My Giant Pete-Spam

[falafel_musings]

So I'm finally celebrating my Mad Men fandom with a list of favourite moments, pics, quotes and meta about my favourite character; Pete Campbell. I've been watching MM since Christmas and until recently Pete was the guy I loved to hate on the show. But since finishing S2 I've realised I adore him and possibly always have deep down. As most MM fans will tell you Pete is a weird insidious self-important little fucker. But I think he's the most entertaining character. If he isn't making you throw things at the TV, he is making you laugh, or making you pity him, or freaking you out. I guess Pete Campbell is my substitute Gaius Baltar. I miss having a loser freak hero to root for.

So here is my Pete Spam! Featuring lots of Pete/Peggy and Pete/Don.
 

20) "Who put the Chinaman in my office?"



Pete gets back from his honeymoon and his frat-boy friends put a Chinese family and a bunch of chickens in his office. Which is apparently hilarious. But what I remember most about this moment is Pete's instant suspicion when his co-workers are being really friendly to him...until he realises it's just a big prank. Phew!


19) "Tony Curtis, Don! A thing like that."



I'm much more endeared to Pete when he is being quaint with his old timey phrases ("Hells Bells, Trudy!") . I especially love any moment when Pete uses his "A thing like that!" line which he does several times. This little phrase is just so suited to his character.

PETE: A thing like that!
~translation~
PETE: I really have nothing to say, I'm just trying very hard to be liked.


18) "I love watching you walk..."



Any moment between Pete and his long-suffering secretary Hildy is great. She has such naked contempt for Pete. I love this scene where Pete is trying to be the cool Draper-style boss who lets his secretry into his office for a drink, hitting her with this world beating chat-up-line "I love watching you walk." How could any girl resist? 


17) "Touch the face of God."



At first I hated the scene where Pete has sex with the model. I don't like Pete cheating with anyone who isn't Peggy, okay? Then I realised what was really happening in the scene. That Pete is trying to recreate his first time with Peggy and then the girl's mother is in the next room and the TV is turned up with a program about jet planes like the one his father died in. So all Pete's family baggage is in the sex scene too. Then afterwards Pete is in the dark, staring at himself in the mirror, in a disturbed disturbing way. Scary. 


16) "It's a Chip and Dip."



Wheeee! Pete's endless Chip-n-Dip commercials. I want a Chip-n-Dip now! Sadly after recieving many emasulating comments, Pete is forced to swap his rather vaginal Chip-n-Dip for a very phallic shotgun. *shakes head*  


15) "I had to see you tonight."



I remember finding Pete/Peggy's initial hook up forced the first time I saw it. On reflection I'm glad they established this ship in the pilot episode with the one-night-stand. Now I know the characters I can see both their motivations. Pete wanted a last night of freedom and tracked down Peggy because she was Don's new secretary. He probably found her address when rooting through Don's trash! And Peggy had been told all through her first day that the key to success at Sterling Cooper was scoring with its men. Peggy has always been ambitious. Plus as Matt Weiner pointed out, Pete took two trains just to see her. That's hot.


14) "I need to lie down."



I love Pete's final moment in S1 as he stumbles home drunk after losing out on a promotion to Peggy. He is so drunk and angry he is openly scowling at Trudy and his inlaws. Awesome. Scenes between Pete and Trudy's family always remind me of Kafka's Metamorphosis - Pete is the son who is transforming into a giant insect and the Samsa family are in cheerful denial over what is happening. Pete staggers off to the bedroom throwing his coat on the floor. But at least he doesn't throw a roast chicken out of the window (that's S2).


13) "We should get a dog for the office."



This is only a little scene, but Pete likes dogs so that is one thing I can put on my very short list of reasons why Pete is likeable. Pete tells Duck that he thinks he is going to bring in a dog for the office. Duck asks him what dogs he has at home and Pete explains that he doesn't have a dog at home. He just wants to get one for the office. Which nicely reveals that Pete thinks of Sterling Cooper as home, more than the appartment he shares with his wife. Pete thinks a dog would make the agency look relaxed. It's not a bad idea, but because it is Pete's idea Duck is immediately saying... "No."  


12) "I won't let you down, Don!"



