Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
09-27-10, 07:30 PM
#26
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
This episode with Don was not just tense, but intense. I was really surprised he confessed his past to Faye. I agree with Dragon, it's an entirely different matter between having a Pete Campbell try to blackmail you, and being investigated by G-men. I was really surprised that Pete sucked it up and took the fall for losing Pioneer Aviation. Now it will remain to be seen how Pete holds that over Don's head. Really good stuff! Oh, was also surprised to see that Trudy hadn't popped yet. I would assume based on the watermelon under her dress that next week's episode will include their child being born.
09-27-10, 08:06 PM
#27
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Hamm does a great job of acting nervous and showing that his world is about to end. You can just see the tension in his face.
Loved the shot Lane took.
I get the feeling that telling Faye his secret will bite him on the ass later on - especially if he starts to bang his secretary.
A pregnant Trudy is still a hot Trudy.
The show needs Peggy.
I wonder what Don would've done if he knew SCDP was losing Lucky Strike. Would he give himself up knowing that the NAA contract is that much more important to the firm staying alive at that point?
So many damaging secrets from all these characters.
Loved the shot Lane took.
I get the feeling that telling Faye his secret will bite him on the ass later on - especially if he starts to bang his secretary.
A pregnant Trudy is still a hot Trudy.
The show needs Peggy.
I wonder what Don would've done if he knew SCDP was losing Lucky Strike. Would he give himself up knowing that the NAA contract is that much more important to the firm staying alive at that point?
So many damaging secrets from all these characters.
09-27-10, 08:11 PM
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09-27-10, 09:24 PM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Pete knows how important Don is to the agency, and thats why he sucked it up.. His face told the whole story when Don told him he could run the whole company. And Pete, talks a good game about being virtuous, but he has his own skeletons in his closet as well.
09-27-10, 10:22 PM
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09-28-10, 02:38 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Can someone please help me out on this question? I haven't really concerned myself with it much before because it hasn't been, in my mind, the most interesting part of Mad Men.
Why is it THAT big a deal that he switched dog tags with Draper? Don didn't desert, he was discharged for a purple heart injury. That's not desertion. Either Draper or Whitman would have been honorably discharged for the injury, despite rank, right?
The only thing that "Don" could be accused of is receiving a higher pay rate for his benefits and false identity...which would be be almost a non-charge considering the affected family knew the truth for a long time.
Am I missing something?
Why is it THAT big a deal that he switched dog tags with Draper? Don didn't desert, he was discharged for a purple heart injury. That's not desertion. Either Draper or Whitman would have been honorably discharged for the injury, despite rank, right?
The only thing that "Don" could be accused of is receiving a higher pay rate for his benefits and false identity...which would be be almost a non-charge considering the affected family knew the truth for a long time.
Am I missing something?
09-28-10, 03:06 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
If I recall correctly, Draper had only a couple months left to serve, while Dick Whitman had years to go still. Once Dick recovered, he would most certainly have had to serve out the rest of his enlistment. By switching names he got an earlier release date from the army than he would have had. That's desertion, and the stealing of someone's identity.
A likely long sentence at a military prison even with an outstanding lawyer.
A likely long sentence at a military prison even with an outstanding lawyer.
09-28-10, 03:38 AM
#35
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Don Draper is a false identity, a self-constructed illusion built upon the foundation of a lie. In this, Don Draper is a one man metaphor for the entire advertising industry, suggesting the premise that is why he is so successful in that world.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
09-28-10, 03:39 AM
#36
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
If I recall correctly, Draper had only a couple months left to serve, while Dick Whitman had years to go still. Once Dick recovered, he would most certainly have had to serve out the rest of his enlistment. By switching names he got an earlier release date from the army than he would have had. That's desertion, and the stealing of someone's identity.
A likely long sentence at a military prison even with an outstanding lawyer.
A likely long sentence at a military prison even with an outstanding lawyer.
09-28-10, 03:41 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Don Draper is a false identity, a self-constructed illusion built upon the foundation of a lie. In this, Don Draper is a one man metaphor for the entire advertising industry, suggesting the premise that is why he is so successful in that world.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
09-28-10, 03:53 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Don Draper is a false identity, a self-constructed illusion built upon the foundation of a lie. In this, Don Draper is a one man metaphor for the entire advertising industry, suggesting the premise that is why he is so successful in that world.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
09-28-10, 03:55 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
If I recall correctly, Draper had only a couple months left to serve, while Dick Whitman had years to go still. Once Dick recovered, he would most certainly have had to serve out the rest of his enlistment. By switching names he got an earlier release date from the army than he would have had. That's desertion, and the stealing of someone's identity.
A likely long sentence at a military prison even with an outstanding lawyer.
A likely long sentence at a military prison even with an outstanding lawyer.
09-28-10, 04:00 AM
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09-28-10, 07:01 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Don Draper is a false identity, a self-constructed illusion built upon the foundation of a lie. In this, Don Draper is a one man metaphor for the entire advertising industry, suggesting the premise that is why he is so successful in that world.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
Last edited by majorjoe23; 09-28-10 at 11:21 AM.
09-28-10, 07:51 AM
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09-28-10, 09:46 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
I always wondered why Don Draper was not in World War II, instead of Korea. They previously mentioned he was born in 1925, which makes him the same age as my father. My father was drafted for WWII right out of high school graduation in 1943 and went and served in Guam until the war ended.
09-28-10, 10:35 AM
#45
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Don Draper is a false identity, a self-constructed illusion built upon the foundation of a lie. In this, Don Draper is a one man metaphor for the entire advertising industry, suggesting the premise that is why he is so successful in that world.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
Don Draper [in 1960] is also an ideal. The handsome breadwinner for an upper-middle-class nuclear family. His life is a billboard for the American Dream of the just ended 1950s. And because Don Draper is not who he claims to be, he is (again) a metaphor for the falsity of that lifestyle and its promise of happiness and contentment.
That the Don Draper, who bestrode the 1960 offices of Sterling Cooper like a royal surveying his kingdom, would be deconstructed by the changing times of the ensuing decade is a reflection of how every assumption about the American Dream would be tested in those same years.
Don fears that the revelation of "the lie" will bring his world crumbling down around him, when the truth is the lie of his world is going to crumble anyways.
So I guess the answer to your quoted question is that if you really analyze it, Dick Whitman assuming Don Draper's identity might not be a big deal. However, the premise that it is a big deal provides dramatic drive to [what is actually] a TV show.
09-28-10, 10:36 AM
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09-28-10, 11:06 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
09-28-10, 11:49 AM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
But I assume not every last male of that age necessarily went to war (obviously there was a draft and it was likely a very high pct drafted of that age). Maybe he was called up for WWII service but never saw overseas combat action....and perhaps that's why he did get selected to go to Korea.
09-28-10, 12:32 PM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
According to Wikipedia (because my memory sucks), Whitman was 19 when he ran away and joined the military. It would be pretty surprising if a 19-year-old recruit in 1944 wasn't sent to Europe. But if he's younger, than would but his actual age on the show probably closer to 35 or even younger, which seems unlikely.
09-28-10, 02:11 PM
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Re: Mad Men -- "Hands and Knees" -- 09/26/10
Interesting or creepy, thinking about all the tail your old man was tagging back in the day?