Mad Men Roundtable – “Hands and Knees”
EJ
This episode was positively brutal. Who knew that when Miss Blankenship died, she took all joy with her? This week the title doesn’t lead us astray, as it’s an episode about groveling.
This is something we haven’t seen from Don in a very long time – panic. The last time I remember him having this kind of reaction was when Pete went to tell Bert Cooper about the box of secrets, and even then, it translated into a physical reaction. He chased Pete – there was something he could do. But when he found out that the government had his fraudulent papers, there was no physical action that could fix it. All he could do was panic. And a powerless Don is not easy to watch.
By the very nature of his lifestyle, he doesn’t have anybody he can turn too. Three people know that Don Draper is a lie – Betty, Pete, and Bert. Betty is mostly focused on how the possible implosion of Don’s life ruined her afternoon, and Bert doesn’t even have an office. He can’t talk to Roger, because he can’t trust Roger with this. In the past, maybe he would have talked to Anna. Of if he didn’t, at least he knew she was out there and he could confide in her if he so chose. Don’s so alone that he has to go to Pete Campbell for help. It’s a moment of impotence for Don Draper, and that is not easy to see. It’s a close to a grovel as we’ve seen from him.
Before this week, I really hadn’t thought about what’s at stake for Don. Yes, he’d lose the entire life he built, but that’s not the end of it. The real Dick Whitman is a deserter – he’s a criminal. And he’s got years and years of fraud piled up behind him. Don’s facing something more than embarrassment if this comes out; he’d be looking at jail time.
As Myndi pointed out, it’s hard to come up with a reason for Pete to give up the account just to save Don’s skin. Maybe he’s thinking like a partner and realizing that SCDP needs Don if they’re going to survive. Or maybe there’s that little piece of Pete who’s still desperate for Don’s approval. Whatever it is, Pete dropped a big, big account for him. And he had to drop Clearasil for Freddy’s Pond’s account – Pete’s dropped more accounts than he brought in this season.
I wonder if this means anything to Don, or if he’s going to write it off as another close call. One would think this has to drive home just how fragile his existence is. A simple mistake can ruin everything, and Don Draper is a going concern because Pete cut him a break. It seems like that would drive him to reevaluate, but I don’t know that Don can deal with that. Whatever the case, both Pete and Meghan saved him this week in different ways. I was pretty sure the episode would end with a very disappointed Sally not seeing the Beatles, considering how everything else went this week.
We’ve seen Roger Sterling suffer two heart attacks, and he’s never looked as weak as he did having dinner with Lee Garner. It’s been clear all season that the Lucky Strike account is hanging by a thread – Lee enjoys having power and using it to make people jump through hoops. Surprisingly, pulling the account doesn’t seem to be Lee’s call here. The way he presents it, the matter is out of his hands. There’s no telling if we can believe him or not, and if history is our guide, we probably shouldn’t. Regardless, this is about as classy as Lee gets. I would have thought he’d make Roger perform a series of tasks to keep his business, and then pull the account anyway.
Seeing Roger beg for a thirty-day extension was just heartbreaking, as was his gratitude when Lee gave him that crumb. Roger’s carrying the weight of the entire company with his account – 71% of their billings. SCPD can’t survive without that account. And then to see him go through his Rolodex, desperately trying to generate business only to find that he people he knows are dying off. Roger doesn’t have another round of starting over in him – SCPD was a giant leap of faith, and he’s the only one he realizes just how close they are to complete failure. I really feel sorry for Roger – he’s done a lot of bad things in his time, but the loss of Lucky Strike is completely out of his control. Like Don, he’s rendered impotent.
And the last member of our emasculated trilogy is Lane Pryce. Myndi covered it really well, but I just want to point out how deeply weird his father is. This wasn’t a familial power struggle – Dad beat Lane with a stick and then told him how he was going to live. I feel like this wasn’t the first time this happened. Me, I’d be more surprised if somebody hit me with his cane and gave me an ultimatum – Lane isn’t pleased about it, but he accepts the inevitability. This is a deeply abusive relationship, and probably always has been.
We’re really close to the end of the season, and it doesn’t feel like it. Last year, the middle of the season really slowed down, and while most of it eventually paid off in the third act, this season really hasn’t had a slow stretch. Weiner and company are bringing their A Game every week, and I’m a nervous wreck.
