The King Midas

We're back to Greek Myths again. It was Oedipus before, now we're on King Midas, whose most famous story is the one where he is granted a wish because he'd been kind. He asked that everything he touched would turn to gold. Getting his wish he soon found this problematic as everything he touched including food, friends and his daughter turned to gold.

Take note that the Lucky Strike account returns in this episode to reinforce the gold theme. MadMen has a lot to say about our pursuit of gold, either our hope for a lucky strike or our wish for that golden touch. Everyone, it seems, wants to live like a king, but once we're in that role, very few of us care about being a good king.

Connie, for example, says he wants to be a good king, a compassionate humanitarian, but his vision of how to do this (putting a Hilton in every country), pales in comparison to the words of another "King" on the radio talking about achieving true equality. It's especially ironic that King Conrad wants to bring democracy to the world when America, at this time, isn't offering that to many of its own citizens.

Conrad's fear that he's become King Midas is well founded. People, including Don, are at his beck and call only because he has the Midas touch, and that touch takes away everyone's humanity, including the King's. He bullies Don, and Don, in turn, bullies others. The moral of the Midas story, we're reminded, isn't just "be careful what you wish for!" It's also about being careful that one's pursuit of gold doesn't make you lose your humanity. Real wealth in life is to be found in the human touch, not the golden touch.