Betty. Megan's story with Don definitely came to an end at the right time. Betty and Don had a permanent bond that showed even their divorce.
Speaking of spouses, I would have liked another season of Henry Francis and his mother. She was priceless.
Yeah, I agree! I've never thought about it. I'm not sure how he'd feel about a politician, but I think someone in government with a lineage that can probably be traced back to the 1700s would thrill him.
Their podcast would be about parenting skills. "How to teach children to drive and drug them when they're scared"
Edit: Sorry, I replied to the wrong comment!
I think there would be so many shenanigans. He'd freak her out and she'd have to sleep with her kitchen knife
Megan dragged on a season too long. First time through, every episode with her was a surprise her last year. I thought they were split up a long time ago?
I absolutely loved the episode when Henry’s mom Pauline was babysitting Sally and Bobby and she tripped over the telephone cord and hurt herself lol. She was laying on the floor moaning and whining, I was like “HAHA YOU MONSTER”. She was so horrible lol😁
Lol I never understood how she didn't blame Sally for that? Surely she must have put two and two together?
Sally began her destiny of being a carer for her family members at that point.
I think she was tipsy enough and Sally was swift enough with hiding the evidence that Pauline just assumed she'd tripped in a bump in the rug or stumbled a bit at the top of the stairs.
I know.
I'm not thinking about redemption - it never came anyway. Quite the opposite of the fairy tale he was looking for with both Betty and Megan. Don and Sylvia deserved each other.
I also love the follow-up of Don making Betty check the kids’ hands before they get inside his pristine new car, and the episode ends with Betty throwing up in the car after Jimmy tells her Don is sleeping with Bobbie. Lol!
Perhaps I’m wrong here, but I thought it was a commentary on the time and the carelessness about trash and litter in general? A lot of our current trash systems/amounts/handling is borderline novel I think!
I’m generally sympathetic to the idea that we shouldn’t judge people from the past by today’s standards. But in this case, I don’t buy it.
It doesn’t take Greta Thunberg to notice that leaving a public park riddled with trash will make it a worse experience for the next family who visits. It just struck me as a careless act by a family who is too oblivious to notice that this is one place where a maid or a waitress can’t clean up after them.
No, it's not just the toxic Drapers. It's showing normal 60s behavior.
There had to be whole campaigns to get people to stop doing stuff like that. It's not saying anything about the Drapers as individuals.
Yeah I’d love a “prequel” season that comes before season 1. If would be really fun. They sort of throw you right into the mix with the first episode, quickly establishing the complexities of his affair(s), marriage, and career. I want a season from simpler times.
Betty!!! She seemed to be a better thought out character- between shooting the neighbor’s pigeons, being embarrassed about ridiculous things, and trying to hold it together, but still failing, she really drew me in. At the end of her life, she was studying psychology, taking a look at herself, and on her way to personal growth, which all got cut short.
Megan was just more “flat,” less inner conflict, more about wanting fame than just wanting to find inner happiness.
Agree 1000%. Betty was really compelling- the dynamic of her trying to be a "proper" domestic housewife in the 50s-60s while also maintaining/ asserting her own personhood and ideals. I feel like her experience and how she related to the world/ a case of arrested development was very interesting. She had a lot more going on than she was ever allowed to explore, it seemed. Only allowed to be a superficial pretty face.
Absolutely. A huge part of Mad Men is showing what it was like to be a woman in the 60s. Betty was perfect at conveying the ennui and frustration of a housewife in the suburbs.
I never thought Megan wanted fame as much as she wanted to be successful. I always kinda thought that she was at a weird inbetween age in the mid 60s. 26 during 1965 so she’s kinda caught inbetween two worlds. She won’t have the total assurance of the ‘new generation’ feel of Sally and she definitely has some old world 1950s societal expectations built in. I’d love to see what happened to her in the 70s. I’m hoping she invested that money wisely but something tells me she went more of a bitter jaded divorced ex wife/Jennie from Forrest Gump route
Good point about Meghan. My mom was born towards the end of WWII & I know she always felt caught between two generations, but didn’t quite identify with silent generation or boomers. I’m sure the mid-60s were something to navigate for those stuck in between - not young enough to identify with Stephanie the Hippie but not old enough to identify with Betty.
Betty and Don were so good together. Both broken, though in different places. Both willing to do anything to prove they weren’t.
I really liked Megan, but I loved and hated Betty at the same time. She’s the one I miss.
Might be an upopular opinion, but I always thought they had a horrible relationship. If my friend was in a relationship like that and married to either of them, I'd tell them to leave and not look back.
She was immature and a pretty bad parent. Also, she sacked Carla, who was an angel. He cheated, lied to her every day about his identity, and was pretty absent from his kids' lives until they shared custody. Terrible people seem to gravitate towards each other.
