As I watch more of it, I am increasingly drawn into the world of this show. Although I find all of the male characters completely off-putting (Don Draper and Roger Sterling are awful - and I guess made for each other?), I am fascinated by the window into this particular time and place in American history.I also like that the show focuses on the workplace -- I can't think of too many stories (other than, currently, The Office) in which there are so many scenes "at-work" (is this a shortcoming of our art, considering so much of life is lived in the workplace?). It is interesting to see a portrayal of how people interact at work. It makes me think about my jobs - both teaching and as a lawyer - and some of the seemingly mundane aspects which, day after day, become a big part of life. And then it also makes me think about other people's work experiences - all the different dynamics at play and how the dynamics and routines and relationships, again, shape who we are.
I am particularly intrigued by two of the characters: Betty Draper (played by January Jones) and Pete Campbell (played by Vincent Kartheiser).
Betty is searching for identity, I think, through a series of relationships (her husband, her psychiatrist, her girlfriends, and (most awkwardly) her neighbor's 9-year old son who is attracted to her). She spends more time thinking through who she actually is than all the hot shots at the ad agency. I liked that she was angry at Don for inviting Roger Sterling over for dinner at the last minute -- it wasn't clear to me whether she wanted the "alone" time with Don or just didn't like the inconsiderate last-second invite, but I appreciated her response.
Pete Campbell is not likable, but after the scenes of his interactions with his wife and parents I started to come around to him just a bit. He is dealing with multiple forces at play in his psyche: social ambition, a genuine artistic creativity, and being a simple, immature 26 year old guy (the dialogue among the younger ad-guys strike me as authentic - some echos of the Jon Waters' "Diner" movie (is that it's name?)); the scenes with Campbell do a nice job of capturing his internal conflicts.
I guess, since both Betty and Pete are dealing with identity questions, they are sort of serving as foils to each other -- whereas Don is just out-there-on-his-own and is not confronting his own identity issues.
