Review - Mad Men Season 3 Episode 10 The Color Blue

Don is once again falling into old habits except this time it's with Miss Farrell. She brings up something one of her students asks her when they are in bed, and that is the theme of the episode. The student wanted to no whether everyone saw the same color. What if his blue was everyone else's yellow. Don responds by saying "The truth is, people may see things differently, but they don't really want to."

There are a number of times in the episode that people's perspectives are different than other people. Miss Farrell seems to have a different idea of her relationship with Don than Don does. Betty thinks the phone call Sally picked up was from Henry Francis while Don thinks it was Miss Farrell. I suspect it was Miss Farrell since Sally could probably recognize her voice while Betty could have lied if Francis called. There are many other instances, but the biggest was at the end when Sterling is giving the toast to Don. Everyone thinks the Drapers are just fine, but just look at Betty's face. They are far from perfect, and yet the perception is that they are perfect. On the outside, they do look perfect. Don has three kids, a great job, and a beautiful wife.

The British invasion story never fully developed this season and in the coming weeks, it looks like it'll come to an end. They are trying to sell Sterling-Cooper and using the 40th anniversary party to gain publicity. I hope the writers come up with something creative since the activities in the office have been lacking this season.

Sterling and Cooper are reminiscing over so old photos and clearly want to be back in control. Maybe they could normalize everything by buying back their company.

The big shocker was when Betty comes across a key that opens Don's drawer. She finds the jackpot of all things incriminating. A box of Dick Whitman photos, two dog tags, and most importantly a decree of divorce between Anna N. Draper and Don F. Draper. Betty is destroyed by this, and it looks like she is going to confront Don about it, staying up until 1 A.M. When Don doesn't come back home, she gives up and goes to sleep. Betty is about to shout out all she knows over the phone, but the reconsiders. By the end of the episode, Betty has no fight left and has conceded. She's realized the futility of fighting back and she may even be scared of what she'll learn if she confronts Don.

The sad part about all this is that Betty only knows the tip of the iceberg. Seeing the contents of the drawer is a start, but there is so much Don has done in the past three seasons and before the series that who amaze her beyond belief.

Kinsey and Peggy have a mini-clash over an account which is very one-sided. Kinsey stays in the office later trying to come up with an idea, drinking all the while no less. Then again, this is Sterling-Cooper where anything goes. He eventually comes up with a brilliant idea which we unfortunately never find out about. The next morning, Kinsey wakes out and can't remember the idea. Peggy's pitch is no good either, but then she remembers a Chinese proverb Kinsey had told her minutes earlier, and it works perfectly with the product. All Kinsey can do is stare at her. Peggy is a natural without higher education and succeeds through sheer ability.

Other thoughts: Did Don help Miss Farrell's brother because of what happened to his own brother? Is it me or does Miss Farrell seem a little clingy? How far will Don's descent go? With Hilton and Betty, the only direction for now is down. The more I think about it, the more I want to watch the next episode. Betty finding all the stuff opens so many doors that could irrevocably change the Draper dynamic.

My thoughts on the relationship between Miss Farrell and Don that I posted on Maureen Ryan's review on the Chicago Tribune website.

Miss Farrell has been perplexing to me. I get the feeling that maybe she wants to be more than Don's usual girl. She wants Don to meet her brother, she calls him (I thought she was the one who hung up), and shows up on the train just to talk to him. I don't think she knows exactly what she wants, but she's pushing Don who is reciprocating.

Don is taking plenty of risk, but he looks around on the train the make sure no one recognizes. After being with all these other women that have not been that attentive to him, maybe Don is willing to take chances and step outside his comfort level. And with everything going on at work, it's possible is reaching the point where he doesn't care anymore and with Betty's revelation looming, there is bound to be lots of bad things happening. 

Score: 9.6/10