I think that your comparisons are very accurate. Walt and Don are alike in that they both seem infatuated with the idea of the perfect nuclear family, all-American ideal life. That said, they never seem to follow through on these ideas and treat their kids as little more than accessories. Walt wants to bring home pizza for dinner and buy Junior a cool car, but there's no depth to his relationships. In one episode of Season 4 of Mad Men, Don gives this big monologue about how frightened he is of Gene growing up with Henry as a father. He makes a big surprise visit to Gene's birthday party and it seems like he's taking charge and fixing his mistakes. Then we basically never hear about Gene again.
I think that your comparisons are very accurate. Walt and Don are alike in that they both seem infatuated with the idea of the perfect nuclear family, all-American ideal life. That said, they never seem to follow through on these ideas and treat their kids as little more than accessories. Walt wants to bring home pizza for dinner and buy Junior a cool car, but there's no depth to his relationships. In one episode of Season 4 of Mad Men, Don gives this big monologue about how frightened he is of Gene growing up with Henry as a father. He makes a big surprise visit to Gene's birthday party and it seems like he's taking charge and fixing his mistakes. Then we basically never hear about Gene again.
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