Pete is such a drama queen. After Don fires him we get to see him storming into his office, yelling at his co-workers, throwing his records and then sitting down to drink, wheeze and cry. Then Cooper explains to Don and Roger that they can't fire Pete because he is their ticket into all sorts of rich social clubs. But Roger tricks Pete into believing that it was Don who saved his position, so Pete gets all melodramatic and yells out - "I won't let you down, Don!" while Roger gets embarrassed on his behalf.  


11) "The bear is not talking..."



Just for starters, I love this scene because it is the first time we see Pete in his dweebtastic 10-year-old boy pyjamas which make me laugh whenever they appear. Pete and Trudy's married life always looks like two kids playing house (please God, don't let them adopt a child). In this scene Trudy is reading one of Pete's short stories while crinkling her nose. Trudy says she finds the story strange and odd, but she loves the idea of Pete sitting at his typewriter being creative. Which perfectly defines the Pete/Trudy ship - Trudy likes the idea of Pete as a husband but the reality of who Pete is totally freaks her out. But the best part of the scene is this:

TRUDY: I just don't understand why the bear is talking.
PETE: The bear is not talking. It's what the hunter imagines the bear to be thinking. 
~ my meta on Pete's story ~
Pete wants to be the hunter but he is slipping into Bear POV because relates more to being prey.


10) "I hate my mother."



Peggy is having a nice time at Harry's baby shower until Pete strikes up a conversation with her. This is one of those precious scenes where Pete is wanting to emotionally bond with Peggy, but he's drunk and gets all weird on her. He tells her he is going on a plane for the first time since his dad died in the crash, morbidly saying it wouldn't be so bad if the same happened to him, before randomly telling Peggy that he hates his mother. In conclusion, Pete shouldn't be allowed to talk to other people...ever.

Side note; I really want to know what is up with Pete's parents. I'm buying into the popular theory that Pete himself was the product of an affair on his father's side, which would explain his mother's coldness towards him and why Pete looks nothing like his brother Bud. I also love this theory because it would mean that Pete is not really a Dykeman. I think that would be quite liberating for him.


9) "They call a girl like that a lobster..."



I have to guiltly admit that I love the little boys gang of Pete, Harry, Ken and Kinsey. They are like the 'Stand by Me' kids if they had grown up, moved to the city and turned into jerks. They are always disgustingly entertaining together. So in this scene Ken insults Peggy's weight gain with the foul but exquisitely written line "They call a girl like that a lobster. All the meat is in the tail." And Pete goes crazy and punches him in the face. There's debate over whether Pete was defending Peggy's honour or his own ego, but since he was smiling dreamily at Pegs just before Ken dissed her, I'll say the former. Or at least a bit of both.


8) "Close the door."



This is my second favourite still image of Mad Men S1 (the first being Betty shooting those damn pigeons). A janitor walks through the office in the early morning and sees the shadow puppets of Pete and Peggy screwing each others brains out on his couch. Then afterwards there is a lovely shippy scene where Pete babbles to Peggy about how he has "all these THINGs!" going on in his head, but fails to express them in a comprehensible fashion. And then this -

PETE: *whispering shyly* Sorry, I ripped your blouse.
PEGGY: *smiling sweetly* Oh, that's okay.
~ subtext ~
BOTH: We are animals in the sack, right? Go us!


7) "I don't like you like this."



The Twist sequence is one of the most nostalgic and uplifting scenes in Mad Men so of course Pete has to ruin it. Peggy is celebrating in a bar after her first bit of copy writing success. All the cool kids from Sterling Cooper are there. Someone puts The Twist on the jukebox, so Peggy boogies over to Pete (who is sulking in a corner) and asks him to dance. Pete ices Peggy's happiness with one line.

PETE: I don't like you like this.
PEGGY: *cries*
~subtext of scene~
PETE: I am now in love with you to bunny-boilerish levels where I cannot stand to see you happy with anyone who is not me.
PEGGY: But Pete...it's just a party. Can't you lighten up?
PETE: No! You promised we were loser freaks together. Now you're dancing with the cool kids. You betrayed me.
PEGGY: *cries* Why did I fall for this whack job?
ME: *feels Peggy's pain*


6) "I have good ideas."



