Grid Effect

So, who isn’t a total prick at Sterling Cooper? We have Don/Dick abandoning his long lost brother (albeit for reasons vaguely understood), Pete whoring out his wife by guilt-tripping her about losing her virginity to the guy who can get his story published, Joan manipulating Peggy and bending her to her will, and all the other junior executives/account managers giving Kenny Karsgrove shit about getting his story published in the Atlantic Monthly. Oh, that’s who isn’t a prick: Kenny. And Peggy. And the jury is still out on Roger. But that’s it.

In the main plot this week, we got an explanation for why that fat man on the train kept calling Don, “Richard”. Well, turns out that is actually his name, and during the course of the Korean War and immediately after his service, Don somehow changed his identity. It is never made entirely clear, but we meet a ghost of Don’s former existence in Adam Whitman, his little half-brother that was lost in the mix of our protagonist creating a new life for himself.

After tracking him down from a picture of Don in the newspaper after he won some award, Adam is significantly younger and overly-anxious to rekindle their relationship. Don, however, has come to appreciate the new life he has built for himself (though were still not entirely clear on that, either) and feels like the revelation of a secret past could cost him his wife, his kids and most importantly, his career. His reaction to Adam is wholly cold and unnerving, but Don ends up showing more vulnerability than he has since probably the war when he pays Adam to get the hell out of his life ($5,000, probably about $30,000 today) and is brought nearly to tears. It was unexpected, and certainly caught the audience off guard, considering we never saw the money and we were under the impression what the camera was hiding was, in fact, a gun Don was going to use to kill Adam with.

In a way, this sort of redeemed him, as he was at least conflicted about his decision and got his brother out of whatever financial ruin he was in. Being a janitor in New York City, as evidenced by the squalor Adam was living in, wasn’t exactly affording him the most pleasant of lifestyles. In addition, were never really privy to the details of Don’s adolescence, other than he was raised by Adam’s mother who resented Don/Richard, and one of their aunts was intricately involved in their upbringing. Other than that, everything is pretty vague, other than Don’s father had high expectations for him. Whatever the reason he left, I’m almost certain it’s justified, despite the collateral damage. My guess is we’ve seen the last of Adam.

Sub-plots included Peggy losing her mind over how to handle Betty showing up to Don’s office, believing he is with Midge (who’s conversation with Don she eavesdropped on) she asks Joan for help, who in return extorts information of Don’s whereabouts in return, when in actuality, he was with Adam, which is even more damning. She is ruthless.

Pete… oh, Pete. Whatever good will you may have built with the audience in “Marriage of Figaro” was destroyed in this episode. Subliminally telling your wife to sleep with an ex-boyfriend publisher to get your story published in a magazine? Doesn’t this go against every traditional custom that he so desperately pines to embody? I guess if his peers are none the wiser, then no harm, no foul. I wish I could feel some sympathy for Trudy, though, who’s plight this episode was negated by her materialism two weeks ago.

Of course, Pete’s competitive spirit was just exceptionally pathetic. The entire office turned resorted to the proverbial catfight after Kenny’s story was published. I erupted in laughter when Carl tried to apologize for his catty competitiveness then Kenny just refusing to shake his hand and casually saying, “You lost”.

Definitely looking forward to tonight, and until Curb and Sunny kick off their sixth and third seasons respectively, this is handily the best series on television. It appears David Chase is in fact, the Bill Parcells of television.