Mad Men Season 2, Episode 7: It's gotta be the sauce

POSTED: Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 8:43 PM

Filed Under: TV Mad Men

"Quit stonewallin' me, Kitty!"

amctv.com

I don't know why so many Republicans make such a big deal about gay marriage. It's not like it's anything new. Gay dudes used to get married all the time — to women!

Part of the reason Mad Men is so interesting is because it manages to encapsulate many of the social phenomena of the late '50s/early '60s into specific characters. Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) = the glass ceiling. Don (Jon Hamm) = post-war social mobility. Betty (January Jones) = The Feminine Mystique. Pete (Vince Kartheiser) = the decline of East Coast old money. And of course, as Episode 7 so painfully reminds us, Sal (Bryan Batt) = the closet.

In short, Sal develops a sudden but intense crush on Ken (Aaron Staton), the office mannequin. Ken comes to dinner, and Sal swoons over him, a humiliating experience for Sal's much-younger wife, Kitty (Sarah Drew). Some amazing writing and acting here: Sal knows exactly what is happening but can't stop himself. Kitty knows exactly what is happening but can't admit it to herself. And Ken, as usual, has no idea what is going on and as a result seems to be having an OK time.

It's worth noting, as well, the genuine tenderness with which Sal and Kitty deal with each other in the context of their sham marriage. The two of them, it seems, have a much richer and more genuine emotional life together than any of the legit hetero couples on the show. There's just that one little thing ...

It's also interesting to compare Sal's experiences on the show with those of the Jewish characters. By 1962, Italians are no longer fully alien to the WASP's nest that is Sterling-Cooper. They're merely exotic. How much of Sal's flamboyance, you've got to wonder, is simply misinterpreted as some sort of Mediterranean swagger? Whereas none of the Jewish characters on the show are ever allowed to forget their tribe status for more than a few scenes.

Which brings us to the Barretts (née Brownsteins) and the Drapers meeting again at the Stork Club for a celebration of comedian Jimmy's (Patrick Fischler) new TV show. Barrett invited them personally, but not, it turns out, as a show of gratitude for Don's largesse. He seems to have put two and two together regarding Don's trysts with his wife Bobbie (Melinda McGraw), and is using the party as an opportunity to confront Don and to drop a little poison in the well of the Draper's marriage. He does the latter by obliquely explaining the facts of life to Betty about their respective (if less than respectable) spouses. She doesn't take the bait at first, instead lashing out at Jimmy with a barrage of anti-Semitism. "You people are ugly and crude!" she shouts before fleeing. Jimmy, who has clearly heard that one (and countless variations) before, responds without missing a beat: "You mean comedians?!"

But on the car ride home, Betty's had time to digest, or not digest, Jimmy's revelation, and pukes all over the dashboard of Don's new Cadillac. This is important, because we saw him buying it in the beginning of the episode and having a major 1950s flashback, to when a scragglier-haired and cheaper suit-wearing Don is working as a used car salesman. A blond woman tracks him down in his office to inform him that he's not Don Draper. Cut. Sorry, no more info on that one right now.

Katie

Posted 2008-09-10 17:28:47

I was dying for more info on that flashback -- my coworker and i saw it different ways. He saw it as her knowing he's really Dick Whitman, I saw it as her knowing the real (now deceased) Don Draper, considering Don didn't react as I figured he would if she was someone from his other life. Can't wait to see how it plays out.



Knowing how closely the show plays to the way things were, I was surprised at the way Betty "cleaned up" after the picnic. Was there really such a blatant disregard?



No mention of the Joan v. Jane scene? That was terrific!

Roxanne

Posted 2008-09-11 00:55:25

No mention of the Joan v. Jane scene? That was terrific!



Agree. 



And my great hope is that Mad Men lasts long enough for Sal to march in Stonewall.

drew lazor

Posted 2008-09-11 14:45:42

A lot of people have been talking about the littering scene, which I think is a testament to how clever this show's subtleties are. But I don't think it was solely a "back then, we didn't care about being green!" thing. It directly followed the part when the Draper daughter asked her parents if they were rich, and both avoided the answer with smug, self-satisfied looks on their faces. Yeah, we're rich â   so rich that some blue-collar schmo should come and pick our wax paper up. Genius!

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