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The old saying "do as I say, not as I do" comes to mind.
Sadly, Betty was with Don long enough to contract his narcissistic, sociopathic tendencies. Of course, she has been getting away with it for as long as she has, mostly for the same reasons as her ex husband: They are both extremely attractive people.
Times and fashions change though, and in her own way, she is going through a season of forced obsolescence/cultural irrelevance just as much as Don is. In the late 60s early 70s her brand of beauty was falling by the wayside (eventually to be looked upon as outdated and "passe" until its return in the mid 80s early 90s)
So while Betty has the flawless look and aristocratic image, the era of diverse, inidividual, "imperfect" (personified by Megan) standard of beauty was taking hold in this era.
My first reaction was wtf. It took me a few minutes to put it all together. Great episode.
I agree.
I had to think a bit about what Sylvia was saying - before starting an affair a person should be sure that
the other party had as much to lose as themselves. Interesting, and has an element of truth to it.
What was odd was, not too long ago, it was Sylvia declaring her love for Don and him telling her that it was only an affair, not to take it for more than it was. Then Don comes around to seeing it her way, and she has recanted, valuing her husband and marriage more than the affair.
But isn't that the way people are? Isn't that the way affairs are? Most relationships have a 'high' for maybe three years and then settle down to where they really should be. It's what they settle down to that determines the quality and survivability of the thing.
Don lost control ... By the end of the episode, he was back. He's going to take control of the agency again.
Megan left those kids alone not to go to work, but to go to a play ... So she could socialize. She wasn't getting paid to be there. Don's money, not hers, is making it possible for her to pursue her career. And Don ... yes, stoned out of his mind, was working. She knew she had responsibilities when she married a man with 3 kids. She's a self centered child Plus, MM still takes place in a time when married women stayed home, regardless of who's children they married into. They should hire a nanny if Megan wants to go off wherever, whenever.
Seeing and judging MM with the rose colored glasses of today defeats the purpose of the show.
From my opinion they are living in a progressive city, where women are starting to have serious careers. Generally, the responsibility for children rests with those who made them. I don't see Megan as having to take care of his kids. She has her own life. Being married does not mean you are owned. She's her own person. It was Don's idea that his daughter was old enough to babysit, and she was. What do you think a sixteen year old would have done differently in that circumstance? Would not the police also ask how old they were? How would ANYONE have guessed that Don would have left the door open?
Might Don's name have been on the doorbell?
I seem to remember a black woman actually pulling that stunt, back in the days.
Last edited by goldengrain; 05-26-2013 at 11:41 AM..
I agree that it would not be uncommon for a girl of Sally's age left to babysit younger siblings. Generally, the resident's last name, only, would be on the door. This is a doorman building and someone here was not doing their job properly to have let "ida" slip past. As I mentioned in my last post, having a backdoor in that type of building makes no sense.
Large cities were not all that progressive in 1968. Women still had limited career choices. Megan reminds me of a married That Girl. Divorce rate/remarriage was on the rise during the 60s, but still didn't reach the 50/50 peak rate of later years. There was still a bit of a stigma to it. Step-mothers would still be expected to take charge of the children and remember Don was an old man. He was already 40 and not likely to easily accept these new values that the baby boomer generation was seeking. Never trust anyone over 30. Even Megan (late 20s) would be viewed as old. She is on the older side of the baby boomer generation.
Megan has already proved she doesn't want to be a mother; so there won't be any children there and no need for a nanny for the kids; but she could use a good dentist. I doubt whether Betty will let the kids go to Don's apt. unless Don is there; right so, he had no business being at the office knowing his children were alone. They are not Megan's responsibility; the age difference between she and Don is surfacing. She wants a life of her own like here mother. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Don had that cough when he was a child, and maybe it is a nervous condition when he is under duress? He was under multiple issues in the last episode, plus his digressing into his past tremendously stressful experiences enduring cruelty seemed to have set him off. He doesn't handlle stress well, and drinks to avoid it.
Betty is so insecure ! the need for her to "brag" about Henry's political endeavors was lame. Don could care less.
