The way i see Pete, is that Pete has issues with having his cake and eating it too. He wants it all, and wants it his way.

Remember when Don came back from California, and Pete was mad at him, Don explains that if he didn't think Pete could handle it he wouldn't have left him there. (which I actually thought was not some grand Don plan, just another Don excuse much like "I was at the printers" but that's another topic). But he says to Pete "I know you want everything the minute you want it". To me, that line there defined Pete. And I think it's about more than just wanting it the minute he wants it, he wants it his way as well.

Pete's got issues a lot of people have in that they want what they want from other people, but want it their own way; which just can't happen. Also like a lot of people, he doesn't handle that fact very well.

So he wants to marry into money because he comes from money, he wants that social title. He wants Don's job because he wants that title as well. That's Pete. He wanted to marry into money, but he hates being married. So he wants Peggy, and wants her his way. But when she's out there, dancing, single, having fun, everything opposite of him, he has to witness that and he can't handle it.

I think that's why he had that attitude in the episode. Part of it was the booze talking, but most of it stems from needing to be the alpha-male, but, he's helpless in what he can't control and he doesn't handle that very well. He can't control his work status, and he can't control Peggy either. So he unnecessarily snaps at her.

Pete is pretty miserable. He would rather be alone in the office than with his wife or the SC crowd at a party. He is too miserable to notice other's feelings. He does not like that Peggy can feel successful while he feels like a failure.

Though he probably did not intend for it to sound like this, Peggy hears "this relationship is about me. I don't care about your feelings when I am not directly related." She'll never know that he made a failed pass at some other girl at his bachellor party before showing up at her apartment. But because of this she knows that it was not as much of a personal needing connection that she thought it was when she accepted.

Vincent Kartheiser also said once that even during S1 Pete felt uncomfortable around Peggy because he was not acting in his most self controlled around her.

.....I agree it's a jealousy thing.....his insecurities dictate that the woman he loves be subservient and powerless (remember the flying baked chicken?) but that’s not really Peggy’s nature, and never will be, which is something she had to discover for herself.

Remember the scene in the beginning where Pete and Peggy are sitting in his office, and he's describing this perfect man-woman scenario? It was all about her standing by to serve him, to watch him eat, and him all macho, out hunting wild game to feed, well.... him anyway.....

Peggy's reply to the extended fantasy was something about "That sounds perfect," and it was clear just then that she was both in love with Pete, and also on the same page.

That didn't last but a tick of the clock, what with Peggy immediately putting on weight and having to deal with all of that criticism and humiliation at work, while still trying to get ahead, which made her tougher and try harder. Then the whole baby/mental hospital thing.

She has really had to become her own cheerleader, and handled her shame and dismay with dignity (I thought).

And, don’t forget her family was marginally supportive, but also derisive in a way. Turns out her mother is basically useless, and her sister is a big, fat backstabber who, because of HER jealousy and insecurities, is basically bent on completely assassinating Peggy's character. I love that the writers put that in, because the reality of familial betrayal is probably more prevalent than most people realize.

For a girl Peggy’s age, in her position, at the time, that is a LOT of chaotic and tragic personal history in a very short period.

She has been very much alone, and up a creek. With no one to trust or guide her except sometimes Donald Draper, she’s had to become extremely self-reliant. No wonder she’s tougher and more aware.

It seemed like the scene where Peggy is doing the twist and starting to come into her own a little, was a threat to Pete's delicate male ego.

It seemed like she realized right then, after the pain of invalidation had subsided, how confining a relationship with Pete would really be, and that the reality would be much different from the fantasy they had shared.

That was reinforced when she showed up at the Tom Tom Club, looking like someone else, and got the same reaction. By that time, though, I think she was over Pete, and Pete, of course, was oblivious.

The thing I have enjoyed most about Peggy is watching that evolution, how she has endured the whole thing with no one to talk to, not even Joan who made it clear Peggy was past her advice already, her personal dignity in some horrifying situations, her steadfast loyalty despite all the betrayals and abandonment, and her ever-accelerating learning curve.

Peggy evolved pretty quickly into the person at the end of Season 2, and I’m sure a big part of that was her private torment.

When Peggy talked about loss, I got the impression that while poor old Pete's still back on the same old page, Peggy has both passed him by, and basically lost her innocence and subservience forever.

Saying all that, now I'm curious about Peggy's next love interest ("Well, he's in for it!"), and of course we all want to know if Pete's going to try to find his baby, and/or whether Trudy will finally have a baby of her own.

Pete is also undergoing an evolution of his own, but not about this.

