The end of cable seasons always sneak up on me. Only three episodes of Mad Men left this season?!? Really? I’ve been waiting for a few weeks now for the show to tackle the assassination of JFK, and as we creep closer and closer in time to November 1963, I can’t help but think that the writers are saving it for the season finale.
In the meantime, however, there is no shortage of things happening in the lives of our characters. I thought this episode, with its plot twists, brought one fact to the forefront: Betty Draper is pissed off.
Can you really blame her? I have never quite understood why Betty is so loyal to Don. Personally, I think that she forgives him of all his wrongdoings because she genuinely wants to be with him. She wants to love him and have the prefect family, but it just is not to be. I have to believe that she doesn’t want to let herself stoop to Don’s level. Why else would she pass up relationships with men that she so clearly desires? Yes, she has better morals than Don, but the relationship is killing her. She can’t be an adequate mother to her children, and she spends most of her time being miserable. That’s no way to live.
I think that things are about to change, however. In this week’s episode she discovered Don’s box of memorabilia from his past, including a certificate of divorce from the first “Mrs. Draper.” I’m sure that Betty has it all wrong in her head, but how the heck is Don supposed to explain it? “Don’t worry, honey, I wasn’t actually married, that was the guy whose identity I stole!” I have a feeling that the truth would only complicate things here.
In any case, Betty is seriously miffed right now, and I don’t think she’s going to take any more of Don’s bullshit. I’m just wondering how long before she explodes at him. Clearly she wanted to in this episode, several times. I loved watching her shoot daggers at Don. He must have been able to feel the ice in the room.
With the way that this show moves, I’m sure that Betty will quietly seethe for at least an episode before anything happens. I, for one, can’t wait to see it.