MAD MEN 1.12 – "Nixon vs. Kennedy"

Writers: Lisa Albert, Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton
Director: Alan Taylor

Cast: January Jones (Betty), Jon Hamm (Don Draper), Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson), Christina Hendricks (Joan), Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell), Aaron Staton (Ken), Michael J. X Gladis (Paul), Rich Sommer (Harry), Bryan Batt (Salvatore), Maggie Siff (Rachel Menken), Alison Brie (Trudy Campbell), Robert Morse (Bertram Cooper), Mark Moses (Herman "Duck" Phillips) & Troy Ruptash (Lieutenant)

On election night, the Sterling Cooper staff have a rowdy party after work to watch the result on TV. Meanwhile, Pete's ambition leads him to blackmail Don...

"Is this some sort of thing like in the movies, where I have
a gun and you don’t think I’m gonna shoot you? I will shoot you."

-- Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) to Don (Jon Hamm)

It's presidential election day. Cooper (Robert Morse) is introduced by Don (Jon Hamm) to Herman "Duck" Phillips (Mark Moses), an exec just returned from the Y&R ad agency in London. Duck's eager to be taken on at Sterling Cooper as their new Head of Account Services. Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) isn't happy about Duck's arrival on the scene, as he strongly believes he deserved the new position. He approaches Don to make his case, but Don doesn't sound very responsive...

After Don leaves for night, the staff excitedly prepare of an evening office party to watch the presidential election results on TV, applauding the fact Kennedy has a 22 to 1 chance of winning, according to pundits. The night's revelries get rowdier as the drink flows, leading to Ken (Aaron Staton) pulling down Allisen's dress to reveal the colour of her knickers to win a bet! Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) leaves for home.

At the Campbell resident, Trudy (Alison Brie) discovers her husband Pete looking through the shoebox addressed to Don that he intercepted. Inside are family mementoes from Adam, including dog tags, letters and photos of a young Don (a.k.a Dick Whitman). Trudy wonders why Pete doesn't return the box to its rightful owner.

At the office party, Salvatore (Bryan Batt) and Joan (Christina Hendricks) act out "Death Is My Client", a one-act play written by Paul (Michael J. X Gladis) – just as the TV news announces that Nixon took the pivotal state of Ohio. Harry (Rich Sommer) dances with Hildy, surprising himself when he kisses her, before they retreat to his office for sex.

The next morning, the office is in a mess as Peggy returns to work, finding her wastepaper bin full of green vomit. Don is confused about the election result (with three different papers giving three different results) A recount is being ordered, meaning 30 days without a president.

Pete arrives in Don's office with Adam's shoebox, placing it on the table. He asks again about his chances of promotion, and when the news isn't good Pete decides to take the plunge – telling Don that he knows his real name is Dick Whitman, and that Whitman died in Korea 10 years ago, while a man called Don Draper disappeared.

Don realizes Pete's trying to blackmail him into giving him a promotion, but refuses to back down. Pete leaves to let Don think things over, as he tears open Adam's shoebox and sees the extent of Pete's knowledge...

A flashback sends us to Korea, 1950. Don/Dick is in the back of an army truck, dropped off to help a Lieutenant Don Draper (Troy Ruptash) build a field hospital – despite the fact the job really needs 20 men, not one.

Scared that his secrets are going to be exposed, Don hurries to Rachel Menken's (Maggie Siff) office with a bizarre idea to run away with her to Los Angeles. Rachel is confused about why Don would abandon his wife and kids, slowly realizing he doesn't really want to run away with her – he just wants to run away, like a coward.

Dejected, Don returns to his office and tells Pete he's hiring Duck. Pete threatens to tell Cooper about his guilty secret, but Don instead calls his bluff and heads there himself. Pete chases after him, and they enter Cooper's office together. Don tells his boss he's decided to hire Duck. Pete tells Cooper that Don's real name is Dick Whitman; a deserter and criminal. Amazingly, Cooper's reaction is a simple "who cares?" before explaining that the country was built and run by men with worse stories.

