Watching this recap makes me think I got this episode all wrong. But we're all entitled to our own opinion. I think Matt is a little idealistic about his characters but who am I to argue. I'm a raving fan.

Interesting contrast between Lois and Betty. Lois incurs Don's wrath and is fired for "incompetence" which includes her inability to "manage peoples' expectations" of Don. Betty, on the other hand, asks Don to further clarify her role to "charm", "be shiny and bright", and be his "better half" before her command performance at Lutece by inquiring "Is this one where I talk or I don't talk?" She endures dinner, rises to the challenges of meeting Don's stated expectations, but later cries in the car on the way home. Her explanation that they are tears of happiness for team Draper does not ring true. Meanwhile, back at Sterling Cooper, Joan stepping in as Don's temporary secretary will provide a whole new spin to competence and managing peoples' expectations!

Is it just me reading too much into this but I thought that Bobbie was a man which is why Don has so much "hold" over her . . . am I way off?

Citykittyboo, I think you are on to something and right on the mark. Remember when Don comes home after his encounter with Bobby he immediately rinses out his mouth? Then in Lutece, he grabs her crouch and tells her he could destroy her and will if an apology isn't given!

Sigh. I liked the show so much more before this episode. Too far, guys.

Well, I was happy with episode 3. It had a feel similar to season one. It's getting better, again. Thank Goodness! I hope it gets better and better. Love the Joan as Don's assistant angle - keep it, and let it blossom will you??? Hot, Hot, Hot.

I don't mean to insult January, but, less Betty please. I find her so annoying. She's beautiful, but so dull. It's funny - I took the quiz - the only ones I got wrong had to do with Betty (I guess I don't pay as much attention when she's on - unless, of course if Don is there).

Oh yeah, I saw her yesterday in "Anger Management"-that Jack Nicholson movie, (She had a small role as one of the kissing lesbians in the "Support Group" scene. Very different than Mrs. Draper!! Ha!!!

Can't wait till Sunday nights.

Re: August 10, 2008 Episode: The Benefactor

I agree with Betty Friedan's entry above.

This episode was very disappointing. I thoroughly enjoyed the sharp, witty writing and sociocultural references of Season 1. Last season was captivating. However, the writing and conceptual presentation this season has eroded from tasteful and clever to tawdry and vulgar. The scenes that depicted Don Draper and the comedian’s wife being sexually intimate in his car, then Don going home afterward to his wife and children but first stopping at the kitchen sink to wash his hands, rinse his mouth and spit “it” out in the kitchen sink, then kissing his wife hello, and the other scene at the restaurant Lutece in which Don violently puts his hand under the dress of the comedian’s wife, inflicting pain, and then wipes his hand on her dress, were all equally distasteful and vulgar. There are many other linguistic and semiotic devices that Matt Weiner and Rick Cleveland could have used to communicate the era’s disintegration of integrity in everyday life, acts against marriage, the family, and relationships, and the covert violence against women. I have now lost interest in the show. Cheap and vulgar are in abundant supply and readily available on television and the internet; there isn’t any value added by bombarding the viewer with more. I thought that Matthew Weiner had raised the bar when he wrote Mad Men and brought it to AMC. Apparently not.

RMC.

Betty and RMC...

Betty, too far? And RMC, you remark that last season was, "tasteful and clever" and not as "tawdry and vulgar" as season 2...so masturbating on top of a washing machine is tasteful? Coming up with creative for "The Rejuvenator" isn't "tawdry"?

This show has always pushed the boundaries, because it rides the razor sharp edge between what people present to the world as their restricted and restrained lives, ambitions, and ethics, and the deeper truth that they are all too ashamed to be liberated by.
That edge is sharp and sometimes that truth cuts...and most of the time that truth isn't pretty, but it's real...sometimes too real for those who like their television to be a murky mirror that reflects a somewhat a softer version of life and a "safer" viewing experience, as opposed to a show that holds up a clear mirror and challenges your beliefs.

My question to Betty and RMC is, what exactly about this season (or this episode) has you two so up in arms? Was it the clever connection between Betty's instruction to her young male riding partner on how to handle a temperamental horse and the way Don handled the comedian's wife/manager...or the tasteful way they created the juxtaposition between Dons need to wash up after is auto-interlude and Betty's desire to wash up after her verbal dalliance with the guy in the stables?

I feel this season is picking up where last season left off, both in creativity and cleverness...and though there have been (and will be) scenes and moments that are a bit disconcerting and shocking to some, all I have to say is it's a show about the perceptions of reality, and how manipulation through advertising (both commercial and personal) can warp and distance us from the realities that truly connect us all.

While I respectfully disagree with RMC and Betty Friedan's comments. I'm trying to understand their view. They liked last season as tasteful or acceptable with Don's affairs, the sex in the office, men chasing down women to get a look at they're underwear, Roger riding that girl with the spur comment, Roger referring to Joan as the finest piece of ass, Pete and Peggy's office sex scene but this episode is over the line?

This show is exciting, edgy and full of nuance and surprises at every turn. The fashions, the authenticity and all aspects are fascinating. . Yes it's harsh to watch and uncomfortable at times and I certainly do not applaud the actions of some but I'm sure it is closer to truth of the times.

I'm also curious that the aforementioned guests here were offended by the sex in this episode but not the way the comedian brutally insulted the fat woman which was just as offensive. That's ok?

Bobbie was trying to blackmail Don and she forced herself on to him first. It's not like Don hadn't visited that private place before. He was speaking her language. Point was taken. She understood,

What about the shocking, condescending way the comedian also treated the waiter?? " Don snapping his fingers at the waiter. That too was offensive but it happened. The writers are just staying true to the era.

