The Televangelist: ‘Mad Men’ Season 5, Ep 3

• AMC.com
• “A penis? I’ll work on that”

I won’t pretend that anybody wants to talk about anything right now other than Fat Betty. And fat suit / body double aside, it was actually a pretty complex issue. Betty is a polarizing character, and defenders of her often point to show creator Matthew Weiner and his writing staff having a field day in hating her. Betty has always been characterized as an Ice Queen, a terrible mother, and a bored housewife whose value has always been tied to her beauty. It’s hard for most viewers to find much sympathy in her - after all, she’s been married now to two handsome, successful men, lives in luxury and bears a striking resemblance to Grace Kelly. Why should we feel sorry for this woman?

Was Fat Betty then a way to further make fun of and point a laughing finger at an unlikable character, or was it a way to get us to feel something for her? Suddenly last night, Betty’s struggles from earlier seasons came directly into focus. She’s lonely and depressed, emotionally scared from her cold parents and even some of Don’s emotional abuses, and when the tea leaf reader said she was beloved and a rock, Betty burst into tears knowing nothing could be farther from the truth. Later, her reaction to the doctor’s news was vague and open to two interpretations. On the one hand, it’s possible that the doctor called to say that the tumor was cancerous, and Betty told Henry otherwise for a myriad of reasons relating to her dream (a totally unnecessary, far too on-the-nose and overwrought scene), and didn’t bother telling Don. On the other hand, it’s entirely plausible that Betty would just be that depressed she was fat of her own Buggle-and-ice-cream-sundae-eating accord, and wouldn’t bother updating Don on the results because she was no longer in real peril and needed his help. She just wanted to freeze him out again to be left alone to eat her feelings.

Of course, that’s not to suggest that the writers weren’t also having some fun making Betty fat. The scene where Betty struggled to zip her dress juxtaposed with one where Megan slips waifishly into hers seems particularly unfortunate for her. It seems hard to imagine Betty, who even when pregnant looked like “Grace Kelly swallowed a basketball,” would let herself go to such a degree, don’t forget that Betty’s father Gene once mentioned that she was fat as a little girl. She’s always been concerned with weight - barely eating, making sure Sally wasn’t fat - so it could very well be that she has simply regressed and, honestly, “given up.” Regardless, there are several positive ways her character could be developed from here on out, the most satisfying being Betty, fat or slim, finding some warmth and some worth outside of her appearance. But knowing how easy it has been for the writers to demonize Betty, let’s not hold our breath.