Ferret, Meet Weasel

[sistermagpie]

I was kind of blown away by Mad Men last night. It was a night of Pete Campbell at his worst, and yet it made me realize that he's probably my favorite character. I've always perked up whenever he was in a scene and last night he just made my heart hurt. Going to bed I was like...how can you be so taken with such a nasty, sad little character

Comments

[lapin_agile]

This is a great piece.

Thanks.

[sistermagpie]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

[ava_jamison]

I enjoyed this essay! I'm not even currently watching Mad Men and I really enjoyed this essay.

[sistermagpie]

Thanks for reading even if you aren't watching!

[ishtar79]

I basically watched this Mad Men episode as soon as I could (even ignoring the call of my three Game of Thrones eps) because I *really* wanted to read this post, and I'm glad I did

[sistermagpie]

Cool! See, in a way I feel the same way, because even if I cringed watching either of them get hit, Pete totally did get in a low blow at Lane, and Lane had totally been going through his own version. That's in a way what's so sad is that they were both the two lowest guys in the room--like the weakest of the pack--and Pete was going after Lane because he was the one person he could go after. But then Lane turned it around on him big time and Lane Pryce does not write checks with his mouth that his fists can not cash! In a way, it was a win/win for Lane. If Pete had turned out to get the best of him I've no doubt someone would have stepped in to stop it (in ways they wouldn't and didn't when it was Pete getting the beat down) and probably admired him for trying.

It's funny comparing him to Kinsey because yeah, I guess in a way Kinsey was at least closer to what he pretended to be. Pete just seems like so .constantly nothing

[sistermagpie]

Thanks for stopping by!

I couldn't watch the boxing match either--I was covering my eyes for most of it. And it's even worse knowing so many people are loving it as Pete finally getting what he deserved. And I know it won't be enough either. If Pete got beaten up again it would be him finally getting what he deserved then too. There's no limit to the punishment he deserves.

How horrible to go thru life knowing you were actually rejected by the two people in the world who are REQUIRED TO LOVE YOU. Exactly. I just look at a character like this he feels hobbled to me. Like he just never got off stable to begin with and once that started the problem just got worse. Except for at home with Trudy (and hopefully eventually with Tammy, of course) there's no time where Pete walks into a room and gets a truly warm, friendly greeting. And I know it's mostly because of his own personality, but still, going through life every day never knowing you're truly even wanted in the room. Yipes. And it's like that from the beginning. It's an accepted

[sistermagpie]

I tried to send a mssg on TWOP but it wouldn't send, so I just put it here:

Pete - Too painful to discuss is my first response.

Seriously! I get mildly nauseous watching this kind of thing week after week. Especially when I watched the Inside Mad Men and MW just put it in as one of many "impulsive" acts. Except naturally this one is the most self-destructive. And the most elaborately set up just to be self-destructive and random. Is there a rock bottom in sight or is it just going to get worse until 1970, the end?

[shuffleduck]

This is going to sound incredibly stalkery, but a few months ago I came across your Draco posts and spent several weeks reading them all and flailing over how perfectly you captured his character -- and not just that, but in pinning down exactly why he and characters like him appeal so much. Seeing this post made me grin because I've been thinking how similar they are and how much of your fantastic Draco analysis could apply to Pete's motivations and personality flaws

[shuffleduck]

[a comment so horribly long it needed 2 parts, so sorry!]

This is the kind of fictional situation that just always gets me. As undeserving of anything good as Pete is, that just adds to the loneliness. No one sees or cares that he's unhappy because he's always unpleasant and they all think he deserves it. It's a cycle.

*sniffle* That's beautifully put. I can definitely relate! I keep seeing all these will-Pete-commit-suicide articles saying ''though not many viewers may mourn him'' and it stings me! Because Pete seems to often get the exact same reception from the audience that he does in the show. While Don and Roger's charm let them off the hook (by other characters and audience alike), Pete's faults aren't smoothed over by such qualities, so people are more blaming. Though of course, I find Pete hilarious, and find it bizarre when some viewers seem not to even find him entertaining as a character

[sistermagpie]

\o/ Six Feet Under--yes

[sistermagpie]

Hee! I can't believe it took me so long to make the connection between Pete and Draco.

I'm not sure if it's a case of, well, characters like Peggy already have enough people who love them/are on their side.Totally. When I want a character punched in the face it's almost always a character that's treated in the text as if they're awesome. Like I'm the "only one" who sees how awful they are and how they need to be told off. (Just read a book that had a heroine like this--I literally spent half the book waiting for the moment when the story would say "And btw, you suck too!" but it never did and I wound up feeling sorry for the hero who got the "deserved" tearing down for his own good.) There were so many times in HP where I'd read about Draco how all he needed was a good beat down, and I understood that, but didn't he get a good beat down in EVERY BOOK? Or almost every one? But once it happened it was forgotten and he was once again the guy who just needed a good beatdown. And I'd be saying...but he's gotten a dozen, and it actually