Betty IS an upper class spoiled princess.

Betty called herself an orphan because she realized her dad has dementia and, in a sense, the father she knew IS gone. That's why Alzheimer's disease is called "the long goodbye". I think her feelings here are legit.

That being said, she is a spoiled princess and a bit of a downer. Hopefully she'll grow from this experience with her father.

Betty=manipulative, narcissist, button pusher who's got Don over an emotional barrel. It may appear Don 'married up' or he thinks he did, but in fact they're both same class level scraping the fence trying to leave the ghetto (of childhood).

Imagine a husband with a pressure cooker position as Don has, hearing from new owner a huge account is pulled after being pushed on him, he goes home and is told his 'soot filled' jacket should left downstairs by his wife as she lounges in bed lighting up a cigarette. His abandonment issues are so strong, he doesnt whack her because she's pregnant and he doesnt want to be sent away again. Matt Weiner and his entire team are brilliant.

Betty has never been my favorite...but c'mon!

Beautiful dinner clothes topped off with that big puss. The way she treated Joan was horrible.

Does anyone wonder why she has NO friends?

Hey, that's right-- whatever happened to Francine?
FifNif, your analysis is spot on! I love to trash Betsy-Wetsy. My theory is that Don wouldn't stray so often if she was the least bit attentive to his deeper self. More like Anna.

Yeah, go figure. She's worried about a soot laden jacket and all of her lovely antiques and furniture are oozing more amd more each day with a coating of nicotine. Blech.

Her nastiness is probably caused by all the booze she drinks on the sly. I think lot of young mothers are self centered like that because they haven't grown up. I have 2 in my family and I can't stand to be around them. Then again I've seen older parents very impatient with their kids. I think the best age to be a parent is in your 30's and 40. The part of Betty is so right on IMo.
I can understand not liking her though

Did you notice though that Perfect Betty has a few foibles:
1.) She actually said the word "bullshit" when referring to her brother William's plans for their dad. Shocking, Betty, shocking.
2.) As discussed last week, referred to her daughter as a "little lesbian" interested in hammers and things. I just found this an odd thing for Betty Draper to say....but it was in private.
3.) When she and Don were in the middle of her father discussion, Don resigns to saying, "Ok...what do you want me to do?" And Betty says," How can you talk that way to me knowing the condition I'm in??" OMG...he didn't even raise his voice or anything! She just wants the kid to pop out and be done with it. Until then, everyone will suffer.
I thought it was so funny when Roger greeted her with:" Oh look...Princess Grace swallowed a basketball!" How true! (no offense to Grace Kelly...loved her!)

You folks seem to be complaining that Betty is playing the role of smiling housewife and helpmate to the hardworking breadwinner of the house. Such people never existed, or were/are at least rare. as near as I can tell. Betty's behavior is SO real! Sure, she's self-centered, not an uncommon affliction. (how many married people, after a trying day - whether in the home or in the office - set this aside when the spouse gets home, abandons his/her concerns and focuses on said spouse?)

In her further defense, she IS pregnant (which affects one's outlook and emotional reactions) and she DOES have a legitimate reason to be upset about her dad...not to mention that she was driven back to Don for imperfect reasons.

Oops. Correction to the 1st sentence:

You folks seem to be complaining that Betty is *not* playing the role of smiling housewife and loving helpmate to the hardworking breadwinner of the house. Such people never existed, or were/are at least rare. as near as I can tell. Betty's behavior is SO real! Sure, she's self-centered, not an uncommon affliction. (how many married people, after a trying day - whether in the home or in the office - set this aside when the spouse gets home, abandons his/her concerns and focuses on said spouse?)

In her further defense, she IS pregnant (which affects one's outlook and emotional reactions) and she DOES have a legitimate reason to be upset about her dad...not to mention that she was driven back to Don for imperfect reasons.

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@Fred3: I am sorry, but I refuse to let pregnancy (or pms, or "women troubles") to be an excuse for bad behavior. Betty is spoiled and used to getting her way.

I remember my grandfather, in his 70s, received word that his mother has died. His response was to say, sadly, that he was now an orphan. And he was. So is Betty, in a very real sense.

Whatever else she may be, she is true to her family obligations, and her family is one that is disintegrating. Yes, part of that is her fault, for not working to maintain a real relationship with her brother. But she's at least trying to maintain her kin in the best way she knows how. Not by being loving or kind and most emotionally health people would do...but by, again, doing so the only way she knows how, which in this case means sheltering her father from strangers and making sure his physical needs are met. People who don't know how to give emotional support often try to show their love by making sure others physical needs are met.

Sure, you could argue it's about her Dad's house and money, but I don't think that's the case––if anything, I think she harps on it because she's afraid to discuss the real reasons she's upset. If she was really just concerned about money or keeping up appearances, she'd put her Dad in that home where the neighbors wouldn't see him shuffling about in his bathrobe and make a grab for the antiques while he's gone. But she's not doing that. She's trying. We'll see if she's able to keep it up, but at least the effort is there so far.

So sure, she's shrill, judgmental, and a often a real jerk. But considering the family model she had, and the loving, supporting spouse Don is (yeah right), I think she's doing pretty well to not be going insane.

We'll see if Betty's good intentions are followed by measurable effort. She's going to get a huge portion of what real caretaking means. She has no patience with 5 yr old Bobby, has little interest in Sally and now will deal with behavior flare ups from a parent who has been her ideal . He has been a strong and influential man throughout her life and now she will have to be his champion.... This is a steep learning curve for a 27 year old beauty who is in the midst of a pregnancy.
I predict boarding school for Sally and over-time a plenty for Carla.. Live in help can't be too far in the future.... Don will yearn for the chance to smooth out the rough patches with some $3 throw pillows and a Saturday in Terrytown.

I really don't see how we're going to see Betty stepping up to the plate to take care of Gene when her first response to his behavior was to walk away and leave Don to take care of it.

My father had Alzheimers. You can't just walk away.

I'm with you, Nana. She's in for a rude awakening.

And I admit it could go either way, Zabadu. She could be the Betty that walks away from her Dad draining the booze down the sink...or she could be the Betty that rejects putting her Dad in a home and makes the decision to keep him. Ultimately, if she does step up––and I hope she does––I believe it would be a strong vehicle for her to finally grow up.

Leaving while Gene was dumping the booze was a step backwards...but the woman is an emotional cripple. You can't expect someone like that to run in a day. If she does commit to caretaking, I expect pleanty of selfish mistakes (and regular mistakes) before she comes close to getting it right. But still, it is growth. Halting, to be sure, but still growth.

Did more people back then take care of their family members instead of the nursing home? At any rate both Don and Betty are in for a rude awakening especially since they are so young. But maybe they will step up to the plate.

(be nice to your kids they pick out your nursing home!)

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