Hey! Anyone out there remember Dallas or The Bob Newhart Show? My friend Keiko nailed it when she suggested this season's finale (What? Finale already? Can't be!) must be a long dream sequence, cause otherwise I'm sittin' here scratching my head and saying, Huh?" Don...is...in...love? With Miss "Bad Teeth?" Sorry, but even SHE mentioned her teeth! Now, we've been watching Don go through changes all season, but I must confess I don't know if I can handle a gushy, grinning, goober-faced Don Draper. I will even suggest, for your consideration, that Jon Hamm is one of the rare gorgeous men who actually looks less attractive while smiling broadly. He does NOT know this woman. I think he is drawn to a mommy for the kids. And why such a hurry? Truly weird. [I did adore watching him in daddy-mode, though.] Poor Dr. Miller. I still think she is right for him. Ironically, he's now a turd because he's doing the honorable thing of marrying.
I winced at Peggy's subtle (except to us) heart stab at hearing of Don's impending marriage. Then Don pours salt on the wound by insulting her saying, "She reminds me of you." ARGH!!!!! Peggy and Don are so unlikely, and yet...
Again we are reminded of the uneveness in the corporate world as Peggy feels her huge landing of new account was trumped by Don's announcement. I'm sure if roles were reversed with a "girl" in the office announcing her engagement, all the hoopla from the fellow execs would be on business. It was such a weird gender-bender.
Well, every finale needs more than one bombshell. Joan is still with child. OMG. We all know whose it is, don't we! My sister was right. She questioned if Joan had actually gone through with the abortion. Well-played, Marsh.
A couple of fun retro details: "The Name Game" playing in the background. And Topaz stockings. Now, when they first mentioned Topaz, nothing stuck with me. Later when I realized it was stockings I had a major instant mental elevator ride from deep in the basement of my brain to the top floor of consciousness. (Whew - I am in an extended metaphor mood!) I remember Topaz stockings - they came in a sweet little white box and encased in tissue paper. In my house these were reserved for very special occasions - family wedding, prom... I haven't thought about this in ________ years.
Last scene with Don and Betty closing up shop felt real, painfully real, with each walking in a different direction. Divorce is always so sad.
WHAT am I going to watch next Sunday??
Excellent observations, Valerie.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, right on re "miss bad teeth!" Funny choice for an actress: so pretty yet so in need of orthodonture! Kidding aside, very Don-ish to marry the brainless one on a whim rather than the deep, sensitive, beautiful, wonderful psychologist. Makes him out to be the caddish fool he is...at least where women are concerned.
I agree that he is more appealing as a character when he does not smile. He is a man of mystery, someone we keep trying to understand, so the grin does not do him justice.
Don and Peggy: Their bond keeps getting more interesting. Don is a solid mentor...just wish he'd be more caring of his protege.
Joan's pregnancy: Ah, how delightfully perfect. She will bear Roger's child and pretend it's her husband's. In other words, she will get revenge against men by being as deceptive as they.
Good points onthe retro stuff. Being a guy, I never had the topaz stocking experience....but I love the 60's cars, hair styles, glasses, and mores. Wow!
Last scene was perfect: Don and Betty with nothing left to share but a meaningless glass of wine...which they shared.
I too will miss this great show.
This episode killed me! I could not believe what I was seeing... even after a colleague accidentally let it slip about his secretary. She said, "Oh, I heard he married his secretary??" And I stared at her in shock, then thought, She is probably confusing the season finale with that time Roger impulsively married HIS vacant brunette secretary.
ReplyDeleteIt really infuriated me, especially after they made us love Dr. Miller. She is so great! He can be Dick Whitman with her! How come all of the smart women on this show get screwed over?
However, Miss Bad Teeth speaks French, so..... at least the kids will be bilingual.
Still adore each episode's closing song.
Yes indeed, Jenna, I'm more than annoyed at Don's stupid choice of women. He's really a jerk for turning down the bright, attractive, deep, wise, caring Dr. Miller. As you wisely said, Don needs a woman with whom he can be Dick Whitman. Truth is, Don has become an archetype for divorced men who seek younger women with pretty faces and small brains. He needs to feel empowered by holding his authority over them. Why else would he go for Miss Big Teeth, his assisant??!! Yes, she does speak French, but doesn't she realize that she is just a passing fancy? As Joan wisely noted, men seem to seek women as mates but are really always "between wives."
ReplyDeleteJust had a thought brought on by David's "Don needs a woman with whom he can be Dick Whitman." Dick came from a dysfunctional trailer-trash deadbeat, shallow upbringing. That is in his DNA and personal self-identity. Perhaps he can't possibly see himself with one at the level of Dr. Miller, subconsciously or not. Miss Bad Teeth is not upwardly bound; she is more the kind he would have ended up with as Dick. Either that or that's all he'll allow himself. Maybe that's why he blew it with Betty - down deep deep deep inside he doesn't feel he deserves such an aristocratic life.
ReplyDeleteExcellent observation, Valerie. I agree.
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