Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A- | 1 USERS: F YOU GRADE IT Smoke Does Not Get In Your Eyes…
By Couch Baron | Season 4 | Episode 12 | Aired on 10.10.2010
She goes on that Perry told her it would take her mind off her work, but "turns out it's a full-time job." He asks why she doesn't stop, then, as if he's not having trouble with substances far less addictive, and she basically tells him that: "I know it's bad for me, but...it's heroin, Don. I just can't stop." I don't know what you say to that. It's tragic. I mean, not that I was a huge fan of Midge and her beatnik lifestyle, but she certainly had plenty of joie de vivre when we knew her last. This is tough to see. Not just for me, as after Midge tells him how happy she is to see him, Don has to take a moment before reaching for his checkbook and writing one out for three hundred bucks for the painting, but the misery's not over, as in possibly the toughest line yet, her voice breaks slightly as she emphasizes just how far she's fallen: "What am I gonna do with a check?" Her shame is so palpable you can practically feel it wash over you like a dirty wave, but Don doesn't judge her for it, instead handing over the hundred and twenty bucks he's got in cash. She looks at him equivocally for a moment and then returns the check, which he tears up.
Trying to inject a little bravado into the situation, she asks if Don thinks her work's any good, but if he wasn't going to judge her, he's not going to let her run away from the truth either: "Does it matter?" Her face falls, and he silently picks up the picture before realizing he doesn't have money to get home, but she tells him to walk across the park, which will be free advertising for her, "like a sandwich board." She again goes for playful, putting her arms around him and giving him a kiss, but he keeps it real, pulling her arms off him and looking deep into her eyes, so she sobers it up, saying it really was great to see him. "I'm glad you haven't changed." Don leaves without another word, and really, for a scene that was pretty understated in terms of the volume of emotions, that was one of my favorites of the season. It was certainly among the top five scenes of the season that made me want to open one of my veins.
Betty is bitching to Dr. Edna about something Henry did that "was so dismissive. It reminded me of Don." Dr. Edna nods sagely, and then tells Betty that since their time's almost up, they should talk about Sally, which is hilarious, like, how much bitching about her own life did Betty do here and she still doesn't think she needs therapy? Anyway, Dr. Edna tells Betty what she told Sally about reducing her sessions to once a week, and Betty starts to panic, saying Sally isn't better and pointing out that she ran away. However, Dr. Edna calmly responds that Sally understands what she did was wrong and has been very responsible since, but Betty confesses that she's afraid of what might happen were Dr. Edna's influence to be reduced. Once again latching on to the real problem here, Dr. Edna offers that she's noticed that whenever Betty comes in there, she "[has] many things on [her] mind," and with diplomatic skills like that this woman should be working for the United Nations instead of the local school system.