Watched the Mad Men premiere. The major moment of the episode was a surprise party that Don's new wife threw for him. And if you don't know, Don Draper is not the kind of guy who likes surprise parties.
Everyone from work was there (well, except for Joan and her whore child). In the middle of the party, Don's wife gave him his present, which was her seductively singing "Zou Bisou Bisou".
Now, besides the fact that that's kind of a bullshit present, the consequences of this performance reverberate throughout the rest of the episode. Don is pissed about it. They get in a big fight. People at work are uncomfortable. They talk about how mortified Don was. It was a big deal.
But here's my problem:
Don is enjoying himself! He seems to be turned on by it. He likes it. He smiles and kisses her at the end. He's not worrying about the other people there. He's not thinking about his coworkers. Everything seemed fine.
So was this bad acting by Jon Hamm? Am I misinterpreting everything?
Probably. But there's a possibility that this scene didn't play as they intended. While I was watching it, I was expecting Don to be angry. And then I thought, "man, are we gonna see a kindler, gentler Draper this season?" But then it changed, and everyone started talking about that moment like it happened the way I thought it was going to happen.
Maybe it's me. Or maybe Jon Hamm's been performing in too many comedy bits lately and was rusty.
6 comments:
I think he was enjoying it and feeling like he was able to let go a little more and then reality and his past kicked in. He also saw that people might make fun of him. Earlier he was just fine with her acting naughty in his office and he seemed not too interested in work and spending time with his wife. He's finding it hard to shake the past. That's my impression. I did think the same thing at the beginning.."He enjoyed that! What's the deal?"
More likely, Don's at a party in his home with his and his wife's entire office. He's not going to be outwardly pissed at her burlesque show in front of everyone; he even pretended to enjoy the surprise party, when it's pretty clear he actually loathed the concept.
Pretty consistently, the character of "Don Draper" that Dick Whitman is playing:
A. has control over both home and work;
B. portrays a picture-perfect marriage to the outside world; and
C. loves him some hot brunettes.
Acting pleased in the moment serves all three goals; he would NEVER show his subordinates that his wife was publicly doing something "for him" that he completely hated.
see, i would agree with you, except for Lane says afterwards "you could see Don's soul leave his body".
this would seem to contradict the argument that he was successfully shielding his real feelings from his coworkers.
"this would seem to contradict the argument that he was successfully shielding his real feelings from his coworkers."
No, it just means he wasn't entirely successful. Sometimes best efforts fall short. Or maybe Lane is a little bit sharper than you.
you mean the actor that the writers write lines for noticed it but not me, a real person watching what was actually on the screen for the TV show?
yeah, i think i'm sticking with jon hamm didn't do a great job. you can take lane's word for it if you like, or you can check the video and see for yourself.
Don's known all those people longer than Megan. I think part of the point is that he married someone who still doesn't really know him.
Post a Comment