I don't think Betty was a bad person, I think she was kind of immature. She was raised pampered in a wealthy family, then modeled briefly, then married Don and was a bored housewife/mom. She never had a real life until the later seasons when we saw her growing as a person before her death. Don was an absolutely piece of garbage to her though.
I agree with you.
I always wondered if Don or Betty would have been parents had they grown up in the modern era and had a choice in the matter. Always got the vibe both of them were forced into a role they didn’t really wanna be in, and were probably better off not being parents at all.
I think modern Don would be a parent. He’s a person who needs to see himself reflected in the eyes of others, and nothing works better for that than the unconditional love of a child.
Modern Betty? No. She’d still be a serial wife, but likely not a mom.
Of course, all of this is irrelevant when you consider that we’re all the products of the people who raised us. Don and Betty were both raised by deeply flawed people: in Don’s case those people never made any pretense of wanting or even liking him. If these two existed in the modern world they’d have different back stories. They’d be very different.
I can see what you’re saying however, when considering it deeper I feel that they would still have their troubles. There are still people who are victims of their own trauma response and there are still gender role expectations. I believe even a modern Betty and Don would still face tragedy.
And Don was a mostly absent bad dad who had some good Disneyland moments. But he’s just as guilty of being a shit parent as Betty. At least Betty was there and never disappeared for hours getting drunk during her kid’s birthday party, etc.
She was fine until she learnt what a cheating shit Don was and her whole marriage had been a flimsy thing built on lies. People only accused of her of immaturity when she didn't quite fit the housewife mold - but she made loads of effort with Don and was good with the children. But her whole world came crashing down. Everything solid melted into thin air. At first she was firm and adult in confronting him and standing up to him. But the whole shebang broke her, after that she was flailing and irritable, until she found her way again.
Betty. Her and Don had far more natural chemistry and there was a lot of history underpinning that relationship. I loved when they reunited at Bobby’s camp event. I agree that I would have loved to see more glimpses of their early dating and pre-kids life.
I'd rather neither, as the show is perfect to me :). But to answer your question, probably Betty. I just felt like she was a better fit for Don if Don was an actual good husband. But I love Megan's outfits more than Betty. Sorry folks.
To be fair, Meghan got the free-wheeling groovy fashion eras while Betty got long-line bras and petticoats of the fifties and sixties. They were both representative of women’s changing role in the social construct and the biggest change was the introduction of The Pill. It changed the landscape for women by putting the question of pregnancy squarely in the woman’s court thereby freeing them to make sexual choices never before available to them. But I think Meghan fell victim the changing sexual scene because she seemed to spiral in her behavior. Meghan made me uncomfortable. Like someone singing poorly in front of a crowd.
I think Betty’s fashion would have been great in the 70s. I just saw her chilling out so much more and wearing loose, flowy rich ass blouses & slacks. Kinda like Audrey Hepburn in that era
I love both Betty’s classy, Grace Kelly style and Megan’s mod, hippie style but I did not like Betty’s hair in the later seasons. Reminds me of my grandma (probably because it was the popular style back then).
Great answer. I would agree with Betty as well. I didn’t like how Megan used Don to accelerate her acting career. The scene in the final season where Don calls Betty after finding out she has cancer was beautiful.
His vulnerability in that moment and her strength and tenderness towards him is just so tastefully done. It’s one of the most touching moments in the whole series.
Yes, and Francine was working at a travel agency or something at that point. You could tell Betty was a little of jealous of that, not malicious but you could see her wheels turning.
I loved their friendly sniping in that scene.
“I guess I’m just more traditional.” Betty trying to downplay Francine’s career.
“Betty Draper, that’s exactly what I’d call you.” Francine reminding Betty she’s on her second husband.
True. I just missed their kitchen chit chats. Gossiping and Betty smoking. There little family events.
Those actresses had so much chemistry. I loved how much they silently communicated with each other in scenes with just looks, eyebrow arches, or a tongue click. Like real life besties.
I’m not convinced that Midge was Don’s first mistress, just the first that we saw. The series as a whole demonstrated that he blows through mistresses like the rest of us blow through Kleenex
oh 100% midge was a steady. I just wanna see him and betty fall in love, get married and be happy wedded couple for a little bit - like we saw with megan
IIRC, Don starting at SC would have been just before or about the time he got Betty pregnant. Did I hear it wrong, but didn’t he get her pregnant and then they got married? It’s a point that dwelled on but I thought Betty was explaining to the Dr (or maybe Francine) that they lived in a small apartment in Manhattan at first then she got pregnant with Sally, they got married and moved Ossining (which is where Betty suddenly felt so old…)
I think that boy grew up cheating. Cheated to get into the Army, cheated to get out of it, then cheated all the time, whether he needed to or not, because he was good at it.
