“If there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it must fire in the last.” - Anton Chekov Although Chekov’s “gun” could be any detail beyond the actual object, Matthew Weiner cheekily uses it in the literal sense, too.   In “Red in the Face” 1x07, Pete Campbell aims a gun in predatory mode at his office mates followed by Betty, who in “Shoot” 1x09, fires a gun at her neighbor’s pigeons.  That Campbell doesn’t shoot his gun suggests he’s confidently in control of his environs and chooses not to shoot. In contrast, Betty Draper, a desperate suburban housewife, shoots her gun borne out of compelling frustration over having been used as a pawn in Don’s advertising world, symbolically a man’s world, to further the men’s ambitions while leaving hers by the wayside and out of her control.  “If there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it must fire in the last.” - Anton Chekov

Although Chekov’s “gun” could be any detail beyond the actual object, Matthew Weiner cheekily uses it in the literal sense, too.  

In “Red in the Face” 1x07, Pete Campbell aims a gun in predatory mode at his office mates followed by Betty, who in “Shoot” 1x09, fires a gun at her neighbor’s pigeons. 

That Campbell doesn’t shoot his gun suggests he’s confidently in control of his environs and chooses not to shoot. In contrast, Betty Draper, a desperate suburban housewife, shoots her gun borne out of compelling frustration over having been used as a pawn in Don’s advertising world, symbolically a man’s world, to further the men’s ambitions while leaving hers by the wayside and out of her control. 

(Source: ishouldinfinitelypreferabook)

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    When I grow up I want to be Betty Draper.
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    Badass Betty
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    i still don’t understand why Betty randomly killed those birds. psycho.
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