Mad Men Season 1 Episode 10

Mad Men Season 1 Episode 10:

            The episode starts with a sort of glimpse at an introduction to Betty’s dad and his new girlfriend. She seems to have these emotions coming to the surface because of how the relationship is. This is a good opening to the attitudes and emotions that occur throughout the rest of the episode. At the office, the team is again looking at the Nixon and Kennedy campaign, making comments about Nixon being the most relatable man for them while Kennedy was just some guy who bought his way into school as a recent immigrant.

            That meeting closes with the beginning of another one in which Rachel Menken brings her father, whom seems to have taken a liking to putting in a restaurant into the first level of his store. His only hesitation is that it is becoming a store that he would not like to shop at, at which Don quickly replies that it is more about appealing to the crowd of Rachel which is smart, sophisticated and educated. This seems to please Rachel’s father a good deal at the mention of his daughter being sophisticated and educated.

            After the meeting, Roger Sterling passes Joan and informs her that his wife and daughter are out of town and they should get together. Joan responds with wanting to see a movie of which she seems excited to see. But she continues with a comment about the main character being passed around the men like a treat. After which she found her friend whom was in tears because she had been fired for covering for her boss.

            Pete in this episode starts by antagonizing Peggy with some sort of forlorn love affair that they had started before his marriage. Peggy deftly handles him and he stomps off to inform Don about losing the Dr. Scholl’s account. At which Don gets super frustrated and stomps off to complain to Roger. Toward the end of the episode, Roger hires on the spot a pair of twin girls who were modeling for something and he brings Don and the girls up to his office to party. Don gets asked to dance and so they go off to his office while Roger and the other girl stay in Roger’s office. A little bit later the girl with Roger comes out screaming, Roger had a heart attack during their late night office romp and he had to be rushed to the hospital. Joan rushes back to the office teared up as she helps secure clients and such in the wake of his hospital time.

            As the episode closes, Don and Rachel have some privacy time at her house in which he opens up about himself and his family.

            The theme seems to be continual through this episode about the sad reality of humans, but it is accentuated in that people begin to realize if they haven’t already that there is not much point to everything. Joan’s friend resembles this idea when she talks about building up the men of the office, hiding their faults for the men to just come back at them and fire them. We see Don finally become a raw person probably more so than we have as of yet in his revelation of family and his own emotions to Rachel at the end of the episode.

            The gospel message pretty much negates the need for the actions that the characters in this episode take. The gospel brings hope and salvation to those who are hopeless, to those who are wandering around wondering what they are doing in life. It seems like this is exactly where the characters this week were, that they were wandering around, wondering where to go and what to do with themselves.