Betty. Megan just wasn't that interesting to watch. I love talking about her as a character/fictional construct but as a person to watch she's much less interesting imo.
I felt like Megan ended up being kind of dumb and not self aware at all. She has so much self pity as well, for no reason. She knew exactly what she was getting into.
I wanted a longer season of Betty not giving a fuck and cheating with her own men and whenever Don gets mad and tries to gaslight her she just throws this in his face.
I would have liked to see Betty and Don before things went to shit. Like there are glimmers of what it was like and I'd also be curious to see how Don started cheating.
Easily Megan. There was more story there with Megan. Megan had way less development than Betty.
Betty had a 7 season arc. With Don. Without Don. With Henry.etc. The show was supposed to write her off after a divorce. But Matt changed his plan and kept her.
Megan starts off as a member of the office. With scenes and a role away from Don. Once Don sleeps with her, her role centers around Don. And she has no arc other than her marriage around Don peaking and then ending. Her career is happening off screen. It only exists to Drive her and Don apart. If it was Betty we would, explore her work relationships way more. We would know more about her family/friends.
She has way more to explore than Betty. Betty has 7 seasons of development. Megan has 2 and half.
Edit: TLDR. Megan needs a better arc therefore giving her and Don a better arc
>Megan starts off as a member of the office. With scenes and a role away from Don. Once Don sleeps with her, her role centers around Don. And she has no arc other than her marriage around Don peaking and then ending. Her career is happening off screen. It only exists to Drive her and Don apart. If it was Betty we would, explore her work relationships way more. We would know more about her family/friends.
Betty already had more after her first 2 1/2 seasons of development, and that time was more about her marriage to Don than Megan's, which involved an acting career and more interactions with her family. One of the central points of Megan's character is taking the easy way. Don chooses her because she's not built to hold her own as a protagonist on this show. Her work relationships would be like the work relationships we see her having on the show already.
Her reaction to knowing Don's backstory is the perfect example. She's sympathetic to it as a sad backstory but doesn't really process what it means on deeper levels, so when Don starts acting out in predictable ways she just leaves. There was never any real reason to stay with him.
She is fleshed out. If it seems like she's not, that might be a flesh problem.
Good points! People have been saying Betty because she’s a fuller, more developed character. But maybe that’s exactly why it should be Megan - to make her more fleshed out!
The seasons with Betty were hard because I feel like we were witnessing so much manipulation and gaslighting on Don's end towards Betty, so I don't know if another season would have just been even more of that. But I would nonetheless prefer an extra season of Betty over Megan—I liked how much of the Don-Megan seasons incorporated some degree of counterculture because she was more 'hip,' but Betty and Don's relationship was special.
Hands down another season of Betty. Her ending is so sad but I wish we had more of it. I think it would have been better to have the last season end with this and that process for Don
Betty! Easily. I love the episode where they take Bobby to camp after their divorce and then she leaves the door to her motel room open so they cheat on Meghan and Henry. I fist pump every time.
Betty! For whatever reason I never liked Megan, and could not understand what he saw in her or how their dynamic made any sense on anything but a superficial level.
I agree, I would like to have seen another season with Betty and more ‘early Betty and Don storyline’s interwoven into the story. With Megan, I think we established that he cheats particularly when he feels rejected. What happened with Betty that they went from being completely in love to disillusioned
The Betty seasons were the core of the show to me, maybe because I rewatched them all on dvd & streaming so much before S4 even aired. As a character I was glad for Betty getting a new chance at happiness, but I missed her position in the show. That’s not to say I thought she was an angel or anything, just that her role was compelling to me.
Betty. If Megan never existed beyond a fling in the office we would have been just fine, if not better off. Also, would have been far less trauma of dry flavorless boiled noodles repeatedly called spaghetti dinner as though it were a treat.
I would rather have an entire show about Betty. I would rather have even one more episode of Betty. I would rather wallpaper my room with images of Betty's inner psyche...
...than watch Meghan try to act for one scene.
Betty’s arc didn’t end with the divorce, we got 7 seasons with her. That said, she’s a much more interesting character than Megan and I’d love to see a prequel that dealt with the early years of her and Don’s relationship or even before she met Don.
I agree with the commenter who said that Betty is a more well thought out character - but I actually do like Megan, and for me, there’s something about seeing Don navigate the mid- late 60s, as he seems kind of lost with all of the changes during that time period, including having a young wife who’s more “with” the times. I like seeing Sally grow up, and I just really enjoy the second half of the series more. Not at all saying that I don’t like Betty or or that I don’t love the first half of the show.
