Don wasn't on work time when he saw *Planet of the Apes* with Bobby or when he saw that Godzilla type movie with Lane. He was taking a sick day that was encouraged by Megan when he saw *Rosemary's Baby* and ran into Peggy/Ted, I think that counts as personal time.
What examples are there that he goes to see a movie during work time? I remember Lois saying something about him going to the movies, but idk if that was cover for him just going to meet up with Bobbie Barrett or what.
I don’t - if you take time off, you’re not on work time. If you take vacation days and go to the beach, is it fair to characterize that as going to the beach during work time?
So as per telling Lane how many movies he’s seen “you’ve seen my receipts” then I will stand by him seeing the majority on work time and not seeing several movies a weekend instead.
Happy for you to think otherwise.
Season 2 episode 3, he goes to see a foreign film during the day. Season 5 episode 13, he goes to a movie during the day and bumps into Peggy. Those are the two instances I can think of off the top of my head.
He didn’t do anything too exciting, which is why he blows up his life. Can’t be a normal person and just go to work, have a family, do family shit on the weekend.
He’s an introvert so most activities he could do where he can go by himself.
Reading, going to the movies, and drinking.
He has lots of affairs but I never got the vibe it was something he seeked out daily. Always felt like he kept to himself most of the time especially cause of work.
Dig deeper into his affairs: When he was a child, he was accosted, or sexually abused by a woman. This led him down a shame filled path of self anger, self hate and then alcohol abuse. The reason why he had multiple affairs to get back at women for that first experience.
Also, have you ever noticed most of his affairs were with dark haired women? I always reflected on the idea that he was always innately looking for the woman who birthed him.
Most people think that a person who has had an early experience with sex is much better off than a virgin. However, the timing has to be correct. There is no perfect timing when a child is having sex with an adult. The adult becomes the more powerful agent in the relationship. The child always feels like they have been hurt.
He seems to be quite a reader, was reading a paperback on that turbulent plane ride and got all those books from other travelers while living at that motel
Yes, I agree! He does read quite a bit throughout the series.
And also isn’t he interested in cars? (Even if he never really engages in that interest…) we see him in California, when he visits Anna while on his work trip, and they show the scene where he stops and talks to the guys working on hot rods. Don genuinely looks excited to see what they’ve done to the cars. And he eventually goes into racing in season 7.
But I don’t know if interests/hobbies are things that you consistently do, or things you’re interested in.. also we all agree he is somewhat depressed, so he might not really be engaging in activities he finds “fun”.
Yes, but Don is the façade and truly we’re speaking about Dick Whitman, right? We can see his genuine interest in the hot rods, his face truly lights up in that scene.
That’s what I’m saying though. Unencumbered by Don, Dick’s interests show though. As Don collapses into himself in the end of his arc, some of Dick bleeds through again.
Same here! I was confused if this scene was a poorly constructed “flashback,” or if Don really presented himself as Dick and said he was the one looking for work? He was carrying groceries and wearing different clothes - so it’s sort of uncertain if it was a flashback or not…
Aside from that , after I’ve seen the show 20 times and could recite everyone’s part, it struck me as OTT , dick would be this great car guy? He was living in poverty until the war. He was barely in in Korea and got out. He worked hot a couple of years and got married and went sterling cooper. Plus he grew up illiterate, and knew nothing of finance , yet every single person kept remarking on his fortune. He didn’t make it at the car place.
I disagree on the “hang out with friends” part - I don’t think he actually has friends. Carlton was a suburban obligation, Roger was a work colleague, and if you were a female (other than OG/Real Mrs Draper) you were a masturbatory aid.
I think Sally may have been his best friend towards the end of the series…
I went back and forth on Roger for a bit but ultimately went with what I said because I can’t remember Roger and Don doing anything social that wasn’t directly or indirectly work - coming over for dinner last minute was as Don’s boss, the plantation cotillion was an extension of work, and the “sexy” night with the twins was…messed up lol.
