The Wrong Stuff, Incorrectly (Home)

suicideblonde madmenfootnotes:

Don Draper didn’t know his father, so he examines figures of male authority that he dreads becoming. One is Roger Sterling. Unfortunately, Don’s current trajectory points to a Sterling finish. Right now, he’s an entitled lush who skips out on his family, cuts corners, sleeps with the secretaries and—worst of all—he settles for mediocre copy. One day you’re taking a drunken self-congratulatory lap around a conference room of potential clients, the next day you’re in a dusty corner office wistfully dictating your memoir to a bored secretary.

Something else I thought was interesting about this episode - Roger continually claims credit for hiring Don, says he made him what he was. But this episode illustarted pretty clearly that Don made Don. Don left his portfolio, showed up at the office, got Roger drunk, and convinced him he’d already been hired. He did all the work. He forced himself in the door. I’m kind of sad about that. Cooper, maybe. But I’m not ready for Roger Sterling to be washed up.