Mad Men: For Those Who Think Young

January 15th, 2009

Season 2, Episode 1

Synopsis

At a physical, a doctor advises Don to cut down drinking and smoking, and prescribes phenobarbital. Meanwhile, Betty has taken up horse riding with her friend Sara Beth. They chat briefly with a handsome young man.

At Sterling Cooper, the office men gossip about Peggy’s sudden weight loss. Peggy scolds Don’s new secretary, Lois, for not knowing his whereabouts. It turns out he’s at a nearby bar, having lunch, where sees someone reading Meditations In An Emergency by Frank O’Hara.

Roger asks Joan about her new boyfriend. “Duck” tells Roger he plans to hire some younger talent.

At a meeting to generate ideas for a new client, Mohawk Airlines, Don suggests some basic sex appeal, after the usual, crude Indian puns are exhausted.

That evening, Don and Betty go out for Valentine’s Day. At a hotel bar, Betty notices an old friend who is now an escort to an older man. Once in their hotel room, Betty emerges from the bathroom in some sexy lingerie. Don is too tired to fool around, so they order room service and watch Jackie Kennedy giving a White House tour on television.

Trudy tells Pete that Harry’s wife is expecting. Trudy’s ready to have kids. In other apartments, we see Sal and his new wife, and Joan and her boyfriend, all watching Jackie Kennedy.

The next day, Francine and Betty gossip about the Kennedy tour and Betty’s old friend she saw at the hotel. Francine mentions Butterfield 8.

At the office, two young men visit Don’s office. Joan is unsure where to place a new, large copy machine, and talks to Lois about her tears earlier.

Don looks at the new ideas from creative and decides they’re a bit too obvious. Peggy finds the copy machine has been installed in her already crowded office.

That night, Betty runs into car trouble on a dark road. A mechanic arrives to fix the car. Betty flirts with him in order to save a few dollars. Once home, Betty fails to tell Don where she was.

Don reads the book he saw in the bar earlier. He writes a note on the first page and mails the book to someone unknown.

Thoughts

Style

Meditations In An Emergency is a poem written by Frank O’Hara, who was noted for being able to capture 1960s Manhattan.

Butterfield 8 was an Elizabeth Taylor movie about a promiscuous model, while in the book version she was a call girl.

Jackie Kennedy’s televised White House tours were a new thing for the time, and were perhaps the first cracks toward women’s liberation.

Then And Now

• Look at the size of that thing: Kind of amusing to see a ginourmous copy machine. This particular model looks like the 914, released in 1961.

Advertising

Mohawk Airlines operated on the East coast from the 40s to 1972.

Developments

It’s at least a year since the end of season 1. Here are some notable changes:

• Betty is bolder and more assertive than before. Note how she takes the phone from Don to order room service, puts on racy underwear, and flirts with the auto mechanic. She’s also taken up riding, a pastime which will get her into a bit of trouble later in the season.
• Sal has gotten married, which is something — since he’s gay.
• Nobody is sure how Peggy lost all that weight — it isn’t public knowledge that she had a child, let alone with someone from the office.
• Because of Peggy’s promotion, Don’s new secretary is Lois, who previously worked at the switchboard. Initially, she showed an interest in Salvatore.

The book Don reads is called Meditations In An Emergency which is the name of the season finale.

Take note of Trudy’s desire to have a child, this forms an amusing sub-plot through much of season 2.

Next Episode: Flight 1
Previous Episode: The Wheel