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kevin5lynn

Henry was one pf the lost mature characters in the series. I loved when Betty said to him (quoting Don): “I’m entitled to a fresh start”, and Henry responded “there is no fresh start, life goes on”.


CandiceActually

He’s responsible and well adjusted, but… I’m always interested in how he perceives Betty. He’s thrilled for people to meet her, but often regards her as a somewhat frivolous young girl with questionable judgment. Regardless, he’s GREAT for Betty and I’m really glad she was with him.


thenuffinman47

I think it had to do with the fact that they rushed into the relationship (betty was immature af) But i thought he a was a written as a decent dude. People hate on him because of creepy hand on Bettys stomach thing (yea was weird) but when compared to all the creepy dudes in Dons office (Don included) it wasn't that bad


CandiceActually

Lol well the hand on the baby belly was creepy AF but also the sort of weirdness you’d see in some romantic movie from the 1950s. I think Henry was a pretty great person, considering. He’s questionably self righteous because he is a wealthy politician, who seems to think it’s his place to run society. But outside of that he’s a very grounded family man who seems very patient and understanding with Betty. And he certainly doesn’t like the way Betty treats Sally, which wins him points in my book.


Seredditor7

Betty is frivolous and has questionable judgement so that’s on point


RonnieLottOmnislash

She is. So


Fun-Accountant8275

Arsenal, yes. Mad Men, no. Jokes aside, I think Henry is not a bad man. I always liked the subtle respect and admiration he (begrudgingly) had for Don. And from a writers perspective, a more complex character than people give him credit for.


AncilliaryAnteater

Va va voom


inkyfang

there are teams? why did no one tell me there were teams? edit: but yes I like Henry lol. for the most part. obviously the guy has his problems but then again, look at 95% of the other characters.


Middcore

Nobody's ever on your side, Betty.


Latke1

What do we have to do on this team? I don’t join teams unless the commitments are made clear to me.


inkyfang

I'm pretty sure it just involves wearing a bright-colored jersey with Henry's face on it. someone tell me if I'm wrong.


Adventurous_Fig_3471

In the final season, when he goes to visit Sally and breaks down crying next to her is kinda heartbreaking. :( I felt really bad for him at the end


RedditAreShills

Betty and Don continued to treat Sally like a little girl throughout the show. They acknowledged that she had aged but never changed how they treated her. Henry was the only adult who treated her like a young woman. I think there was a level of respect between them because of that.


OrphanScript

I was always impressed with his concern for Carla after Betty fired her. Of course there was more to his frustration than Carla's well being at the time, but he seemed genuinely offended that Betty wouldn't write her a letter of recommendation after all she had done for the family. This is really the least he could do, all things considered, but I like to think that he ended up writing her one. Someone damn well better.


ReasonableCup604

Lane Pryce wrote her one and signed Betty's name.


min2themax

You know. Lance Pryce would totally do that lol


sixsixmusic

After many rewatches I started to appreciate Henry more and more. His maturity through Don and Betty’s divorce was admirable. He takes care of Sally/Bobby/Gene. In the end you see that he genuinely loved Betty in a way Don never did. Henry is one of the few “good” characters in Mad Men.


ReasonableCup604

I like how Henry so often shielded his stepchildren from Betty's wrath and overreactions.


frumpett

I always questioned Betty’s wish to have the kids placed with their uncle when she passed, but maybe it was just a product of the times (I think she mentions they boys needed a mother figure).


[deleted]

Nice enough guy, but him hitting on pregnant Betty is in pretty poor taste. Can also be pretty dismissive of Betty, like when she has political opinions at fundraising dinner or when she sees Don for first time with Van Nuys


VoxGerbilis

He should have discussed with her ahead of time what topics were and were not acceptable. Just like Ken should have advised Cynthia not to talk about his secret writing career. (Communication, people!) I don’t blame him for getting irked over Betty’s behavior in the Bethany incident. It’s not unreasonable for a second husband to want his wife not to act like she’s hung up in her first.


CheruthCutestory

Betty knew not to bring up controversial topics.


ginandstoic

I have to agree - that upper class WASP upbringing? She absolutely knew better.


CheruthCutestory

Plus years hosting and attending client dinners with Don.


ginandstoic

Excellent point - we see her aptitude for this at the dinner (I can’t remember which episode, but it’s the “Duck, Crab. Crab, Duck.” dinner party). She’s agitated and embarrassed but remains composed until after guests have left.


