The agency is going down fast. The loss of Lucky Strike means half their business is gone. Don sums it up when a $5 million prospect pulls a no show:
We’re desperate. They can smell it on us.
Mad Men‘s “Blowing Smoke” is a study in desperation and dependence, loss of power and a need to take it back. We see it played out by the partners, by Betty and Sally, by someone from Don’s past.
Don knows all about blowing smoke. He’s done it expertly for much of his life. He’s learning about taking back power on a personal level.
Now he has to lead the agency to do so, if it’s going to survive.
The hard sell: Mark of weakness?
Don puts the hard sell on a potential new client, and is nicely told to back off. One of his former lovers, artist Midge, hits him up for money under the guise of running into him accidentally. Don bristles finding himself guilted into buying a painting, on the receiving end of the hard sell.
And where is Peggy in this?
She has her power. We’ve seen it. And she’s offering Don lessons from his own book.
“You always told me if you don’t like what they’re saying about you, then change the conversation,” she says.
Contrasts
There are contrasts and comparisons a-plenty in this episode. Dependence is taken to an extreme, and also, managed. Midge is hooked on heroin; Don seems to be – for now – in control of his drinking. The nicotine addiction isn’t lost on our 21st century viewing sensibilities, nor the agency’s dependence on the cigarette business, one way or another. If not on promoting smoking, perhaps on denouncing it.
Then there’s Betty, whose cruelty to her daughter may be the only way she exercises any power whatsoever.
Sally has found a means to give Betty what she wants, at least temporarily, and her life is calmer. Likewise, Megan seems to have learned from watching Allison. And Don, seeing Midge, is learning, too. Taking his shot at changing the game.
Don’s coup
Don’s brilliant PR move to address their problems comes after his encounter with Midge, and while staring at her painting in his dingy apartment. He sits down where he writes in his journal, and crafts what becomes a full page ad in the New York Times. “Why I’m quitting tobacco.”
Recently my advertising agency ended a long relationship with Lucky Strike cigarettes. For over 25 years we devoted ourselves to peddling the product…
Don goes on to cite cigarettes as the cause of illness. He takes on the voice of integrity saying he will sleep better at night by not accepting tobacco industry clients. He’s, well… blowing smoke. And doing what he does best. Walking a fine line, with his usual moral ambiguity, and a mix of motives.
Cut to Don back in charge, swimming laps. Back in the office, confident. And lighting up. No longer in the weak position. He’s succeeded at changing the conversation. The American Cancer Society calls. We know the agency will battle its way back.
Other goodies in this episode
There are tempting teasers in this episode. We’re being neatly set up (too neatly?) for whatever comes next.
We get a glimpse at what lies beneath Trudy’s saccharine and supportive demeanor. She “forbids” Pete to put more money into the agency.
Lane has just moved his family back to New York. He caved to his father.
Betty and Henry slide into marital routine. Betty is bored. Henry is dismissive.
Don shows a generous side, first to Midge, then later putting up $50k on Pete’s behalf. Is supporting Pete in his own self-interest? Sure. But it’s also a mark of respect, and repayment for Pete’s taking the fall on North American Aviation.
Megan and Faye
Megan and Faye are lined up to compete for Don’s affections. In one scene, Faye is speaking with Don in a conference room. Her blonde hair is swept upward, properly and professionally. Megan sits in the background, firmly planted between the two, her dark hair in a similar style.
In a later scene, both women are standing in Don’s office, Faye wearing power red, and Megan in youthful apple green, each with their hair down. Faye may be the one to say “Have your girl make the reservations” when it comes to evening dinner plans, but she’s on her way out.
Megan is sticking around.
Sally and Betty
Sally gets my vote for most effective smoke blower. So effective, that she convinces the shrink that she’s better – and for awhile – she is. She manages her mother by appearing to comply with Betty’s wishes, and even goes so far as to suggest she would like to eat with Betty and Henry, rather than with her brothers.
The shrink reminds Sally that her mother has stresses, but Sally sees it and tells it like it is:
She doesn’t care what the truth is, as long as I do what she says.
As for Betty, she unravels at the idea of Sally no longer needing the psychiatrist – her own (unrecognized) dependence on speaking with the doctor is at stake. It’s clear that she is the child, and needs therapy far more than Sally.
Bad Glen? More like Bad Betty.
And Betty’s mercurial temperament is no more evident than when she drags Sally off, finding her innocently meeting with Glen. She threatens to move the family, and Sally is devastated. Now we’re worried. We’re privy to the way the child’s mind works, including her thoughts on death which she has recently shared with Glen. Her dream in which she floats to heaven, like Mary Poppins. She also speaks of the forever quality of death as what frightens her.
What will it take for her to get her power back, with Betty on the warpath?
A child is dependent. And this child, momentarily managing, is desperate again.
Shadows and foreshadowing
We’ve had more than a few goodbyes in recent episodes: Blankenship dies on duty, David Montgomery is the dead old school ad exec, Joan’s husband heads to Vietnam. Roger’s health is precarious, and of course Anna’s death earlier in the season rocked Don’s world.
This week? Bert picks up his shoes and says goodbye. Faye kisses Don and says farewell to their professional relationship. Employees are let go. Sally is forced to say goodbye to Glen.
Don’s ad may save the day for the business. But what happens to those who can’t change the conversation?
Images courtesy AMCTV.com.
Read more Mad Men musings and recaps here.
