Mad Men Episode 4: Fathers and Sons

[Note: We’ll be posting a blog each week following the evening’s Mad Men episode. It will be a more traditional blog than what you’ve seen previously in this space. More of one person’s thoughts while watching and re-watching Mad Men.]

Since episodes 2 and 3 were loaded with meaningful themes and subtexts (which we’ll cover later this month), you could almost excuse Mad Men’s writing staff for giving viewers a rest and making episode 4 one that largely would be on the surface. It appears that, indeed, episode 4 is pretty much what you saw is what you got. Almost.

Smoke In Your Eyes: Besides the vintage fashions and the not-so-vintage health practices (the drinking and smoking on this series are ubiquitous, even pregnant Betty Draper is doing so—more on this later), what most fans like about Mad Men is the “we know what’s coming in history” aspect of the series. That was evident in last night’s episode when the Sterling Cooper boys were pitched the concept of jai alai becoming huge. The sport will overtake baseball in seven years, says Horace, the wealthy scion of a shipping magnate and a college chum of Peter “Humps” Campbell (there must be an interesting story behind that nickname—perhaps he got the sobriquet because even in school Campbell busted everyone’s, well, you know what; the obvious thought about the nickname is that Pete got very lucky with the ladies at college, but his buddy Horace—the jai alai pusher—says that was not the case).

Movie Mania: An interesting twist in this episode were 2 quotes from films and other TV series early in the episode:

1. When Peggy’s mother bemoans the lack of news on television about “the Holy father,” her daughter uses the line that Saturday Night Live would popularize decades later when referring to the overabundance of news on the demise of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco . When Peggy’s mom says 15 minutes and still no news about [the death of] the Holy Father, Peggy responds: “He’s still dead, ma.” (OK, I know what you’re thinking: What about the subtext of The Pope as dictator of the Catholic Church? Sorry, too obvious.)

2. Movie reference number one comes when jai alai enthusiast Horace—called Ho Ho in college, we learn—worries aloud that his star player, a handsome lad named Patchy, might take errant jai alai balls in the face. An obvious reference to the Alicia Silverstone film Clueless (1995), when one of the girls, Amber, attempts to dodge gym class by telling the PE teacher that practicing tennis could upset her recent nose job: My doctor says I should avoid activities where balls come close to my face. Whereupon Silverstone’s Cher blurts out: “Well, there goes her social life.” (Of course the irony of having Salvatore (Brian Batt) at the jai alai meeting, hiding his homosexuality, with all the talk of handsome men and balls…Oh, forget it. ) [OK, if we want to take this movie/TV quote thing further I suppose you could mention the prank phone call to the roommate-seeking Peggy was reminiscent of the crank calls Robin Williams made to housekeeper-seeking Sally Field in Mrs Doubtfire.]

RIP Gene: An unfortunate and early farewell to one of the zaniest characters in a series filled with them when Betty’s father Gene Hoffstadt (Ryan Cutrona) collapses standing on line at the A&P, shopping for fruit (anybody wanna comment on this? Steak, ok. Milk, not bad. Bread, a staple. Even eggs, but fruit? How undignified.) As for his death, well, if the guy puts salt on all his food (as he does on ice cream), his blood pressure must have been sky high.

Gene’s passing means there’ll be no more driving lessons for Don’s daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka). The fact that she’s still in elementary school only cements Gene’s loss of reality.

At least Grandpa Gene went happy, having downed illicit ice cream prior to dinner the evening before. A foreshadowing of his death? While it tasted like chocolate ice cream, it smelled like oranges, he tells us. (OK, I hear you. That smell of orange explains why he died while shopping for fruit.)

Still Gene’s mix of knee-jerk hate and remarkable insight/compassion was interesting (a bit like his daughter Betty’s mercurial personality, eh?). Note what he says to little Sally as they are eating the forbidden ice cream. Praising what he believes to be her intelligence and comparing her to her grandmother, he says, You can do great things…”don’t let your mother tell you otherwise.” Definitely not the type of progressive thinking we’d expect to come from Gene, who seems to be rooted in antiquity and wouldn’t be one who’d support more opportunities for women. As I said, a shame that Gene is gone.

Fathers & Sons/Mothers & Daughters/Fathers & Daughters: All the above is prologue. The main theme of episode 4—parents and their offspring— rears its head early, with Peggy and her mother. Just a thought: How did Peggy turn out so well with a mother like that?

Don’s Morality: This theme’s been brewing for a few episodes. Did you notice Don’s disapproval of Roger’s rendition of My Old Kentucky Home in black face during his Derby Day party in the previous episode? The obvious question: Of all people to develop a case of morality, Don Draper?

In tonight’s episode we see even more morality from Don when he meets Campbell’s jai alai-pushing college chum Horace, aka “Ho Ho” (add another Ho and you have a great name for someone who has brought a huge Christmas present to Sterling Cooper in the form of a $1 million piece of business, albeit for a ridiculous campaign). Don’s reaction to the snow job the Sterling Cooper boys are doing on Ho Ho, who’s obviously in over his head: “During the Depression I saw someone throw a loaf of bread off a truck. It was more dignified.”