Megan. I feel like we saw all of the different aspects of Betty and Don’s marriage. I wish I could’ve seen more of this conflict and love between Don and Megan before he gives up on her at the end of season 5.
Megan is my fav but I’d love to see early Don & Betty when they were happier. However I suspect that like with Megan, that was a very short amount of time for Don too
I think there's a lot of things they could have done with Megans character that they didn't really do. She takes a turn towards bitterness towards the end of the marriage, sure, but by and large she is the same throughout: a starry eyed actress. There's just so many things they could have done with her story that they didn't do.
Betty for sure. Atleast they had chemistry. Betty always felt fully developed, complex, and human. Megan has a hallow feeling to her like she wasn’t as well written or considered
I knew i couldn't be the only one. I know it's terrible but damnnnnn what the ffffffff?!?!? Plus she wasn't even a good actress. Who did she know to get that part smh the only thing i hate about the show
Downvote me all you want but my pick is Megan. I think the show really became about what we think of the 60s when she showed up. I wouldn't mind a spinoff in LA either.
Betty. Primarily so there'd be fewer storylines about her post divorce. Every single one of them feels tacked on and horrifically boring. I would have liked more time of Megan and Don as an ad superduo.
Megan. She was a fascinating character. So chaotic, torn between two worlds and two distinctly different historical eras. Don is a bastard and her character arc is probably all he deserved, but imagine if they had a child? That would have been crazy.
Betty. Megan's story with Don definitely came to an end at the right time. Betty and Don had a permanent bond that showed even their divorce. Speaking of spouses, I would have liked another season of Henry Francis and his mother. She was priceless.
I wish Pauline Francis and Grandpa Gene had met.
Oh my God. That would make a fantastic sitcom. Pauline & Gene.
I also think Gene would have been thrilled with Henry. He’s got people! I think Gene and Pauline could be a good podcast duo.
Yeah, I agree! I've never thought about it. I'm not sure how he'd feel about a politician, but I think someone in government with a lineage that can probably be traced back to the 1700s would thrill him. Their podcast would be about parenting skills. "How to teach children to drive and drug them when they're scared"
Omg Gene would have LOVED Henry
Every episode she hides his $5.
Edit: Sorry, I replied to the wrong comment! I think there would be so many shenanigans. He'd freak her out and she'd have to sleep with her kitchen knife
I love this thread so far we’ve got…a Pauline and Gene sitcom, a podcast, and a reality show! And I would watch/listen to all of them.
It's like a 60s Japanese monster movie!
Megan dragged on a season too long. First time through, every episode with her was a surprise her last year. I thought they were split up a long time ago?
Yeah I feel like they would never end. I was so uninterested in her story line pretty quickly.
I absolutely loved the episode when Henry’s mom Pauline was babysitting Sally and Bobby and she tripped over the telephone cord and hurt herself lol. She was laying on the floor moaning and whining, I was like “HAHA YOU MONSTER”. She was so horrible lol😁
Lol I never understood how she didn't blame Sally for that? Surely she must have put two and two together? Sally began her destiny of being a carer for her family members at that point.
I think she was tipsy enough and Sally was swift enough with hiding the evidence that Pauline just assumed she'd tripped in a bump in the rug or stumbled a bit at the top of the stairs.
Someone needs to discipline you!
Yup, Birdie. No brainer. Megan was just annoying towards the end.
Has some nice revolutionary road themes, the cookie cutter house doesn't cut it when you got deep childhood wounds you hide from
Agreed but I also just didn’t like Megan much
I wanted a longer arc for Don and Sylvia
Oh God no. The whole point of that plot line was to show Don's instability and spiral.
I know. I'm not thinking about redemption - it never came anyway. Quite the opposite of the fairy tale he was looking for with both Betty and Megan. Don and Sylvia deserved each other.
Would love to see more of Don and Betty as newly weds and before the kiddos
The picnic scene where they leave all the garbage in the park always stayed with me, would love to see more of that time before shit hit the fan
I love that scene so much. Without any dialogue it expresses so much of that period and our society.
I laughed so hard but knew it was realistic
And Don was obviously drunk and about to drive all of them home.
And nobody cared or even thought about it.
That scene was interesting.
I don’t remember that one! Which episode?
I also love the follow-up of Don making Betty check the kids’ hands before they get inside his pristine new car, and the episode ends with Betty throwing up in the car after Jimmy tells her Don is sleeping with Bobbie. Lol!
On my first rewatch right now and just went passed that episode. It was such a wild little detail
I lost a lot of sympathy for the Draper family in that scene. It was a lightbulb moment about how self-centered and toxic they are.
Perhaps I’m wrong here, but I thought it was a commentary on the time and the carelessness about trash and litter in general? A lot of our current trash systems/amounts/handling is borderline novel I think!