Who knows..... we still have several seasons to go, so Pete and Peggy could still end up together, after all.....you never know with this show.

Insightful comments, everyone.

I agree that Pete is completely self absorbed...or was before he inadvertantly "fell" for Peggy. I think he thought he was in love (as much as it's possible for Pete to be in love!) with Trudy until his stronger feelings emerged for Peggy....which both surprised and scared him.

I got the impression that he was resentful towards her (during the "Twist" scene) for making him feel so strongly for another person, a very new and frightening feeling for Pete!
I think he fell for her before he knew it and then didn't like the out-of-his-control aspect of that.

I think when he confessed his love for her (right before the "I had your baby and I gave it away" speech from Peggy) and he asked her if she "knew", he was speaking from his heart...
I think he feels he has given control of his life to another person -- at least control of his heart and feelings.

I think Pete puts on a front most of the time. (Who doesn't on MM?!) I think his feelings run very deep and the fact that his own father had disowned him hurt him to the core.

I think he makes it a point to hide that part of himself from everyone but Peggy. JMO

Or...he could just be an asshole...sometimes the simpler explanation is the correct one....ha!

Yes, I think Pete's comment meant he didn't like Peggy looking sexy and confident and attractive to other men. He wanted her and didn't want anyone else to have her. (It's the same kind of comment Don made to Betty when she had the bikini on.) Usually very insecure men feel that way. Frequently, when an overweight woman loses weight, her husband or boyfriend will start treating her badly and even dump her; he's afraid she might leave him now that she's attractive.

And while we're on the subject of Pete and Peggy, I'm still wondering about the comments Peggy made when she told Pete that she had given his baby away. I'm not sure exactly what she meant when she talked about having a child and loss. When she said something like "it's gone, and you know you'll never get it back", was she referring to life (the "it") and how a parent forever loses a part of life when she has children; and that because of that Peggy didn't want to ever have children? Any thoughts?

Been gone to the beach for a few days; lots of interesting topics while I was gone!

I don't know if she never wanted children, but she did not want them at that moment (hence oral contraceptives) nor under those circumstances (with aq guy who does not like or respect her and is not worth trying to be on speakuing terms with at the time). But knowing that, and actually getting pregnant in that situation are different enough that the whole aituation was damaging. It cannot be an abstract any more.

It also solidifies some tension between her and her family. Becoming a secretary iin Manhattan might have been considered temporary. Something to do before getting mariied and settling in Bayridge. It proves she wanted other things and they might see that as her looking down on them, and their life choices.

Peggy is single and fancy free. Pete is not.

He has to go home to the wife after work; she can go anywhere she dern pleases.

Hello! I just discovered this site and am so excited to be able to discuss the show with people and read your comments.

This is an interesting question, because I find myself going back and forth between loathing Pete and sympathizing with him. There's a lot going on with his character.

At an abstract level, I think Peggy is self-posessed and poised, whereas Pete constantly looks to status, titles, and other people to tell him who he is. So I think Peggy's independence of mind and self-reliance really get under Pete's skin. He thinks that money, a career, and a marriage can buy what Peggy has, and he's full of resentment that he still doesn't know who he is or how to be happy.

What I haven't been able to figure out is what Peggy sees in him. Do you think it's that her character has really changed a lot over the two seasons? Does she or did she ever really like him?

Welcome, not just darker, not just grey!

I have the same problem with Pete...flip-flopping between loathing/sympathizing....I attribute this to the superb acting of VK...who I wish would get noms/win some more awards! He needs a few Golden Globes and Emmys to go with his Young Hollywood award!

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2008/04/hollywood-life-young-hollywood.php

I think Peggy was flattered by Pete's attentions at first, and you could say she liked him, I guess. At the start of the series she was a shy, working class girl from Brooklyn and he is a rich, upper class type from the "right" people. When he first showed up at her apartment that night, she probably couldn't believe her luck and fantasized that he would leave Trudy for her; that would be her justification for sleeping with him. Of course, we all know how that turned out. Peggy has since wised up and has no more interest in Pete, while he has fallen for Peggy. Nice irony.

Peggy did not like Pete at first. She did not want to hang around him when they first met (not keeping him out of Don's office, not listening to his critical speech). But at the end of the day what he said was not that different than they other's (especially Joan) and in some ways much more personal. So when he came to her place she saw it as a personal connection and fell in love. But it was less personal and she was misreading signals. Think taking the sex joke card and being okay with him not reading her copy.

She did change a lot. She is more guarded and scared than at the beginning of the series.