Where is Don finding all this morality? Does he remember 2 episodes ago when he got within a fire alarm of shagging a stewardess in Baltimore? Or how about his longing glances at his daughter’s teacher at the Maypole dance? All this from a guy who’s not using his real name and once had an affinity for urinating in the trunks of rich people’s cars.

Health Concerns: Interesting scene with Betty as her father briefs her (conveniently) about his will. He asks her not to smoke, but it’s not to protect the baby. “I hate to see you commit suicide, and so do your children,” he tells her, before, ironically, discussing his last requests. Betty, the frail flower, doesn’t want to hear about the plans for her father’s funeral and will. “It’s morbid,” she tells dad. It’s also “selfish” of him to speak about “whatever it is that you’re facing” to someone “in my condition…I’m your little girl.” Gene says it’s his fault for protecting Betty from the dangers of the outside world. That’s probably why Betty “married that joker (Don),” Gene says. Apparently Gene feels she had much better prospects than an ad exec using someone else’s name and who used to tinkle in rich guys’ trunks.

War is Bad: A glimpse of the battles Don and Gene might have had down the road was previewed in that wonderful scene where Gene opened his box of war memorabilia. The tension the two had over the Prussian helmet Gene wants to give Don’s little son, Bobby, was priceless. Don orders Bobby to take off the helmet. Gene yells back,” keep it on.”

And another shot of Don Draper morality. In the same scene Gene boasts about his victory medal from France. Then he says to Don, “They should have given me another one for beating the clap.” Don’s perturbed look masks the obvious thought and plays back into the morality question: considering the herculean bed hopping Don’s done in 2+ seasons, he probably should get one for the same reason. Come to think of it, Roger deserves one, too.

It Ain’t You, Honey: Forget about the fact that we the audience know what’s coming in terms of history for the Mad Men crew: JFK’s assassination, Vietnam, civil rights, women’s liberation etc. The juiciest piece of intelligence we have is Sal’s hidden sexuality. Something his poor wife has suspicions about, but can’t quite put her finger on. Heck, Sal doesn’t let her put her finger anywhere on his body.

She gets a pretty good idea, though, when Sal gives her a more nuanced performance of the Patio diet soda song than the curvy Ann-Margaret fill-in Sterling Cooper hired to do it in the commercial. His wife’s look of horror after his affected run-through of the commercial in their bedroom means Don’s not the only one who has an idea about Sal’s secret.

Fathers and Sons Again: More of Don’s morality and the episode’s main theme: Don calls a meeting to alert Ho Ho’s dad, also named Horace, about what his son is doing with his inheritance, ie spending a lot of it to promote jai alai. Bert Cooper hits us over the head with the night’s theme during this scene, noting, “I am childless, but they’re not,” as he points to Don and Lane, the Brit who’s effectively in charge of the firm.

All the talk of fathers and sons at dinner has to affect Don, who was conceived by mistake when his father slept with a hooker. Later that night at dinner there’s more talk of fathers, sons and legacies when Don urges Ho Ho not to spend his fortune on jai alai. (Don, where did you get this moral streak from? Certainly not from your father, whose picture you look at in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep. )

Notes: While Ho Ho might be a pushover, he tells Don directly: “If jai alai fails it’s your fault.” This could be addressed in a future episode. — Joan shows her smarts when she critiques Peggy’s sad advertisement for a roommate thus: “It reads like the stage directions from an Ibsen play.” The witty words Joan offers to improve Peggy’s ad are evidence that perhaps she should be writing ad copy for Sterling Cooper and that she knows what this room in Manhattan is all about: “Fun-loving girl, responsible sometimes. Likes to laugh, lives to love. Seeks size 6 for city living and general gallivanting. No dull moments or dull men tolerated.” — Love when the Patio execs reject Sal’s commercial, even though it’s an exact replica of what they requested. In a series where things (and people) aren’t what they appear to be, it’s not a surprise when Roger assesses the problem with the commercial with Don by his side: “It’s not Ann-Margaret.” (Roger, that fellow standing next to you isn’t Don Draper, it’s Dick Whitman. And speaking of two people being the same person, did you notice that Gene was actually Gene number 2 at his bank since he had the same name as another bank customer? –And the rant of Don’s daughter Sally over her departed driving instructor, er grandfather? He’s dead and he will never come back, she shouts. But, honey, Don Draper died in Korea and he came back.) – Check the guilt trip Peggy’s mother lays on her daughter when she tells her she’s moving to Manhattan. Livia Soprano would have been proud.— Loved the details from Peggy. In relating why she needs to move to Manhattan, she mentions she’s spending a fortune on panty hose. If she can’t find a newspaper to cover the seat on her commute home, the cane on the seats rips them, she tells her sister. — Not only did Grandpa Gene’s death deprive us of some good drama between him and Don, it prevented Don from having to stare at what his own future might look like; a device used often on The Sopranos with Tony eyeballing the future as he looked at his elderly uncle, Corrado “Junior” Soprano. – Gosh, Lane the Brit is really into the business, especially the money part of it. This is quite a contrast from the usual portrayal of Brits in business as bumblers just trying to muddle through. – Note the choice of ending music, the George M. Cohan war ditty Over There, as Don closes Gene’s cot and thinks, perhaps, of how he switched identities with the real Don Draper “over there.”