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Bobbi Barrett-Tragedy in the making or...?
Bobbi Barrett-Tragedy or...?
Seems to me the Bobbi character has finally begun to set in the show. I wondered for a while if she might end up a sort of plot device to allow Don to be "caught" by Betty. That still may be the result, we'll see, but the character seems to be growing as Mad Men characters do and nearing a crossroads-She's falling in love with Don. I really think her defensive wariness with Peggy was a clear indication she has developed a real attachment, even if she maintains the air of this being a fun fling with a gorgeous hunk. For Don, I think he is living out the "cheap affair" Rachel accused him of wanting with her and that could lead to tragedy. For all her pose and poise, Bobbi is in crisis. She was probably already feeling trapped by advancing age when her younger dancer self latched on to Jimmy Barrett and she's getting no younger (though we may get a surprise from Jimmy when things blow up). We saw her harping continuously on Peggy's youth and Peggy sized up the woman's desperation immediately, "I'm not your competition". She has no security except as Jimmy's manager and if she lost that she's likely just a bit too ahead of her time to be able to find a similar position. To have Don reject or dismiss her could be the final straw. And for Don, she is really quite the perfect woman for Betty to learn about...Probably exactly the sort of woman Betty imagines he is taken up with. For him to be caught in or somehow confess to an affair with Bobbi would probably be the least dangerous exposure in his philandering career. Betty would be angry but pleased to find her competition so slight...Stern but forgiving. Just the temptations of Manhattan high life and a trashy seducteress...
Peggy's reaction to her was fascinating, I thought. As I said, she sized this woman up immediately. And while she listened to her advice, she was in control in their scenes together. I felt she weighed the value of Bobbi's advice very carefully...Accepting what she deemed useful...Insisting on being treated as an equal...And rejected that which she didn't...Be a woman, don't try to be a man. Pegs has heard that many times and she'll find her own happy medium there, thanks very much.
Of course another direction is possible...Bobbi could find her way to doing something else. It would be great to see her set up a firm and wangle Peggy over, becoming a sort of Burt/Roger hybrid to Peggy's Don...But I don't think so.
And of course a surprise is possible...Jimmy might startle us by suddenly playing the Bob Hoskins character in "Hollywoodland". Rescuing his crushed wife with compassionate understanding and revealing a deep affection. Stranger things have happened in "Mad Men" and in real life.
Why can't Don say "No!" to her? He obviously doesn't like her at all, she's skanky, cheap, and if she were a real person, probably would carry with her a laundry list of STDs.
WHY can't Don say "No?"
IMO, Bobbi is the Classic Borderline Personality. Manipulative, selfish, self absorbed, EVIL, and lacking in any morals at all. She can "be nice" when she wants something, but the underside of Rot, based on lack of any inner Morals, always results, eventually, in decay and decline. Sadly, too many women like this take a lot of people down with them. Before they finally give up, and either die, or everyone they know abandons them.
I can't stand the character, and I am guessing that a good plot twist would be for her to be murdered, and to have Don, Betty, Jimmy and others suspected. The best turn out, and the most realistic, if it was to turn out to be a suicide. She IS a pretty pathetic person. I KNOW women like this, they rarely come to a good end. All their conniving and lying, and deceit, and manipulation usually backfires in the end.
Bobbi could be a future Peggy. We all hope that the measures that Peggy has to take to get ahead don't turn her into another Bobbi.
However, they are two sides of the same coin with intelligent women fighting to utilize their talents. I suppose that Joan is in between?
A Man's World:
This discussion of desperate women seeking empowerment reminds me of a co-executive who uses a male name for her first - not her real name - and seems to be in a constant struggle with herself to prove her mettle. She seems to be oblivious to how pathetic she appears. Most of us good ol boys see a self-centered, desperate housewife trying to make it in the world of biz reserved for men. The sad aspect is that this is now, not 1960.
Please forgive my fascitious chauvanism.
I'm still not going to vote for Sarah.
Is it obvious that Don doesn't like Bobbi?
Yes, but that misses the point. For a man who knows how to wield power, she represents a challenge and something more than a one-night stand. For some of us in the business world, that's all there is.
Does this help in understanding his character?
A little. Maybe Billy Crystal explained it best in "When Harry Met Sally....". To paraphrase: doesn't matter who the woman is, the man will still want to nail her even when he has no real interest - the opportunity for sex is....an opportunity, and not to be passed up.
As we learn in ep 6 ("Maidenform"), Bobbie has a daughter about Peggy's age who goes to Sarah Lawrence and is evidently majoring in Theater. A striver and the daughter of a striver, in other words. Bobbie understands women from the bottom trying to make something of themselves.