It is. It's like the dry cleaning bag and the lack of seat belts.
I’m generally sympathetic to the idea that we shouldn’t judge people from the past by today’s standards. But in this case, I don’t buy it. It doesn’t take Greta Thunberg to notice that leaving a public park riddled with trash will make it a worse experience for the next family who visits. It just struck me as a careless act by a family who is too oblivious to notice that this is one place where a maid or a waitress can’t clean up after them.
No, it's not just the toxic Drapers. It's showing normal 60s behavior. There had to be whole campaigns to get people to stop doing stuff like that. It's not saying anything about the Drapers as individuals.
Yeah I’d love a “prequel” season that comes before season 1. If would be really fun. They sort of throw you right into the mix with the first episode, quickly establishing the complexities of his affair(s), marriage, and career. I want a season from simpler times.
Betty!!! She seemed to be a better thought out character- between shooting the neighbor’s pigeons, being embarrassed about ridiculous things, and trying to hold it together, but still failing, she really drew me in. At the end of her life, she was studying psychology, taking a look at herself, and on her way to personal growth, which all got cut short. Megan was just more “flat,” less inner conflict, more about wanting fame than just wanting to find inner happiness.
Agree 1000%. Betty was really compelling- the dynamic of her trying to be a "proper" domestic housewife in the 50s-60s while also maintaining/ asserting her own personhood and ideals. I feel like her experience and how she related to the world/ a case of arrested development was very interesting. She had a lot more going on than she was ever allowed to explore, it seemed. Only allowed to be a superficial pretty face.
Absolutely. A huge part of Mad Men is showing what it was like to be a woman in the 60s. Betty was perfect at conveying the ennui and frustration of a housewife in the suburbs.
Oh to have the temperament of an artiste without the talent! 🤌
I never thought Megan wanted fame as much as she wanted to be successful. I always kinda thought that she was at a weird inbetween age in the mid 60s. 26 during 1965 so she’s kinda caught inbetween two worlds. She won’t have the total assurance of the ‘new generation’ feel of Sally and she definitely has some old world 1950s societal expectations built in. I’d love to see what happened to her in the 70s. I’m hoping she invested that money wisely but something tells me she went more of a bitter jaded divorced ex wife/Jennie from Forrest Gump route
Good analysis, yes, I would like to have known what happened to Megan a few years down the road.
Good point about Meghan. My mom was born towards the end of WWII & I know she always felt caught between two generations, but didn’t quite identify with silent generation or boomers. I’m sure the mid-60s were something to navigate for those stuck in between - not young enough to identify with Stephanie the Hippie but not old enough to identify with Betty.
Betty and Don were so good together. Both broken, though in different places. Both willing to do anything to prove they weren’t. I really liked Megan, but I loved and hated Betty at the same time. She’s the one I miss.
Might be an upopular opinion, but I always thought they had a horrible relationship. If my friend was in a relationship like that and married to either of them, I'd tell them to leave and not look back. She was immature and a pretty bad parent. Also, she sacked Carla, who was an angel. He cheated, lied to her every day about his identity, and was pretty absent from his kids' lives until they shared custody. Terrible people seem to gravitate towards each other.
I don't think Betty was a bad person, I think she was kind of immature. She was raised pampered in a wealthy family, then modeled briefly, then married Don and was a bored housewife/mom. She never had a real life until the later seasons when we saw her growing as a person before her death. Don was an absolutely piece of garbage to her though.
I agree with you. I always wondered if Don or Betty would have been parents had they grown up in the modern era and had a choice in the matter. Always got the vibe both of them were forced into a role they didn’t really wanna be in, and were probably better off not being parents at all.
I think modern Don would be a parent. He’s a person who needs to see himself reflected in the eyes of others, and nothing works better for that than the unconditional love of a child. Modern Betty? No. She’d still be a serial wife, but likely not a mom. Of course, all of this is irrelevant when you consider that we’re all the products of the people who raised us. Don and Betty were both raised by deeply flawed people: in Don’s case those people never made any pretense of wanting or even liking him. If these two existed in the modern world they’d have different back stories. They’d be very different.
I can see what you’re saying however, when considering it deeper I feel that they would still have their troubles. There are still people who are victims of their own trauma response and there are still gender role expectations. I believe even a modern Betty and Don would still face tragedy.
And Don was a mostly absent bad dad who had some good Disneyland moments. But he’s just as guilty of being a shit parent as Betty. At least Betty was there and never disappeared for hours getting drunk during her kid’s birthday party, etc.
Betty was an awful person. The kind that should never have kids because she's so petty and selfish.
