Mad Men: Nixon Vs. Kennedy

December 20th, 2008

Season 1, Episode 12

Synopsis

Having recently made partner, Don searches for a replacement for his now-vacant position of Head of Account Services. One hopeful candidate is Herman “Duck” Phillips. Meanwhile, it’s election day, and either Nixon or Kennedy will be the new president.

Pete tells Don that he wants the position, saying he’s trusted by their most important clients. Don advises patience.

After Don leaves, the office bursts into an election party. Liquor begins to pour and a television set up to watch the returns. Ken chases down an office girl and checks the color of her underwear.

Pete sits in the dark, looking at the contents of Adam’s package to Don. There are photographs and letters from their childhood. Trudy catches Pete and tells him to return it. The party gets wilder after Ken finds a play written by Paul. The office folks decide to stage it, with Paul watching in embarrassment. Salvatore kisses Joan and the office applauds. Harry kisses Hildy, and they retreat to his office. As the party winds down, Paul and Joan chat – at one point they were a couple.

The next morning, Harry awakes in his office with broken glasses. Peggy arrives to see the office in shambles, and vomit her trash can. She notices money is missing from her locker. Don glances over the newspaper election headlines declaring no definitive winner.

Pete returns Adam’s box to Don, and reminds him again of his interest in a promotion. He knows Don’s real name is Dick Whitman, and the real Donald Draper died in the Korean War. Cornered, Don considers Pete’s attempt blackmail.

Flashback to the Korean war. “Dick” gets out of an army truck to assist an officer named Don Draper in building a field hospital.

Panicked by the potential exposure of his true identity, Don visits Rachel Menken and asks her to run away with him to Los Angeles. She resists, saying he doesn’t really want her – he just wants to run away.

Back at the office, Peggy tells Don that the work environment is unfair – the wrong people were fired when she reported the stolen money. Inspired, Don tells Pete he’s going to hire Duck, because Pete’s attempt at blackmail demonstrated a lack of character, telling Pete he “hasn’t thought this through.” Pete then tells Cooper about Don’s secret past and true name. Cooper says he doesn’t care – the country was built and run by men with more sordid pasts. Don himself is confused by his boss’s nonchalant reaction.

Flashback to the Korean war. Dick and Don Draper come under heavy fire. Donald Draper is killed in an explosion, his body burned beyond recognition. Dick steals his dog tags.

The next day, Dick awakes in a military hospital where they refer to him as “Don” and award him with a purple heart. He is discharged and sent to deliver Dick Whitman’s body to his family. Aboard a train car, escorting the coffin, Dick / Don looks out the window to see his own family and Adam – his younger brother – as a young boy. At the last minute, Dick / Don tells the chaplain he can’t greet the family. He runs into the rear of the car as the train pulls away. Adam sees Don through the train window and recognizes him as Dick.

Don turns on the television to see Nixon conceding to Kennedy, the new president.

Thoughts

The 1960 Kennedy / Nixon election was close. I was surprised to find this was the first election for Hawaii and Alaska as they only gained statehood in 1959.

Ken passingly refers to Peggy as a member of the highway patrol, I think a reference to the fifties television series starring Broderick Crawford.

Then And Now

Sexual Harassment: The office game of tackling office women to check the color of their underwear is – well, sexist, but oddly playful at the same time.

Developments

I’m impressed how well all the glimpses of Don’s past, seen throughout the series, line up. In this episode we learn how Dick took the name Don Draper during the Korean War. The moment where Adam sees Dick through the train window was recounted by Adam in the episode 5G. This wartime past was hinted at way back in the first episode through the glimpse of the purple heart in Don’s desk and sounds of gunfire. Knowing his sad, depressing past and low opinion of his parents, I feel he had sufficient motivation to steal another person’s identity.

Other developments make perfect sense based on the characters we’ve come to know. Pete’s ambition is marred by arrogance, and his attempt to gain a promotion through blackmail is completely in character.

Don’s mysterious past and reluctance to admit to the truth obviously makes him believe running away and starting over is a solution to his unhappiness. Rachel is too smart to just “run away.” She tells him he hasn’t “thought this through” and rightly accuses him of being a coward. Don repeats Rachel’s words “you haven’t thought this through” to Pete. He was inspired by Rachel once before when he bought Polly the dog.

Don is disappointed to see Nixon lose, as he considers the politician a “self made man.” But a further meaning is implied that Don himself wouldn’t be aware of – when Nixon finally did become president he was eventually exposed as a liar. So Don’s admiration of the politician is even more telling to us as viewers for whom 1974 is ancient history. For Don, the betrayal of an entire nation hasn’t happened yet.

Next Episode: The Wheel
Previous Episode: Indian Summer

TV Shows: Mad Men

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