Okay, Pete's rant in 1x4 is only about four sentences long but somehow its manages to capture the whole frustration of Pete's character. Pete protests to Don that his creative ideas are good and nobody listens to them. I've read some MM fans claiming that Pete's ideas are just rubbish, but the thing is...they're not. Pete's ideas are actually much more in tune with the future of advertising than Don's are. The writers always have him predicting the future. I've heard Pete described as a foresaken Cassandra in Mad Men verse. Then Pete says that Sterling Cooper put him in accounts because he is good with people - "Which is strange, because I'd never heard that before". The knowing bitterness of this line always cuts through me. The fact that Pete knows that people don't like him, he knows that is why his ideas are dismissed, he knows he's only there because of his family name, etc. He's such a sad figure. And just because I haven't said it yet, Vincent Kartheiser owns this role and this scene is one of the best examples of that ownage.  


5) "Mr Campbell, who cares?"



I think I love the Pete/Don relationship almost as much Pete/Peggy now. I was a Betty fan before and that made me hate Don, but being a Pete fan I have to invest in his rampant Don obsession. The scene where Pete threatens to blackmail Don and Don tells him to bring it on is just so funny and kind of touching. Because Pete really doesn't want to betray Don. He wants Don to be his best friend. He wants them to be running the company together. But Don isn't giving into Pete's desperate mancrush so they both race to Cooper's office to potentially end their careers. It's almost romantic.

PETE: Is this like in the movies, where I've got a gun and you don't think I'm going to shoot you? I will shoot you.
~ translation ~
PETE: Don, my love, if we can't live together then I swear I will kill us both.

Then Cooper awesomely tells them he doesn't care and sends them away. Awesome.


4) "Choosing sides, I guess."



Then there is this scene, a season later. This is one of the two moments in the S2 finale that made me realise Pete is my new (super lame) hero. Pete is loyal to Don. He loves Don. And Pete may be a schemer, a snitch, a snoop and a shit-stirrer but if Pete is in your corner then he is gold. I love how Don's eyes light up as he finally realises how useful Pete can be if he keeps him on side. And all the symbolism with the Cuban Missile Crisis *happy sigh* I like the idea that Pete might be sacrificing the promotion he wanted so badly two years ago. Personally I think Pete wants for Don to promote him and no-one else.


3) "Am I going to cry?"



Pete's reaction to the news that his father has died in a plane crash is such a sweet piece of tragicomedy. I love that Pete turned to Don when he didn't know what to do (mind you considering that Don's reaction to his mother dying of stomach cancer was "Good" and that Don's little brother committed suicide after he told him to get out of his life, Don might not be the best person to ask). And of course Dom tells Pete to do "what people do" because this is Mad Men where your pain and confusion must always be masked by societies expectations of you. Pete even asks "Am I going to cry?" like it is something he has to schedule.   


2) "Have you ever been hunting, Peggy?"



Classic Mad Men scene! Considering I'm a vegetarian and a feminist, it is shocking how much I relish Pete's strange fantasy about gutting a deer and then getting some mysterious cabin-woman to cook it for him. I guess I love it because it is so obviously sexual and Peggy is so turned on that she needs to eat an extra big cherry danish to surpress her own raging desires. Pete is weird and depraved and Peggy finds it hot! I love that Pete/Peggy are two little perverts. In a perfect world they would live as a fetishy S&M couple, like the characters in The Secretary.   


1) "I think you're perfect."



One of the most moving scenes I've seen on TV in a long long time. Or at least since "Resteraunts shaped like food". I challenge anyone not to feel for Pete Campbell as he declares his epic woobie love for Peggy before she kills him softly with the secret baby bombshell. Oh man, Pete is not going to take this well. He may be more crazy, tantrumy and passive-aggressive than ever in S3 (I can only hope). As long as he doesn't shoot himself because I'm not ready to lose another of my fandom beloveds (nah, they'll never kill Pete. He is too much of a glorious bastard to die). 
 

CAPS by Screencapbest and Emma-Jane.  

Comments

[lenina20.livejournal.com]

I'm going to bed because it's very late and I need to get up very early tomorrow, but I'm so marking this to get to it on Sunday. I want to read every word and comment! :D Thanks for making this! :D

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Cool! I might read the rest of your Lost answers post in the morning too. My eyes are all tired and stingy.

[elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com]

Thanks for pulling this together and reminding me of all the great Pete moments. I loved your translations to all the subtext. I think #1, #2, # 7, #16, #19 and #13 are my favourite Pete moments.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Well, I wanted to put together something creative to post to Mad Men comms. I need to make new fandom friends (even if the MM fanbase is criminally small!) I was including quotes but often Mad Men quotes don't say as much as the subtext of the scene.

