Mad Men

[Brando]

It almost seemed like Joan was hoping he would tell her he cheated on her while he was overseas so she could ease her guilt, but after she threw the rape in his face I suppose she didn't feel guilty about it at all.

Like Christina Hendricks in real life, Joan could do better. How did he get her in both cases. In the beginning, Greg was a nice guy on his way to a successful job.  It turns out he's not nice but insecure to the point he'll rape his fiance and loose his chance at becoming chief resident. The real question is now that they seem to be getting a divorce does she tell Greg the truth or go on telling him he's the father of the baby? Telling him the truth can be devastating especially to a guy going back to Vietnam for a year.

[tpfkabi]

So Joan and her husband had sex in a reasonable window in order for him or Roger to be the father, or the husband just never thought about it or brought it up? Her mom? Or am I forgetting something?

It's Roger's baby. She got pregnant by Roger something like seven weeks after she last saw her husband. The husband either believes it's his baby or doesn't want admit it's not his. Roger had a line last season about a bunch of GI's coming home to find a baby but never doing the math.

Thanks. I haven't watched the episodes since the original airing.

I don't think I had heard The Crystals original version of He Hit Me. Now I wonder what other kinda dark stuff Spector produced.

[Brando]

Is it just me or was this one of the strangest Mad Men episodes ever? If this episode followed the first two hour episode premiere/pilot I would have called that Mad Men jumped the shark. It was minutes into this episode I thought it felt strange. I kept thinking a character would wake up or something strange would happen to justify the weirdness of the episode. It turned out to be some kind of Pete's episode but in the end didn't make much sense. I plan to rewatch it and maybe make a better argument.

[Tictacbk]

I think its just you.

[Brando]

I think its just you.

I've come to realize that. The episode's execution felt strange to me for some reason.

[Bethie]

don draper fixing the sink was for women what megan's zou bisou bisou was for men.


hott.

[Brando]

I rewatched last weeks episode.  It was the direction of the episode that threw me off not the writing which I originally thought. John Slattery has directed episodes before but his direction of last week threw me off. I felt it was a heavy handed direction along with the blocking threw me off cause it was so close to this season's premier which was too heavy handed as well.

I did notice some things on the second viewing of last week's episode. The dinner between Ken, Pete and Don had much more importance. First, the talk of the sniper in Texas played a more important role than I thought.  I had to look it up to make sure but the sniper's name was Charles Whitman. On August 1st, 1966 Charles Whitman killed 16 and wounded 32 during his shooting rampage. This is important cause his last name is Whitman which is Don's real last name which during the conversation Don corrects when someone forgets the assassin's real name. It becomes more important when it is revealed during the dinner that Ken Cosgrove has a secret identity just like Don.  A secret identity which is revealed to Sterling by Pete the same way in season 1 Pete revels Don's secrete identity to Cooper. It also turns out that Charles Whitman's father was a plumber. Maybe that is a stretch but it's the Whitman in the group who is able to fix Pete's plumbing issue. Along with Pete's admiration of Don through out the scene and his idea of a fridge in the garage, the scene seems to highlight how similar these characters are though they seem very different.

Tonight was an interesting episode.  Prior to this season the characters and the story was what important to Mad Men and this season has allowed the direction and writing to be more prevalent in the story telling. I was so harsh after last week's episode I want to wait till I see this episode again till I can comment on it properly.

[©brad]

I am LOVING this season. Two incredible episodes back-to-back, each operating on a level of ambition seen previously only at the very zeniths of the show. I am GIDDY to see how the hell the rest of the season can even begin to proceed, much less conclude.

[modage]

Agreed. Love the way the episode played with structure and that the show is breaking out of whatever confines we've come to expect from it. I thought ep 2 this season was the worst in the show's history so am incredibly relieved that it was an anomaly and not the beginning of a downward trend. Don has been in the background throughout most of this season so far, unengaged at work and overinvolved with Megan so I'll be curious to see if the rest of the season swings back around to place him at the center of the show.

[©brad]

There's an overhanging feeling of dread and terror this season that almost rivals Breaking Bad.

[Brando]

There's an overhanging feeling of dread and terror this season that almost rivals Breaking Bad.

I agree with that but I think it's closer to the kind of dread created by Six Feet Under. When Don first got back to the diner and realized Megan left with some young guys, I immediately thought of Lisa from Six Feet Under.  The flashback to Don driving Megan and the kids home after their trip at the end of season 4 did not help. I tried to tell myself they wouldn't do that to Megan but didn't work. The structure of the episode did a lot too for the building that feeling.

[polkablues]

I don't know how I went through that entire episode without realizing that Megan's mom was Julia Ormond.

[Brando]

First, last week it was nice to see Roger to be interested in his job other than just drink and bitch. He was becoming a caricature of a caricature. The best part was that Roger was genuinely interested in becoming better at his job rather than just to screw Pete over. I like that Don has been forced to face he hasn't been doing his job well. Cooper told him he was on "Love Leave" and last week Cosgrove's father-in-law told him none of the people would work with him cause he bit the hand that fed him.

Tonight, Megan quits and Don looses a substitute for the type of relationship he wants from Peggy.  I don't think Don wants to sleep with Peggy but there is definitely some Freudian things between those two.  Hopefully, two weeks of Don being told he's not doing his job as great as he thinks and his distraction leaving the office will get him focused. Don continues to grow older not able to listen to the Beatles.  Finally, I've read a lot of talk about people predicting that Pete is going to die or commit suicide this season. This season has been different. Directing and writing has been more at a forefront than previous seasons.  I would have never thought they would foreshadow anything but now not sure. Tonights episode with continued focused on Pete's unhappiness while him mentioning suicide could be foreshadowing. Then you add that scene of Don calling that elevator but the doors opening and the elevators not there. Is that setting up something for the future? Pete calls the elevator but doesn't see it's not there and falls or does sees it's not there and kills himself?

[Brando]

Peggy's leaving was surprising even after it was hinted at it earlier in the season. I did love her smile at the end right before she got on the elevator after quitting. It's sad to think of her as one of the many characters we will only see a little of in the future and might not have a big as a role.

Once Don fired Lane I immediately thought about the dread that has hovered over this season. Others mentioned it and I think I might have said it was similar to the dread of Six Feet Under in a previous post.  Then add it to the talk of Pete killing himself by a lot of people online. But then I realized how Mad Men never goes the way you are trained to think as a viewer but rather realizes that and plays on that knowledge.  I actually forgot about Lane's story until the secretary showed up in Joan's office and I realized he went through with it.  How they handled the suicide of Lane shows how wonderful the writers of Mad Men tackle these plots. Any other show would have Lane attempting suicide but the car failing which the whole season they talked about how unreliable Jaguar is both funny and a motive not to kill himself.  If you're going to kill yourself, a unreliable car isn't going to stop you. I also liked they didn't over do it.

I also just realized this is the second time Don has offered someone money to runaway to restart their life just like he did. He did it with his half brother who also hanged himself and then with Lane who he offered to cover the 7500 but also hanged himself.

[diggler]

I'm very interested to see where they go with Pryce this year, in a show packed with great characters he's my favorite to watch.

well, shit.