The Better Half (S6x09)
Airdate: 26 May 2013
Written by: Erin Levy & Matthew Weiner Directed by: Phil Abraham
Running Time: 48 minutes
Mad Men has always excelled at the slow, methodical art of storytelling—so much so that episodes where nothing much happens can be devilishly difficult to distinguish from those where everything does. The series built its reputation on quiet moments and glances that speak volumes, on the accumulation of small disappointments and minor victories that gradually reshape lives. The Better Half,"the ninth episode of Season 6, stands as a textbook example of this approach. Set during July 1968—a momentous year by any measure—this instalment adopts a "day in the life" structure that observes its characters going about their business while history churns in the background. It is an episode that appears uneventful on the surface, yet beneath lies the steady erosion of relationships and the quiet desperation of people realising their lives are not what they imagined.
The episode opens deceptively, suggesting that its primary concern will be the professional tensions brewing within the newly merged SCDPCGC. Specifically, it teases the rivalry between Don Draper and Ted Chaough over who shall emerge as top dog in this uneasy corporate marriage. The immediate battleground is a pitch for Fleischmann margarine, with both men presenting competing concepts. In a move that reeks of passive aggression—or perhaps genuine respect, one can never quite tell with Don—they ask Peggy to adjudicate which concept superior. Caught between her loyalty to Don and her complicated feelings for Ted, Peggy adopts a surprisingly diplomatic stance, finding merit in both approaches. Eventually, Don concedes the point to Ted, though whether this represents genuine magnanimity or simply strategic retreat remains deliciously ambiguous.
Yet while Peggy goes through the professional minefield with characteristic competence, her private life is crumbling around her. Her relationship with Abe Drexler—the idealistic journalist who convinced her to purchase a dilapidated flat in a rough neighbourhood as some sort of bohemian experiment—has reached breaking point. Abe suffers injuries during a robbery but refuses, with stubborn defiance, to describe his attackers' race to the police. Later, he lectures Peggy about not allowing "fascist police" to oppress young Black men, clinging to his ideological purity even as the physical reality of their situation grows increasingly dangerous. When someone hurls a rock through their window—apparently retaliation for speaking with an officer—Peggy's fears for her safety mount. The breaking point arrives during a chaotic night when violence erupts on their street, and Peggy accidentally stabs Abe with an improvised polearm while trying to defend their home. As he is whisked to hospital, Abe delivers the final blow: their relationship is over. In a moment of vulnerability, Peggy later attempts to pursue something with Ted, only to be rebuffed—adding humiliation to her already considerable emotional burden.
Meanwhile, Roger Sterling attempts to play the proud grandfather, introducing four-year-old Ellery Hargrove to the office staff with evident delight. However, his relationship with daughter Margaret sours yet again when she discovers he took the child to see Planet of the Apes—an experience that left the boy terrified. Feeling rejected and increasingly isolated, Roger seeks comfort by visiting Joan with a gift for his son Kevin, only to find her in the company of Bob Benson, the two of them preparing for a beach outing. The moment is quietly devastating; Roger is learning that his place in the lives of those he loves is neither central nor guaranteed.
Speaking of Bob Benson, he continues his campaign of calculated helpfulness, this time assisting Pete Campbell by locating a nurse to care for Pete's ailing mother. Pete, who feels increasingly marginalised within the company, pays a visit to Duck Phillips—now working as a headhunter—to inquire about alternative opportunities. His disappointment is palpable when he learns that the best prospect would relocate him to Wichita, Kansas—a fate that feels like exile rather than advancement.
Betty Francis has settled comfortably into her role as Henry's trophy wife, clearly relishing the attention of other men, particularly those financing her husband's political ambitions. She arranges for Bobby to attend summer camp, with Don handling the transportation. During Don's absence, Megan—whose insecurity about her acting career has grown increasingly apparent—invites fellow actress Arlene to discuss their roles. The meeting takes an unexpected turn when Arlene misreads the situation and attempts to kiss Megan, who must awkwardly reject her advances. The scene's shock value has diminished somewhat, given that Arlene and her husband were previously established as "open-minded," though it nonetheless underscores Megan's vulnerability and confusion about her professional and personal identity.
The episode's emotional core, however, lies in Don's unexpected encounter with Betty. Their old passion reignites with startling intensity, leading them to bed together despite Betty's insistence that she will not leave Henry. The following morning, she breakfasts with her husband as though nothing has happened, while Don returns to Megan. The couple acknowledges that their marriage faces serious issues requiring work—an admission that feels both honest and hollow, given what we have just witnessed.
Written by Erin Levy and Matthew Weiner, The Better Half functions as a serviceable "filler" episode that uses its relative lack of major historical or personal events to provide additional exposition and character development. The narrative machinery moves forward, but without the dramatic fireworks that typically punctuate the series.
The exception, of course, is Peggy's storyline, which offers a pointed examination of how counterculture ideals crumble upon contact with harsh reality. Abe clings to his principles with religious fervour, even when doing so condemns them both to squalor and danger, viewing his victimisation as acceptable collateral damage in the struggle against oppression. Peggy, conversely, has become part of the system Abe seeks to dismantle—or at least, she refuses to sacrifice everything for its destruction. The cruellest irony arrives when Abe recognises their incompatibility only as Peggy's weapon—an improvised polearm, no less—pierces his flesh. He interprets this act, perhaps subconsciously, as the ultimate betrayal of everything he believed they shared.
That weapon—more commonly associated with medieval combat or post-apocalyptic fiction—serves as potent symbolism for the civilisational collapse gripping New York City during the summer of 1968. The violence and fear permeating Peggy's neighbourhood represent not merely local crime but broader societal fractures that would continue widening well into the following decades.
The script relies heavily on continuity and multi-episode juxtaposition. The very same film—Planet of the Apes—that helps Don bond with eight-year-old Bobby, as depicted in The Flood, simultaneously destroys Roger's relationship with his family, a parallel that highlights the different ways these men navigate fatherhood and connection.
Finally, the episode continues Mad Men's tradition of fan service with a scene featuring a petrol station attendant admiring a female customer bent over her car—only for the camera to reveal the woman as Betty, still capable of commanding male attention without even trying. It is a moment that feels gratuitous, yet entirely in keeping with the series' complex relationship with its most visually striking character.
The Better Half may not rank among Mad Men's most memorable episodes, but it demonstrates the show's remarkable ability to find drama in the everyday, tragedy in the mundane, and historical resonance in personal disappointment.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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