Glad you enjoyed this!

[mrine.livejournal.com]

I am coming back to relish this once I have actually watched Mad Men, haha. But it looks amazing as I scroll down the page! :D

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Cool. I think you'll like Mad Men. It is definitely your sense of humour. Lots of morally-dubious characters too!

[millari.livejournal.com]

So this is the guy from Mad Men? you've been telling me that I would like? Hmm...I'll admit your picspam has somewhat intrigued me. I was particularly wowed by the description of the sex scene with him and the model. Also, the relationship between him and his secretary sounds full of passive-aggressive, dysfunctional (un)fun. (But maybe I'm just projecting Felix/Gaius on New Caprica...)

When will Season 3 air? Do I have time to catch up 2 seasons?

Too much of a glorious bastard to die? Apparently you've finally found yourself a bulletproof character, yay!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I wouldn't confidently tell anyone they will like Pete Campbell. His character is intended to drive you up the wall and make you yell at the TV but (like Gaius) he just becomes funny and endearing after a while.

The Pete/Peggy relationship is very passive aggressive and dysfunctional. It's my favourite het ship in a long time. But for slashy value there is also Pete's hero-worshippy love/hate mancrush on Don Draper. That provides a lot of fun.

I think S3 is coming in August/September so plenty of time to catch up on S1 and S2 of Mad Men. Each season is only 13 eps long, not 20 odd episodes like other shows.

Considering Pete keeps a shotgun in his office and has sounded a little suicidal at times, I sure hope he is bulletproof! He is the third most major character and the writers love him so I feel fairly secure in my Pete fandom.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

This is AWESOME! I love Pete, and your screencaps and commentary are outstanding. Thanks for posting this.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[thedreamygirl.livejournal.com]

Awesome spam! From the beginning I've never been able to define how I feel about Pete; sometimes I think he's horrible in a really slimy way, but I can't actually dislike him and I began to feel a bit more for him over the course of season 2, especially in the finale. Boy, is he messed up though. I love his crazy twisted love of Don and his and Peggy's relationship. One of my favourite Pete lines is in season one when Peggy asks him if he ever thinks about her and he says "A few times." It makes me laugh, but at the same time (for me) that bit kind of captures both their characters perfectly (at that stage anyway).
I really love all these Pete moments! Excellent commentary too :D

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

I didn't know how to feel about Pete either! Betty has been my favourite character for a long while but after the S2 finale I've totally got a soft spot for Pete and his crazy twisted ways.

One of my favourite Pete lines is in season one when Peggy asks him if he ever thinks about her and he says "A few times."

I love the way he says that too. Like it's a big selfless gesture for Pete to think of Peggy on occasion, while poor Peggy is all hung up over how Pete feels about her.

May I friend you?

[mel-darcy.livejournal.com]

fantastic. another sharing my strange love for pete.
now he just needs to be happy in the next series (and get the credit he deserves, he did save the world (exaggeration just a tad) when Don bailed in CA. )


...and then get rid of that bitchy secretary and fix roger/joan.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

I'd like to see Pete get a little love, happiness and appreciation in S3 but I fear he'll be on a downward spiral instead.

I'd like to see the back of Jane too. Not to mention Joan's horrible Doctor boyfriend.

[einaphets.livejournal.com]

I guess Pete Campbell is my substitute Gaius Baltar

THIS!! lol I was more of a Starbuck fan myself but, yeah, I love Pete because I really want to see how the little shit grows and if he ever fully redeems himself. And I totally ship Pete/Peggy. Redemption is my favorite storyline in all shows, I think.

Pete is forced to swap his rather vaginal Chip-n-Dip for a very phallic shotgun.
*snort*

Scenes between Pete and Trudy's family always remind me of Kafka's Metamorphosis - Pete is the son who is transforming into a giant insect and the Samsa family are in cheerful denial over what is happening
FTW! My gods, you're totally right.

My stomach just plummetted when Pete told Peggy "I don't like you like this." So raw.

I think I love the Pete/Don relationship almost as much Pete/Peggy now and Personally I think Pete wants for Don to promote him and no-one else.

I agree. Pete and Don are opposite sides of the same coin really. They are both utter assholes with self-destructive tendacies and completely self-absorbed. Yet everybody loves Don because he's so personable. His actions with his brother I thought were more horrible than anything anyone else has done yet he can 'pull it off'. I love their scenes together.

