Mad Cap: "The Jet Set"

Let to right: Jon Hamm and Laura Ramsay

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 2, Episode 11
"The Jet Set"

"Why would you deny yourself something you want?"

- Joy (Laura Ramsay)

Plot:

Roger Sterling (John Slattery) decides to marry Jane Siegel (Peyton List). Meanwhile, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) are in Los Angeles, CA learning about the bomb that they plan to nuke Russia with. During this time, Don meets Joy (Laura Ramsay) who invites him back to her place in Palm Springs where he suffers heat exhaustion. Everyone he meets there is laid back and candid about everything. Back in New York, everyone is busy taking advantage of their bosses not being around. Herman "Duck" Phillips (Mark Moses) wants to be promoted despite Sterling thinking that it is a bad idea. The group decides to order food, which causes Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) to meet Klaus (Bjorn Johnson) who invites her to a Bob Dylan concert. This goes well, though everyone becomes offended when Klaus reveals that he is a homosexual. Everyone except Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt), who hasn't told anyone yet. Klaus and Peggy get together anyways and Klaus gives her a makeover. Don falls for Joy to the point where he doesn't realize that she hasn't told him about her husband and kids. Along with leaving his luggage back at the hotel, he ends up having it delivered to his house. He calls somebody as Dick Whitman with desire to meet them again. Duck talks to Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse) and he likes his ideas. Pete returns with a disinterest in Los Angeles. The riots are happening leaving Kinsey out of the picture.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

MVP:

Don Draper (Jon Hamm)

It is an episode that talks about moving on in the sleaziest ways possible. With Sterling marrying a very young secretary and Sterling Cooper becoming associated with nuclear missiles, there's a lot in the balance that could go wrong. However, Don's choice to get up and leave with a beautiful woman to Palm Springs and leave Pete stranded is quite a move. He is happy because he is in a very dishonest place where nobody seems to speak the truth. It makes room for him to feel comfortable talking about his Don Draper persona without any problem. The whole thing is an ego stroke that makes his recent separation something far greater. He reveals his true colors and when he ends the episode with evidence that he knows someone under the Dick Whitman persona in California, things are only going to continue getting murkier for him, especially as nobody knows where he is.

Best Scene

Things are going well and Don is enjoying his life in a nameless place where nobody works. It fits his ego just right. However, as he enjoys the company of Joy in a naked swimming session, he discovers that she hasn't been honest with him about her family. With kids watching, the two are forced to cover up secrets and spin some story about Don as a friend and nothing more. Whether or not it clicks with him, it does make for quite a parallel between the failing Draper family and his work life. He seems incapable of not messing with people's lives. Yet again he is getting in murky territory with families and discovering that dishonesty can hurt him, even if he has no emotional attachment to Joy beyond sexual appeal.

UP NEXT: "The Mountain King"