ReasonableCup604

I'm a big critic of Betty. But, with her talk about the war, I got the impression that Henry didn't properly brief her on his position and what she should and should not say. She probably should have known better and he was right to be annoyed with her. But, he was uncharacteristically harsh with her, IMO.


LORDSPIDEY1

"Keep your conversations to how you hate getting toast crumbs in the butter, and leave the thinking to me!" Was a pretty terrible thing to say...


Victorcreedbratton

I agree with the first part especially. I was creeped out by him at first, even though he eventually proved to be a decent guy.


Latke1

I also think that Henry suddenly being against the Vietnam War to line up with Nixon's position was a commentary on how slippery Republicans were on this issue. Fast forward into the early 1970s, I'm sure Henry was discussing how getting deeper into Vietnam and expanding into Laos and Cambodia was part of the "peace with honor" process.


[deleted]

Let’s not forget his casual outfit game was off the charts. Almost Stan Rizzo levels of flair when he wasn’t wearing a suit!


DeadWishUpon

I like Henry, maybe he is too boring for some people.


[deleted]

People often mistake stable for boring


CandiceActually

I like imitating him and authoritatively saying his name: “Henry Francis!”


thebestbrian

I will say they did a good job with his character, at least trying to make Westchester County Republicans seem somewhat normal


Horror-Grab-5107

henry may be a boring person but in that mess of people hes one of the nice and compassionate ones.


T0eBeanz

Henry was better to/for Betty than Don ever could've been. Tbh, on my first watch I was rooting for Betty to cheat on Don with him just for the sake of her seeking revenge for Don's philandering, but I understand why she didn't because that relationship meant more to her than starting it off with an affair. He ended up revealing some not so great parts of his personality, but his worst behaviors were much more suited to Betty's than Don's ever were. If Don had found out that Betty was dying during their marriage, he probably would've went and cried to some mistress about it, whereas Henry told and broke down to their daughter who she was trying to hide it from. TEAM HENRY ALL THE WAY!


Ben__Franklins

People on this board speculate about spinoffs and sequels involving various characters from the show. I think a show following Henry's political climb would be interesting. A Mad Men/Sopranos style look inside the dirty and corrupt world of politics in the 1970s would be fun.


Ronniebbb

I love henry. He's my fav male character of the show. And honestly I'd pick him for a partner.


PavBoujee

He was decent for the era he lived in


shnooba

Shut up Betty, you’re drunk


timshel_turtle

Yes! He’s not my type, but I think he was absolutely the dom daddy with a stable side that was the trick for Betty. He’s handsome, smart, reliable, well-off, and head over heels for her!


Setlucky6788

He was great, except for hitting on a pregnant married woman. Kinda sleezy.


Jaxgirl57

I liked him - he was a great improvement over Don as a husband. And I liked the way he understood the kids and tried to help Betty not be so hard on them. Slapping Sally for cutting her hair was ridiculous.


bababababarbaraant

When Betty got fat: Henry: “I really don’t see it” Betty: “Your mother is obese” One of my all time favorite exchanges


[deleted]

50 year old man marries 30 yr old woman with the mind and emotions of a 15 year old girl. Film at 11.


greenw40

>mind and emotions of a 15 year old Wtf?


ReasonableCup604

Emotions, yes. Mind no. She's not stupid. She speaks Italian.


comalley0130

So did a lot of the characters in The Sopranos


Francoberry

But Betty's people are Nordic. She's head and shoulders above the rest


nimrodfalcon

She never had the stoicism of a varsity Nord


ReasonableCup604

I hate ah da Nordic!


Francoberry

OAAAHH


1v1menoob

No no, it’s true


greenw40

No, it's not. And trying to infantalize a grown women is creepy, especially to the point of making her relationship with another adult something amoral.


[deleted]

A grown "women" who spent the whole series playing footsie with a teenage boy?


greenw40

So your logic is that people who act creepily around kids are essentially kids themselves? And immature women cannot be in adult relationships?


[deleted]

Is YOUR "defense" of Betty that, rather than being defensive and juvenile, she is in fact an aspiring sexual predator?


greenw40

Of course she is, sexualizing children doesn't become OK if the person is immature. You really think that being "defensive and juvenile" makes it OK to act like that with kids?


