Sally Draper books are always interesting.
Sally is always interesting.
Sally, more than perhaps any (Peggy, Peter aside perhaps) is forced to navigate the era, adapt and grow. She does this by constantly listening, watching and learning. Her outbursts drive her mother crazy because she hits on exactly what is going on and Betty fuggin’ hates this.
It is always awkward to have a child see truth and comment on it.
Her books as well are a journey. As she advances, grows and becomes more and more wise, so do the books she’s reading.
The first Sally book was Nursery Friends From France, read by her mom when she was little and a princess who felt her father hung the moon.
Now, she’s reading Nancy Drew: The Clue of the Black Keys, Carolyn Keene.
Here’s the synopsis of the 28th book in the Nancy Drew series:
Terry Scott, a young archaeology professor, seeks Nancy’s help in unearthing a secret of antiquity which can only be unlocked by three black keys. While on an archaeological expedition in Mexico, Terry and Dr. Joshua Pitt came across a clue to buried treasure. The clue was a cipher carved on a stone tablet. Before the professor had time to translate the cipher, the tablet disappeared – along with Dr. Pitt! Terry tells Nancy of his suspicions of the Tinos, a Mexican couple posing as scientists who vanished the same night as Dr. Pitt. Nancy and her friends follow a tangled trail of clues that lead to the Florida Keys and finally to Mexico in this suspense-filled story that will thrill readers.
I had not read a Nancy Drew book before this one. They’re very fun. Like Anne of Green Gables, which I finally read as an adult, I get why they are popular and you girls get obsessed with them. I have a niece I intend to read these to when she old enough not to rip the pages and, you know, get it.
Back to Sally.
She sneaks onto a train in S4E09 (The Beautiful Girls) and is found by a lady avoiding the conductor.
“I didn’t have enough money,” said Sally to her incensed father.
“Men never know what’s going on,” the lady says to Don.
Sally wants to see her dad and doesn’t want to wait. Don freaks, makes her stay in the office then Faye Miller takes her to his place as his secretary – Miss Blankenship – dies. Dang! Some people just have a day, right?
Sally then starts investigating. Who is Faye? Why does she have her dad’s keys?
“Why did she know you have peanut butter Dad?”
Sally Draper
At first, things are charming, but as the mystery of her absent father is discovered, things change for Sally. Things will continue to change for Sally.
What’s charming turns real, and this is the first time she really feels it. No, she can’t stay with her dad. No, her dad is not the gallant knight she believed. Yes, he will let her down. He will always let her down.
The title of the episode plays into Sally’s choice of book: the detective novel. Sally is not the only one doing detective work.
The beautiful girls (Faye, Peggy, Joan, Megan and Sally) are all investigating, detecting, navigating and learning.
Peggy learns that all the social justice warrior ethic in the world can’t trump a man’s need to be a man and save a woman. Ugh, Abe Drexler is just so punchable.
Joan gets mugged at gunpoint, has sex with Roger on the street, and makes a quick decision by analyzing the facts. She has already learned this lesson. She regrets nothing, but is married and that is that. Sorry, Roger. You’re a child.
Speaking of children, Faye learns who Don is and that’s all for her. Ciao doctor.
Miss Blankenship has already learned.
“She was born in 1989 in a barn, she died on the 37th floor of a skyscraper; she’s an astronaut.”
– Bert Cooper
Remember the astronaut reference for later.
There is a moment in this episode worth mentioning. It’s one of the moments that make you remember that this may be one of the best shows ever written.
Sally falls when running away from her father in anger.
It is Megan who picks her up. It is Megan who knows what to say to her. It is Megan who solves the mystery.
“I fall all the time,” says Megan.
The following scene is Don and all the beautiful girls.
Megan at the desk, Faye, Peggy, and Joan stand near the door while Betty and Sally chat.
Perfect.