Quick notes on this one, as a trip to Dublin threw off my scheduling last week. And I don’t even like Guinness.
As with Don’s second season sojourn to California, this episode felt a little disjointed, as though being out of New York throws the show’s entire rhythm out of whack. But where his previous trip felt overlong and underdeveloped, this was brief, lively and quite gut-wrenching, as Don pays another visit to Anna Draper and visibly relaxes in her presence, only to discover she has months to live. It’s a soapy premise, but subtly written as always and played to perfection by Jon Hamm, who runs the full gambit of emotions this week as he effectively becomes Dick Whitman for a day. The scene where he says goodbye to Anna for what’s likely the last time, the one person who “knows everything about him and still loves him”, is truly devastating, especially following the scene in which he admits how much Betty’s rejection wounded him. But, as he admits, he had it coming.
It’s ironic too that Don’s real struggle here is with how much to tell Anna, as it turns out that her doctors and her family have concealed her prognosis from her. There are hints that she knows, but he’s nonetheless burdened with the decision and ultimately lies to her, though she is the one person he’s hidden nothing from up to this point. Maybe he’s just forever doomed to keep enormous secrets from people he loves?
Back in Manhattan, Don and Lane run into one another in the empty SCDP office, both struggling with the loss of family and the reality of New Year’s alone, and Don – uncharacteristically reaching out – suggests a movie. Thus begins a drunken night of low-level debauchery, tentative male bonding and a series of really hilarious outbursts from the generally reserved Lane, my personal favourite being his pseudo-Japanese squawk at an unsuspecting audience member. All this sat a little oddly with the earlier half of the episode, and I struggled to see quite how the two acts led on from one another, but it was hugely enjoyable to watch both these guys let loose. Don definitely needs more friends, especially as Roger has for some inexplicable reason still not got rid of Jane.
It was surprising in a way to see Lane agree to Don’s generous call girl offer, and even more surprising that he was so smooth about the encounter where some stiff-upper-lip fumbling might have been expected. The scene where he gives Don money to pay the girl, actually laying down bills on the counter, was an interesting parallel to last week’s ending scene with poor Allison, the implication being almost that Lane was paying Don for his time and his companionship. That said, this seemed like it could be the start of a beautiful friendship, depending on what develops with Lane’s wife. Much though I’m always eager to see Embeth Davidtz in anything, I have a feeling she may not be back.
The other main story thread here was Joan’s, and hers was the only plot that even vaguely fulfilled the title’s promise of Good News. Even here, it’s pretty thin on the ground – a visit to the gynaecologist from the pilot tells us that Joan’s had a couple of “procedures” in the past and is now concerned about her chances of getting pregnant with Greg. The doctor assures her that everything’s fine physically, which qualifies as good news except that Greg is likely shipping out to Vietnam fairly soon. He’s refusing to accept this as a certainty, Joan’s frustrated by the ambiguity about their future and the fact that her biological clock is definitely ticking at this point, and this all comes to a head in a surprising scene where she cuts herself on a cooking knife. Between this moment and her awesomely uninhibited fight with Lane, this is by far the most exposed and emotional we’ve ever seen Joan, and after her relatively small role last season it’s great to see Christina Hendricks given some stretching room.
- - Wow. I think Don has officially lost his mojo. Especially in comparison to his beatnik conquest last time he was in California, his coming onto the hot niece (who looked to me like a slightly stoned Blake Lively) was so, so desperate and not remotely sexy. “You’re so young and beautiful”? Ugg. Don, you’re turning into that lecherous old guy we try desperately to avoid at the bar. Stop it.
- - Did I mention how awesome Joan and Lane’s fight was? It was a lovely continuation of a theme with Joan from way back in season one, where she’s angry with Roger after watching The Apartment. Much though she courts male attention, there is a deep anger in her with regards to the way she’s treated in the workplace, and that really came to fruition here with her “helpless, stupid little girl” remark. It was also great because Joan and Lane are, weird though it sounds, very alike in that they’re both incredibly controlled and put a lot of stock in appearing unruffled, but have a huge amount going on beneath the surface. Poor Sandy didn’t stand a chance.
- - The reintroduction of Dick Whitman started me thinking: would anybody in the office really care all that much if his identity were revealed? Would they lose their respect for him, not even want to look at him anymore like Betty? I guess it depends whether we’re talking about the fact that he’s not who he says he is, or the fact that he stole the dogtags and took credit for the war honours of a man who had his face blown off in Korea. The latter, I can see people struggling with. But it’s easy to forget that Pete already knows Don is “a deserter at the very least”, and still hero-worships him. Cooper didn’t care, so would Roger? Peggy’s already benefited from Don’s teaching on how to forget things, so equally it’s hard to imagine her judging him. I hope we get to see some of these revelations play out, given how seamlessly Don slips into being Dick here.
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