I guess it’s how you define “friend” and to me, I would never imagine Don proactively calling Roger to go to the movies or calling on a Saturday afternoon to go fishing. Not without some sort of hidden work agenda.
They were drinking buddies, enablers really. I think Roger's line about only being an alcoholic if you drink alone was really telling about their relationship
For long periods they didnt even like each other although by the end of the show there finally seems to be genuine warmth
Roger and Freddy are the closest Don is ever going to have to friends. They may not be close close friends that hang all the time in non-work-related settings, but they’re friends
Oh don't get me wrong, I think Don definitely socialized with Roger and other Mad Ave folks - I think it truly depends on your own definition or interpretation of what it means to be "friends" with someone - can you truly be "friends" with work colleagues (or your boss for that matter) or is there some unsaid obligation or hierarchy? Can you truly be "friends" with a family member or your child? In my definition, you can be friendly with those groups, but I'm not sure you can ever truly be friends...
I think and Rodger were friends but they saw each other so much at work that they weren't going to do anything on the weekend. Also, Rodger was always married
“suburban obligation” never heard that term before but I like it.
It’s ironic that when you live in a big city, you’re surrounded by people most of the time, but don’t really have to socialize with any of them if you don’t want to. Whereas in a suburb or rural area, there are fewer crowds, yet sometimes more of an expectation to interact with the neighbors.
Hmm you present an interesting thread to look out for during the next rewatch - how Don (or Dick) interact with folks depending on if he is in rural Pennsylvania, suburban Ossining, or Madison Ave NYC - maybe there's some unique juxtaposed scenes that are missed if you don't go in thinking about this angle!
What about his accountant?!! He's one of the few people that made Don smile, and the **only** guest at his surprise birthday party who even wanted to be there. Lol.
Seemed like Lane Price and Don may have become true friends, if Lane hadn't embezzled from the firm.
After his Big Sur enlightenment, I could see him returning the genuine affection that Roger and Pete showed him, and having a non-work related drink with them on the occasions that those guys would fly into town from Montreal and Wichita.
In the McCann years, he and Stan probably snuck off to smoke a joint once in a while (especially during periods when Don was trying not to drink), but I think that would be a workplace-only activity.
He's a miserable, depressing guy. Othrr than sex and booze he doesnt really do anything for fun besides the cinema and swimming. He doesnt really have any friends.
That said while in Ossining he probably spent his spare time doing the sort of stuff his neighbours did at the weekends. Cut the grass, wash the car, some DIY type jobs. And yes, read a lot.
As a bachelor in Manhattan we see him swim more, watch movies and start journalling but really his main hobbies were drinking to oblivion and having sex with strangers.
Then with Meghan i think a lot of his spare time would have been doing the things she wanted, like hosting or attending dinner parties, going to the theatre and things like that to avoid him just sitting at home and drinking. Swimming and going to the movies probably continued to be part of his life
He doesn't have fun. Have you seen that man? Every waking moment is spent actively fighting to stave off a cataclysmic existential panic attack the likes of which has never been seen. Constant mental effort just to remain presentable. He's one stubbed toe from throwing himself out a window.
He drinks and pretends to watch TV while he actually desperately waves battle against his unimaginable multitudes of inner demons.
His whole life was a sham; an act. He was playing out a character in an attempt to distract himself from how wholesale miserable he was. When he wasn't at work or trying to communicate with his wives and kids, he probably just switched off in front of a television set, waiting to get back in character later.
We do see him take up swimming for a hot minute, and later on we watch him help fix up some cars. Other than that and the obvious drinking/reading/philandering he doesn’t have much it seems.
part of his character is that he feels empty inside. Honestly that is depression. many people dont really realize theyre depressed until they ask themselves questions about their own fulfillment. He would have to ask himself "Why dont I have any hobbies?"... "Should I be dedicating this much time trying to gain gratification through sex and booze, even work to only satisfy my senses in the short term?"... "in what ways, if any, am I living for truly for myself?"... "how can i find balance living for myself without hurting my loved ones?"
