Mad Men - S03E08 - Souvenir

Another fantastic episode. Pete acting childish, and Don and Betty taking a break from the domestic space to remember just how terrible everyday life is. Sopranos director of photography turned director Phil Abraham turns in another controlled and beautiful episode.

I find Pete absolutely fascinating, especially when we see him outside the office. Pete is at home during the summer while Trudy is away. The mother/son Trudy and Pete have has always been evident to me, especially in the way she treats him like a child, and obviously in the way he has consistently acted like a child. However, in this episode it occurred to me just how much of a willing doormat Trudy is to Pete, and how much he needs her. I had never really thought of it like that before. Pete was clearly bored and didn't know what to do with himself while Trudy was away. When he ran into the German nanny I don't think he was trying to blackmail her into having sex with him. I believe, to begin with, he was genuinely trying to help her. That, and trying to fulfill a strong manly role that he usually doesn't - probably because it was easy to solve this time. Of course, what eventuated was absolutely wrong and Pete is horrible for doing it. I think that is quite characteristic of Pete, to not have a calculated and thought-out manipulation. It just sort of occurs to him and he chooses to proceed in an unsavory way. When Trudy returned and Pete was guilty, eventuating in him crying, we are led to believe she knows what happened while she was away. They pretend it didn't happen on the surface, but come to a resolution by the end of the episode. Pete doesn't want to be left alone and Trudy is fine with the role she plays - their relationship has actually strengthened. However, Pete still dealt with it in an extremely childish way. He never vocally admits what he did and then sort of makes it Trudy's fault by telling her she shouldn't have left him alone. He is a child and Trudy seems okay with that.

But on the other side of the episode, Don and Betty's relationship falls deeper into marital decay. Don takes a brief trip to Rome on Hilton business and Betty joins him. We see another side to Betty, as a sophisticated and cool Italian speaking woman. Out of the domestic space, we can see her potential and just what her life is doing to her character. I mean, a holiday is always a holiday - everyday life will never compare - but still, it highlights to Betty just how unhappy she is. We see this become clear when she rejects a souvenir Don gives her from Rome. It was great to see them happy for a little while, but nothing positive eventuated from it. Nothing was solved and Don doesn't seem to want to do anything about it.