Mad Men 1x09 Reaction

The funniest "drama" of all time, in my opinion. Yes, even ahead of The Sopranos.

Mike

I am, thank you lol.

Sami

Sami

It was a BB gun. You can see her pumping it. They do make real guns that pump like that but by the 1960's that was outdated and you only saw BB guns operate like that. Except for replica's of old gun models.

Jack Hoff

"We didn't think much of you and I mean that" lmfao

Jack Hoff

Quintessential betty/peggy scenes aside, rewatching the show after a while I always catch little gems I forgot about. Don telling Pete the meeting isn’t over, harry trying to make the “cut ups” sound cool, Roger enjoying his jello, betty telling her therapist she likes hot dogs lol. The shows so much fun when you settle in to its world.

cheech

100% this. The tragedy of the episode isn't that Don steps on Betty's dreams of being a model because he wants to keep her at home. It's that her dreams and aspirations are being used as pawns in a game that is all about her husband and not about her at all. He doesn't want the job, so Betty becomes collateral damage. It doesn't matter what she wants, because nobody truly cares. Don's comforting words to her at the end are heartfelt, but sad because being a mother is clearly not something that brings her much fulfilment at all, and he doesn't see it.

S

Tony Soprano would’ve given Betty the Ralphie treatment for shooting at those birds

Wayne

One of my joint favourite episodes of the season. Very sweet and sad. Betty is just shooting a bb gun btw, if she was shooting an actual rifle it'd be deafening. Funny image honestly! Don and Betty's marriage is definitely based on living up to an aspirational ideal, but is obviously very limiting. Don does love Betty but he takes on an almost paternal role in their relationship. He is as you say driven in part by his own miserable upbringing. Striving for an ideal that Betty can't reasonably live up to. I remember my mum telling me how she would arrange time away from us during the week when we were kids, just because spending all her time with us was hard to take for an adult mind. My parents had a much more equal relationship though so there was no issue with it.

Mark M

Easy top-five Betty moment with that cigarette dangling from her mouth. Fuck yeah. Yeah, Don's thought process in this episode isn't as simple as "I'm not taking this job because I want to keep Betty at home". There's a lot going on between him legitimately being skeeved out by Hobart's underhanded tactics; his psychology surrounding Betty, Sally & Bobby, and his own mother; and his desire to maintain his freedom at SC, creative and otherwise. (Jim Hobart offered Don a three-year contract. He asked Roger for *no* contract.) As for Betty, that line from the McCann art director really sums it up. This was probably one of the most exciting weeks she's had in years, and in the end, it had nothing to do with her. Sad stuff -- I'm glad she got to let off some steam at the end.

Mike

I don't have much to add except nobody should mess with Betty "The Slapper" "Deadeye" Draper, she will slap you in the supermarket, she'll give her hair to your child, she'll shoot your birds dead + there's NOTHING you can do about it. Actually I do have one thing, this was a good subtle Roger episode. after him being a massive prick 2 eps ago, we see the side of him that Don probably befriended and enjoys working with - basically a straight shooter, no silly mind games, he's funny + is a fun drinking buddy. Don wants to work with people like that, not slimy guys like Jim Hobart who turn a night at the opera with wives into a talent poaching strategy.

Kara

Little trivia: That final scene was taken from the real life of one of the writers on the show. Just like in the episode their neighbor threatened to shoot their golden retriever after it attacked one of his pigeons. Her mom took her BB gun and started shooting😭. The scene fits so perfectly with the plotline of the ep. Perfect storytelling.

Eric Viola

Don not taking the job had nothing to with keeping Betty from having a job as a model. He did not like the position "Jim"? I think it was , that he put don in, basically like front running the modeling job with Betty before Don could decide if he wanted the position and then if he didn't he would disappoint his wife. That's why he said it wasn't a big league move- in other words that was not professional, it was a desperate move. Also, when Don says to Betty what he said about I want you to have what ever you want and that he would have done anything to have a mother like her, I firmly believe he meant that. You have to understand that Don's escapades with other women don't take away from the care he has for Betty, and he just gets upset when she is dissatisfied and depressed. He truly does care about her. As loaded as that may sound. He has his own deep seeded issues about sex separately that do not conform to the standards of the early 1960s and the circles he runs in. Both him and Betty are republicans and maintain a family oriented, traditional upholding of ideology. Perhaps Betty more than Don. The last scene with the pellet gun I don't believe is about feminism explicitly as it pertains to Betty's character. It is about solidifying her role as a mother (protector of her children) and killing her dreams not of freedom, but of being beautiful in youth. She is sacrificing it and has a hatred for it and is finally embracing the practicalities of motherhood and age.

