Last night's third season premire of Mad Men was an event. The break between seasons was painfully long. It left fans with unanswered questions–the main one, of course: who is Don Draper?
In the first few minutes of last night's show, we got a little insight into the answer. His was named Dick "After a wish his mother should have lived to see." Don Draper a.k.a Dick Whitman was named after a misbehaving penis. Born to a prostitute, adopted by a woman who's husband was abusive and selfish, Don reflects on the events of his birth as he warms milk for his wife. How different his own children's experiences will have been.
But I went into the viewing of the show more interested in the ancillary characters, the non-Dons. Don Draper certainly takes up most of the show's energy and focus, but often it's the fleshed out supporting roles that make an episode really worthwhile. The women have the most interesting storylines.
Whether it's Joan (played by Christina Hendricks) or Betty (January Jones) the women of Mad Men are interesting for the same reason as Don Draper: you want to root for them, but they can do some really dispicable things. In fact, there isn't one wholly redeemable character on the show, which evens the playing field between men and women in the storyline. They are whole characters, neither bitches nor virgins nor whores (except in the case of Don's birth mother, who, even in the few seconds we see her, is more than just that).
What was not noted on last night's show, which did focus mostly on Don Draper, and a little bit on closeted homosexuality in the early sixties, was Joan's relationship with her fiance, who raped her last season. Joan did feature prominently in the episode: she schooled an uppity, male British "secretary" who insisted the title was more important in England than in the States. He later admits that the Sterling Cooper office is a "gynocracy." His financial officer boss hadn't noticed. Hopefully, the writers will soon show us what's been going on with Joan and the fiance since we last saw them on Don's office floor together. Despite stating that she "can't wait to get out of here," her power over the office might subsidize her powerlessness at home.
