Mad Men Codexery

The Gypsy and the Hobo

Season 3, episode 11: Betty confronts Don about who he really is.

"The Gypsy and the Hobo" is the eleventh episode of the third season of Mad Men and the 37th episode overall. Jennifer Getzinger directed it from a script by Marti Noxon, Cathryn Humphris and Matthew Weiner.

Quick Facts

Season
3
Episode
11
Overall episode
37
Directed by
Jennifer Getzinger
Written by
Marti Noxon, Cathryn Humphris and Matthew Weiner

Lore & Background

Getzinger was nominated for the Directors Guild of America award for her work on the episode.

Reader's Guide

Betty asks her family attorney for advice about Don's secret past, and he tells her to save her marriage because of what a divorce would cost her. Roger meets Annabelle, a former client and lover who wants to rekindle their affair, but sends her away and tells her he is happy with Jane. Joan learns that Greg, after failing to switch to psychiatry, has joined the Army to make sure he becomes a surgeon; she acts pleased but seems uneasy.

Don plans a trip with Suzanne, but Betty confronts him about his stolen identity first. Don has to tell her everything: his childhood, his prostitute mother and his stepparents, and how he took the real Don Draper's identity during the Korean War. He tells her about his brother Adam's suicide and admits he turned Adam away to protect his own reputation. When he has finished, Don says he is surprised Betty ever loved him.

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