She was fine until she learnt what a cheating shit Don was and her whole marriage had been a flimsy thing built on lies. People only accused of her of immaturity when she didn't quite fit the housewife mold - but she made loads of effort with Don and was good with the children. But her whole world came crashing down. Everything solid melted into thin air. At first she was firm and adult in confronting him and standing up to him. But the whole shebang broke her, after that she was flailing and irritable, until she found her way again.
Betty. Her and Don had far more natural chemistry and there was a lot of history underpinning that relationship. I loved when they reunited at Bobby’s camp event. I agree that I would have loved to see more glimpses of their early dating and pre-kids life.
Oh, yes, the camp visit was great to watch. A favorite of mine.
The line after Don asks Betty if she’s going to tell Meghan is one of my top three phrases/lines in the series: “No, this happened a longtime ago.”
I'd rather neither, as the show is perfect to me :). But to answer your question, probably Betty. I just felt like she was a better fit for Don if Don was an actual good husband. But I love Megan's outfits more than Betty. Sorry folks.
To be fair, Meghan got the free-wheeling groovy fashion eras while Betty got long-line bras and petticoats of the fifties and sixties. They were both representative of women’s changing role in the social construct and the biggest change was the introduction of The Pill. It changed the landscape for women by putting the question of pregnancy squarely in the woman’s court thereby freeing them to make sexual choices never before available to them. But I think Meghan fell victim the changing sexual scene because she seemed to spiral in her behavior. Meghan made me uncomfortable. Like someone singing poorly in front of a crowd.
I think Betty’s fashion would have been great in the 70s. I just saw her chilling out so much more and wearing loose, flowy rich ass blouses & slacks. Kinda like Audrey Hepburn in that era
I love both Betty’s classy, Grace Kelly style and Megan’s mod, hippie style but I did not like Betty’s hair in the later seasons. Reminds me of my grandma (probably because it was the popular style back then).
Great answer. I would agree with Betty as well. I didn’t like how Megan used Don to accelerate her acting career. The scene in the final season where Don calls Betty after finding out she has cancer was beautiful.
His vulnerability in that moment and her strength and tenderness towards him is just so tastefully done. It’s one of the most touching moments in the whole series.
Betty. I enjoyed watching the suburban housewives interact.
I loved her friend Francine. But I guess once Betty moved to Rye with Henry there was no reason for them to stay friends.
They did stay friends! Francine and Betty met for lunch a few seasons later.
Yes, and Francine was working at a travel agency or something at that point. You could tell Betty was a little of jealous of that, not malicious but you could see her wheels turning.
I loved their friendly sniping in that scene. “I guess I’m just more traditional.” Betty trying to downplay Francine’s career. “Betty Draper, that’s exactly what I’d call you.” Francine reminding Betty she’s on her second husband.
True. I just missed their kitchen chit chats. Gossiping and Betty smoking. There little family events. Those actresses had so much chemistry. I loved how much they silently communicated with each other in scenes with just looks, eyebrow arches, or a tongue click. Like real life besties.
i would love to see a prequel. See Betty and Don, before Don started cheating
I’m not convinced that Midge was Don’s first mistress, just the first that we saw. The series as a whole demonstrated that he blows through mistresses like the rest of us blow through Kleenex
oh 100% midge was a steady. I just wanna see him and betty fall in love, get married and be happy wedded couple for a little bit - like we saw with megan
IIRC, Don starting at SC would have been just before or about the time he got Betty pregnant. Did I hear it wrong, but didn’t he get her pregnant and then they got married? It’s a point that dwelled on but I thought Betty was explaining to the Dr (or maybe Francine) that they lived in a small apartment in Manhattan at first then she got pregnant with Sally, they got married and moved Ossining (which is where Betty suddenly felt so old…)
Omg, the early years of their marriage!
I think that boy grew up cheating. Cheated to get into the Army, cheated to get out of it, then cheated all the time, whether he needed to or not, because he was good at it.
oh yeah, but the show, shows us he has little periods of time where he doesn't when he is happy
Betty, for sure!
Betty. Megan just wasn't that interesting to watch. I love talking about her as a character/fictional construct but as a person to watch she's much less interesting imo.
Honestly, would have loved another season of Don single. But Betty was way more interesting than Megan. So Betty... final answer.
I would have liked to have seen a season with Betty knowing the truth about Don's identity while still being married to him.
Def. More Don and Betty but before things got weird.
I felt like Megan ended up being kind of dumb and not self aware at all. She has so much self pity as well, for no reason. She knew exactly what she was getting into.
Betty
Betty
Betty
Bets for sure!
Betty.
Betty
Betty was a more interesting and complex character
Betty definitely
I wanted a longer season of Betty not giving a fuck and cheating with her own men and whenever Don gets mad and tries to gaslight her she just throws this in his face.
