“I like being bad and then going home and being good.” – Bobbie Barrett
“The Benefactor” is the third episode of Mad Men Season 2. What’s new and what’s happening?
- Don Draper’s existential drift continues – we see him watching a French art film when he’s supposed to be at work – which turns into drifting into an affair with Bobbie Barrett, Jimmy Barrett’s manager/wife.
- We see the first inkling that Don’s flakiness is catching up with him. When he wasn’t around to contain the crisis around Jimmy Barrett insulting the Schillings on the Utz Potato Chip set, he has to resort to the standard “I was at the printers” excuse. However, because secretary Lois is not adept at “managing people’s expectations,” she gets scapegoated and set back to the switchboard. Ah, poor Lois Sadler.
- Joan becomes Don’s temporary secretary. Don goes through a bunch over the course of Mad Men.
- Harry Crane receives Kenny’s paycheck by accident. Of course, he’s compelled to open it and is shocked by the pay disparity.
- Harry also gets a spotlight story involving his taking initiative after learning from a friend (played by Nat Faxon, who is great on Friends from College) at CBS that an episode of The Defenders will air, though advertisers want no part of it due to its abortion-centric storyline.
- Don engineers a dinner at fancy French restaurant Lutèce so that the crisis involving Jimmy’s insult of Sterling Cooper’s client can be resolved. When Don pressures Bobbie in the powder room to have Bobby make a quick apology to the Schillings, she instead tries to squeeze a $25,000 bonus out of the deal. Then, in one of the most shocking moments of Mad Men’s run, Don slides his hand up Bobbie’s dress and says, “I will ruin him. Do what I say.” And she does.
“The Benefactor”: do we meet anyone new?
- Enter the brilliant character of Jimmy Barrett (Patrick Fischler), insult comedian and “the talent” for an Utz Potato Chips TV commercial. If there’s one character that I wish we got more of on Mad Men among a ridiculously talented cast, it’s Jimmy. Side note that I recently caught Fischler on an old episode of NYPD Blue!
- We also meet the Schillings, the titular “benefactors” who own Utz, on the commercial set. Jimmy, like a bloodhound, immediately lays into the heavyset Mrs. Schilling (Jan Hoag).
- Betty is back riding horses with her friend, Sarah Carson, and we meet Arthur’s fiancée, Tara Montague (Cameron Goodman). Arthur also comes onto Betty, telling her, “You’re so profoundly sad.”
- Harry’s officemate, Warren (John Douglas Williams), offers a few fun lines during Season 2.
- Bobbie Barrett, played by Melinda McGraw, makes her first appearance later in the episode when Don tracks her down in an attempt to clean up his mess. As noted above, he turns the meeting into more of a mess… at least on a personal level.
- We meet Betty’s horse, Copenhagen, and Arthur’s horse, Knee High. Well met, nice horsies!
“The Benefactor”: unanswerable questions
- When Don tells Bobbie, “I’ll drive you over,” did he know that he was about to enter into an affair with her? I guess the answer is one that Don says in other contexts multiple times: “I don’t think about it.”
- How easy was parking in Manhattan in 1962? The world of the show makes it seem awfully easy, even in midtown.
“The Benefactor”: other odds and ends
- Freddie Rumson sleeps through the Utz commercial shoot. This tracks with what we know about him so far.
- Sal Romano is hilarious when Harry comes to him with his opened paycheck problem. “You want a passport, too?” he asks at one point.
- The mid-century bar set for the Utz TV commercial shoot is absolutely exquisite.
- Don shows off a Cheater’s Pro Tip after sleeping with Bobbie, when he arrives at home and quickly washes out his mouth with dish soap before giving Betty a hello kiss. When Betty then presents Don with an engraved watch, it’s a brutal and effective moment.
- When Harry asks Roger for a raise, he plays it (and Roger) wrong in every way that Don plays the situation (and Roger) right in Season 1’s “Shoot” (and generally).
- The Defenders’ ad slots are presented to Belle Jolie, which allows for the return of Elliot Lawrence (Paul Keeley), who nearly had an affair with Sal Romano in Season 1. It’s a great and tragic call back when Sal stiffly and formally responds to Elliot’s greeting.
- Speaking of tragic in terms of what will soon happen, Betty shines during the meeting with the Schillings, and we’ve never seen her so happy as during the car ride home with Don. “We make a great team,” she tells him.
“The Benefactor: fun quotes
- “Take it from a nit. Utz are better than nuts!” – Jimmy Barrett
- “That mannequin makes $300 a week? We’re married.” – Jennifer Crane
- “Oh God, I miss the ‘50s.” – Roger Sterling
- “I’ve seen him sober – he’s not funny.” – Bobbie on her husband, Jimmy
- “I like being bad and then going home and being good.” – Bobbie
- “Sorry everybody, Jimmy’s down a quart.” – Jimmy
Some stats and info about Mad Men, “The Benefactor”
TV SHOW – Mad Men
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 2, Episode 3
AIRED ON – August 10th, 2008
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX
GENRE – Drama, Relationship Shows, Office Culture, Period Shows
CREATED BY – Mathew Weiner
CAST – Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, John Slattery, Kiernan Shipka, Robert Morse, Christopher Stanley, Jessica Pare, Jay R. Ferguson, Michael Gladis, Bryan Batt, Alison Brie, Jared Harris, Kevin Rahm, Mason Cotton, Ben Feldman, Mark Moses, Anne Dudek, Maggie Siff, Joel Murray, Harry Hamlin, Talia Balsam, James Wolk
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.