Betty was like so many women of that day, though. They made nothing worthy of their lives and could only bath in the reflected glory of their husbands. Some women are happy with that. She is not. She needs something to make her feel special, some of her own accomplishments to point out to people, but there is nothing.
Everyone whom I spoke to when I was at work said marriage changed things. Most women indicated it was not for the better for them. Some said it was not worse, but different.
In England it is more common for a couple to live together and raise a family without getting married. They probably have different laws regarding division of assets than we do.
I think it's wise to not be married, or if you do, to have a prenup at least. Maybe, if you want children, marriage may add some security. Most of us have seen unmarried couples, like Hamms, stay together for life and many married breakups which are horror shows. When it comes down to it, making it legal does not make you behave like civilized human beings toward each other, does it?
If Don lived in our time, would he have gotten married? I know, in his day, a lot of companies thought married men were more stable (and maybe they thought they were not gay?).
If Don were looking for a mother, isn't Megan a peculiar choice? He certainly has been around the block a few times - enough to know women are not all cut from the same cloth. Wasn't it sort of the 'thing' for people to see therapists in those days?
I want to see more story lines on the minor characters like Stan, Harry, Ginsberg, and Ken. I'm kind of tired of Don's (and Pete's) endless sociopathic dysfunction. And I'm still missing Paul Kinsey. I liked his 60s intelligentsia hipster-turned-HareKrishna-hippie character.
Bitchy Betty is back and I couldn't be happier. Besides, she was right about the casting couch. Don and Megan screwed up.
I don't see Don as a sociopath at all. He may seem to be using people but he can demonstrate real feeling. He is very self involved, but has too many problems within himself to be able to branch out and be of much use to others. Times were changing for men, too. They were just beginning to see themselves as full human beings with worth apart from bread winners who did not get involved with home and family.
Wow. Betty is such a hypocrite! She had a lot of nerve bringing up a "casting couch" Seems to me when she cheated on Don, she found herself on a couch too. This is probably why Sally resents and disrespects her. Her parenting is very inconsistent, and she does not set a good example for her daughter. She plays this "above it all" role and she can be just as skeezy and disgusting as the characters we "love to hate"
I used to find such behavior disgusting but having lived so long, I think they are just human, with human frailties that we all have, including Betty. Betty tries to occupy the 'moral' high ground because it's fun to be up there and point fingers, but we find out that they all, including Betty, share the common human traits. In a certain way, we are all cut from the same cloth and condemning others because it makes Betty feel good is not really helping to improve anything.
Some women, disposition wise, are really well equipped to be moms. They often tend to be boring, when it comes to outsiders viewing their lives, so non of the women we see on MM seem to be the natural 'mom' types. I think Betty is frustrated because she was reared to be one thing, but her nature is wanting to compete and succeed. She should have had her own career, I think. She was just born too early. I'll bet she does not raise her daughter to be a home maker (or, maybe she too is self absorbed just like Don, and cannot really think much about others)?
I agree that it would not be uncommon for a girl of Sally's age left to babysit younger siblings. Generally, the resident's last name, only, would be on the door. This is a doorman building and someone here was not doing their job properly to have let "ida" slip past. As I mentioned in my last post, having a backdoor in that type of building makes no sense.
Ida probably looked like a maid/nanny-type person, so much so that the doorman probably didn't even notice her.
I don't understand why having a back door wouldn't make sense. They live in the kind of building where deliveries and domestic help wouldn't come up in the lobby elevator and people wouldn't take their trash out the front door. A back door into a service/storage area makes complete sense.
Yes, and the highly touted "vitamin serum" has probably been the downfall of many recording artists in the early days of the industry. It's so sad when artists trust a manager or their management team to look out for their best interests and then are betrayed by them.
You are so right. I think Art Linkletter and a several recognized names had financial managers who cheated them. I worked for a record company a very long time ago and it was amazing how country artists, who were selling quite well, got pathetically low royalties because their managers were either inept or crooked. I felt guilty working for that company, but actually it was all legal. Look at all the people cheated today in their investments. It takes patience, effort and brains to educate yourself in these things and not everyone is equipped to do so.
I often wonder about people winning the lottery, and find it so sad that most cannot retain their wealth.
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