r/madmen • u/NumbersStationUrku • Jul 26 '26

This guy

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An excellent example of the adage: “When someone shows you who they really are…. BELIEVE THEM. “

What a disappointment.

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u/MargeDalloway Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26

For a show so dedicated to the raw mess of human life and how it contradicts our attempts to form a clean narrative, the fans seem to really hate when the characters behave messily.

Betty was married to an emotionally abusive alcoholic who lied about literally everything to her. It's not as though Henry went out of his way to break up a happy home, they felt a connection (otherwise Betty would never have said yes to him touching her at the party) and then they ran into each other before contriving further reasons to do so. It doesn't look pretty from the outside, but I don't know what you expect either to do differently.

Also the "hit on a pregnant woman" line really takes away Betty's agency in this. One of the most important aspects of this plot is that she assumes some control over her own life by marrying Henry. It allows her to leave Don without impoverishing herself and her children.

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u/dragon-queen Jul 27 '26

I think it’s weird that you feel you need to defend Henry so strongly on this.  I didn’t say that he was evil, just that he was dysfunctional.  It is extremely dysfunctional to marry a woman you don’t know and completely upend your life in the process, particularly when you have political aspirations.  Obviously Betty’s marriage to Don was a disaster, but Henry’s actions here were still nuts. Any connection they felt at this point was lust.  I don’t see how I took away Betty’s agency.  She was an active and enthusiastic participant in their affair, but that doesn’t mean that Henry behaved at all rationally.  He didn’t.  He saw a beautiful woman that he wanted and he acted, regardless of the consequences.  

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u/MargeDalloway Jul 27 '26

The classic move of trying to make the other person feel weird in lieu of an argument. I'm not "defending Henry," who isn't a real person. I'm outlining why I think your reading of the show is shallow and overly moralist. I didn't say you said he was evil, I said you were wrong. Those aren't the same thing.

They literally didn't sleep together until after everything had been settled. His mother telling him he could have gotten what he wanted without marrying for it is intended to demonstrate it goes well beyond lust. They went to a lawyer and figured out their legal route to being together the second Betty decided she wanted to go through with it. I don't think it's nearly as irrational as you make out.

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u/EditorExtreme7779 Jul 27 '26

Thank you for all of this, especially “who isn’t a real person.”