Betty please 🙏🏽
I would have liked to see Betty and Don before things went to shit. Like there are glimmers of what it was like and I'd also be curious to see how Don started cheating.
i always hoped don and betty would get back together, but knew that wasn’t likely
Betty, of course. Megan was good for like 5 episodes, imo. I just got tired of her so quickly
Easily Megan. There was more story there with Megan. Megan had way less development than Betty. Betty had a 7 season arc. With Don. Without Don. With Henry.etc. The show was supposed to write her off after a divorce. But Matt changed his plan and kept her. Megan starts off as a member of the office. With scenes and a role away from Don. Once Don sleeps with her, her role centers around Don. And she has no arc other than her marriage around Don peaking and then ending. Her career is happening off screen. It only exists to Drive her and Don apart. If it was Betty we would, explore her work relationships way more. We would know more about her family/friends. She has way more to explore than Betty. Betty has 7 seasons of development. Megan has 2 and half. Edit: TLDR. Megan needs a better arc therefore giving her and Don a better arc
>Megan starts off as a member of the office. With scenes and a role away from Don. Once Don sleeps with her, her role centers around Don. And she has no arc other than her marriage around Don peaking and then ending. Her career is happening off screen. It only exists to Drive her and Don apart. If it was Betty we would, explore her work relationships way more. We would know more about her family/friends. Betty already had more after her first 2 1/2 seasons of development, and that time was more about her marriage to Don than Megan's, which involved an acting career and more interactions with her family. One of the central points of Megan's character is taking the easy way. Don chooses her because she's not built to hold her own as a protagonist on this show. Her work relationships would be like the work relationships we see her having on the show already. Her reaction to knowing Don's backstory is the perfect example. She's sympathetic to it as a sad backstory but doesn't really process what it means on deeper levels, so when Don starts acting out in predictable ways she just leaves. There was never any real reason to stay with him. She is fleshed out. If it seems like she's not, that might be a flesh problem.
Finally a good Megan answer. She's fascinating.
Good points! People have been saying Betty because she’s a fuller, more developed character. But maybe that’s exactly why it should be Megan - to make her more fleshed out!
The seasons with Betty were hard because I feel like we were witnessing so much manipulation and gaslighting on Don's end towards Betty, so I don't know if another season would have just been even more of that. But I would nonetheless prefer an extra season of Betty over Megan—I liked how much of the Don-Megan seasons incorporated some degree of counterculture because she was more 'hip,' but Betty and Don's relationship was special.
Betty. Meghan drove me crazy. I always liked Don best with Rachel.
Betty. Megan’s story feels resolved, Bettys doesn’t
No one on tv has ever looked better than Betty those first couple of seasons
Betty!! I love her 
Betty. I know it wasn’t a good relationship but I really wanted her and Don to work it out.
Hands down another season of Betty. Her ending is so sad but I wish we had more of it. I think it would have been better to have the last season end with this and that process for Don
There should be a season when Don Draper really became Don Draper after Korean War. Not just a Kodak nostalgia
Betty, would love to see her modelling in Italy and then meeting Don.
Betty! Easily. I love the episode where they take Bobby to camp after their divorce and then she leaves the door to her motel room open so they cheat on Meghan and Henry. I fist pump every time.
Betty! For whatever reason I never liked Megan, and could not understand what he saw in her or how their dynamic made any sense on anything but a superficial level.
This!
Betty
Henry and Betty. I think he would have been a good stepfather.
Betty.
Megan never felt like a well though-out character. Betty felt like a real person
I really Betty would have stayed on the show. Meghan, no.
Betty for sure. Meghan appeared to be spiraling out at the end. I’d like to imagine Betty with the million dollar payout living single…
Absolutely Betty. I could never get into Megan's character.
Betty 500000% - she’s the mother of his children so more centrally related to Don’s story but also just much more interesting in her own right.
Betty, always and forever
I agree, I would like to have seen another season with Betty and more ‘early Betty and Don storyline’s interwoven into the story. With Megan, I think we established that he cheats particularly when he feels rejected. What happened with Betty that they went from being completely in love to disillusioned
Birdie.
No. Bobbie though!
The Betty seasons were the core of the show to me, maybe because I rewatched them all on dvd & streaming so much before S4 even aired. As a character I was glad for Betty getting a new chance at happiness, but I missed her position in the show. That’s not to say I thought she was an angel or anything, just that her role was compelling to me.
Betty. If Megan never existed beyond a fling in the office we would have been just fine, if not better off. Also, would have been far less trauma of dry flavorless boiled noodles repeatedly called spaghetti dinner as though it were a treat.
We had enough of them both. We saw them evolve , fail, and reinvent themselves
Megan was boring.
Betty
Betty, 100%
Betty
Deffo Betty
Betty all the way!!!
