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| Back left to right: January Jones and Jon Hamm Front left to right: Jared Gilmore and Kiernan Shipka |
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 3, Episode 11
"The Gypsy and The Hobo"
"You want to be on some people's
minds. Some people's, you don't."
- Roger Sterling (John Slattery)
Plot:
Betty Draper (January Jones) decides to investigate into Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) past after discovering a few too many clues. Sterling Cooper lands a dog food client that they had lost quite awhile ago. Don continues to see Suzanne Farrell (Abigail Spencer). Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) calls Roger Sterling (John Slatter) after a fight with Greg Harris (Sam Page) has her worried about looking for a new job. Sterling begins to be confronted by his ex-wife over his involvement with Mona. Joan and Greg resolve their difficulties. Don opens up to Betty about all of his past life as Dick Whitman and his true reasons for going to California. In order to protect Suzanne, he cuts off his relationship with her in hopes of keeping Betty. He takes the children trick or treating with them dressed as a gypsy and a hobo.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
MVP:
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)
If there's any doubt of Jon Hamm's capabilities as an actor, there is no need to watch more than a few key scenes. The ones in reference involve him opening up to Betty about various traumatic events. It is the discoveries into his past that as a viewer, we have been privy to long before anyone else has. In this episode, the man who started off the series as a confident man gets torn down and all of his secrets, at least the major ones involving his past, are exposed and dissected at great length. With January Jones doing an equally engaging job, it is hard to really deny the chemistry that these two performers have had. It is in the quiet moments that Don really comes to life and with a few tears in his eyes, he makes some personal tough decisions. After becoming the man at work who has to do them, he now makes the ones on his life. How much longer will the Draper family stay together? It doesn't look too great, even if Don has begun to be honest.
Best Scene
It is the moment that most audiences have been waiting for. It's the time when Betty and Don have a serious conversation about the Dick Whitman days and the myth is officially destroyed for his wife. He's Dick Whitman who was born to a prostitute. He isn't as glamorous as some would hope. His identity may not be exposed to the general public, but now that he is no longer hiding lies, he is something less exciting. He is human. As he cries in his confession, there's a sense of sincerity that Don hasn't really shown. Most of the season has been about him bossing others around. With Betty taking charge, it at least looks like she is putting him in his place. But what's to come of Betty's affair? There's a lot of compelling questions to be had and this scene in particular that sprawls out over many locations is an iconic piece of Mad Men that is likely to shift the series into a new, bolder direction.
UP NEXT: "The Grown Ups"
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