Mark here...we're on to the next episode of "Mad Men," called "The Hobo Code." This one was very interesting. It opens with Don getting a $2500 bonus from his boss. He promptly goes to his mistress with the idea of whisking her away for a weekend in Paris. She however already has people over for a beatnik pot party. Don indulges in this and we get to see flashbacks of his youth. The story shows a young Don on the farm when a traveling hobo comes looking for food and shelter. Presumably this is a flashback to Depression-era times. His father (stepfather?) is cold and uncaring to the man while his stepmother offers the man shelter and a coin. The man takes a liking to young Don and teaches his his hobo code of marking houses based on what a traveler can find there. When Don's stepfather refuses to give the man the coin he was promised, he marks the house "dishonest man lives here" with a symbol. This is clearly a formative moment for young Don. Back to the beatnik party where the other men are dismissive of Don and his advertising career. Don is unfazed by the goings on yet annoyed with them.
Separately, Peggy comes in early to work and runs into Pete Campbell, and both end up having sex in his office before anyone arrives. She interprets this as much more than him. She also is congratulated by the staff for her copywriting efforts and they all decide to go out for drinks after work. Pete shows up, but once he sees her dancing and having a good time, disappoints her by telling her "I don't like you like this." Peggy is clearly upset and its not hard to see why. She's clearly invested more in this relationship, thinking her self the "other woman" who understands Pete. Meanwhile, Pete is an asshole who has bought into his life only to be disappointed. Peggy is just a bit of instant gratification to him.
One more interesting subplot is with Salvatore, the art dept. head. He makes plans to show up at the bar with everyone else. A new, young girl working the phones has shown interest in him, but along the way he meets another man at the bar. He clearly loses track of time as both are enjoying each other's company, but once things veer towards the romantic he freaks out. Its interesting because he was clearly ok with the scenario until it became a reality. Once it did, he had to go back to the facade life he had constructed.
Hi Laurel here, I once again agree with Mark on all counts. Not much to add except I really love this particular episode. We get to see some inside scoop on the agency (with the Peggy stuff and the Salvatore stuff) AND we get some info about Don's secret past. I just would also like to mention it becomes clear in this episode that while Don has a secret past, he seems to acknowledge his secret self in some way...he seems to acknowledge that his current life is a smokescreen while he still lives out his true self (even though we don't really know who that is yet) by having a beatnik girlfriend, a slovenly boss, a drunken dysfunctional workplace, and he's fine with it. Salvatore on the other hand is so into living his lie that he cant even acknowledge that when another man hits on him it might be something that he's into...
I also thought the "hobo code" was especially poignant in this episode. The fact that the eloquent hobo from Don's youth left the mark of a dishonest man on his family farm's front fence is obviously a very important moment in Don's formative years. The hobo also treated him as if he was part of the hobo brotherhood, which to this day he has obviously taken to heart.
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