In "Six Month Leave", two ideas seemed to dominate the episode: the characters' arbitrary sense of morality and their ability or inability to have compassion for others.
Opening the episode with the death of Marilyn Monroe immediately pointed to the issue of compassion. It came as no surprise to me that Don and Peggy's interaction over the event illustrated their ability to distance themselves from almost everything, stressed by Peggy's awareness that Marilyn Monroe's death could have had an impact on their Playtex account.
The firm's treatment of Freddy was an interesting study in both ideas. The idea that the firm would eliminate Freddy because of a flaw that he simply did not hide as well as the rest of the executives was appalling but unsurprising. Pete's ability to seize the moment as an opportunity for advancement was quite in keeping with his usual nastiness, but it was sad to see Duck continue to eliminate anyone or anything that reminds him of his own inability to control his drinking. That Roger and Don take Freddy out for a night of drinking after firing him for that very thing was so absurd that I had to laugh. I love that these characters have no idea that their behavior is so contradictory. I admit, too, that I liked Peggy better after this episode and her indignant belief that Freddy had been mistreated.
Don's notion of morality is so interesting to watch. He seems to use "It's personal" almost as a reflex. But if he believes that, why does he insist that Jane no longer work for him? Why not ignore it? I'm also trying to figure out why he felt so strongly about Freddy staying at the agency. His treatment of Peggy in the past seems to indicate a strong sense of loyalty and compassion, but I guess that is only a professional value? I wonder if his relief of being exiled from his house is only because he is not dealing with the problems of that relationship, or because he can stop trying to appear perfect when he leaves the office. The idea that he had a right to exact some revenge on Jimmy is terribly interesting considering he was sleeping with Bobbi.
Pete appears to have absolutely no conscience. I can't stand him, yet I can't look away. The way he treats his co-workers, Don, his wife... He epitomizes the selfish ideals held by so many at Sterling Cooper.
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19 comments:
pete is a terrible person, but really is he that much worse than the others or is it just upsetting to see someone so honest about being terrible?
peggy and don's behavior tend to be just as questionable as pete's...i guess the difference is that they don't seem to relish hurting others like pete does. in the end though, are they remorseful? they'll continue with their business regardless of the consequences to others.
regarding don's respect for peggy:
he's genuinely impressed with her talent. he's clearly talented and he likes that he sees it in someone else. do you think it's deeper than that?
regarding don's firing of jane:
he probably insists that jane no longer work for him, because he doesn't want roger's personal life all in his business. he's too private to have his secretary sleeping with his partner. she has access to his personal information (like his daughter calling for instance).
she might have been the reason roger seemed to know he was separated from betty in the first place.
That is a good point about Pete. I think you're right about Pete seeming worse because he is honest about being terrible, unlike the rest of them. I guess the difference is that Pete doesn't see any problem with being a bad person, while Don and Peggy seem to have some problems with their own behavior, even though they go right ahead and do what they want anyway.
Thanks for the thoughts about Jane. That makes complete sense! (Although it still is quite hypocritical.)
I do think there is more to Don't relationship with Peggy. If it was just talent, I don't think he would have gone out of his way to visit her in the hospital. I think there's something about the way she conducts her life that appeals to him. In some ways, she is doing with the baby what he did with his former life -- recreating what she wants to see and disposing of the rest.
i forgot about the scene when he visits her in the hospital. good point. he also called her when he was in the car accident with his grandma, i mean bobbi.
ok...so more is going on with those two, haha...
side note on that car accident:
didn't it happen when they were on their way to her house in port jeff?? in my mind the car accident happened somewhere near hauppauge, so that they were brought to the police deptartment on vets highway!!
Ha ha, a stop at Hauppauge would be pretty funny, although I would guess the precinct didn't exist in 1961 (2?).
I've rethought my position on Pete Campbell, and I'm back to thinking he's worse than the others. Don at least has moments of loyalty (arbitrary sense of morality), and Peggy has a sense of what's right and wrong even if she doesn't always follow that. But Pete has absolutely no loyalties, and doesn't even see a problem with his bad behavior. Ever.
interesting random fact...the suffolk county police dept. was created on January 1st, 1960 right around the time this show takes place. the one in hauppauge is the 4th precinct...now i have to re-watch that episode.
so would you say pete and roger are parallel characters? i don't see any sense of morality with roger either, except when he thought he was going to die (and that doesn't count). i think we tend to like him because he's the funny guy, but there is no loyalty or sense of ethics with him.
Though, this was never stated, I was wondering if part of the reason Roger and Duck made such a fuss about Freddy is because it forced Peggy and Pete to lead the pitch. Had it been Don who had to step in, perhaps it would have been "one of those stories" as Peggy described. However, because Pete (who doesn't have the respect of his peers) and Peggy (who smart, is still a -- gasp -- woman) had to be the face of SC, I wonder if Freddy's blackout was taken more seriously than it would have otherwise.
On a separate note, I also found it sad but also alarming that several days (maybe even a week) has gone by since Betty kicked Don out and she is still searching the house for evidence.
I'm hoping they go back to the Joan story line soon. Do you really think she's pregnant?
I do think Joan is pregnant, particularly after her fiance's mention of her cravings and how she should look for a house. I loved Joan's story line in the episode in which she was reading the scripts. At the end, when you see the mark on her shoulder, proof that this life of reigning secretary takes a toll on her.
Is it really only a week since Betty kicked Don out? I know they have skipped around with chronology from time to time. For some reason, I assumed more time had passed (although I suppose there is no evidence of that).
poor joan, you know it kills her that peggy is moving up so fast.
what's this about her being pregnant, i missed that?? i'm wondering what's going to happen with her marriage. she's a little too excited about the quality of the ring.
i also liked episode 8. interesting to end with colin hank's american idol audition? good song, "early in the morn"
They haven't come out directly and said that Joan is pregnant, but here's the evidence to suggest she is: she's gained a noticeable amount of weight, her fiance's comments about her cravings, the marks on her shoulder as further physical evidence she has been gaining weight.
For a minute I also thought she was lying down in Roger's office because she was tired from the pregnancy as well.
After the episode I immediately wondered if Roger really figured out Don had been kicked out of the house or if Jane told him...and if that is what Don suspected when he wanted her off his desk.
Since Weiner plans to skip significant time every season, allow me to say I'm going to miss the girl playing Sally when she's gone.
I also suspected that Joan was resting in Roger's office because she is pregnant.
I do agree with George (second comment on list) that Jane was fired because of her involvement with Roger and possibly passing along information. I do also think that Roger probably had some idea that Don was not at home for the reason he mentioned at the bar -- that he has been there.
And Sally is adorable.
how do you think they are going to handle the kids aging??
sopranos was weird...especially for those, like me, who watched it after the original run in "quick time".
In what was overnight in the show, AJ and Meadow were distinctly a year older.
so if joan is pregnant, is it roger's baby? or did that affair end too long ago? there is still so much mystery between season 1 and 2.
I think it's her fiance's baby because her affair with Roger seemed to have ended after his heart attack. I do agree with you about her relationship with her fiance though. It seems to be pretty superficial. Jane is pretty sensitive about being in her thirties, so I'm guess it's partly that. And it seems like it's a relationship that would fit into what the course of her life is supposed to take: rule the office as a secretary, marry a doctor and get a big , move to the suburbs, etc.
and back to another question: do we know how much time passed between the last two episodes?
I remember hearing something about 18 months, but that seems long doesn't it?
Do you mean 18 months between seasons or episodes?
seasons...nevermind, i have idea how much time has passed between the last two episodes.
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