Mad Cap: "Marriage of Figaro"

Left to right: January Jones and Jon Hamm

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 3

"Marriage of Figaro"

"What is this? You can't convince me for a 

second that you were ever unloved."

- Don Draper (Jon Hamm)

Plot

Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) is back and feeling more amorous about his wife. Meanwhile, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) has a run-in on the train with someone who calls him "Dick Whitman." He is on his way to a department store run by Rachel Menkin (Maggie Siff) to talk business. When he tries to put the moves on her, she rejects him for thinking that he can get his way. At home, Betty Draper (January Jones) is getting ready for her daughter's birthday party. With help from Don, they set everything up. It quickly becomes clear that Don doesn't want to be there. After Betty forces him to get the cake, he takes off for hours only to return with a dog and no way for Betty to chastise him in front of the children.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Hamm

MVP:

Don Draper (Jon Hamm)

Besides setting up an interesting cliffhanger in the opening scene of "Who is Dick Whitman?," this episode revels in trying to have us understand who Don really is. We have seen his confidence at work, but his home life has clearly been a wreck if evident from traces of the previous episode. Here, he is an insular, reluctant man unwilling to follow the well wishes. If he can't get any woman he wants, he won't be happy with what he has, thus disappointing the women that look up to him. It is also here that we begin to see the insular, brooding Don that will likely be developing and help us to understand why there is conflict in the Draper household. The final 10 minutes of this episode features traces of unique and exciting Don in the ways that he conveys without saying and makes his true intentions clear while Betty remains a great foot soldier through it all and serves as a great parallel to the happiness of Pete and his wife's recent affection.

Best Scene

It is a testament that the first three episodes have been really stellar improvements over the last. It also helps that it has built a mystery around its characters. Don is a suave man when having to sell things, but he can't be authentic when it comes to the people he's supposed to love. This is most evident when Betty forces him to fetch the cake. As he drives around with it, he quickly decides to drive by the house, forcing everyone else to improvise. His stubbornness carries on into the night and he tries to work things out in the least plausible way possible. What is the point of getting a dog? He knows how to please on a base level, but nothing lower. This scene, along with a subtle, nuanced performance by Hamm, is the ultimate sell of the series. It is this moment that convinces me that we'll be seeing not only a man who has a great job, but also has some serious problems underneath the collar.

UP NEXT: "New Amsterdam"