IMHO: "Mad Men" (301): "Out of Town"

Last night AMC's critically acclaimed Mad Men returned and along with it Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) in a very intriguing storyline. Read on to find out why it rates an up arrow.

*** SPOILER WARNING***

Like much of Mad Men, "Out of Town" is subtle and requires that you pay attention as the writers aren't going to spell every single thing out for you. 

The episode opens in a flashback that shows a great deal of Don Draper's mysterious past before jumping back to the present where office politics plays out in not particularly pleasing ways for Pete Campbell. 

But for our purposes, things really kick into gear when we see Don and Sal flying on a plane to Baltimore. Thanks to a case of mistaken identity, the two men pretend to be two accountants and end up at dinner with the crew from their flight. 

After dinner, Don heads back to his room with a female flight attendant, while a slightly drunk Sal heads back to his room alone. He doesn't stay that way very long though as a malfunctioning air conditioner sends a very hot — and horny — bellhop to Sal's room. 

 

A lot of shows might have handled this scenario in a salacious way, but paired opposite Don's seduction scene with the flight attendant, I found Sal's scene touching and heartbreaking. Rarely has television shown a closeted man coming face to face with his true sexuality in such fashion. Where Don is a player — at one point he tells the stewardess not to worry that marriage will limit her options — Sal is a naif. Sex actually has to come to him and even then he's the innocent, almost a passive observer to his own situation. I appreciate the show's portraying how trapped he is by his desires.  

Even though Sal didn't consummate the act, the show really didn't shy away from what was going on. Along with a number of passionate kisses, at one point we see the bellhop slip his hand inside Sal's boxers. I doubt we'll see that on network television anytime soon. 

And kudos to Batt for such a powerful performance. He truly nailed the reaction of a gay man unexpectedly being confronted with his real nature. 

But I thought the episode truly excelled with what came next. After a fire alarm goes off in the hotel, Don happens to spot Sal and the bellhop getting dressed. But when he and Sal are flying back to New York the next day, Don makes no mention of what he witnessed. At least no direct mention. 

At one point, however, he asks Sal if he'll be completely honest with him, but to Sal's surprise, instead of asking about what he saw, he asks Sal his opinion of a new ad for London Fog with the tagline "Limit your exposure."

But is Don just talking about the ad or is he warning Sal to be careful? That's the beauty of Mad Men because you can't be sure. 

So what might be next for Sal? I had the chance to ask Mad Men creator Matt Weiner about that and the notoriously secretive writer would say only, "I think people should know that everything that happens on Mad Men has consequences, just like real life. Even in getting away with it, that's a consequence sometimes."