Betty Draper vs. the Pigeons

[@dasman01]

i think this was the scene that definitely convinced me that i wasn't just watching another show, but watching a piece of art

[@Casanova102986]

why? it was just her shooting at and missing a bunch of pigeons.

[@altafkalam2716]

@@Casanova102986 Yeah either you're trolling or have no clue whatsoever. If it's the latter, I suggest you stop watching the show right now and watch something to your taste and understanding. The show isn't for you.

[@Casanova102986]

@@altafkalam2716 come make me tough guy

[@julesjordenshier]

same

[@Joost-qo9im]

Lmao, people overrate this show so much. It's a good show, but people act like it's the second coming of christ

[@Moonlight-mz7mu]

I literally fell in love with her in this scene. She is so beautiful literally a doll. She lets everything out and goes completely mad. It’s like everything she held inside for so long released in her attempt to protect her children. Such a mesmerizing scene.

[@m.h.1593]

Such a classic episode. When she shoots the bird, probably the most memorable scene/shot of the series.

[@gailwebb9619]

I loved her during the entire series but here she really shines! Nightgown, cigarette hanging from her mouth, bee bee gun in hand shooting pigeons....all the while You Are My Special Angel playing in the background!

[@carolineorchange21]

The moment I fell unashamedly in love with this show.

[@julieerin115]

One of my favorite scenes in the series is this clip where Betty has gone mad and frustrated. So real especially for a 50s/60s housewife.

[@ftmrebel7500]

No she didn't, the neighbor was rude to the kids, so she shot his pigeons lol

[@tpp5151]

Were you a housewife in the 60s?

[@pbcat16]

@@tpp5151 That's not the point of her comment, she's trying to get the point of how hard life was for women back in those days, housewife or not, across

[@tpp5151]

@@pbcat16 How was life hard?

[@daviswendye]

Ironically, I wouldn't object to being a 1960s beautiful young kept woman married to a very attractive successful man in Fall 2020. Life.........

[@dreamcatcher75418]

Don never tells Betty the truth, the reason she didn't get the job. He's happy that she failed. He's jealious and possessive. He thinks she'll cheat - because he does when he works (flys free). At the end Betty does not shoot AT the birds but shoots up to scare away the birds. The neighbour lets them free... then calls them back. Don lets Betty walk around... but ultimately calls her back. Season two is all about Betty trying to leave Don and be free.

[@brianwilson1074]

Well, she was never free because the first thing she did after divorcing Don was getting married again.

[@carmenw4326]

Lucivs Laplacius so they killed her character. She is birdie

[@rachnakapoor2685]

Great analysis

[@thingthang2904]

Spoilers for the final season. I always thought she was envious of the birds for being free but your interpretation makes a ton of sense. Betty's life is so empty as evidenced by this scene. Her kids bring her joy and fulfilment but that's not enough. She's in her 20s and the biggest thing she gets to do today is watch a pool being filled. All the other characters go through ups and downs but they are at least going through obstacles trying to live their lives. Betty doesn't get to do that. She's not living her life at all (and the montage at the end of the final episode takes that literally. Everyone is in a new chapter of their lives except Betty) Being a woman in the 60s is a huge factor here. Joan knows how to work with the system. Peggy knows how to work in spite of the system. Betty doesn't know what to do with the system. She's stuck in limbo. She's frustrating to watch because she's frustrated.

[@mirinawinterton5302]

I loved Betty from start to finish. I didn’t always like her…but I always loved her.

[@OldHollywood93]

This scene should show you why she has changed. She loved her life with her children and her loving husband. It was basically perfect. But she found out Don cheated on her. I don't see why it's so hard for people to understand why she's changed. Infidelity is quite serious and of course it changed her, she loved and trusted him and raised his children, while he screwed other women behind her back. That would send any woman reeling.

[@harrysmith747]

Yes! But she became insufferable as the show went on. Even her second husband couldn't make her happy and he had more than Don!

[@honeypuffs5677]

You dont take it out on your daughter. No excuse for how she treated Sally or even Bobby.

