Mad Men: I'm the Man in the Box

Baby Gene, baby Gene...you've gotten your dad in a bit of trouble.

 Think about it. If Don doesn't hear the baby cry at that exact moment, he doesn't forget to put the keys to his desk drawer away.

 The keys don't wind up in his robe, which means Betty can't wash the keys with the rest of the laundry.

 If that doesn't happen, she doesn't hear them jangling around in the dryer, and she doesn't use the keys...

 

 ...to discover a box filled with remnants of her husband's secret life. Or what she thinks is a secret life. So far, she has evidence he was married to someone before her and that they got divorced. It would be traumatic news for any marriage, but what's even worse is that Betty really doesn't know the truth yet. All she knows is that he's certainly not who he claims to be -- and why does he need all that cash? -- and it's enough to send her into an emotional black hole.

 It was painful, watching Don get that award at the end, sitting next to a woman who can barely look at him and toasted by a man (Roger) who wants nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, the whole party is basically in the service of PPL, which wants to sell the newly profitable Sterling-Cooper to a new buyer.

 Meanwhile, Don's relationship with Susanne Farrell has reached a point where he's getting work-related calls at her house, and despite her early misgivings, she seems fairly happy with Don. Betty is still thinking about Henry Francis. And Paul almost royally screws the pooch on the Western Union account, only to have Peggy accidentally save him at the last minute. At the moment he had his brainstorm, I was actually yelling at the screen: "Write it down! You're going to forget it, so write it down!"

 So, a lot going on, and only a few weeks left. Next week's episode is called "The Gypsy and the Hobo." Are Don's wandering days on their way back?

 Tom Coombe

Comments

[JW]

You mean, like, reincarnated Grampa Gene was making mischief through Baby Gene?

[Tom]

Maybe, JW...Maybe.