"I think you're perfect" One of the most moving scenes I've seen on TV in a long long time. I challenge anyone not to feel for Pete Campbell as he declares his epic woobie love for Peggy before she kills him softly with the secret baby bombshell. Oh man, Pete is not going to take this well. He may be more crazy, tantrumy and passive-aggressive than ever in S3 (I can only hope).

Agreed. I cannot WAIT to see what happens with this.

Most excellent post! I enjoyed this immensely. I love to find more Pete fans. Someone needs to make some Pete phrases icons. I hadn't noticed the "A thing like that" until you mentioned it.


ETA: Mind if I friend you?

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Sure! I friended you back. Great to hear you're a BSG fan too. Thanks for pimping my entry on your own LJ!

Yes, I really want to see some good in Pete, I want to see him grow up, though at the same time I don't want it to happen too quickly since he is sooo entertaining when he's bad.

Yay! Fellow Kafka fan. I think Mad Men in general has a tone of Kafka themes of desolation and repression.

I've also noticed that Don and Pete are often guilty of the same sins yet Don seems to get off lightly in terms of the fan reaction. I think Don can be equally petty and unreasonable in the Pete Vs Don wars too. I definitely agree that Don telling his emotionally fragile brother to get out of his life was the worst thing we have seen a main character do so far. I'd like to see Don show more regret over that. I had one theory that Pete will attempt/consider suicide in S3 (as the final scene with him holding the gun seems to foreshadow) and Don will be the one who helps him, out of regret that he didn't help Adam.

'A thing like that!' I don't know why, it just tickles me.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Your probably right about #17. I've just rewatched S1 but S2 I've only seen once so I'm only analysing based on my memories. I think your assessment is probably right. At first he looked a little freaked when he looked in the mirror, but then he smiled to himself like he had regained his alpha role.

Well, flaws on BSG are in a different league to BSG. Pete sleeps with a girl and unwittingly gets her knocked up and committed to a mental hospital. Gaius sleeps with a cylon and unwittingly helps her to kill billions of humans and destroy colonial civilisation. Gaius is certainly more of a headache!

I don't think Pete will die, he's too good a character. But they do seem to be giving him a suicidal mindset. Not just with the gun scene but with Pete telling Peggy "Who would care if I was gone?"

I love the idea of a Pete/Roger rivalry though. Roger seems to resent Pete on a whole other level to Don. I can't imagine how it will play out though - would you care to share more of your theory?

Can I friend you?

[chavyrocks.livejournal.com]

falafel! It's so fun to find fellow Baltar/Felix fans show up in Mad Men context and a Pete fan, too. We share obsessions, I guess you'd say.

I love your spam. Lots of great caps, too.

That scene between Pete & Peggy at the end of S2 is maybe the best scene ever shot for tv. (Although I do love "buildings shaped like food" as well.) I hope Peggy is really over him. So many people seem to think she's not, but that was a pretty definitive brush off, I'm thinking.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Yay! Fellow Baltar/Gaeta and also Pete fan. I'm not alone!

Frak! You've reminded me that I forgot to give credits for the caps. *rushes to fix* Thanks for that.

I think that Peggy has stopped thinking of Pete romantically but I still see Peggy as a caring soul. She and Pete do have a bond and I think if Pete starts falling apart over this, she would be concerned as a friend. So no romance but the lost baby is going to haunt them both.

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

AWESOME. SAUCE.

And \0/ to finding another Pete fan. He is so hard to love, but Kartheiser sells the HELL out of this character, every time he is on screen. And he sneaks in there, like a little weasel. THEN YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE WOOBIE.

Uh.

Yeah, anyway; nice to meet you. *G*

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Hehe! Pete does sneak into your affections like a little heartworm. After the S2 finale it's impossible not to go soft on him.

Nice to meet you too. Can I friend you?

[abusing-sarcasm.livejournal.com]

This was SO MUCH FUN to read! I loved your commentary! The "rather vaginal Chip-n-Dip" slayed me! :D I found myself nodding along with all your insights. Great job! :D

*hugs*

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! Glad you liked it.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Chip-n-Dips for all!

