This may now be my favorite Mad Men scene of all time. Better than the lawn mower, better than the scene where Lane fires the crew, and better than Pete telling his father-in-law SCDP was kicking Clearasil to the curb. Better.
Why? First off, it’s hilarious. An elderly man who love pears, and his silent wife who ain’t having any of it. Second, it’s sad. An elderly man who love pears, and his silent wife who ain’t having any of it. But, as in all things Mad Men it’s about what not said that’s the most important.
In true Mad Men fashion, people are overly committed to over analyzing in this scene.
A good take:
“Did you get the pears? Did you get the pears? Did you get the pears?” barks the batty old husband, who has somehow managed to grow old with his gruff wife. “We’ll discuss it inside,” says the wife. Don can’t begin to imagine what it is that makes their marriage work. But he’s probably thinking that the reason it works is buried in all that stuff about them that he’ll never know.
A true, but obvious take:
Ah, the pears. Don is returning to his lonely apartment. He witnesses a weary, absurd exchange between an old married couple that makes sense to no one but them. Will Don or Peggy ever have this kind of long-term relationship that grows gnarled and beautiful with age? And, taking into account the episode’s theme, is marriage really what women want? The old couple seems sweet though there’s a palpable weariness in the woman’s voice. Here he goes with the pears again. Haven’t bought him pears since ‘49.
Some people don’t know what to make of it. They’re not thinking at all:
If anyone knows what the deal was with the “pears” discussion at the end, let me know?
