Saturday, June 01, 2013

Who is Bob Benson?



Warning: Mad Men spoilers ahead.

It’s not really a mystery to me who the new mystery man is on Mad Men. You’ve been overthinking it. And by "you," I mean you if you're reading this and you have also been posting your Bob Benson theories at other forums on the internet.

He’s not an FBI informant sent to incidentally uncover Don Draper’s biggest secret, nor is he an informant or investigator for a rival ad agency or for a newspaper. The overly-polite new employee of the now-unnamed ad firm is not a serial killer. He is also not Don’s son, the product of his virginity-losing tryst with a prostitute during the Depression—although I do enjoy the symbolism theories regarding Don’s son Bobby (his second of three children with Betty) and the "Bobbies 2 through 5" reference from last week's episode. (As one online commenter theorized—he might even be Bobby from the future: Bob=Bobby, "Ben" is the Hebrew word for "son," "son" is "son.")

No, I contend that Benson’s presence in Matthew Weiner's fictional universe is designed merely to underline the growing generational contrast between Don and his co-workers. We will soon find out, I believe, that Bob Benson, Wharton grad, accounts man, and holder of an extra cup of coffee in his hands at all times, is generally harmless—unless you consider the metaphorical embodiment of the coming Reagan Revolution to be most harmful. And.. you should. It's almost too obvious that Benson will be the head of the agency by about this time next year.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home