[@ardenaudreyarji]

Betty was the only character who didn't change actually. Old fashioned from beginning to end.

[@Ratchet2431]

But she didn't changed.

[@goku8621]

Don probably cheated with half the women in manhattan when he was with betty

[@kendrahaden8795]

I love how the same song is playing even though it's been a few hours since ahe had it playing at breakfast. Which means the song was stuck in her head all morning. Great music supervision work!!

[@eizhowa]

I don't even care what this scene symbolizes. It is just pure badass awesomeness.

[@madlove1581]

so right ~

[@veejonesify]

This is the iconic Mad Men scene to me.

[@ftmrebel7500]

Betty's like "don't mess with my kids." One protective mama

[@llovely7443]

This show must give people who grew up in the 60s so much nostalgia!!

[@urbaanidze]

The writing in this show is genius

[@bhaiyu1499]

One of the best written and directed series in English language.

[@bhaiyu1499]

Amen brother

[@Pww642]

Season 1 was a masterpiece. The rest of Mad Men was terrific, but there was something so magical and unparalleled about the atmosphere and mood of Season One.

[@bdd549]

I thought this whole scene was about her getting back at the neighbor for threatening her dog and kids, which i thought was brilliant. The birds are over her property so she has the right to shoot them just like the neighbor threatening to shoot her dog. Not have some secret message but it makes sense either way.

[@sagrophobia]

Nah it symbolises a person who’s feeling lost take control of her life

[@sophiarodriguez3706]

Betty was so composed yet gangster here!

[@andrewrichard9017]

This was the moment that hooked me on this show and I've been a huge HUGE fan of Betty ever since

[@flpchrn]

What is art? This is art.

[@cerealkellah3947]

First time watching this scene, betty's doomed fate still unbeknownst to me, it almost felt bittersweet: betty letting go of an unfulfilled dream to find satisfaction in the simple, noble life of a housewife. But at my second watch, I realize that Don managed to fool bot only Betty, but also me when I was watching this episode for the first time. Betty "Birdie" Draper is essentially shooting down her dreams while smoking away her own life. Worst thing is, she doesn't even know it. She thought the life of a housewife was for her (due to her hyper-conservative upbringing, mainly her mother), when it really wasn't. She endured, coped, trying to convince herself that she is indeed happy, that the root of her unhappiness is solely because of Don, that her frustration will all go away once she marries Francis, the perfect, loyal, and caring traditional husband. But it didn't. When she realized what she truly needed, her very own life, it's too late. Years of unsatisfaction and frustration have manifested themselves into the fatal force that finally killed her. In a way, Betty's fate is doomed from the moment her mother died. That is the moment Betty truly took her message to heart, convincing herself of something that isn't what she wanted.

[@marnesen1351]

LOVE this clip! LOVE this song. Lucky none of MY neighbors had birds when I was a housewife in the early 1960s!!!!1

[@homeric85]

I love that look of wonderment and innocence in Betty's face before the gun comes out. She needs to find something to let out her frustrations. Love the nonchalant and casual way she smokes and shoots.

[@somethingswicked]

My heart breaks for Betty Draper.

[@Diamond_tip]

Fr I was so relieved when she finally left Don

[@yankeeangel26]

I've thought a lot about this scene, and I don't think Betty is trying to free the birds because she's trapped and doesn't want them to be. I think she feels as if she's lost control of most of her life, but she can take control of the situation with the neighbor who threatened the kids' dog, so she does. It's really one of the few times you see Betty doing right by her kids.

[@nwmkaleb]

HAHAHAHA. this was amazing. she was shooting in her nightgown with a cigarette in her mouth! gotta love it.

[@videoman4040]

This is where I got hooked on this show, I really don’t get how to explain this show, there’s no action, no guns or anything really that violent and yet it’s just perfect, maybe it’s the way it captures human emotion and character development, I don’t know but this show is just phenomenal

[@temporaryhandle802]

This is probably my new favorite show.

[@KirstenNoe]

are you all caught up? the final season #7 comes back in April. :)

[@temporaryhandle802]

Kirsten Noe Yeah. I'm pretty excited.