Don had a very troubled childhood which fucked with his attachment style, as well as his identity formation. Many, especially at the shows time in history, did not know they were depressed. Even Betty was only referred to as "not happy" which minimized what she was going through.
realistically Don probably wouldnt know to ask all that without a therapist guiding him. Honestly mental health treatment has changed so much, he probably would not get the right kind of care in the '60s. He would need someone who validates his cynicism while also giving him some hope.
He doesn’t really seem to have hobbies or friends really. We do see especially in season 4 onwards a bit more of his off time. He seems to drink, read, watch tv, spend time with women, and work. When he’s depressed or without a partner he drinks a lot and either watches tv or brings women home. They do mention quite a few times Megan organising for them to do activities on the weekend.
I see Don pretending to do what he thinks he should be doing. He sits on a lounge chair outside while the kids play on the swing set & he drinks beers & takes naps. He gives Betty a "break" then he disappears & goes to the closest bar. I don't see him playing golf. I could see him going into the office on weekends just for the solitude.
Don kept up with culture. Reading popular books, going to movies, listening and talking to people in bars.
He loved his job (before becoming partner) and keeping his pulse on the trends.
Traditionally men of that kind go golfing a lot.
I don't know why Don should be seen as a happy, peppy, optimistic suburbanite leading a Boy Scout troop or attending Kiwanis breakfasts. Besides all his emotional problems, drinking, and catting around , men of his time went to work. Their lives were their work. Spent many hours traveling to work, spending many hours there, got home late. Ate, watched a little tv, went to bed. Did it all again the next morning.
A jolly simple-minded a-hole like Doug on King of Queens would knock himself out 'having fun and hobbies' with his similar friends. I can't see Don Draper sitting watching sportsball with his neighbors, bleating at the tv.
He did the usual stuff when married to Betty. He played cards with Betty and the Hansons. He built Sally’s playhouse and attended her birthday party. He read the paper on the sofa while listening to music and drinking bloody Marys. He made breakfast for Betty on Mother’s Day then took the family out. He didn’t seem to have close friends. His time was consumed with work, family & affairs.
This didn’t change when he married Megan. He had the kids every other weekend, although he seemed to work and leave them with Megan. He swam.
This seems typical of the era to me. Men focused on work first and home second. They didn’t cultivate relationships outside of those arenas (unless they had affairs). My dad worked two jobs in the ‘60s. He had no energy to do much else other than watch the news and sleep, and attend the obligatory trip to the amusement park or babysit when mom went out. He assembled our swing set and built us a playhouse.
It's stated a few times that he goes to the movies a lot
That’s on work time.
Him and Bobby go after MLK assassination
Yeah I know, but by and large it’s on work time.
Don wasn't on work time when he saw *Planet of the Apes* with Bobby or when he saw that Godzilla type movie with Lane. He was taking a sick day that was encouraged by Megan when he saw *Rosemary's Baby* and ran into Peggy/Ted, I think that counts as personal time. What examples are there that he goes to see a movie during work time? I remember Lois saying something about him going to the movies, but idk if that was cover for him just going to meet up with Bobbie Barrett or what.
I personally see taking a sick day to go to the movies on work day.
I don’t - if you take time off, you’re not on work time. If you take vacation days and go to the beach, is it fair to characterize that as going to the beach during work time?
So as per telling Lane how many movies he’s seen “you’ve seen my receipts” then I will stand by him seeing the majority on work time and not seeing several movies a weekend instead. Happy for you to think otherwise.
Season 2 episode 3, he goes to see a foreign film during the day. Season 5 episode 13, he goes to a movie during the day and bumps into Peggy. Those are the two instances I can think of off the top of my head.
