Mad Men: New Girl, Old Secrets

The men of Mad Men continue to behave rakishly and I still can’t help but love them.  While this episode wasn’t as exciting as the past few, it provided a setup for plenty of future intrigue.  Pete went with Trudy to a fertility specialist and, despite Pete’s claims that he wants a child, he has a whole list of reasons for saying it might not be a good idea.  Pete continues to be his usual awful self.  When he learned that he wasn’t the cause of their infertility, he celebrated with his usual insensitivity.  I think Pete is one of the few men who could make his own wife feel guilty for being infertile and still come out as the good guy.

Don found himself back in Bobbie’s clutches after she phoned to thank him for his help in getting her comedian husband a new TV pilot.  After an uncomfortable run-in with former fling, the now-married Rachel Menken, Bobbie and Don drunkenly head off to her beach house and instead wind up in a ditch on the side of the road.  Injured and facing jail time if he can’t pay the $150 fine, the police tell Don to call a friend and Peggy shows up.  While we don’t know why she is there initially, she tells Don that she’ll “forget this,” but she doesn’t want him treating her poorly.  

Bobbie asks to go somewhere else besides home, because Jimmy can’t see her black eye and Peggy offers up her place.  Meanwhile, Don heads home to a frantic Betty.  He tells her about his recently diagnosed high blood pressure and that he didn’t want her to worry.  It’s too late for that, but Betty believes the lie completely.

Joan’s now engaged and happily showing it off.  She’s found Don a new secretary, which should cause drama for all the staff at Sterling Cooper.

At Peggy’s, Bobbie is dying to know her and Don’s history.  Peggy, sensing her worries, says, “I’m not your competition.”  Bobbie stops beating around the bush and asks Peggy why she‘s helping.  “He’s done a lot for me.”  Bobbie accepts this, but offers up some womanly advice for her host.  “…You can’t be a man.  Don’t even try.  Be a woman.  It’s powerful business when done correctly.”

This episode really sizzled during Don and Peggy’s flashbacks and we learn why Peggy’s willing to shell out the money and time to cover Don’s butt.  Don, an expert at forgetting painful things, tells Peggy to do whatever she has to do to get out of the hospital and move forward.  “It never happened.  It will shock you how much it never happened.”  These two characters both have such darkness that it’s thrilling to see them together trying to help each other out.  It’s also nice to see Don having a non-sexual relationship with a member of the opposite sex.

Stay tuned for next week to watch Duck and Don butt heads and to see if Peggy can’t find her place in the boy’s club at an after-hours meeting.

Sundays at 10PM/9C, AMC

Photographs courtesy of AMC