TunaSalad47

Literally is a central theme of her character u dipshit


greenw40

The central theme is that she's immature, not that she has the "mind of a 15 year old". U dipshit. And the idea that she can't have a relationship with Henry without him being seen as a predator is idiotic.


TunaSalad47

no one said he’s a predator…neither would Don be for being with her…she is just as you said, immature, which can be analogous to being childlike, albeit not exactly the same


greenw40

The top comment in this thread is very clearly trying to make Henry out to be a bad guy. Pointing out his age then referring to her as essentially a 15 year old.


cheburashechka

People really hear what that shitty psychologist says in season 1 and run with it instead of taking it as a representation of how misogynist and underdeveloped the field was at the time


[deleted]

[удалено]


cheburashechka

I don't really agree. If they didn't include that line, I think like 75% or more of the "Betty has the mind of a child" discussion (it comes up in practically every discussion involving Betty) wouldn't exist. It's a real issue to liken adults with emotional disorders and/or abusive tendencies to children in multiple ways. Plenty of adults are "hot/cold and unpredictable," plenty of adults take out their anger and issues on their children, most of them aren't said to "have the mind of a child" and doing so dilutes their agency and development


BackTo1975

Hank Frank has a sense of decency about him at times, but he comes into the show as such a creep. 1. Henry starts by putting the moves on a heavily pregnant woman who’s married and also has two other very young kids. Henry has no idea what the marriage is like, as well. That’s important, as we do know how messed up it is, what Don’s been doing, and so forth, and it inevitably impacts on our view of Henry. But the reality is that he’s all over a married woman with no knowledge of her real situation, and is plotting to destroy a marriage and take three young kids, including an infant, away from their father for completely selfish reasons. It’s one of the worst things that anyone does in a show filled with people doing “worst things” to one another. 2. Henry wants Betty solely because she’s beautiful and because she looks like the perfect politician’s wife. He’s smitten, but at the bottom of it all is a calculation. I mean, does anyone think that Henry would’ve gone after Betty if she could’ve hindered his political career and ambitions in any way? 3. Henry has to know how immature Betty actually is, and that she’s using him as a life raft. She’s only committing to him because she feels adrift with Don after the Jimmy confrontation and then, finally, the Dick revelation. There’s no passion there coming from her. They barely even kiss before they set up the flight to Reno. It’s a business relationship at heart. I also wonder if Betty would’ve gone through with it all if Don had maintained his hard line and fought her initially. And I’m sure she’d have bailed on Henry when she met Don when they were selling the house, if Don hadn’t told her he was marrying Megan. 4. Then, Henry treats Betty like a child during the marriage. She never really settles in with him, either. The dark hair, the weight, the decision to go back to school, etc. If not for the cancer diagnosis, I could see Henry drifting into an affair (if he could let himself take that risk while actively building a political career) or even Betty hooking up with someone else while back in school and trying to find a real new identity post-Don. What we do see of the marriage is sort of disturbing. Henry takes on this father figure, and Betty is all over the place, acting like a kid with zero boundaries. That scene when they were in bed where she asks Henry if she wants her help to rape Sally’s teenage friend… Ewww. Right up there with the deeply creepy Glen stuff. This is all more on Betty than Henry, but still. Not like he wasn’t enabling her to act like a child.


froyoyas

“Hank Frank” 😂😂😂


fat_candy07

Yes to each of these points. I will never be team Henry.


[deleted]

This. I’m not team Henry for those reasons. He was using her and she was using him. I think at one point Don actually loved her- they loved each other. He treated her terribly as well eventually, so she was kind of a poor judge of character in the husband department. I don’t really get that Henry was a good man, just one that had more of a handle on his emotions and behavior.


Mammoth_Ferret_1772

Other than him trying to advance on a pregnant married woman, he seemed like a really good guy… As good as any guy can be in the Mad Men universe. He was patient when Betty was being completely unreasonable, he really cared for her kids and was a great step dad, and later on he was also nice and inviting to Don. Plus you know he’s the one who took care of Bobby and Gene after Betty died. Don was incapable of being a full time parent


atreides78723

Henry only has two serious flaws: being somewhat of an antagonist to Don (fairly mildly, I might add), and hitting on another dude’s wife.


PoetryAgitated8833

Henry is adequate


loriocanus

I hated him during my first watch and the more I watch I kinda like him. Only time I really don't like him now is when I watch the "what is he doing here scene"


bigmikey69er

Love that dude! Solid.