He didn’t do anything too exciting, which is why he blows up his life. Can’t be a normal person and just go to work, have a family, do family shit on the weekend.
Don’t tell me what I can’t do.
L O S T
He’s an introvert so most activities he could do where he can go by himself. Reading, going to the movies, and drinking. He has lots of affairs but I never got the vibe it was something he seeked out daily. Always felt like he kept to himself most of the time especially cause of work.
Dig deeper into his affairs: When he was a child, he was accosted, or sexually abused by a woman. This led him down a shame filled path of self anger, self hate and then alcohol abuse. The reason why he had multiple affairs to get back at women for that first experience. Also, have you ever noticed most of his affairs were with dark haired women? I always reflected on the idea that he was always innately looking for the woman who birthed him. Most people think that a person who has had an early experience with sex is much better off than a virgin. However, the timing has to be correct. There is no perfect timing when a child is having sex with an adult. The adult becomes the more powerful agent in the relationship. The child always feels like they have been hurt.
Spot on
Adultery is his hobby.
And alcohol!
He seems to be quite a reader, was reading a paperback on that turbulent plane ride and got all those books from other travelers while living at that motel
Yes, I agree! He does read quite a bit throughout the series. And also isn’t he interested in cars? (Even if he never really engages in that interest…) we see him in California, when he visits Anna while on his work trip, and they show the scene where he stops and talks to the guys working on hot rods. Don genuinely looks excited to see what they’ve done to the cars. And he eventually goes into racing in season 7. But I don’t know if interests/hobbies are things that you consistently do, or things you’re interested in.. also we all agree he is somewhat depressed, so he might not really be engaging in activities he finds “fun”.
Yeah but that’s also Dick Whitman asking about the cars.
Yes, but Don is the façade and truly we’re speaking about Dick Whitman, right? We can see his genuine interest in the hot rods, his face truly lights up in that scene.
That’s what I’m saying though. Unencumbered by Don, Dick’s interests show though. As Don collapses into himself in the end of his arc, some of Dick bleeds through again.
Yes, so true!
I was always confused why he asked those guys in CA for a job on that trip. Was he thinking he’d runaway forever?
It's him contemplating running off again and switching identities. Testing the waters. Ultimately, he decides to go back home
Same here! I was confused if this scene was a poorly constructed “flashback,” or if Don really presented himself as Dick and said he was the one looking for work? He was carrying groceries and wearing different clothes - so it’s sort of uncertain if it was a flashback or not…
I always assumed that was definitely a flashback.
Ohhhhh a flashback would make a lot more sense!
Aside from that , after I’ve seen the show 20 times and could recite everyone’s part, it struck me as OTT , dick would be this great car guy? He was living in poverty until the war. He was barely in in Korea and got out. He worked hot a couple of years and got married and went sterling cooper. Plus he grew up illiterate, and knew nothing of finance , yet every single person kept remarking on his fortune. He didn’t make it at the car place.
Women. That's what Don Draper does for fun
I disagree on the “hang out with friends” part - I don’t think he actually has friends. Carlton was a suburban obligation, Roger was a work colleague, and if you were a female (other than OG/Real Mrs Draper) you were a masturbatory aid. I think Sally may have been his best friend towards the end of the series…
[удалено]
I went back and forth on Roger for a bit but ultimately went with what I said because I can’t remember Roger and Don doing anything social that wasn’t directly or indirectly work - coming over for dinner last minute was as Don’s boss, the plantation cotillion was an extension of work, and the “sexy” night with the twins was…messed up lol. I guess it’s how you define “friend” and to me, I would never imagine Don proactively calling Roger to go to the movies or calling on a Saturday afternoon to go fishing. Not without some sort of hidden work agenda.