A flashback shows Dick and Lt. Draper digging a trench together in the blazing heat, as they come under attack by mortars. They take cover until the danger passes, and Lt. Draper mistakenly thinks Dick has wet himself – not realizing its gasoline. Dick accidentally drops his cigarette lighter, igniting a gasoline trail at their feet, which explodes. Dick survives, but his superior is just an unidentifiable pink mess, and he exchanges their dog tags.

At a military hospital, Dick is awarded a Purple Heart and given the news that he'll be returning home from war. It's clear that everyone now thinks he's Lieutenant Don Draper, and Dick Whitman was the soldier who died in the explosion. Eventually, Dick returns home on a train along with Lt. Draper's body. At a Pennsylvania train station, Draper's body is offloaded for the Whitman family to bury, believing it to be their son Dick. Dick watches from inside the train carriage, perturbed when his little brother Adam notices him watching and gives chase to the train as it pulls away...

At home, Don catches the late night news – where Nixon gives his concession speech, as Kennedy wins the race to the White House.

Well, who expected big answers in the penultimate episode? Not me! But the mysteries surrounding Don's past were clearly explained and, while it was a bit disappointing to see I'd pretty much guessed them from day 1, it was still enjoyable to see play out. The added sting of the sequence where Dick's little brother Adam actually spotted his "dead" brother on the train was particularly chilling.

As much as I like Don, this episode made it clear he's quite a cold-hearted guy. Would you immediately orchestrate swapping identities with a man you'd just killed, albeit accidentally? Maybe some more flashbacks (next week or, more likely, throughout season 2) will fill us in on why Don's life with the Whitman's was so awful as to push him into volunteering to fight in a war, and seize an opportunity to fake his own death.

The presidential election reached its conclusion, too -- and it was interesting to note how the Nixon vs. Kennedy undercurrent was reflected in the characters of Don and Pete. Don is very much the working class Nixon type (he even shares Nixon's first name by birth, and we know both are very underhanded), while Pete is the more youthful silver-spoon Kennedy type.

Interestingly, as Richard Nixon lost his campaign against John F. Kennedy at the end of this episode, Don/Nixon beat Pete/Kennedy by refusing to run away and face up to his past. But, as the last shot inferred, maybe Don's still a loser along with Nixon -- because he may have got a chance to fight another day but, as Nixon will also find, his fall from grace has just been delayed.

I was disappointed by how quickly Cooper brushed Pete's revelations about Don under the carpet (not even any follow-up questions?), but I suppose the writers just didn't want to dwell on it. Cooper's a decent guy who appreciates a self-made man, so at least it made sense. And it was an unpredictable response from Cooper that made you chuckle, but I think it undercut the drama a tiny bit. Cooper may not be bothered by the skeletons in Don's closet, but the audience are. We've spent 12 episodes waiting for this moment – and it was a bit of a let-down. Still, seeing Pete's face fall as he realized his plan backfired was worth it.

There was also a nice scene between Peggy and Don, as the earnest secretary broke in his office. Both characters are outcasts in a sense; unwilling to act to type. Peggy's disliked by sticking to the rules so much, while Don is feared by refusing to play by them. It was a great idea to put them together as they both experienced private turmoil.

Overall, despite a few quibbles with the handling of Don's revelations and disappointment that the Dick/Don mystery wasn't very surprising, this was still a great episode. It answered a few of the show's big questions and, after a slightly slow start (the office party seemed like padding), it built a lot of momentum once Pete blackmailed Don. It's was a bit strange to see underused Harry develop a little story with Hildy in the penultimate episode, but maybe they're just laying groundwork for season 2. Harry was always the more down-to-earth and straight-laced guy in the office, so his sensible nature has clearly taken a moral tumble here -- symbolized by the snapping of his glasses.

It's the big finale next week, which should be very interesting. Now that a few of the big questions have been answered a week earlier than expected, what's in store for us? And, perhaps more interestingly, how will they tease us with what the second season could bring? Will Pete get with Peggy? Will Don leave Betty for Rachel? Will Roger recover from his second heart-attack? Will Betty's numb hands ever get mentioned on the show again?!


18 May 2008
BBC Four, 10.00 pm