No other show on television is as intriguing.
Betty and Don together are fascinating to watch - they are so good - looking! They are the pinnacle of the world's standard of beauty. It's not fair! I loved the comment "are you sold separately?"

Betty's character is evolving. She is not stupid or boring. She is trying to come to terms with her husband's philandering while choosing not to go down the same path for now. She truly loves him, plays her role as pretty better half, aches to know him and I think is slowly coming to realize that she'll never have Don all to herself, if she wants to stay with him. Yes profoundly sad but grateful for her place in the world.

Yeah, this episode was disappointing. Please, it's not an issue of taste. Prior to this episode I thought the show was wonderful, hilarious, and handled the sexism of the environment with good humor and thoughtfulness. But when you start to mess around with sexual assault type stuff, that's just something different. I also wouldn't say the comparison between taming the horse and taming the woman was particularly clever. This kind of stuff can be found in zillions of movies from Hitchcock on down so it's not even particularly "edgy."

I guess I just thought I was watching a show that had a more nuanced message than this. I think I will try to continue to watch, but I'm disappointed.

I was disappointed too...I think this episode just lowered the show to the level of some of the worst seasons of the Sopranos. It was nothing more than Tony & Gloria in the Monkey Cage...just change the names! Lazy writing for the lowest common denominator.

They feel the need to club us over the head with that crap instead of sticking with the sharp, sexy innuendo that made the first season so great!

The show has been so smart, so sharp...why can't they just have the confidence that we GET it? Maybe they should rewatch the scene where Peggy says "Sex sells" and Don says...."Says Who?" .... take Don's advice and rise above the lazy temptation!

...and they've worn out the hair pulling thing...

I agree with the comments by mmc23 and cma.
My comments about Season 1 were based on the episodes I viewed. I thought I had seen most or all episodes of Season 1. And now that I've been made aware of content I missed, then I've decided that both seasons are predictably base, with only random sprinklings of clever writing. I just happened to catch the episodes that had more generous sprinklings. The rest - not nuanced enough, not edgy enough. I'm not interested in trying to figure out why Who did what, analyzing "Lazy writing for the lowest common denominator." I was more interested in the abstract artistic or abstract linguistic presentation of concepts, rather than a concrete presentation. The abstract is more difficult and more developed. I think that if their writing trend continues, the show will become predictable and mediocre with low cultural capital.

Does anyone--please--know the name of the movie Don Draper was watching?

I don't know the name of the movie Don Draper was watching but I thought it was interesting that he was watching a French movie with subtitles. Now I'm wondering *why*, with business and other questions at work, is he watching a foreign film? To stay on the cutting edge? To try to fill in his missing education? To lose himself in thought while watching something that won't grab his interest?

This isn't the first time he's gone out to watch a movie during working hours. It also happened in Episode 1 of this season according to Lois, who tried to make a joke to the wrong person.

I think citykittyboo and Secretary are right. I initially thought Don was disgusted with himself. But... Using dishsoap as mouthwash and the crotch grab would indicate he knows Jimmy's "girlfriend/wife" Bobbie is not of the female persuasion. And that could kill Jimmy's career. Just as Don said he could.

As far as disgusting goes, I thought Roger with the twins was far worse. Even if there was a little instant karma.

Joan as Don's secretary? Ai yai yai! Like finding the FBI is going to be your home security service.

I think the "why" of the movie is that this man from nowhere, who adopted a persona and has made much of it, has a need for real education. He wonders what is below the surface of experience, especially because he is so good at seeing the needs of people. That's why he read the O'Hara and went to the Village.

I agree 100% that Bobbie is a man. Great call Citykittyboo.
Note the way Don seems repulsed that Bobbie wants to have phone sex with him the next day when he calls her from his home.

I disagree with Mr. Weiner, with his concept of couples working as a team. If ever there was an episode, where Don was working independent of anyone, this was the one. In fact, in this episode, he Don “got away with it” for the last time. . . or not, because he seems to have lost his sole. (Compare, for instance, with last week when he was upset in the elevator that the man did not take off his hat.)

It seems that until this episode, he had been struggling with what would happen if he was to stop pretending, if he was ever found out. Clearly, after needing to give Betty the coat in order for her to go out with him, he knows that if ever the truth about him were to come out, Betty would stop “loving” him. While not a bad person, she is shallow and only in love with his image, not him. So, it’s impossible for him to emotionally invest in her, which actually is a very safe place to be, or at least has the illusion of being a safe place. (As they say in Spanish, “esta atrapado,” which applied here would mean that Don has swaddled himself in emotional knots. However like a baby that is swaddled, the swaddling only creates an illusion of safety, and more importantly, makes the baby more vulnerable.) Yet he needs her not only to maintain the cover-up (like Sal), but also to fend off the profound loneliness that he experienced before they were married. It appears that there are times when he tries to convince himself that maybe it’s him she loves and not his image, but can’t. He knows she is not capable for loving him for who he really is. So, he’s stuck in a relationship with someone who he knows is using him for his image and yet is afraid to end. Put another way, he is stuck in Plato’s Cave.

In the New York Times Magazine, it said that Rousseau has been a big influence on Mr. Weiner, and Plato was a big influence on Rousseau. I’m wondering if Don is meant to be an example of someone in Plato’s cave. He really seems like a great example of what we all do when we pretend to be someone else: we set it up so that we are per se unable to trust the people who we have in our lives. He also depicts what will happen when you stay too long in the cave, you do things that chip away at your soul until you lose it.