me, the place where all the MASH exteriors were shot.
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10-12-2007 @ 5:40PM
Karen said...
I'm surprised that Don was as nervous as he was going into Cooper's office (the scene of Pete and Don racing to de-shoe was priceless). I guess he hasn't actually gotten around to reading any of those Ayn Rand novels that Cooper keeps pushing at him. All along, I was assuming that Cooper wouldn't give a damn about Don's "secret identity"--they're in advertising, for heaven's sake; their entire life is creating false fronts that capture others' interest!
The scene was worth it, though, to see Pete's face when Cooper said, "Who cares." Gotta give Kartheiser props for this one.
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10-12-2007 @ 7:07PM
The Professor said...
This was a great episode.
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10-12-2007 @ 7:19PM
The Professor said...
This great episode was one in the steam of "great" from AMC of all places. I am past 60 and I can tell you 1960 was prePC, and the antics are tame compared to things that were common everyday office conduct. This was no internet,no fax, only 3 TV channels, and Time, Life and Look were weeks old when they were printed. Everyone drove drunk, smoked and drank during pregnancy, had unprotected sex without a second thought, and longed for a salary of $1,000. per month. You have to remember that 48% of the people in the USA today were not born when man walked on the moon. To me that was like last week. Oh for the simple life...NA... I like today much better.
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10-13-2007 @ 3:41AM
Willie Lumpkin said...
But Don (or rather Dick) IS a deserter is he not? He switched the tags so he could have just a little time left in his tour of duty (as the real Don was almost finished.) Which means he didn't serve the time he agreed to. Completely understandable as staying would probably have gotten him killed but less than honorable if he had agreed to serve.
Seeing Don fall to pieces so quickly and try to run away was amazing. Yes, Emmy worthy stuff.
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10-13-2007 @ 3:13PM
Bash said...
Of course he runs away. That's what he does. He ran away from home, he ran from the army so he runs again now... or tries to.
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10-13-2007 @ 3:32PM
Jim said...
Well yes... Don is a "deserter". But I don't think getting out of the Army was the sole reason (or even the MAIN reason) he switched the tags. Don hated his step-father and his life in that small town, so he saw switching the dog tags not only as a way to get out of the army quickly, but a way to have a new life.
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