Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B+ | 10 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Toeing The Line
By Couch Baron | Season 6 | Episode 9 | Aired on 05.26.2013
I think this sequence is about the best thing this season has offered thus far, and one of the elements adding to it is the setting. Even with the requisite cricket noises, there's a stillness that's allowing these sentiments to emerge slowly. It would never happen in the realer world of New York or even Rye, with all the everyday chores and distractions of normal life. And Betty's statement is ambiguously worded, but even without what's coming, I think she means she let go of her anger at Don, at least in part, rather than that it all came rushing back. Betty then admits she got bitten after all, so he helps her up, and she's a bit unsteady doing it and laughs -- but gets serious when Don keeps hold of her hand. After a moment, she walks into her room, but leaves the door wide open and it's not long before Don follows. As she takes off her earrings, she casually tells him to close the door to keep out the bugs, and he complies... and then turns out the light. He approaches her and then grabs her behind the neck, not gently but not roughly either. She asks what he's doing, but there's no accusing tone, so his answer of "Waiting for you to tell me to stop" doesn't seem like an overplay. And indeed, after holding his gaze for a moment, she smiles and kisses him. They get to the bed, but she stops him for a moment to ask what he thought when he saw her, and he doesn't have to dig deep for this one: "That you are as beautiful as the day I met you." That being what she wanted to hear in every way, she gets back to it...
...while in other potential action, Megan and Arlene are some number of sheets to the wind, and although Megan thinks Arlene's lucky to have Mel, as he understands what she does, she counters that it's a "complex relationship," adding to our ever-growing episode list of non-Earth-shattering statements. Megan talks about how Don used to be so supportive, but Arlene tells her he's old-fashioned (you are what you drink, I guess) and he needs time to adjust to her success, but he will. Megan, however, isn't mollified, saying she thinks Don's gotten used to not having her around, and she feels really lonely. Given what Megan knows about Arlene's sexual desires, you can see how an at-least-half-in-the-bag Arlene would take this as an invitation, so she lays one on Megan. While Megan doesn't, like, spit or anything in response, she tells Arlene this isn't the way before accusing her of "taking advantage of every private moment." This leads to a little fight -- Megan's worried she's going to get fired for not swinging that way, while Arlene thinks Megan was throwing out enough signs and is now trying to embarrass her. Megan apologizes, and this leads to a couple more false starts, but Arlene finally takes the hint and moves to leave, saying Megan simply needs to learn the lines. "Two characters is tough, but you know what Olivier says -- let the wig do the work." HA! Never heard that one, but I sure like it. She tells Megan no hard feelings and seems to mean it, and when she's gone, Megan can only giggle at how the evening turned out. Of course, if she knew where Don was right now, it might have worked out to Arlene's benefit. You never know!