Mad Men: Sex, Drugs, and Three-Year Contracts

In our weekly Mad Men recap, Stefanie Lee and Richard Lawson discuss the finer points of "Seven Twenty Three," an episode in which Don had a downer, Betty had a meeting, Peggy aimed high(er), and Roger became more invisible.

RICHARD SAID:

Hi Stefanie! So we're trying out this new longer format discussion, let's see how it works! So the episode ("Seven Twenty Three") was... fantastic, I thought. I know we've been harping on it ad nauseam week after week, but I have to mention all these little early breezes of Change that we keep seeing. It's really interesting, and sad in a strange way, to see the 1960s start to boil from such an individual, low-to-the-ground viewpoint. You know, usually we get huge crowd scenes of Woodstock or Jenny wading through the Washington Monument reflecting pool to hug Forrest. But here, on Mad Men, we get instead a quiet and peculiar scene in a car with Don (Jon Hamm) and two hitchhiking kids fleeing some idea of the impending war.  This might sound silly, but I almost thought of them as the first few gazelles that would come popping up on the horizon and run past, just before the whole huge herd appears and comes tromping through. That probably doesn't make sense. What I mean is that those two kids, found stoned and giddy on a dark road in the middle of the night, seemed like early refugees. Like the early signs of something major on its way.

I liked that they robbed Don. It showed that not all of the youth rebellion back then was a hippie-dippie love fest.  People were still mean and criminal and opportunistic. Speaking of criminal and opportunistic, that little motel room chat Don had with the ghost of his farming past was pretty astounding. I loved when the drug-induced ghost crooked his head and said "What do you make?"  Such an interesting idea to think about, especially right now.  There's so much that's intangible about the American working world these days  What with the internet and all. There's no product, there's no substance! It's all just imagined. I dunno. That resonated with me for some reason. I also adored the scene that Don had with the sexy, bold hippie teacher. She's a firecracker, huh? Pegging Don right away as basically bored to death. And his insistence that he wasn't bored, that he wasn't locked in or tied down, correlated beautifully with his struggle at work. To sign that contract was to, in his eyes, yoke himself. To put down roots. To go from the recent possibility of disappearing again (that whole London idea) to a few weeks later being confronted with staying in Ossining ("Oh, we'll be here..." Don said about his summer vacationing plans) with a job he can't legally leave. He's anxious but stuck. Perfect that his ideal woman--brown-haired and assertive--should show up and intuit right into that.

And the ladies... I like this idea of a drawn-out, civilized affair with Betty (January Jones) and the government guy. The only other time we've seen her stray was in a coat closet with some random dude. I hope she gives Don a taste of his own medicine and really gets into it, that she falls in love with someone else. Though, she maybe likes to play the victim too much to ever really step out and grab something on her own. I mean, she bought a damn fainting couch. Because of all that emotional corseting!

Betty's polar opposite might be Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), who just keeps boldly grabbing at what she wants. And she usually gets it! Well, except when it comes to Don. He dressed her down pretty harshly when she asked to be put on the Hilton account, didn't he? I still think he sees a kindred spirit in her--he sees himself in her. I just wish he wouldn't be so hard on... well, himself. On the flip side, it was fun to see Peggy and Duck (Mark Moses) get romantic together. I loved that Duck has always seemed like this little nerdy guy, but then there he was talking dirty and getting business done. Good for Duck. Good for both of them!

So yeah, once again we got an episode about people stuck in quicksand, struggling to get out.  Now that Don's signed this contract, tethered himself (with Cooper (Robert Morse) blackmailing him about his secret identity), he'll have to stay put and be left behind by progress. He'll just wake up hungover and bloody in the room of his life while the kids, the future, have taken his money and disappeared. I think someone on this show has to get out of this muck, and I think it'll be Peggy. And I think Don knows that and that's partly why he is harsh to her. He's mad that it isn't him. That he's stuck in bureaucracy. That he's destined to become Roger Sterling (Roger Sterling).

OK, ramble over! What'd you think Stefanie? Did you like the episode? Does my gazelle analogy make any sense? And what do you think was the significance, if any, of the date in the episode's title, other than Don signing on that particular day?

Where'd I put my Ray-Bans?

STEFANIE SAID:

Hiya Richard! Let's see. I was a fan of "Seven Twenty Three," though I admit I was partial to last week's crimson fireworks. But this one was certainly more cinematic that the rest, especially because of the disjointed way that the story was told. The flashbacks were pretty neat — they reminded me of the filming of The Sopranos, in that the story and the characters are ultimately at the mercy of the director. And that intro was doused with 60s foreshadowing — though with flashbacks, it comes with the territory. Betty and Peggy are definitely discovering "The Feminine Mystique" -- written by Betty Friedan just a few months before Don signed his brand-spankin' new three-year contract — and sipping at the proverbial Kool-Aid.

Speaking of decade metaphors, I liked your gazelle analogy! Very peaceful. The whole hitchhikers-hotel drug trip was pretty peaceful for Don, too, save for the money he lost and the bruises he acquired. It really seemed like he needed an attitude change, anyway — he snapped at Peggy for asking for an account, he barked at Betty for speaking her mind about his contract, and he resented Sally's teacher for insinuating his obvious boredom — so I agree that it was a good scene and a good experience for Don and his hippy-dippy couple. He got a taste of life beyond Madison Ave. — and they discovered that a Suit from Manhattan isn't as stiff as the starch-laden shirt on his back. There's that Change again!

I was a little creeped out by Peggy and Duck's ... uh ... union? Though I applaud Duck's extremely forward come-on. That takes balls. I guess I'm still rooting for Pete and Peggy — their bickering at the beginning of the episode was adorable. It's just too bad that she's so devoid of human emotion. Betty, on the other hand, is overflowing with emotion — hormones, I imagine — and I, too, hope she gives Don a taste of his own medicine. I just hope it isn't with Henry — he's creepy. The older chaps on this show need to stop being so creepy. Betty's bound to attract more of them, though, with her blonde hair, perfect figure, and new take-charge position with the Junior League. Should be interesting. Don will probably be occupied with that stupid teacher, anyway, so no love lost, right?

There's no love lost between Don and Roger Sterling, either. Sterling gets more invisible every day, even as his feeble proclamations of wealth increase. It's only a matter of time before he hits rock-bottom — and I'm sticking to my prediction that his ascent back to greatness will involve Joan (Christina Hendricks). Who, by the way, is sorely missed. How is it possible to have an episode of Mad Men without Joan? She better be making an appearance next week, and she better not be lying on a chaise lounge.