[@miaowang4981]

This scene shows how desperate she is, perfect portrait!

[@David-xc4we]

In most cases, Betty is a really good mother!

[@brian777999]

It has been fascinating watching her character develop as the show goes on. She is just so beautiful....I love looking at her.

[@somethingswicked]

This is my favorite Mad Men scene EVER. January Jones is one badass motherfucker.

[@chriso6278]

So this scene is what made us binge-watch Mad Men. At first we thought, meh, it’s just a gimmick show with 60s stereotypes. Then she started blastin’ pigeons.

[@Vla.d.mir.]

The timing is just impeccable. It goes "You are my special angel" just as she reloads the rifle and shoots again with that cigarette between her teeth. Betty really is a special angel. Flawless television show. Thank you for all the entertainment.

[@dadunham]

Betty Draper is a TRIP!! I hope January Jones has as much fun playing her as I do watching her.

[@nicolecreature]

This is totally one of my favourite parts of the whole series.

[@Victrola66]

Why doesn't the show have more scenes with Betty being a good mom to her kids...I mean this episode she was comforting and really concerned about her kids....as for shooting the pigeons part I think in a way that was her showing that you bring unhappiness to my family, I will not allow that. Its just sad that Betty does not have that many good moments anymore and I don't think that she is a bad mother, I think she is not a perfect one..but given the time period, I think there were a lot like her

[@billt5410]

I pause this scene when I first saw it. Beautiful.

[@madlove1581]

This entire episode is owned by JJ, ~ and this remarkable end scene is one of the most spectacular surprises I've ever witnessed on film.................

[@TheTTBT]

Bye bye birdy. It tells of her future death from smoking. Betty. Birdy.

[@bollywoodahoy]

this is my absolute fav betty moment. Another fav is from season 3 when she's in the hospital about to give birth and is hallucinating. I love the haunting music in the background, makes me feel so sad for her, just 28, lost both parents, stuck in a broken marriage, in love with someone else, three kids!!

[@circling-girl]

I remember my jaw absolutely dropping when that gun came up in the shot. I adore the way she gets the cigarette between her teeth at the very end. Very badass, very heartbreaking.

[@timheidel5849]

Oh, to be a housewife in the 1960s...going outside in the middle of the day...wearing your pajamas...smoking yet another cigarette...and blasting away at your neighbor's pet pigeons with a BB gun...

[@forktie]

Ditto. I can't even describe how I feel about the scene. The timing and the context it was during, it was very moving.

[@Eestlaneonvisa]

Imagine if she was neighbours with tony soprano and she was shooting at his ducks.

[@Misfit_Minded]

underrated comment. lol. Especially cuz matthew weiner worked on the sopranos and made mad men.

[@iamshadowbanned699]

Tony would've found a way to sleep with a beauty like Betty instead.

[@carloscabrera08]

Why can't Betty ever be this cool again?

[@skatefan9495]

One of the best scenes in this great show.

[@birch5757]

Pidgeons flying over my house every day would probably make me angry too.

[@julieerin115]

Yeah, her neighbor was a weirdo for having pigeons as pets.

[@rogerdias471]

The blue eyes, the blonde hair, the gun, the cigarret and even the nightdress, evrything makes her so perferct

[@luisinacasirola]

This is how people actually heal

[@theeab1993]

This scene kind of reminded me of the Sopranos with Tony going outside in his robe and shorts to admire the ducks. Only Betty's shooting the birds instead lol

[@mariaflores-jo2hz]

thank for posting i love this scene

[@leighness1988]

Beyond iconic.

[@cinerama62]

I would have loved it if Betty would have said," kids, go get mommy the Gun"

[@gihandesilva9095]

cinerama62 lovd

[@SS421982]

Bets...she's bonkers. Who isn't on this show? It's why I love it so.

[@Karma313th]

@Dresden0rgasm "My Special Angel" written by Jimmy Duncan. A little hard to be sure because of the "radio" distortion added, but I'm almost certain they're using the original 1957 recording by Bobby Helms.