[ashmh.livejournal.com]

I think that Pete is becoming my second favorite character on the show, following Betty. In some ways, he can be a horrible person. Why do I emphasize with him so much? It has to be Vincent's performance.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Betty was my favourite until the S2 finale. I love both characters. They areb quite similiar in terms of their childlike qualities and often immature ways of dealing with problems.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, keep using out-of-datey phases...

[aldo-77.livejournal.com]

Pete-candy! Finally. it´s been forever! Great post. I have my mind occupied right now, but I give a better comment about this as soon as the troubles goes away.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

So pleased to have brightened up your day. Enjoy!

[isummonyou.livejournal.com]

I love Mad Men. I LOVE Mad Men. I can't believe I haven't watched it at ALL since the second season ended, but this is taking me right back.
You did a great job with this. Pete is far and away my favorite character on the show and has been since day one. I feel like he's been walking the line between sympathetic and abhorrent more perfectly than anyone else (a real, real honor on a show like Mad Men).

[isummonyou.livejournal.com]

I would've added the chicken scene, though, haha and that other key season 2 moment:

[lenina20.livejournal.com]

I'm here! :D:D:D:D

Then I realised what was really happening in the scene. That Pete is trying to recreate his first time with Peggy and then the girl's mother is in the next room and the TV is turned up with a program about jet planes like the one his father died in. So all Pete's family baggage is in the sex scene too.

Guh. How fucking awesome is MM, really? I'm going to rewatch this show now, I'm telling you. Reading this has made me remember everything I had forgotten. Like that scene with the model, for instance. So original and unexpected. And how he talks. And how he wants to be liked and can't help being despicable.

remember finding Pete/Peggy's initial hook up forced the first time I saw it. On reflection I'm glad they established this ship in the pilot episode with the one-night-stand.

I remember watching that scene and thinking, what? What did i miss? Do these two know each other or something? But guh - in hindsight it says SO MUCH about both of them! And it's hot - that kind of love???at first sight. That he chose her. And that she let him. Guh. Guh. Hearts this ship a lot!

I love Pete's final moment in S1 as he stumbles home drunk after losing out on a promotion to Peggy.

Honestly, can this ship get any better? No - it can't.

Pete is such a drama queen.

LOL. He is! He's also a traitorous bastard, which makes me like S2 finale a lot more. I felt like he was FINALLY picking his loyalties and yet it felt quite ridiculous and pointless for a heroic act. I wrote about this after the finale. That's what makes him so complex and tragic at the same time. Awesome!

The pyjamas! The story! The petty jealously against Ken! Love him.

They are always disgustingly entertaining together. So in this scene Ken insults Peggy's weight gain with the foul but exquisitely written line "They call a girl like that a lobster. All the meat is in the tail." And Pete goes crazy and punches him in the face.

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I really need to rewatch S1 tomorrow! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D I love that line. I love that I Ken, the nicer one, the one who says it. These guys are so disgusting you can't help but fall in love with them. Because they have their moments.

BOTH: We are animals in the sack, right? Go us!

This ship is extremely original. You have to give them that.

Pete ices Peggy's happiness with one line.

No, really. The more I read this. The more I like them. My God. How perfect are they?

Number 4 is what I was talking about before. Exactly. That scene was so... Wonderful. And then followed by the confession. My GOD!

I love that Pete/Peggy are two little perverts. In a perfect world they would live as a fetishy S&M couple, like the characters in The Secretary.

:D:D:D:D:D::D:D:D:D:D I think you like that fantasy because these characters are so perfectly written that they are beyond good and evil. I mean - you read them from an extra-moral point of view. You understand their complexity, their intricate humanity, and they are so round and original and surprising that there is no room for judgment because judgment would simplify them completely.

No he won't die! He won't! What a scene god!

This is so wonderful I'm meming it. Thanks so much for sharing this! ♥

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Yay! Welcome back. Great to hear from you.

And it's hot - that kind of love???at first sight. That he chose her. And that she let him. Guh.

I really love Peggy's characterisation through the first episode. How (at first) we think she is meek and innocent. We think she hits on Don only because of peer pressure, "I hope you don't think I'm the kind of girl", etc. Then a drunken Pete comes stumbling to her door and Peggy just takes him for her bed. I like that Peggy was the sober one, taking advantage. Pete was just sad in that scene. I think he chose Peggy mostly because he was upset about Don, his hero, not coming to his bacholor party so sleeping with his new secretary was a twisted form of revenge. But there is the instant chemistry too. It IS like love at first sight, even though they had been bitching about each other in the office earlier in the day - they still noticed each other.

