Don Draper isn’t an inherently bad person. He’s just broken internally, lacking a solid moral compass. That type of thing tends to happen when you’re a fatherless son of a whore, raised by an abusive step-mother.
Despite the rough upbringing Don has done a few very generous acts over the years. He aided Peggy after the birth of her child and promoted her to copy-writer when she was just his secretary. After finding out Lane Pryce was embezzling money from the company, Don allowed Lane to quietly resign instead of going to the police. Although that led to Lane hanging himself, it was a very kind gesture on Don’s behalf. [Spoiler alert; information going forward has details about Sunday night's episode.] Just this past week Don pulled a lot of strings to spare Arnold and Sylvia’s son Mitchell the horrors of Vietnam.
All that being said, Don has mostly done terrible things over the course of the series, none worse than what poor Sally Draper witnessed Sunday. One thing is for certain, Sally is going to need a lot of therapy when she gets older. Betty and Don weren’t model parents when they were together, and it’s been worse since they’ve been divorced. Sally has grown to rebel against and resents her mother but has always had a special respect for her father. Don has treated nearly everyone he’s ever had any type of relationship with poorly, but he’s had a different rapport with his children. Sally knows he isn’t the best father in the world. Catching him mid-coitus with the downstairs neighbor is a different story. The image of her father the hero came crashing down in front of her. His hollow apology did little to mend any fences.
That ranks as the worst thing Don has ever done, though it’s not lacking in competition.
This article appears in Jun 13-19, 2013.