Mad Men and Monogamy

WOW!! Last night's episode had two of the most shocking lines I have ever heard on Mad Men! First was Betty's lover proposing (even though they haven't really done much yet, and, oh yeah, she's married!), then we heard Betty say she feels no love for Don! That was unbelievable! But, more on that later. For now, I'll focus on Roger Sterling.

Dear God, his daughter was a spoiled little bitch! She just kept whining because "everything's not exactly the way I want it to be and boo-hoo-hoo." And she actually called her father while arguing with her mother! I mean when the hell is she gonna grow up, if not right before she gets married? But, she recovered from everything, seemed to genuinely enjoy herself at her wedding, and she was nice. That was good to see, someone we've only ever seen as a spoiled, self-absorbed little girl smiling and having fun despite her wedding being overshadowed and her attendance being vanquished by national tragedy.

Speaking of turn-arounds, boy has Roger been back and forth lately. Last week, he turned down the girl who broke his heart, then looked sad as he spoke to Joan for the first time in a while. In all, last week he seemed happy with his young wife Jane while still looking back at the fish that got away. Then this week, he yells his head off at Jane for not doing exactly what he wants her to do (because God forbid a woman try to get along with her spoiled step-daughter), gets snippy when she refuses to see the woman who despises her, and drunk dials Joan, whom he apparently feels is the only person he can really open up to.

Though Roger did manage to be funny, charming, and likable at his daughter's wedding, despite how much he hated her attitude at the episode's beginning. Although, this probably goes along with Roger (a) preferring to laugh at everything and (b) I think he comes from old money, and if there's one thing they do right, it's ignore everything going on in the world and all the issues they have with everyone in their lives to put on a happy face and throw and good party for the public. Appearances always being so much more important than reality.

On that note, we move on to Don. Last week, he was finally forced to confront Betty completely exposed as himself. Jon Hamm was brilliant in this episode, as you actually saw the Don persona vanish, and he finally had to look at Betty as the man he really is, not as the man he created to leave his old life behind. That revelation seems to have changed him into a kinder, gentler man who actually stays at home and helps raise his children, instead of running around with his latest young thing.

Throwing a monkey wrench into Don's plan of at least attempting to be a better man is Betty's still-lingering negative feelings towards... well, towards everything Don has done in the past now aided by an attraction to an older man (younger woman seeks out older man following death of her father... hmmm, interesting). Still, how can her newly discovered lack of affection for Don play out? Both Betty and Don have always struck me as being of the opinion that once married, always married, certainly if there are kids involved. So can the possibility of another marriage be something for Betty to turn to, or would she stay where she is, or possibly choose neither? There wouldn't have been that many options for a woman in her position at that time, so another man might help make up her mind, but could she really deal with the havoc that would probably cause her family? And why does Betty keep doing things like this during times of crisis? She had sex with that guy she met in a bar during the Cuban missile crisis, and now she says she doesn't love Don any more after Kennedy gets shot. Maybe she should stop making big decisions while watching a lot of news on television.

What about Don in all of this? What's he to do, since he's exhausted the only things he knows to do to keep Betty and his illusion of a happy family going? And why do I pity and even like a guy who's done so much to deserve what's happening to him?

One last thing, what the hell's wrong with this guy, proposing to married woman he hasn't actually even had an affair with? Just because you're attracted to the younger married woman who you think needs saving from whatever doesn't mean you go all the way with it before you've gone all the way with her. What's he thinking, and how does he see this ending? Kind of hard to ride in on your white horse and save the damsel in distress when you look a lot like an older version of the knight she's leaving, genius.