I don’t think she’s intellectually inferior or generic, I think when Don sees her, he sees a family. I don’t think this will be the last we see of Faye and I sincerely hope that this works out for Don.
i’m halfway through the episode, right where don is all “i feel myself around you…” as soon as they showed him walking up to the table and dealing with the kids i knew it was a wrap. i had to pause to be prepare for this development.
EDIT: damn bill simmons was right on point about joan and that baby lol
When I mean “generic” I mean the fact that she’s a pretty secretary who adores him, and she is intellectually inferior because she couldn’t analyze the scenario she’s in or sought to know anything more about him. Don has better cards because he’s already getting what he wants.
Faye not only saw Don for who he was a person, but also spoke to him on a level where his actions and faults could be analyzed… and she loved him regardless. She made genuine sacrifices for Don, she expressed herself to all his concerns, and most of all, she kept his secret that could easily destroy everything he’s built. Her only flaw was loving a man who didn’t know what he wanted at the time.
Don just wanted someone who wouldn’t challenge him, looked pretty and could take care of his offspring. French Betty 2.0. Oh well…
i think you’re giving faye way too much credit. don pretty much made passes at her until she gave in, not really that deep. her ‘analysis’ consisted of playing hard to get and not letting him drunkenly bag her. don’t get me wrong, faye was awesome but to say she sacrificed for don is a reach, you could say she “compromised” herself by letting him know about heinz but even then she didn’t really do anything besides tell him “they seem unhapy”, he’s the one that set up the meeting and she didn’t sacrifice her job bcuz her bosses were the ones that chose to take her off the account and her job is still safe as it ever was.
the new chick took the initiative and charmed the hell out of don. the only real knock is that don is acting mad sprung. lol @ roger’s comment, “you see! this is the way to do things!”
i wonder if he gon tell megan bout his past
Faye wasn’t playing hard to get, you’re just forgetting things. Faye was in a relationship at the time, she only went out with Don after his like 5th advance AFTER that breakup on the phone (which in Mad Men timeline could be weeks from then). Are you saying that’s something unnatural for anyone to do?
Faye didn’t have to do anything for Don beyond a professional level, and considering the odds she has to overcome to legitimately reach where she is in that time period, she did make a sacrifice. It’s reaching to think she had any overwhelming faults or tried to force Don into anything. They mutually went out and were attracted to each other as single people. Don fucked up period.
But what’s a well-written character without flaws?
The only reason it was so dumb was because it was so random.
It totally makes sense because new secretary is a mature young woman who is very pretty and can take care of the kids. She is down to earth and worldly. She was like a version of all of Don’s previous trysts combined. The ultimate tryst.
The way they implemented the marriage was just out of right field though. It really did feel like a dream sequence.
I guess if you think about it, it was like the relationship version of moving his business last year. He saw an opportunity and just went for it. Leaving everything else behind.
Still, I am not a fan of the contruction of the second half of that episode. We all saw Joanie keeping baby Roger though.
“Yes, they are bigger”
lol
What a sap, but yeah I guess he won’t get killed in Vietnam now that there’s a loose thread in this tale.
Naw, I totally understood why Don did what he did. The sequence where she handled the kids was proof enough on the direction of the story.(which is funny since Betty has general custody.)
They have quite a bit of material for next season. I wasn’t disappointed at the finale, the fact that I care so much about the lives of imaginary characters is a testament to how good the writing is overall.
no, but you’re making her seem like she’s an evolutionary step above every other woman on the show in which case she’s not. the minkins chick, if any, holds that title considering she actually ran a business and was the only one that called don him and told him to grow a pair when he was spazzing.
i never said she had overwhelming flaws. in general, i liked her character a lot and she def held don down when she finally came around, but it’s not a coincidence that her biggest self-described flaw (not great with kids) is the very thing that made don fall hard for his new chick. it’s even funnier when she smugly predicted exactly what would happen when she first met don, that don would be married within a year. if anything the fact that don still eventually bagged faye after her seemingly showing that she knows all the pages in his playbook just goes to show that at the end of the day she’s still a woman and he’s still don fucking draper.
the only way reason don “fucked up” is bcuz you like faye better than the new chick…which is cool, but don’t pretend that new chick is an idiot for fucking with don and not knowing anything about him (even though she met, watched and talked to him everyday for several months) when faye did the same damn thing and most likely knew less about him…until he randomly told her after they’d been messing around for a hot minute.
