Mad Men: The Hobo Code

November 22nd, 2008

Season 1, Episode 8

Synopsis

Pete and Peggy arrive at the office early, before anyone else. Pete invites her into his office and closes the door. He grabs and kisses her, and soon they are having sex on his couch. Afterward, Peggy has a torn collar.

We meet the switchboard women, Joyce, Marge, and a new girl Lois. Lois overhears a call between Salvatore and his mother, and then asks the other girls about him.

Bertram Cooper invites Don to his office and gives him a check for $2,500, thanking him for his work. He tells Don to read Atlas Shrugged.

Lois wanders over to the art department where Salvatore works. She makes chit chat with Marty and Duane, his co-workers, and manages to flirt a bit with Salvatore, who is friendly but cooly uninterested.

Trudy surprises Pete at the office with a bottle of champagne to celebrate their new apartment. Pete hurriedly flips the cushions on the sofa that were used earlier.

Freddy Rumsen presents the campaign for Belle Jolie: “Mark Your Man.” The Belle Jolie representative, Elliot, is unenthused, but Don manages to seal the deal. Afterward, the men celebrate and invite Peggy — who wrote the copy — out for a drink. Peggy rounds up the switchboard girls, including Lois, who hopes Salvatore will be there.

Instead, Salvatore is having a drink with Elliot. They make chit-chat and it’s soon apparent Elliot has taken a personal interest in Salvatore. He invites him back to his bedroom, which Sal declines.

Out at a bar, the office workers including Peggy dance to Chubby Checker’s The Twist. Pete sullenly watches her from across the room. Peggy asks Pete to dance, but Pete cruelly says, “I don’t like you like this.” Peggy’s eyes fill with confused tears.

Don visits Midge, to find Roy and some beatniks hanging out at her apartment. Don wants to run away with her to Paris. She declines — her friends are getting stoned and listening to Miles Davis. Don takes a hit.

Flashback to Don’s childhood as Dick Whitman, at a rural farmhouse, with his step-mother Abigail and father Archie. A hobo stops by and asks if he can work for food. Over dinner, Archie promises the man some money after the work is complete. That night, the hobo explains to Dick the “hobo code” where small pictures are drawn near houses to let other hobos know the kind of people living there.

Back in the present-day, Don snaps a picture of Roy and Midge and decides they’re in love. The beatniks criticize Don’s profession, saying he creates lies. Don again asks Midge to run away with him to Paris. She declines. Don endorses the check he received from Cooper, sticks it in her bra, and leaves. Late at night, he walks up the stairs to his son’s bedroom and tries to connect with his young son.

The next morning, after the work is complete, Archie doesn’t pay the hobo. The hobo leaves. Dick notices on the gate a hobo code drawing — indicating a dishonest man lives there.

Thoughts

Style

The “hobo code” is real and there are a variety of symbols. This episode also featured songs by Chubby Checker and Miles Davis.

Atlas Shrugged is a famous book that advocates free market capitalism and the power of the individual, as opposed to socialism which leads to servitude which leads to a stagnant society. Bertram tells Don he is self-interested — which in the context of the book, is a good thing — as a reason for giving him the bonus check.

Then And Now

• Homosexuality: Elliot rather subtly intimates to Salvatore what’s possible, but Salvatore seems conflicted about how “out” he wants to be. Their conversation over drinks seems to be a careful dance to determine each other’s sexual predilections. Salvatore’s avoidance of Lois’s interest underlines that he is definitely gay.
• Beatniks: The fez was a rather unfortunate fashion style of the time along with Miles Davis, smoking pot, and carrot juice.
• Great Depression: Due to the lack of work, many took up the hobo lifestyle of wandering the countryside doing odd jobs for work and food.

Developments

Upon receiving his bonus money, Don’s first thought is to “run away” with Midge to Paris — a theme that has its seeds in the episode Babylon. Don’s desire to leave his comfortable home would turn him into a hobo, which links up to his flashback to his childhood. His childhood memory displayed the realization that his father was a dishonest man, who didn’t reward a hobo after a day’s hard work. As a child, Dick saw his father diminish as a person and the hobo someone to admire and identify with.

Also note how Don’s father dishonestly avoided paying the hobo for his hard work, while Don got a hefty bonus check. He has done better than his father — and wants to be a better father to his son — yet all his money isn’t enough to pull Midge away from The Village. The self-interested personality encouraged by Ayn Rand might get Don rich, but it doesn’t buy a woman like Midge.

The episode’s closing sequence shows Don marching into his office. All we see is his back and then the name plate of his office. The view of his back is reminiscent of the opening credits, and that combined with the flashback to his childhood indicates we’ve finally witnessed what drives Don Draper, and the essence of the dark past he hides from everyone he knows.

Next Episode: Shoot
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