Ladies' Room (1x02)
The episode opens with Don and Roger out to dinner with their wives. We learn that Don's wife's name is Betty, Roger's wife is Mona. There's a key line in here, as the two couples discuss their childhoods... well, Roger and the wives do - Don doesn't. "Didn't have to go to a psychologist, like some people's kids," Roger intones. The wives take a trip to the titular room. Betty's hands freeze up; Mona, in a very motherly fashion, does her makeup for her. They head home, Betty feels a bit under the weather - "too much lobster and vodka gimlets", she's sure. Don crashes pretty quickly. Betty, as she crawls into bed next to him, mutters "who's in there", which I felt rang a bit hollow.
The next day, we meet the other man whose name is on the building - Bert Cooper, played wonderfully by Robert Morse. He is concerned about some business or another, discusses it with Roger and Don, then walks away - barefoot. We learn that the office has a pool going to see who can bed Peggy first; no one but Pete - who is on his honeymoon in Niagara Falls - and Peggy know what happened as the last episode ended.
Meanwhile, Betty is talking to her pregnant best friend, Francine, who many of you probably still call Cutthroat B**** from Anne Dudek's time on House, about the divorcee who has moved in down the street. Her name's Helen Bishop, and she has a 9 year old boy, Glen, and a two year old girl(?). Later on, Betty is driving with Sally and Bobby when her hands freeze up again. She crashes the car, but no one is hurt, thankfully.
We flash to Don, who is banging Midge again. Midge has bought a TV, despite recently monologuing against the evils of television. After Don gives her some grief about it, she walks over to it, unplugs it, and throws it out the window. "Better?" she asks. Don hesitates. "Yes."
Newbie Spoilers in this paragraph
Smash cut to Betty being a good housewife, putting dinner on the table and taking care of the kids as Don gets home. Beautiful bit of editing, that. Showing the juxtaposition between the impulsiveness of Midge and the standardness of Betty is exceptionally smart, and Don's role in each scene both underscores what we already know about him and foreshadows a great deal about how Don and Betty's relationship will evolve and, eventually, devolve.
End Newbie Spoilers
The next day at the office, the Sterling Cooper guys are stymied by a campaign for Right Guard. They have the infamous, and successful Volkswagen "Lemon" ad at their side. Don, in another great bit of juxtaposition, subconsciously projects his issues with Betty - who has asked to see a psychiatrist, because her hand troubles seem to be anxiety related - onto the iffy Right Guard ads his team has come up with. During lunch, Paul gives Peggy the grand tour of Sterling Cooper's facilities, which is pitch perfect, down to the Twilight Zone reference, a show which he desperately hopes won't be canceled.
Late in the day, Roger and Don discuss creating an ad campaign for Nixon's candidacy against Kennedy. Don asks Roger what women want. "Who cares," Roger replies. Don continues, bringing up the quote from dinner about Margaret's visits with a psychologist. "I'm sure you must be mistaken about that," Roger stonewalls. He relents, and the two show some disdain for psychology. "We live in troubling times," Roger comments. "We do? Who could not be happy with all this?" Don asks. "Psychiatry is just this year's candy pink stove," Roger assures him. "It's just more happiness."
[continued]
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HAIL THOMAS