He's also a traitorous bastard, which makes me like S2 finale a lot more.

Pete still can't be trusted. In S1 he was going to betray Don to prove his loyalty to Cooper. In S2 Pete proved his loyalty to Don by betraying Duck. But I think it's interesting that Pete seems to care about impressing Don more than his own career, maybe because his father issues. I do think Pete sincerely loves Don and Peggy, but it doesn't mean he won't stick knives in them if he feels like it. He's such a drama queen.

Ken, the nicer one, the one who says it. These guys are so disgusting you can't help but fall in love with them.

Yeah, I find Ken, Harry and Paul can all be nice guys when we see them seperately. Ken says the nastiest things about Peggy's weight, but then he is also the most supportive of Peggy's copy writing. I'd actually love Ken/Peggy to hook up in S3 so we can see Pete implode over it. Sal would be crushed too. I'd love to see that!

there is no room for judgment because judgment would simplify them completely.

This is such a brilliant comment. Not only is it true of Pete/Peggy, it's true of all Mad Men characters. I wasted a lot of time judging Don for his affairs and his treatment of his brother. I'm only now appreciating how interesting he is. Pete too. Pete is actually less nasty than I thought first time round. Yes, Pete is mean to people but there are just as many people who are mean to Pete.

Thanks for meming! I've decided I'm going to make one for favourite Betty scenes once I've finished rewatching S2. You really should rewatch.

[oregonblondie.livejournal.com]

YAY SOMEONE ELSE LOVES PETE AS MUCH AS AND FOR THE SAME REASONS AS ME!! <3

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! Glad you liked it.

[madame-bunny31.livejournal.com]

It is always fantastic to see some good old-fashioned Pete-lovin'. I can't believe how well the writers have blended all the bad qualities of the jock and the nerd in one depraved little man. It's wonderful.

Also, what episode is the one where Pete has ex with the model?

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Hehe! Thanks. Pete is wonderfully depraved. I can't wait for S3 to start!!

It was in Maidenform that Pete had sex with a Marilyn model.

[embossedsilver.livejournal.com]

This is an awesome post. I just got into Mad Men and I love Pete. Yay!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it!

[bringonbluesky.livejournal.com]

This is such a good picspam.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

This rocks so hard on so many levels.

Having been a Pete fan since early in the series, it's FANTASTIC to find a post enumerating his adorkable qualities. In the beginning, I'd rave about Mad Men with fans who would dismiss Pete as a git, and I'd go, "But no! How can you say that? Being a git is the least interesting aspect of his character." They didn't get it. But I have noticed a slight upsurge in the number of Pete supporters this season. But that's enough of my rambling.

Since finding this post, I've read it at least 3 times. Thank you for satisfying in some small measure my Pete-hunger!

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! I did this spam months ago and I'm finding that I accidently missed a lot of my favourite Pete moments (Pete & the fertility doctor, throwing the chicken, etc). I was a Pete fan early on too, but it wasn't till the S2 finale that he became my favourite. I would definitely agree that "being a git" is the least interesting aspect of Pete. He is a alarmingly unique character creation that is hard to sum up in mere words.

BTW most of my posts are F-locked. If you want to read more Pete/Mad Men posts you'll need to friend me. I'll friend you back if you like.

[falsebeginnings.livejournal.com]

This is such a late comment but can I just say how lovely this picspam? This emphasized pretty much everything I love Pete. I just started watching Mad Men a few days ago and am now on Season 2 (you have no idea how much I want to see the finale especially after hearing so much about that Pete/Peggy scene) and Pete is easily my favourite character, I mean I love them all but the layers that the character has is amazing. He easily could have been one-dimensional but he isn't.

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Always great to find fellow Pete fans. I hope I haven't spoiled you too much for certain S2 scenes.

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

Um, so this is a rather late comment too, but I'm quite an avid follower of Mad Men (your vids are pretty awesome btw), and Pete is by far the character I'm most fascinated by. I'm rather interested in discussing the show with fellow 'fans' (or whichever term would be appropriate), of the character. Would you mind if I friended you?

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

Sure. I friended you back. Most of my posts are f-locked including my episode discussions. Fellow Pete fans definitely welcome!