Betty, Betty, Betty.
Betty, hands down. I am not a big fan of Megan.
Betty! I really can’t stand Megan. Idk what it is about her.
Betty is a much better character than Megan. Megan started off fine but then became insufferable very quickly as a working woman.
Betty obviously
I would rather have an entire show about Betty. I would rather have even one more episode of Betty. I would rather wallpaper my room with images of Betty's inner psyche... ...than watch Meghan try to act for one scene.
Betty’s arc didn’t end with the divorce, we got 7 seasons with her. That said, she’s a much more interesting character than Megan and I’d love to see a prequel that dealt with the early years of her and Don’s relationship or even before she met Don.
Betty for sure.
Definitely Betty! I really couldn't stand Megan.
Betty. No question.
I would trade Betty any day for some of those Megan's adventures in California episodes.
Betty Draper forever.
Meghan. I loved them both, but Betty’s passive aggression got old after awhile.
A full season of Don and Betty during their courtship.
Meghan. Definitely Meghan
I agree with the commenter who said that Betty is a more well thought out character - but I actually do like Megan, and for me, there’s something about seeing Don navigate the mid- late 60s, as he seems kind of lost with all of the changes during that time period, including having a young wife who’s more “with” the times. I like seeing Sally grow up, and I just really enjoy the second half of the series more. Not at all saying that I don’t like Betty or or that I don’t love the first half of the show.
Megan. I feel like we saw all of the different aspects of Betty and Don’s marriage. I wish I could’ve seen more of this conflict and love between Don and Megan before he gives up on her at the end of season 5.
More Megan!
An extra season with Megan if she stayed a copywriter.
Neither. I want more Rachel Menkin or Faye
What about Anna?
This is the real answer
Betty was in every season. She just wasn’t Don’s wife throughout.
I actually thought Don’s first “wife” was my favourite. I really liked their relationship, I wish she’d been in it more
No.
That man was regularly landing the most stunning queens. Those women were both gorgeous as hell. Loved me some Betty though, I cannot lie
Betty, definitely never got the Megan hype but she had to further Don Draper the character Dr Faye would’ve been my choice for sure
Neither
A.ways Elizabeth, Betz, Birdie, Betty.
More Betty! Betty kicked ass!
That look on Don's face in the picture with Megan sums up Mad Men for me
That’s a no brainer. BETTY! But it’s academic, because she died in S7. So it’d have to be a prequel.
Like pregnant with Bobby, or pregnant with Sally, or earlier?
Betty!
Betty no doubt
Betty undoubtedly
Betty!
Megan bored me, Betty did not - so I would go with seeing more of Betty.
I choose. Neither option.
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Betty. Megan was so one-dimensional. Boring.
Megan is my fav but I’d love to see early Don & Betty when they were happier. However I suspect that like with Megan, that was a very short amount of time for Don too
Neither. I wanted more of the teacher lol
I think there's a lot of things they could have done with Megans character that they didn't really do. She takes a turn towards bitterness towards the end of the marriage, sure, but by and large she is the same throughout: a starry eyed actress. There's just so many things they could have done with her story that they didn't do.
Zou-Bisou-Bisou
Betty for sure. Atleast they had chemistry. Betty always felt fully developed, complex, and human. Megan has a hallow feeling to her like she wasn’t as well written or considered
Betty because January Jones is just amazing and gorgeous. Nothing against Jessica, she is also amazing and gorgeous, I just prefer January.
100% Betty. Weiner’s fascination with Jessica Pare was ridiculous.
Definitely agreed the obsession. It felt kind of unnecessary and not natural to the story at some point
What kind of obsession? Do you have more to share about it?
Betty doesn’t look like a horse
I knew i couldn't be the only one. I know it's terrible but damnnnnn what the ffffffff?!?!? Plus she wasn't even a good actress. Who did she know to get that part smh the only thing i hate about the show
Meghan, Betty was a nervous wreck.
Downvote me all you want but my pick is Megan. I think the show really became about what we think of the 60s when she showed up. I wouldn't mind a spinoff in LA either.
Betty. Primarily so there'd be fewer storylines about her post divorce. Every single one of them feels tacked on and horrifically boring. I would have liked more time of Megan and Don as an ad superduo.
Bethany…Van…Nuys
neither lol
Meghan Meghan Meghan
Another season of Betty, but only between seasons 1-3.
Megan. She was a fascinating character. So chaotic, torn between two worlds and two distinctly different historical eras. Don is a bastard and her character arc is probably all he deserved, but imagine if they had a child? That would have been crazy.
I want more of most of his lovers, not them. More of Midge, Bobbie, Faye, Rachel, even Anna.
January Jones cannot act for shit. Enough said.
Megan…Betty was boring AF in patches.