It totally makes sense because new secretary is a mature young woman who is very pretty and can take care of the kids. She is down to earth and worldly. She was like a version of all of Don’s previous trysts combined. The ultimate tryst.
The way they implemented the marriage was just out of right field though.
[/quote]
pretty much.
don’s only real “fuck ups” with choices in women were barrett’s wife and the way he handled his previous secretary. i’m not counting betty bcuz at the end of the day their marriage lasted 10+ years so you can’t really call it a fuck up.
'Cept that woman intentionally messed with a married man and hoped Don would make the switch.
They main reason he messed up is because Faye can destroy him. I had a feeling he was going to mess up in the long run for the sake of drama, but he could’ve concocted a better scenario that wouldn’t leave her a bitter mess. I’d still think it’s retarded, but at least it would be better than being random as hell.
Jimmy Barrett’s wife was a no go from the get-go and the secretary was just… yeah. Considering that marriages back then were actually built to last, I’d say it was a fuck up (for the better). The Minkin scenario made sense considering that he and her actually clicked, although the met in a bad circumstance.
I agree with the “felt like a dream sequence” notion. Me and my wife kept waiting for it to be someone’s dream. It just didn’t seem real. I don’t think it was so “out there” that it ruined the season, but given the epic strength of the writing up to this point, it was a let down…
definitely letdown by the finale. the random engagement was foreshadowed by faye’s comment at the beginning. she represented growth and embracing his past. don’s like fuck that and took the safe route. he obviously doesn’t care about this new jump off. he’ll still be don and fuck other bitches. he’s a scared child that needed something to hold onto. i’m team don but he didn’t have his kids in mind when he decided to marry the french chick.
joan’s man probly knows it ain’t his kid from how they shot that scene. the last shot showed a close up of his face lookin kinda sad.
i hope they prove me wrong but season 5 may be the start of the decline.
He basically had the choice of Don or Dick. And chose Don.
I stole that from Jason Whitlock.
So i was rewatching it and i think ken foreshadowed it a little. notice when they’re asking him to smooze with his stepdad and Ken refuses because “Cynthia’s my life…my actual life!” Don get this thoughtful look on his face as if something struck a chord with him there. His actual life - the one that isn’t revolving around work?
how they handled betty/francis was shitty. their relationship’s not great but to the point of her wanting to get back with don? really? and francis was that angry about losing carla? NO ONE’S EVER ON YOUR SIDE BETTY!!! word?
the difference is Ken loves his wife. can’t say the same about Don and frenchie. everything he said to her sounds like bullshit to me. dude’s stay selling an act.
I could definitely see Henry getting salty over losing Carla. We have a maid and my son is very attached to her and hes only known her for a couple of years. I can imagine how devastating it would be to a child to lose someone they’ve known all their lives. (And Carla was honest; our maid steals sometimes). The kids don’t see a maid as an employee, they see them as part of the family, and it’s like suddenly losing a family member.
And it wasn’t just losing Carla, it was the impetuous spoiled immature way Betty handled it. She could have reprimanded Carla severely or something similar, but to fire her? And then talk shit while she does it? And refusing to give her a reference after 13 years!? Incredible. I really am amazed how I’ve grown to dislike Betty over the seasons. I would have been just as angry as Henry, and I doubt I’d have been as polite.
As far as Betty and Don, there’s no doubt there’s still feelings there, and it’s not that unusual. They lived together a hella long time and have three children together - that’s not the sort of thing that you can just let go of and pretend never happened. At vulnerable moments you remember what you had and you tend to idealize the way things were, not remembering all the bad moments. I felt a little bad for her, but not much.
he’s stationed across the country from his pregnant wife, why wouldn’t he be sad? he definitely has not a clue though.
Just saw the episode.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
I actually said to myself out loud, twice, “this is actually happening!” I would have sworn it was some sort of dream sequence.
I did love Peggy and Joan’s reactions, too fucking perfect.
Holy shit…
edit: I have more thoughts on the episode, and also the previous one which I didn’t comment on, but they’ll have to wait until tomorrow, when I recover.