Mad Men Season 3, Episode 8 “Souvenir”
When she came home from her beach vacation and misread his look of guilt on the elevator as regret over not having children, I felt more sorry for the deluded Mrs. Campbell than ever. Is she that oblivious? She seemed to pick up on Pete for a split second later in their apartment, when he rebuffed her advances, but she must have talked herself out of it later. She figures if she talks loudly enough about produce and asks about his day, their problems will evaporate and she can play the happy Manhattan homemaker/socialite for years to come. Pete’s plea for her to not go away without him anymore could have been followed by “because I can’t keep it in my pants when you do.” but it was merely implied. I guess he’s too busy laughing at the talking dog to learn anything from Davey & Goliath.
Don and Betty seemed OK after his snit last week. Could it be that getting knocked out cold has turned him around for good? We didn’t see Miss Farrell or any of his interoffice adversaries (or, much of the office at all, sadly), as Don’s current focus is being at Conrad Hilton’s beck and call. He actually invited Betty to join him for a brief trip to Rome, which she accepted only after she beat City Hall and shared a kiss with Henry from the governor’s office. Was she that guilt-ridden over it, or that turned on? It almost didn’t matter once they landed in the city where she’d done much of her modeling and spoke the language. January Jones positively transformed as Betty when this happened. She used a quick trip to the salon to become the most cosmopolitan woman in Italy, with a towering do, statement jewelry and black lingerie under her slinky black dress. Her role-playing with Don was hot as hell. I was worried when Connie approached mid pick-up, but the seduction continued in the room, with a show of passion I don’t think we’ve ever been privy to with these characters.
They were reconnecting–shower sex and all–until they got back to Ossining and the life she hates. She can barely hide her contempt for Francine, who I love (“I should be going. From what I hear, you two must be very tired”). But, getting lucky did seem to soften her mood towards Sally, who she gave a sweet talk to about the magic of first kisses after Sally planted one on Francine’s son, Ernie. Poor Bobby, the apparently ignored middle child, took a beating from his sister for teasing her about it. Sally’s turning into a brute.
Betty practically scowled at that fainting couch after she returned. Do you think she wishes she hadn’t kissed Henry, or that she’s mad at everything the couch represents…Henry, the suburbs, the Junior League, and being a housewife? I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Betty, who was less than pleased about Don’s gift of a charm shaped like The Coliseum, might be the one who leaves her husband (and even her children) to lead some sort of jet-setting life and “find herself”.
And Joan! I was genuinely surprised and pleased to see her managing the store Pete went to in order to exchange the stained dress for the Au pair he later forced himself on in her tiny little room. As always, Mrs. Harris handled a touchy situation impeccably and discreetly (she didn’t believe for a second that the size 10 dress belonged to tiny Trudy!) She waited to drop her face into her hands until Pete had left the store; it’s just a matter of time before the whole Sterling Cooper gang knows she’s managing a department store and not living the dream of being a doctor’s wife after all. And is Greg really exploring psychiatry as a specialty? Because that’s sort of a scary concept.
No Peggy, no Duck, no Roger, and only a couple minutes of Paul, Harry and Ken, which looks to change next week. What I want to know is, how is Peggy’s roommate working out? And is Roger still enjoying being “in Jane” as Ken surmised, or is he regretting his choice as well? Now that we’re past the halfway mark of season 3, anything’s possible.
