Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A+ | 2 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Parting Really, Really Is Sweet Sorrow...
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 13 | Aired on 10.17.2007
And on a note just as upbeat, Harry is on the phone with his wife, Jennifer; apparently he told her about his escapade with Hildy, as he assures her that Ken is happy to have him stay at his place. I could imagine it would be handy for Ken to have someone to prevent him from choking on his own vomit, anyway. But as we pan back, we see that Harry's in fact in his office, and we only hear his side of the conversation, but his failed entreaties that she let him come home certainly meet the scene's quota of desperate sadness. He hangs up and looks forlorn.
The next day, Don comes in to see Bertram, who's uncharacteristically cold to him. He informs Don that he just got a call from Abraham Menken, who told him that Rachel will be away for three months on an ocean voyage to Paris. Don does not say "Zut alors!", but I kind of wish he had. But if the reminder that he lost Rachel over what ended up being a completely unnecessary panic over his secret is at all painful, he does a good job of hiding it. I know that will come as a surprise. Bertram lets Don know that he could tell from the tone of Menken's voice that it had something to do with Don, and tells him not to let his "personal preferences" get in the way of their business. "That's it, cowboy." Given that this is the last we see of him, he's not kidding. I'm willing to take all of this at face value, by the way, since when we met Mr. Menken, he seemed tuned in to Don's charms. Also, Barbara may have filled him in as well.
Betty's doorbell rings, and it's a freezing Francine, who Betty notes is wearing her slippers. Francine is upset and discombobulated in a way we've never seen from her, and she sits on the couch and berates herself for being stupid. She babbles about how her mind hasn't been so sharp since she had the baby, and she accidentally threw away some bills, resulting in the phone being cut off and forcing her to go to the phone company and pay in person. When she did, they gave her the bill, and there was almost eighteen dollars in long-distance charges to Manhattan. She goes on that she "called one," implying, I guess, that Carlton has more than one city port, and a woman answered, so she told her she was calling from Carlton's office. "I said, 'He wants to have dinner tonight at the usual place.'" Well, if she thought of that on the fly, her mind hasn't dulled that much. Betty, however, insists on not getting it, so Francine cries and asks what woman he could have been calling who answers her own phone. Betty: "Maybe it's a caterer. Maybe he's throwing you a surprise party." Well, Betty, your pitches may need work, but you've certainly got some imagination. Francine laughs the laugh of Those Who Are Disappearing Around The Bend, and tells Betty that Carlton spends two nights a week at the Waldorf. Betty says that Francine is assuming the worst. Francine: "The worst is that I'll poison him. He's so stupid, he'd drink anything. I'm gonna have a house full of people. I'll poison them all." Anne Dudek, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you House viewers truly appreciate what you're getting. And only now, at the end, have I come to the realization that she was the lead in The Book Group, which was one of my favorite shows when I was living in England. (If you're not familiar, think of a much, much, much better written Footballers' Wives.) No wonder I love her insanely.