Probably not, but it was nice to see ole Bets get out of the house for once. It's hard to look back into the pre-Feminine Mystique mist, but it seems painfully obvious that most of Betty's problem stems from the fact that she has nothing to do. I'm hoping her involvement with the Junior League will lead to some semblance of a storyline for her that doesn't revolve around her constantly reacting to the other players on the show. Even Sally gets more interesting story lines! Call me crazy, but I'd love to see Betty put that undergrad degree to use and sashay onto an archaeological dig. Can you imagine the outfits? Sublime.
Speaking of outfits, both of our shining Sterling Cooper stars found themselves in the same clothes as yesterday at the end of the episode. Maybe this will be a good opportunity to make up for their little spat the day before?
I'm glad to see Peggy taking Joan's advice about using her lady-powers. (Speaking of which, where is that ruby-haired goddess?!) Peggy tends to sexually lash out after being criticized by Don - remember the college boy romp post Patio dressing-down - which is mildly disturbing, but at least this time it stands to help her career. Peggy's game is tough to decipher here: is she having a "go-around" with Duck to make sure she gets copy chief status before jumping the Sterling ship, or is she serious about sticking around, so just having some extracurricular fun? Regardless, I doubt we've seen the last of Duck. No recovering alcoholic who whispers "I love the smell of liquor on your breath" during the act can be disposed of by the Mad Men writers. They do love their neuroses.
Unfortunately, Don's night was a lot less fun. The anachronistic draft-dodgers was quite a stretch just to get us to a Dick Whitman flashback. I submit that the real reason Don didn't want to sign the contract is not because he wants to keep the upper hand at work, but because signing his (adopted) name to the contract admits to himself and his father that advertising is truly his career. In Papa Whitman's words, Don "grows bullshit". We saw the outside world's view of advertising, and it is not pretty. He's an ad man, which is to say, he's a con man. Maybe even Don Draper's last shreds of dignity can register embarrassment that his profession is all smoke and mirrors.
But, sign the contract he does, after a deft bit of blackmail by Mr. Cooper himself, one of two series regulars who knows his secret. Although I doubt the lawyers will honor that rider about never having contact with Roger Sterling again. Roger is another one of those characters that we'll never get rid of, if only because we're all waiting on baited breath to see what will happen at Margaret's wedding. For those of you unaware, November 23, 1963 will be an auspicious date for the youngest Sterling and her beau to celebrate their marital happiness.
I'm fairly confused that we didn't hear anything about the tractor incident from last week. Is Ken Cosgrove still employed by Sterling Coop? Or, is vehicular foot-slaughter not a problem at this ad agency? In some ways, I enjoy Mad Men's nod to non-sequential TV viewing that they drop such an important plot point, seemingly never to be seen again, while simultaneously rewarding obsessive viewers with Easter eggs of continuity, even between seasons. For example, anyone watching only this season would have no idea that Bert Cooper was in on the Dick Whitman/Don Draper secret. Can Mad Men successfully straddle the line? I guess we'll find out.
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