Robert

It's not really relevant but several US states have banned non-compete clauses (California and Washington at least), which is great for workers.

Kara

“It has nothing to do with you” yup. poor betty.

cheech

they call her Betty "The Slapper" "Deadeye" Draper. she sniped 14 doves... sorry, pigeons, while wearing a nightgown and chain smoking Lucky Strike menthols. they say she's posing as an Ossining housewife who speaks really good Italian.

Kara

not to just repeat what you said but BB guns are "toy guns", yeah, it was probably Bobby's BB Gun. but they're still dangerous/deadly to birds

Kara

this iconic shot and "I just realized something. You think you're being helpful" coming in the same episode is wild lol

Kara

one of the most iconic shots of the show and it comes in S1. so good lol

Kara

Don 1000% doesn't want Betty to have a job. He wants a housewife who stays at home and raises the kids, he basically says as much and all his support is very reluctant. He tolerates it because he doesn't want to be a controlling monster and I'm sure he would have let it continue. So while it's not the primary reason he turned Jim Hobart down, it's sort of a dark win/win for him. Also take note that Don didn't even tell Betty that the whole thing was Jim's scheme, he waited for them to reject her and let her tell him about it over dinner. He's not acting in good faith.

Kara

Same. After learning Mad Men had won the poll, I watched the first episode to celebrate... then the second... now I'm mid season 6 lol. I also hadn't watched it in years aside from youtube clips and the occasional random episode here and there.

Taya

The subtle moment from this episode that sticks with me is when Peggy realizes that Joan is trying to be honestly helpful. It shows that they have such different goals and ambitions and desires that they are living two completely different lives. Up until now they both thought they wanted (generally) the same thing. It's a window into both of their souls. McCann Erickson is a real-life advertising firm, which existed during this era (And still today). They do a lot of work with Coca-Cola, just like shown here, and are responsible for several of their real-life landmark ads. They're a much BIGGER firm than the boutique firm Sterling Cooper is portrayed as. A bit of business background that is critical to understand Don's moves here, is what they mean when they say "contract". They are talking about a No Compete contract, which is a specific type of contract that binds you to a specific firm for a set period. If you quit that firm — even for something justifiable — you can't work at any competitor for X number of years (The term of the contract), which means that you're functionally out of a job for that time period unless you go far enough away to not be in competition anymore or you take a job in a completely separate field. Since Sterling Cooper is a Big Deal with at least one nation-wide campaign they can argue that any ad agency anywhere in the US is a competitor, so anybody who they have on contract can't work in marketing anywhere else in the country for the rest of their term. Don's refusal to accept a contract is a power play, since if at any time he decides to leave SC he can get a job at another company and there's no way for them to stop him. That's why he had to assure Roger that he wasn't going to leave for another advertising firm...but he COULD...

JBK405

Maybe it's just how I see it but I never thought that Don tried to sabotage or didn't want Betty to do modeling. Don was put in a position of choosing a new workplace or staying where he's at. Jim was the one that put Betty in to the mix, and that is one of the reasons Don stopped the flirting with Jim and stayed with Sterling. Sadly, Betty caught the collateral from the whole situation and instead of insisting and pushing to continue her pursuit, she decided to retreat back. It was just a really bad situation that Betty got caught in to be honest.

Yami

Betty aiming down sights with a cigarette in her mouth is one of the most badass images ever. Random, but that was my facebook cover photo in 2013, when i first watched this show lol

Chris B

Betty shooting the birds was one of my most significant moments of falling in love with show on my first watch. Great episode

Zosko1

It's a bb gun. Uses compressed air to shoot pellets rather explosive cartridges/gunpowder. So in many ways it's not a real gun. It's far more dangerous to small animals like pigeons than it is to a human, though it can still hurt us and even gravely injure (eyes, etc). All this to say: yes, Betty really was shooting at those pigeons.

Julien

You know Helen Bishop won’t try anything again now that words out about Betty’s dead eye. Also elsewhere in Manhattan Pete Cambell’s dick shriveled at the thought of a woman handling a gun better than him.

Luis

When did the Mad Men reactions start? Much as I adore this show, have it very firmly in my top 5, and watched it quite a few times back then, I hadn't actually watched it in years - except for random YT clips. Since these reactions began, I have inadvertently binged most the series. I literally started from episode 1 and I'm now near the end of season 5. Just couldn't stop. It really had been a while! And even now, I am noticing and understanding so many things that I never did before. An absolute treat.

Julien

Because it's one of the most iconic images of the show, no wonder

bondbond53

How did I know what the thumbnail would be?

Mike Conlin