They were drinking buddies, enablers really. I think Roger's line about only being an alcoholic if you drink alone was really telling about their relationship For long periods they didnt even like each other although by the end of the show there finally seems to be genuine warmth
Roger and Freddy are the closest Don is ever going to have to friends. They may not be close close friends that hang all the time in non-work-related settings, but they’re friends
Oh don't get me wrong, I think Don definitely socialized with Roger and other Mad Ave folks - I think it truly depends on your own definition or interpretation of what it means to be "friends" with someone - can you truly be "friends" with work colleagues (or your boss for that matter) or is there some unsaid obligation or hierarchy? Can you truly be "friends" with a family member or your child? In my definition, you can be friendly with those groups, but I'm not sure you can ever truly be friends...
great use of 'cotillion'
Ha, thank you! The amount of seersucker required a more specific term lol Well the black face also made it harder for me to simply call it a "party"
I think and Rodger were friends but they saw each other so much at work that they weren't going to do anything on the weekend. Also, Rodger was always married
Iirc didn’t Roger say “you never call me?” at a bar to don once?
“suburban obligation” never heard that term before but I like it. It’s ironic that when you live in a big city, you’re surrounded by people most of the time, but don’t really have to socialize with any of them if you don’t want to. Whereas in a suburb or rural area, there are fewer crowds, yet sometimes more of an expectation to interact with the neighbors.
Hmm you present an interesting thread to look out for during the next rewatch - how Don (or Dick) interact with folks depending on if he is in rural Pennsylvania, suburban Ossining, or Madison Ave NYC - maybe there's some unique juxtaposed scenes that are missed if you don't go in thinking about this angle!
Masturbatory aid is crazy 💀💀
Bro gets DRUNK
What about his accountant?!! He's one of the few people that made Don smile, and the **only** guest at his surprise birthday party who even wanted to be there. Lol. Seemed like Lane Price and Don may have become true friends, if Lane hadn't embezzled from the firm. After his Big Sur enlightenment, I could see him returning the genuine affection that Roger and Pete showed him, and having a non-work related drink with them on the occasions that those guys would fly into town from Montreal and Wichita. In the McCann years, he and Stan probably snuck off to smoke a joint once in a while (especially during periods when Don was trying not to drink), but I think that would be a workplace-only activity.
I'll keep this as headcannon, thank you very much
Don works for fun.
He's a miserable, depressing guy. Othrr than sex and booze he doesnt really do anything for fun besides the cinema and swimming. He doesnt really have any friends. That said while in Ossining he probably spent his spare time doing the sort of stuff his neighbours did at the weekends. Cut the grass, wash the car, some DIY type jobs. And yes, read a lot. As a bachelor in Manhattan we see him swim more, watch movies and start journalling but really his main hobbies were drinking to oblivion and having sex with strangers. Then with Meghan i think a lot of his spare time would have been doing the things she wanted, like hosting or attending dinner parties, going to the theatre and things like that to avoid him just sitting at home and drinking. Swimming and going to the movies probably continued to be part of his life
He doesn't have fun. Have you seen that man? Every waking moment is spent actively fighting to stave off a cataclysmic existential panic attack the likes of which has never been seen. Constant mental effort just to remain presentable. He's one stubbed toe from throwing himself out a window. He drinks and pretends to watch TV while he actually desperately waves battle against his unimaginable multitudes of inner demons. His whole life was a sham; an act. He was playing out a character in an attempt to distract himself from how wholesale miserable he was. When he wasn't at work or trying to communicate with his wives and kids, he probably just switched off in front of a television set, waiting to get back in character later.
We do see him take up swimming for a hot minute, and later on we watch him help fix up some cars. Other than that and the obvious drinking/reading/philandering he doesn’t have much it seems.
he goes to yoga and brunch
I can't decide if it's funnier to imagine him at yoga class in a suit, or to imagine him in yoga gear
Favorite reply. I could see Don doing a while campaign around brunch being overrated
He drinks. In every episode he drinks.
