Mad Men: Finale

Suicide and vacuousness have been themes this season culminating in the loss of Lane Pryce.  His absence is felt everywhere.   Especially in the board meeting, where we see Joan taking over his responsibilities in her blue suit.  Her office clothes are becoming more and more like menswear, and yet still deeply feminine.  It makes her look strong, and she is taking her role of partner serious.  I cannot wait to see how Tom and Lorenzo interpret this fuller.

Melancholy, doom, and gloom have been mentioned throughout this episode especially with Pete Campbell by both his wife and his mistress.  Where does this leave him in life?  What will make him happy? Maybe next season when he has his apartment in the city he will be happy.

Later in the episode Megan is very depressed over her lack of work as an actress, even her husband won't give her a commercial.  She proceeds to get very drunk and tell Don her deepest darkest thoughts.  All while her mom goes off to have a romp with Roger Sterling.

Don is haunted through the episode by his dead brother.  He finally interacts with him while at the dentist and under the influence of nitrous.  Drugs have definitely infiltrated the world of Mad Men.  Roger is obviously on LSD at the end of the episode.

This episode was the first time in a long time we've heard Don Draper order an old fashioned.  Does this mean he has returned to his old ways?  By giving Megan what she wants, can he take what he wants from life?  Matt Weiner has a lot to tackle next season, and we are all looking forward to it.

Mad Men: Commissions and Fees

I have watched last week's episode multiple times.  It is one of the best episode's of the season.  Christina Hendricks acting was exquisite, and it should be her episode that she submits for her Emmy nomination.

I am not going to lie.  I wanted to put up this post earlier, but I had a beer festival this weekend, and I needed my sleep on Sunday night.  I ended up watching Mad Men after work.  I did stay up late enough to see Don fire Lane, and to have Roger set up the Dow meeting.  I really loved the scene with Ken and Roger.  It's obvious Ken isn't aware how much Roger dislikes Pete, and I cannot wait to see how this new combination plays out.

Roger and Don get the meeting at Dow, and Don blows them out of the water.  One of the best speeches he's given this season.  As a someone who manages vendors for a living, I would be reevaluating my current firm.

Poor Sally Draper, she has a mother that acts like a child.  The one time a young girl needs her mother, she runs to her.  Betty is surprisingly compassionate, and I was actually quite shocked by her reaction.  But it is only because it reinforced Sally's need of her, Betty is at all times self serving.  Sally didn't want Megan, Sally wanted her mother.  Betty was totally undeserving of this, considering her juvenile reaction to Sally's attitude.  Sadly, Betty is not confident in her role as Sally's mother to know that she'll always need her.

The consequences of Lane's embezzlement have finally caught up with him.  The whole time he was writing that check, I thought about how he should just ask for it.  But he made his bed, and Don sternly made him lie in it.  When he arrived home to find his wife had bought him a car, this irony is something that happens in real life.  Even though you think you've hit bottom, you can still go lower.  Even his first attempt at suicide didn't work.  Unfortunately, Lane did find a way to kill himself at the office.  He chose the permanent solution to a temporary situation.  Everything in life is temporary, and he could have started over. Don knows this.

Joan found Lane in his office, but Don is the one who knew a man couldn't be left like that.  I wonder how Don is going to handle Lane's choice in this situation.  From the previews, you can usually never tell what's going to happen next.  But it looks like some letters arrive possibly revealing the indiscretions of the firm.  I really hope Lane didn't do that before he committed suicide, I wouldn't think he was that vengeful.  But oh what a revenge that would be. 

Mad Men: The Other Woman

Last week's episode left us wanting more scenes with Don and Joan.  The bonding between the two characters at the bar revealed the better side of Don.  He respects and cares about Joan, and I think that was a little unexpected.  Especially since we haven't really seen them together since the lawn mower episode. Don also knows when he wouldn't be enough for a woman, like Joan.  She sees right through him and intimidates him.  In the end, he's the only one who stands up for her, and he seeks her out to tell her this. 

