Spoilers from “Out of Town,” the third-season premiere of Mad Men, ahead:
Unless the two-headed accounts department storyline wraps up very quickly, a major theme in Mad Men’s third season will be Pete’s struggle to keep his childish and petulant personality from sabotaging his career. Almost every TV series makes the argument that you can’t really change your personality; what makes Mad Men more intriguing is the idea that you can still change your behavior (and outward appearance) so as to keep your true personality under wraps.
Don Draper, of course, is a master at reinventing himself, at least on the surface, and he’s tried to teach his inscrutability skills to Peggy (who actually seems a lot more sophisticated than Don in toughening her exterior without becoming a blank wall) and now, it seems, to Sal, who’s in real danger of outing himself inadvertently before he’s come to terms with his sexuality.
(I’ve seen some back-and-forth about whether Don is ahead of his time in reacting so coolly after discovering Sal in a compromising position with a bellboy. I think Don has a natural affinity with anyone who has a double life, but given his own moments of self-loathing, there’s nothing in this episode to indicate that Don has any kind of enlightened attitude about gay people.)
Pete would be Don’s biggest challenge as far as teaching someone to keep his emotions under the surface. But Don may indeed be interested in this challenge: He clearly thinks that Pete has talent (think of their trip to California last year) and that Pete would be well-served by adopting a personae that doesn’t scream Boy’s Life.
In this week’s episode, Pete barges into Don’s office, obviously to whine about having to share his promotion with Ken, but stops short when he sees Roger there. In a sitcom, Pete wouldn’t be able to stop himself from a tantrum (think of Michael Scott from The Office, who would briefly recognize the danger of making an ass of himself before doing it anyway). In Mad Men, Pete is able to turn on a dime and act like a team player. He’s never going to lose that chip on his shoulder, but I’m can’t help but hope that he’s able to distract people from it this season.
[To read more Sullivan on Mad Men: Here and Here]
Cross-posted on Escargo-go.