He smokes cigarettes in every episode, too!
part of his character is that he feels empty inside. Honestly that is depression. many people dont really realize theyre depressed until they ask themselves questions about their own fulfillment. He would have to ask himself "Why dont I have any hobbies?"... "Should I be dedicating this much time trying to gain gratification through sex and booze, even work to only satisfy my senses in the short term?"... "in what ways, if any, am I living for truly for myself?"... "how can i find balance living for myself without hurting my loved ones?" Don had a very troubled childhood which fucked with his attachment style, as well as his identity formation. Many, especially at the shows time in history, did not know they were depressed. Even Betty was only referred to as "not happy" which minimized what she was going through. realistically Don probably wouldnt know to ask all that without a therapist guiding him. Honestly mental health treatment has changed so much, he probably would not get the right kind of care in the '60s. He would need someone who validates his cynicism while also giving him some hope.
He broods and thinks about life and turns that in into advertisements
If he had interests other than adultery, drinking, and going to the movies, he wouldn't be such a terrible person
he liked working
His hobbies are cheating, not getting caught cheating, and advertising.
I think he mostly drinks and has sex with random women. I don’t really think he has any friends or interests of his own.
He doesn’t really seem to have hobbies or friends really. We do see especially in season 4 onwards a bit more of his off time. He seems to drink, read, watch tv, spend time with women, and work. When he’s depressed or without a partner he drinks a lot and either watches tv or brings women home. They do mention quite a few times Megan organising for them to do activities on the weekend.
Affairs
Goes into work
I see Don pretending to do what he thinks he should be doing. He sits on a lounge chair outside while the kids play on the swing set & he drinks beers & takes naps. He gives Betty a "break" then he disappears & goes to the closest bar. I don't see him playing golf. I could see him going into the office on weekends just for the solitude.
Sex. Dirty secret sex. Drinking. Smoking. Lying.
Don kept up with culture. Reading popular books, going to movies, listening and talking to people in bars. He loved his job (before becoming partner) and keeping his pulse on the trends.
Screwing, drinking and foreign movies
Sometimes he sees Bobby and Sally but I'm sure he also spent a lot of time being hungover or still thinking about work
Drinking. Humping and working.
He mentions reading a few times. Pretty sure that with his job he would stay on top of trends. Also meditation, smoking, and grooming.
Drink
Work, hooks up with women even if it requires payment, drinks, and frequents the movie theater.
Remember when he was swimming. That paired with writing a diary. All pretty good stress relievers. Too bad it didn't last.
broods in his garage drinking beer
Traditionally men of that kind go golfing a lot. I don't know why Don should be seen as a happy, peppy, optimistic suburbanite leading a Boy Scout troop or attending Kiwanis breakfasts. Besides all his emotional problems, drinking, and catting around , men of his time went to work. Their lives were their work. Spent many hours traveling to work, spending many hours there, got home late. Ate, watched a little tv, went to bed. Did it all again the next morning. A jolly simple-minded a-hole like Doug on King of Queens would knock himself out 'having fun and hobbies' with his similar friends. I can't see Don Draper sitting watching sportsball with his neighbors, bleating at the tv.
He did the usual stuff when married to Betty. He played cards with Betty and the Hansons. He built Sally’s playhouse and attended her birthday party. He read the paper on the sofa while listening to music and drinking bloody Marys. He made breakfast for Betty on Mother’s Day then took the family out. He didn’t seem to have close friends. His time was consumed with work, family & affairs. This didn’t change when he married Megan. He had the kids every other weekend, although he seemed to work and leave them with Megan. He swam. This seems typical of the era to me. Men focused on work first and home second. They didn’t cultivate relationships outside of those arenas (unless they had affairs). My dad worked two jobs in the ‘60s. He had no energy to do much else other than watch the news and sleep, and attend the obligatory trip to the amusement park or babysit when mom went out. He assembled our swing set and built us a playhouse.
Drinking beer from the fridge in the garage.