Pete is a conniving asshole for letting Joan think that all the partners were on board with the arrangement for her to sleep with the Jaguar executive to win the account.  They could have won it on creative alone.  Because Don finally has returned to work.  Don's talent is why we fell in love with this show, going back to the first season with the Kodak Carousel campaign.  He is a genius.  He's becoming out of touch, and Ginsberg is the young, hungry creative talent.  The Jaguar campaign is Ginsberg's idea, but Don's presentation was out of this world.

It is too bad how Don is treating Peggy.  I would have resign on the spot if my boss threw money in my face.  I do not know how she didn't cry.  I also don't know how she got through her resignation speech or how she didn't take more money to stay with SCDP.  As we all know in real life, the grass isn't always greener.  I am interested in seeing how this plays out for Peggy.  I don't think she made the right decision.

Until next week, only two episodes left.  I can't wait to read Tom and Lorenzo's article on the wardrobe.  I now notice what the characters are wearing, and what message is being conveyed.  Megan is dressing and acting more and more like a petulant child.  When Joan agreed to the arrangement for Jaguar she was in a solid brown dress, by accepting the arrangement had she essentially become emotionally is dead.

And yes we all want Greg to die in Vietnam, please let this happen Matt Weiner!

Mad Men: Tom and Lorenzo

Tom and Lorenzo regularly blow my mind.  Maureen Ryan recommended their website in a podcast, and I have been hooked ever since.  They are also from Philadelphia.  I love the hometown connection.

http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/2012/04/mad-style-far-away-places.html

It is definitely worth the read!

Mad Men: Far Away Places Hit Home

Smart audiences!

Mad Men’s Far Away Places episode blew my mind. 

I don’t want to get into the deconstruction of the show.  I know movie and television nerds may see my excitement about the format twists as overkill.  Perhaps it’s an obvious use of the drug altering both the characters’ and audiences’ perception, but let’s not lose sight of the very important thing about that twist.  This is a cable drama that has followed a generally safe narrative for 5 seasons.  This episode was more like a David Lynch disregard for audience expectations.  

Let’s contrast this to the prevalence that exists in television today to recap and eat away precious minutes of a block.  I get it, you want to grab the channel surfers, you don’t want people to forget the story line, and you don’t actually want to shoot that much content.  However, let’s look at the advantage of skipping hand-holding the audience. So much rich and intriguing story can be presented and you can take your time getting artful visuals that set this medium apart!

Mad Men used, not a new format, it’s as old as literature itself to tell a story from multiple character perspectives, but they took us on a trip (an LSD trip) with out having to explain explicitly we were going there.  The quick cuts in time and spot-on visuals only enhanced the utter amazing base this show is built upon.

If this season was lacking in interesting character development – Joan and Peter being strictly pitiful, Peggy being socially awkward, Don being extremely boring  – this episode single handedly redeemed everything.  Roger Sterling!!!

Mad Men: Zou Bisou Bisou

Mad Men finally returned last night.  I planned to drink a Tom Collins and to catch up with our favorite ad agency, but I just drank wine instead.  Matt Weiner definitely started off the season with a bang.  We returned to Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce a year after where we left them.  Joan has already had her baby.  Don Draper is married living in a posh apartment in New York City.  Megan seems really happy to be playing the role of wife and step mother.

The two hours were packed with Pete being a spoiled brat while Roger was trying to poach his clients, Pryce was day dreaming about an affair with a picture stolen from a wallet he found, Joan was falling into the role of new mother, and there were no signs of Betty.  Just a mention of Don calling her Elvira and Lurch when he dropped of his children.  This episode Don turned 40, and Megan surprised him with a surprise party.  Even Peggy knew this wasn't a good idea, but Megan went through with it.  This party caused the major conflict of the episode because Don wasn't appreciative of it, and this upset Megan.  She was so upset she left work early.  (I wish I could leave work any time I was upset.)

The true highlight was Megan performing Zou Bisou Bisou for Don at the surprise party.  He put on a good face, but we all knew Don would hate anything like that.  Can't wait for next episode, and for Joan's husband to finally die in Vietnam.