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| 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 12
"Nixon vs. Kennedy"
"One never knows where loyalty is born."
- Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse)
Plot:
On the night of the election between Kennedy and Nixon, the office decides to throw a party. It involves a lot of drinking and a few office flings. Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) ends up getting intimate with Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis). Meanwhile, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) has to deal with Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) as he threatens to use information about his past to get him fired. Don thinks about his life as a soldier and how he took on the identity of a dead soldier in order to avoid going back to his family. Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse) doesn't fire Don, leaving Pete a little confused. Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) had a rough night, as she feels like people in the office have been making fun of her. Kennedy eventually wins the election.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
MVP:
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)
While the show may seem like it is about nothing at times, it does reveal a lot in those moments. While everyone is partying in the office, things are revealed about people's deeper passions. It also parallels Don's quest to keep his past a secret, but cannot keep it from Pete, who is increasingly jealous. He has become an increasingly intriguing man with a lot of weird history. Here, this episode belongs to him, if just because of the origin story and his desire to not let anyone know about his military past. He is stern and even in the face of defeat (him being Nixon and Pete being Kennedy) manages to keep his head held high. He is a warrior and will not let anything, except his past, stand in his way.
Best Scene
In one of the season's best episodes, it is impossible to pin down an exact great moment. Do we go with the candid reaction from Cooper over Pete's reveal? The bombing that landed Don in the hospital and eventually lead to him taking a dead man's identity? There is one moment that powerfully shows how committed Don was to taking the new identity and not look back. As he stands on the train, overlooking his family, his younger brother calls out for Dick Whitman only to watch the train pull away. The scene doesn't have a lot, but it packs a punch and makes the moment count. Don is stuck running away and like a conversation he had earlier with Rachel Menken (Maggie Siff), he is doomed to do that, hoping that whatever happens will happen and he'll get out in one piece. The transition between the military days to the modern business man is perfection and summarizes his flawless disguise excellently.
UP NEXT: "The Wheel"
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