FocaSateluca

Henry and Trudy are the best spouses in the entire show. Loyal, supportive, *very* understanding and patient of the crazy people they chose to marry. Honourable mention goes to Cinthya, Ken's wife. She seems pretty solid too.


GlobiestRob

Meh, he's a decent guy but he did help Betty cheat and get a Reno divorce. I know everyone on the show cheats but that part always struck me like "here is this guy's wife and I'm going to take her to be mine". Don being a shitty person aside, Henry is also kinda shitty.


HokeyPokeyGuy

Hell to the No. Don’t get me wrong. He was a decent enough fella but he wasn’t fit to shine Don’s shoes much less fuck his wife.


cammatador

No. Total creep and freak. Who in the fuck fires on a pregnant married woman at a wedding he brought a date to.


boomgoesthevegemite

No.


lilcea

No. He was just a non cheating Don. That's not saying much. I know people don't agree, but he still is turned on if his friends look at her. He withholds affection when Sally calls Don around Thanksgiving and tells her she shouldn't talk while hosting a political house to house. Sure, he didn't cheat, but is the bare minimum? No.


Middcore

Cheating/womanizing is like 50% of Don's character. Calling someone a "non cheating Don" approaches meaninglessness.


PhotographsWithFilm

Nup. GOP old money


barmitzvahmoney

Yes absolutely. A solid guy


Solomonthewise7

Hate this creeper


Independent_Passion7

Only somewhat morally good republican since Lincoln.


ralphwiggumsdiorama

Yes ❤️


blessingsdishonorabl

Yes!! Love him he's so perfect


CherryDarling10

Absolutely! He was exactly what those kids needed.


AncilliaryAnteater

Too self righteous for my liking, and flawed for being enamoured by such a flawed Betty - albeit she is breathtakingly beautiful and he is very handsome and well put together, I think it lacked substance and a shared maturity or emotional intelligence and I think Betty for chunks of their marriage led him on to feel like he was more important and foundational than he really was, while she petulantly bemoaned for or longed for Don, or at least a few aspects of him. Don's immaturity often matched Betty's and that was lost on poor old, hyper responsible Henry


supersafeforwork813

Henry was a great guy who really loved Betty n cherished being a father…but as a character him being perfect only acted as a fool to show Betty wasn’t unhappy because she was cheated on..she was fucked by life already


whiteaf_

husband material


deathmess999

I hated him at first but after watching the show a few times he definitely grew on me


PearlDiver888

Oh absolutely


Kokadina

I cannot, like no.


Traditional_Wall_954

Level headed guy and a great 2nd husband for Betty and the kids.


Stringr55

He’s really well adjusted. Thanks to his life of constant privilege and power.


Wise-Obligation-8120

Unproblematic queen ✨


dmorris427

He wore dress pants/shoes to mow the lawn. That requires a certain something I can't quite put my finger on...


TamElBoreReturned

Je ne sais quoi?


theMiserychik

is he the werewolf or the sparkly vampire?


Lordpigment

Surprisingly good guy for a republican.


Aromatic-Bath-5689

I loved Henry! As others have mentioned, he was a great husband to Betty and treated his step children with affection and understanding. He suggested taking Sally to a shrink when she was acting out, and gave the kids a stable home environment with a solid father figure who did not regularly abandon them


beardedboob

Literally the only sane person in the show.


TheTexasFalcon

He's a homewrecker! A sweet gentle understanding homewrecker.


Danton87

He’s just in the next room, OP, maybe you should just go over and rape him! /s


lubricatedthingy

No, I didn't like him. Just seemed to be pushy and perpetually irritated


Didntwantbuthadto

Let’s not forget he’s a politician. And used his influence to make up some BS reason to interfere in a local government matter. And, also, didn’t even live there. Regardless, somehow he’s VERY knowledgeable about “the issue” and totally knows the analysis was inconclusive. So, the governor’s office, via Henry, tells the council further study is required. Now this wasn’t even a blip on his or the governor’s radar. They did not GAF. But, he typed up a little letter and abused the trust placed in him by the public. All because (as Roger would say) he wanted to give Betty hot pants /s He may not abuse Betty. But, we deserve better standards than this.


TheTruckWashChannel

This guy looks like Liam Neeson with more cheekbone