Another excellent episode and recap. Sally is low man on the totem pole to those who should be putting her first. It is sad when one parent ignores the needs of a child. It is traumatic when both do. What can be ahead for her?
Betty’s dependence on Sally’s therapist reminded me of my ex. Our oldest was in therapy. My ex wouldn’t join in therapy sessions or go to therapy himself but he did “drop” by weekly to check on how our son was doing.
When the therapist told me that he thought the boy no longer needed to see him my ex threw a fit. He demanded the boy continue with his therapy.
He got his way and he continued to drop by and check on how things were going. That was over a decade ago. I didn’t put two and two together until last night when watching Betty’s reaction to Sally seeing less of her therapist.
Seems not only are the children desperate, so are the parents.
Did you notice the body language differences? Sally completely at ease, same couch, speaking normally with Dr. Edna. Betty? Primly erect, plenty of distance between her and the doctor, and it couldn’t have been more clear that she belongs on that couch. Not Sally.
Quite an interesting realization you had! That’s one of the fascinating side benefits of this show. The little sparks of recognition we find in the scenes. Truths we’ve experienced in our own lives.
Have we seen Midge before? If not, where is she from if she knows Don as “Don” (it would have to be post-Korea, while Don was in retail)? It seemed weird to inject a new character from the past, maybe we are going to learn something new about Don?
Nice to have another Mad Men fan around. Welcome. And yes, we have seen Midge before, earlier this season (?) or in another season. I recall Don wanting to whisk her off to Paris, and she preferred to stay in NY and get high. It was a stretch (for me) to remember exactly the last time we saw her. The actress made an impression (the sister, on Showtime’s United States of Tara), but as a woman in Don’s life? Not so much. (Maybe I need to check the score card.) Just another odd choice, or non-choice, Don seeming to be drawn to a variety of women, including some who are off-beat (and possibly encourage his freer side).
What’s your take on the Faye-Don pairing? Or Megan-Don for that matter?
I remember Midge now. I can’t remember how they met but he ended up in an apartment with her and her friends who were getting stoned.
It takes me a while these days but the brain does eventually kick into gear.
I think Faye will soon be history, what do you think? He was not pleased by her taking control of their dinner date. His body language and facial expression said a lot.
Faye is the very opposite of Betty. Betty is bottled up and afraid to make waves. Faye is transparent and doesn’t have any problem going after what she wants.
Her taking control did not sit well with him. I’m also thinking she may feel a bit too safe in the relationship now that she knows his secret. That may cause her to assume too much which will cause him to dispense of her.
Megan I don’t trust. She may be playing for the other team…a mole sent to relay company information. Or is that my devious mind taking over? My own trust issues tainting my observations!
I remember Midge now, Don’s beatnik period where he would answer in riddles all the time, I’m glad those writers are gone. As for Don’s current pairings, Faye, Megan and Bethany, I think he will settle on Megan for her “glow” for lack of a better word, when Sally fell in the office, Sally was comforted by Megan in a way she hasn’t felt from Betty (nor Faye in the same episode), Don noticed. As a guy, I have to hand it to the writers and casting director, Don’s women are all unique and sexy, the bohemian fling in California, Miss Farrell the teacher, Rachel Menken, and the current contenders.
I enjoyed the recent Beatles-reference episode, ending with an instrumental version of the Beatles hit “Do you want to know a secret?” ; the show continues to excel and each episode is worthy of two viewings to pick up the subtle clues, I can’t say that for any current show on TV.
What a keen observation, batticus. For all the women Don has dallied with, they really are very different from each other. And the music… ah yes. (May I assume you watch both episodes back to back, too? There’s so much to pick up in that second viewing, and savor.)
I like your reasoning regarding Megan. She does have a “glow” (and she’s up to something).
I’m curious though – do you feel a bit Betty-deprived this season? And what do you make of her with Henry?
Betty and Henry will likely be important next season, Betty with her search for meaning and Henry with his search for power (is he throwing his hat in the wrong ring?). I could see Betty joining the 60’s feminism movement next, she is increasingly questioning her place in the world. Looking forward to the finale!
I noticed you have some blog posts in French, that triggered a thought for the word I couldn’t find about Megan, she has that “je ne sais quoi” quality; the French phrase captures what I meant perfectly.
She does have that je ne sais quoi. Very French. (Et Montréal aussi ?)
How is it that you can label Betty as childish, due to her emotional meltdown this season, and fail to see the childishness in the other major characters? Is it because Betty failed to be the perfect early 21st century mother that you wanted her to be?
And Sally won’t be traumatized by Betty’s emotional problems. She will continue to be traumatized by Don’s long distance parenting style and her never ending quest to be Daddy’s little girl.
Another Mad Men fan… delightful. And welcome. I do see Betty as childish and narcissistic, different from Don’s self absorption which we have been given greater insight into by the writers. We have yet to see sufficient elements of Betty’s past to put the pieces together, but we also have to remember that a child-like innocence was cultivated in women in those days.
As for Sally’s traumas, I’m sure she’ll have her days on the therapist’s couch. How much will be the result of Don’s long distance parenting style (acts of omission?) vs. Betty’s odd and reactionary responses (commission and omission) – who can say? And besides, it’s amazing how you can take two children and put them in precisely the same situation and one will handle it well, and the other, not so much.
More for the next season’s storyline?
I hope you’ll stop back and comment again. We need more Mad Men fans around here!