[@lbrobertson88]

Song is "My Special Angel" by Bobby Helms, btw...

[@lesucree7223]

I liked Betty here because is one of the few scenes in which she shows some aplomb.

[@seamusinboston]

I like to picture my Grandmother like this in her day.

[@247mhm]

She is not happy at the end of this episode! What are you talking about! she feels like a child, & useless, empty. Betty IS the woman of the house but that means nothing when DON is the man of the house! Her chance to revitalize her modeling career reversed on her and made her feel humiliated inside. This scene is so powerful as we watch her accept this perverse 1950s falsehood of womanhood and motherhood. She is like the birds - she can fly...but shell never be free. Thats what shes shooting

[@Moonlight-mz7mu]

God this is a great analysis!

[@mauricioavanzi3402]

The best example of why we love Betty Draper.

[@stev6963]

I loved Betty in the earlier seasons. I'm really bummed the writers chose to take her character into such a downward and irredeemable direction.

[@erkanen]

Best scene, so glad someone posted this.

[@Franjew]

LEGENDARY! Been added to my favourites. Betty rocks

[@mnrmg]

perfect...I love the song over the credits.

[@swatus]

She didn't shoot at the bird, but scaring them away..

[@asafindy]

@yagazoozee I agree about the depression. The theme of the show, or one of them, was stated in S4: "it's all about what you want versus what's expected of you." What's expected of her won the battle. Sad.

[@FuriousOlm]

Bobby Helms - My Special Angel

[@eventidespirit]

Probably Betty's best moment in the series

[@michelletran2637]

this scene makes me smile

[@SaltyDoughnut]

"Be careful, don't jump off the bed!"

[@dudeitsgnarly]

Me too. I'm hoping at least season 6 will show more of Betty.

[@RichardBuitenhuis]

really like it that she looks before the birds fly off..and not the other way around..

[@Clodiusjulii]

Loved this scene.

[@schnellschnell]

this is one of my fav scenes for the entire series so far...it's so sad, she's so trapped and dissatisfied

[@natanss]

super cool..can't get enough of it..

[@joelinton_fan]

Legendary scene

[@KastaliEn]

one of my fave scenes

[@apleseed91]

the community center to watch them fill the pool....wow, quite the event.

[@iwishiwasthemoon87]

Bye bye birdie...

[@Sila927]

@asafindy Thank you for posting this. It's exactly how I see it.

[@btrixlestrange]

pure badassery

[@dadunham]

Because in almost every case, it takes years and years and years for smoking to cause critical damage. People who advocate not smoking (and I'm one) don't really like that inconvenient fact, but there it is.

[@CherryIce1114]

This is one of my fav scenes

[@Meltorange]

It seemed more like relief than happiness. I agree with both interpretations of the scene though.

[@TheTTBT]

"You are my special angel". Hint hint. Matt Weiner is a Mad Man.

[@klarebear7211]

sally is so tiny and cute here!! kiernan shipka was so good in last night;s episode

[@infrantasi]

Love your prose, mista.

[@stefisolari117]

I love betty

[@FuriousOlm]

@monateddy1993 "My Special Angel", written by Jimmy Duncan. My Google (and KZbin) Fu says it's the original performance by Bobby Helms in 1957.

[@cwhoff290]

"You are my special angel!'

[@Martel4]

Either way there were a lot of suppressed emotions being let out in her actions. In this case the scene represents more than one thing.

[@asafindy]

@Sila927 Thanks. Be warned though: I often interpret scenes in Mad Men differently than the creators intended. But for me that's part of what makes the show so interesting and great.

[@pkkthetiger]

six seasons and atleast 5 years iv'e seen her smoke in nearly every scene.so much so that i laugh when i see her with a cigarette in new episodes because its become so predictable.

[@francescodeluca2846]

Straight outta Pulp Fiction

[@jakestupica3713]

They’ll never make me hate u betty

[@dapr98]

that whole scene in the hospital is inspired in a spanish film called Sex and Lucia.....it`s even the same song.

[@Pureimagination200]

Such a badass

[@kylenewk243]

talk about #wcw