MYNDI
Don Draper is no stranger to the art of the Nooner, and he’s certainly enjoying the ones he’s having with Faye. His guard is down and he’s comfortable, much like he was with Rachel Menken back in season one. He can see this going somewhere. And he’s not married and desperate for escape (not the physical kind anyway) like he was when he was with Rachel. His happy workday came crashing down suddenly, not only with the death of Mrs. Blankenship, but with the arrival of Sally, who managed to hop a train from Westchester into the city and found a kind stranger to pay her fare and get her safely to Daddy’s office. Don was much more furious than worried, it seemed, and I saw many a message board buzzing with the 60s mantra that kids were “seen and not heard”. No one took Sally’s acting out as a sign something was wrong, just that she was some sort of troublemaker. By the time Don arrived home, Sally had Faye figured out (Sally: “She knew you had peanut butter; Don: “Everybody has peanut butter.”) and was well on her way to charming her father. I loved the scene where he was tucking her into bed. Their interaction was so sweet and genuine. When Sally asked to move in with Don, you could tell that part of him would have loved to have said yes. The era was a huge factor; such things simply weren’t done. The fact that his ex-wife is spoiled, vindictive emotional cripple has a lot to do with it, too. When Sally made Don french toast, covered in rum that she thought was Mrs. Butterworth’s (ha!), he was impressed. I thought it was an interesting touch that Sally slept in one of Don’s t-shirts and had to wear the same outfit the next day; she has no clothes at Dad’s, not even spare pjs. Other than bunk beds, is there anything at Don’s that belongs to the kids?
