Welcome to Mad Cap: a daily rundown of every episode of the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men. During this time, I will be compiling my thoughts and highlights as we travel through every moment and season of the Emmy-award winning drama that has come to define modern TV. The goal is to be a refresher on every moment for Don Draper and his band of advertisement executives leading up to the final season. Stay for all of the shocking moments and the brilliant acting performances, and make sure to chime in with your thoughts and criticisms on why the show means something to you.
Season 1, Episode 8
"The Hobo Code"
"A dishonest man lives here."
- Hobo (Paul Schulze)
Plot:
Trudy Campbell (Alison Brie) visits Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) at work in hopes of walking to their new apartment. When Pete claims that he is too busy, Trudy gets really upset and Pete turns to Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) for sexual release. Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) works in the art department and falls in love with a travelling salesman at some bar. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) wants to go to Paris with Midge Daniels (Rosemarie DeWitt), but she refuses. She wants to spend the time with her hippie friends. Meanwhile, we get a glimpse into Don's past, which includes an encounter with a Hobo (Paul Schulze) who opens up to young Don (Brandon Killham) about how his father is dishonest and that he was a whore child. Pete begins to shun Peggy, which causes a rift among office employees. Midge decides not to go to Paris and leaves Don to go home to his regular life without any fulfillment.
Rating: 5 out of 5
 |
| Jon Hamm |
MVP:
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)
It is the origin story that the series has been building towards so far. We have seen Don have to deal with long lost relatives and potential connections to the war. But who was "Dick Whitman" exactly? Here, we finally get some answers as we see his dishonest father and a hobo who changes his worldview. He has become a vagrant with passion to roam the world and have strained relationships with people. He is an excellent man with a lot of charisma, but it all is revealed to be a facade in such an interesting manner that while we don't get much time with Don's father, we do get enough to know that his life was way more perverse and dark. It is Don and the hobo in an interesting move. With the hippies representing free love, it is a nice parallel between the two.
 |
| Brandon Killham |
Best Scene
While it could easily go down as being one of the most unique and compelling scenes of the series so far, the entire flashback was rich with details. From the hobo preaching a new way of living to a man who we knew became successful. How did he get to changing his name and becoming whoever he was? It's all thanks to this hobo and his code. Even then, the most striking moment, and potential catalyst for the entire Don Draper persona probably came in a brief moment in which young Don decides to look at the hobo signs on his house only to discover that etched into the wood is the symbol for dishonesty. It is a trait that his father looks to have and one that Don appears to continue to carry. It is a start in giving us Don's life story, and it is very, very interesting.
UP NEXT: "Shoot"
Comments
Post a Comment